


Spirit Animals

by Fullmetal_Bitch



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, a massive amount of original characters, fanart by procastinagoat, fanart in later chapter, i'm not telling you where though, likely will be tags added later, major canon divergance, mentions blood and gore, there is canon divergance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-05-16 21:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 708,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19326061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fullmetal_Bitch/pseuds/Fullmetal_Bitch
Summary: This is my retelling of Fullmetal Alchemist where every character has a Spirit Animal. I do not own any character other than those of my making. *Now completed*





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_No one knows the true origin of a Spirit Animal. No one knows where they come from or why. The earliest of history books have always mentioned them and there are numerous theories about how a Spirit Animal comes to be but no one knows for certain. All anyone knows is that when someone is between the ages of 10-13, they get their Spirit Animal. Of course, there are those who get them earlier or later in life but every single person gets a Spirit Animal at some stage._

_A Spirit Animal is the physical manifestation of someone's soul. No one gets to choose the form their Animal takes and no one truly knows what their Animal will be until they get their Dream. For up to a week before their Animal appears, a human will have a reoccurring Dream that shows them the form of their Animal. The favoured theory for why this Dream occurs is that it is a warning so that the person can prepare for their Animal and so that they don't panic when they are approached by an animal like a tiger or snake that humans are hard-wired to fear._

_As mentioned, the form the Animal takes depends on the kind of spirit their human has. A hardier spirit will have an Animal that suits it, just as a meeker spirit will have an Animal that suits it. However, if someone's spirit was to change for some reason – trauma, for example – the Animal can change forms to reflect that change. Should their human's spirit heal, the Animal will change back to their original form. Spirit Animals always appear fully grown and mature, though they cannot reproduce with the opposite gender of their species, whether it is a Spirit Animal as well or not._

_Spirit Animals have no real need to eat or sleep as they survive off of a special energy contained inside their human. It is, however, common practise for an Animal to eat and sleep alongside their human and preserve the energy held by their human for emergency situations. The energy also helps the Animal survive in extreme environments. For example, a lizard in a snowy environment can rely on their special energy to keep them warm. However, Animals rely on that energy to survive and since their human is the one to hold it what this means is that the Animal will die if their human does. The opposite is not true, though. A human can survive without their Animal but because the pain of losing their Animal is so great, the human is likely to commit suicide._

_During several studies conducted on the bond between humans and their Spirit Animal, scientists and alchemists alike discovered that humans and their Animals share physical pain. Though they share the pain, they do not share the physical wound. The human is able to use their Animal's special energy to heal the Animal of any wound they receive, providing their pool of energy is large enough. If the human overestimates the amount of energy they hold for their Animal, the Animal can die from it being used up._

_By using the Animal's energy to heal them, the human sacrifices their own energy as well. The longer it takes for them to heal their Animal – something that directly correlates to how severe the Animal's injury is – the more exhausted the human will become. Because of this, most humans and Animals don't bother healing any injury this way unless the Animal's injury is more likely to result in death. Humans cannot, however, utilise their Animal's energy to heal themselves._

_In extreme situations, an Animal is able to use their energy to shapeshift into a form more suitable for the situation. The Animals cannot maintain the form for an extended period of time as they risk using all of their energy, however – just as it does for the amount of healing an Animal can do – the length of the shift depends on how much energy the Animal has at its disposal. While in a shifted form, Animals cannot feel any pain their human is in, which is helpful for the Animal._

_Something everyone is told as they grow up is that you must trust your Animal's instincts. Spirit Animals have the uncanny ability to sense if their human is about to put themselves in a dangerous situation or if someone who means their human harm approaches. There have been reports on humans being able to sense when their Animal is in danger throughout history however those reports are few and far between so those who have dedicated their careers to studying the bond cannot prove whether it's possible or not._

_The bond between a Spirit Animal and a human also provides the pair with a link. This link offers the Animal and their human a few abilities. These abilities include telepathic communication. The strength of their telepathic ability depends on how closely bonded the pair are. A human who has just met their Animal may be only able to communicate through images or short messages whereas a human who has had their Animal for several years can hold full conversations. Another ability this link offers is sight-share. This means that once the sight-share is triggered, an Animal can look through their human's eyes and vice versa. The link also helps the Animal or human to find their missing bond-mate if they get separated from each other._

_Because of how special Spirit Animals are, there are many laws that apply to them. The important ones are as follows:_

_\- You must never injure yours or another's Spirit Animal on purpose_

_\- You must never kidnap or take hostage another's Spirit Animal_

_\- You are never to take a Spirit Animals life_

_\- Fighting amongst Spirit Animals is forbidden, as is encouraging the fights. The only exception is if the fighting is in self-defence_

_\- Spirit Animals are given the same rights as humans. They are permitted in hospitals, all shops and stores and anywhere else their human may go. The only exception to this rule is if their human is undergoing surgery as the Animal is not sterile and the infection risk to their human is too high_

_Breaking any of these rules will result in fitting punishment._

_The justice system takes the guilty party's Spirit Animals into consideration during the sentencing. Those who have been found guilty of a crime will be forcefully separated from their Animal for the duration of their prison term. The Animal is locked in a sizeable cage where they are provided the basic necessities but are left alone for the most part until their human's release. Although numerous protests have been held throughout history regarding the treatment of a criminal's Spirit Animal, the punishment has not changed. In fact, the threat of a forced separation has deterred numerous would-be criminals from breaking the law._

* * *

"Dinner!" The call from their mother had Edward and Alphonse Elric slamming one of the only non-alchemic texts their father had left behind shut and scramble to their feet.

At the ages of 5 and 6, both boys were old enough to realise that every adult they'd seen always had one animal following them everywhere and that there was something special about said animal. Upon asking their mother, Trisha Elric, they soon learned all about Spirit Animals from her. She explained that her Spirit Animal was her sapphire blue-eyed, black-tipped ragdoll cat, Cleo, and – when Alphonse had asked – was told that their absent father's Animal was a large, black stallion. They also learned that Granny Pinako's Animal was her faithful border collie, Den. When asked why they and Winry didn't have a Spirit Animal, Trisha explained that they were too young for their Animal and would need to wait.

However, as much information as Trisha had, it wasn't enough for the two knowledge-hungry boys and they soon started going through their father's study and the tiny library in Resembool for any book that mentioned Spirit Animals and devoured them. They spent their days reading the books, with Ed sometimes reading the tomes for Al, then discussing what they'd read and what they'd already learned.

"Thanks for dinner!" The two boys chorused as they took their seats at the table, looking eagerly at the stew they could see sitting on the stovetop. Cleo rubbed up against their legs as she made her way to her spot as Trisha placed the dinner bowls on the table.

"You're welcome, my precious boys," Trisha said, smiling sweetly at them as she served Cleo before taking her own seat.

She smiled gently as she listened to her sons eagerly debate about what their Animals would be in between bites of stew. Ed was of the opinion that he would have something fierce, like a lion or a bear, while Alphonse was hoping for a cat like their mum since he adored Cleo as if she was his Animal. They wondered what kind of names their Animal would have but Trisha gently reminded them that they wouldn't get to name the Animal. They would be told their Animal's name when their Animal decided to initiate the link between them.

Dessert was served once their dinner plates were cleared. The moment his mum turned her back, Ed gave Cleo his glass of milk, much to the ragdoll's delight, and Ed gave his mother his best innocent smile when she turned around and eyed his empty glass with a raised eyebrow. Once dessert was done, the boys were sent upstairs for their baths before Trisha tucked them into bed with hopes for sweet dreams. She gave them a loving smile before she turned off their bedroom light and closed the door.

Trisha headed back to the kitchen to deal with the dirty dishes left from the meal. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the little alchemic horse Ed had gifted her with earlier and placed it on the kitchen windowsill with a fond chuckle before she got stuck into the washing up. Her mind wandered to her boys, as it normally did, and how quickly they were growing in front of her very eyes. They'd only recently discovered their ability to perform alchemy and both of them were already transmuting arrays far more complicated than she had expected. They obviously took after their father in that aspect and she couldn't be prouder of them.

Her mood dampened as she thought of Hohenheim and she soon found herself looking out at the darkened horizon outside her kitchen window. She felt Cleo rub up affectionately against her leg before the cat jumped up on the kitchen bench and bumped her cheek against Trisha's shoulder before they shared a sad look. Cleo had sensed it long before Trisha started feeling the symptoms. These days Trisha was only feeling her disease in the way she grew tired a little quicker and how foods with too strong a taste had started making her nauseous but she knew she would be lucky to keep it from the boys much longer.

Trisha was dying. She sighed a little as she rinsed a plate and placed it in the drying rack. She hadn't told anyone, not wanting to risk someone telling her boys. Though she'd known before he'd left, she had kept the truth of her health from their father. She didn't want to be that selfish that she would use her disease to manipulate Van into staying here when he had things he needed to do away from them. Burying such sad thoughts, Trisha gave Cleo a light smile before she got back to her nightly chores. There was no point in worrying about something that likely wouldn't pass for a while yet and causing herself and Cleo pain before it was due. There would be time enough for that later and she still had two boys who needed her until that point. Besides, she was certain that when the time came and she was no longer here for the boys, their father would come back to look after them.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite her hopes, Trisha never got to see Van before she passed away from the disease that had slowly eaten away at her. Although she'd known about her disease for years, it had progressed so suddenly in the last few months of her life that she never got the opportunity to prepare her sons for the inevitable. Instead, she woke up in her room one afternoon and learned that Edward and Alphonse had found her passed out on the kitchen floor when they'd come back from an afternoon exploring the outdoors. It was then that she'd told Ed and Al about what was happening and tried to use her time left in this world to make sure Ed was fully prepared to look after Al until their father returned to them. Cleo spent most of her time sleeping next to Trisha, refusing to move from her position on the pillow unless Granny Pinako needed her too.

The few weeks Cleo had told her she had left flashed by for Trisha and the boys and far too soon, Ed and Al found themselves sitting in front of Trisha and Cleo's headstone. Ed was filled with grief and anger at their father. The last thing Trisha had told him was that their father would be back before they knew it but Ed knew the truth. He and Al had been, unknowingly to Trisha, sending letters to every single person in Hohenheim's address book, begging their father to come home and help make Trisha's passing kinder for her but they never got a response back and Ed knew they'd never see their father again.

Alphonse, on the other hand, still held onto the same hope that their father would return their mother had held onto so strongly in those last few weeks and Ed  _hated_  how obvious it was. As they sat and waited for their father to come home in front of their mum's headstone, Ed only felt that anger slowly overcome his grief over his mother the longer they waited there. As he silently fumed, Ed started going over alchemic recipes he and Alphonse had uncovered in their father's journals, trying to remember if there was a way they could get the only parent they had who'd ever loved them when he recalled one that was promising. So, when Alphonse complained about being cold and hungry as the sun started to set, Ed told him not to worry. He had an idea that could help them bring their mum and Cleo back.

* * *

Six months after the day of Trisha's funeral, Edward and Alphonse were on a train bound for Dublith and neither were able to contain their excitement. They'd met one of the strongest and scariest alchemists they'd ever come across, Izumi Curtis, and begged her to be their alchemy teacher. It hadn't taken them long to figure out that her Spirit Animal, a Black Bear named Koda, was highly appropriate for her as Izumi was as fierce, strong and brave as a bear. She stood her ground and refused to let people trod over her.

Her husband, Sig, was one of those people whose Animal was one that you would never have guessed. He looked like someone who could crush your head in between their hands and like a person you would never want to meet down a dark alley but he had the sweetest Golden Retriever, Suna, as his Animal. Until the boys had seen Sig with a sick or enraged Izumi, they had no clue why he had such a dopey, loving dog as an Animal. The Curtis' owned a butcher shop in Dublith where Sig put his skills as a butcher to use while Izumi was content with being a housewife and formidable alchemist.

Neither boy had been especially impressed to find out that they had to spend a month on an uninhabited island by themselves and decipher a riddle before Izumi would actually take them on as students. They'd watched in disbelief and fear as the boat that had brought them to the island sped away with Izumi on board, leaving them with only each other and their wits to help them survive for the month. The possibilities of being eaten alive, falling off a cliff or dying in some other horrible way were swirling in the brothers' head as the boat disappeared from sight and neither so much as twitched from their spots for the next hour as they tried to comprehend what they were about to go through.

* * *

The last thing on either brothers mind while they were struggling to survive the wildlife and environment for the month was their future Spirit Animal. In fact, the only thing on their minds – other than survival – was the riddle Izumi had demanded they figure out: 'all is one and one is all'. So when a half-starved and severely frustrated 9 year old Edward started dreaming of an animal, he dismissed it, even when he continued to have the same dream. After all, he was only 9 and it wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of an animal for a couple of days only for the dream to not happen the next night and for his excitement to be destroyed. However, once he'd had the same dream four nights in a row, he started to slowly believe it was the Dream. Only after the seventh night though, did he tell Alphonse about it.

"Really, Brother?! That's great! How long have you dreamt about it? What animal is it?" Ed had to chuckle at his youngest brother's excitement. Anyone would think Alphonse was the one who had been Dreaming of his Animal rather than Edward. He held his hands up in a calming gesture, hoping to get Al to stop bouncing around for a moment so he could answer the questions he was asked.

"I think I've dreamt about it for a week now but it's hard to tell since the days seem to merge together," Ed said, voice a little hollow as he remembered they still had to figure out that stupid riddle. "I didn't tell you just in case I was wrong and it was another round of false dreams. I didn't want to get my hopes up and tell you only to be let down," Ed pointed out rationally, purposely not answering his youngest brother's last question. Al had cried every time he'd figured out their dreams had been just that; dreams. Al had noticed Ed's avoidance at his last question and wasn't about to be ignored.

"What Animal did you dream of?" Al asked, whining a little. Ed laughed at his brother's childish behaviour, grateful that Al was acting his age, even if it was only for a moment.

"I'm not telling you." Seeing his brother open his mouth to argue, he added "Trust me, you won't mistake it for one of the animals here." Sensing that his older brother wasn't about to let up, Al decided to drop it but only for the moment.

He knew Ed didn't want to tell him because then it'd make it real and would only hurt more if it wasn't. But that didn't stop him from hoping that it was real. His brother needed this. So, he changed topics and got Ed to start brainstorming the answer to Teacher's riddle to distract him. They felt so close to an answer but decided to take a break when Al pointed out that it was nearly dark and they still needed to gather firewood and hunt for their dinner. They moved out together, checking their traps and collecting firewood as they went. They were lucky tonight and had caught three big rabbits and some sort of bird that looked nice and fat. Ed made short work of them and carried their carcasses back to their camp while Al struggled under the weight of all the wood they'd gathered.

"No way." Al heard his brother breath a moment before he walked into him, Ed having stopped short of their fire pit. Al let out a curse as he tried and failed at keeping his armful of wood in his arms. He was about to berate Ed when he saw what had caused his older brother to literally stop in his tracks.

The most beautiful wolf either of them had ever seen sat in the centre of their rather pitiful camp. Her white fur almost glowed in the growing darkness and she stared at the two of them as they stood there stunned with eerie eyes that seemed to pierce their very being. When Ed started moving forward in a trance-like state, Al found himself reaching forward instinctively to stop him before his mind caught up to his actions and he stopped himself. After all, there was only one reason there would be an Arctic Wolf on this island that wasn't making any moves to attack either of them and that was because this wolf  _was_  his brother's Spirit Animal.

Al watched with bated breath as Ed cautiously reached a hand forward and almost gasped when the wolf ducked its head under his hand and initiated the bond between the two of them. The moment Ed buried his hand in the wolf's fur, Al really did gasp – even dropping his armload of firewood – because something he'd never heard of happened. Both his older brother and the wolf glowed silver, lighting up the dark campsite so much Al could've mistaken it for daytime for a moment before the silver died out. Al saw that Ed's eyes were as wide as Al's probably were, which told Al that he hadn't forgotten about this phenomenon, and he withdrew his hand from atop the wolf's head. Al rushed over to his brother, almost tripping over the discarded firewood in his haste, stopping only when he'd reached Ed's side. He hadn't given the wolf any thought until he was right there in front of it and couldn't stop himself from glancing at it with a little bit of fear.

"Brother! Are you alright?!" Al cried, seizing the hand Ed had touched the wolf with and examining it before giving the rest of Ed a complete once over. "What happened?" There were no visible wounds that Al could see but neither brother could even hazard a guess about why Ed and the wolf had glowed. Said wolf was sitting next to Ed pleasantly and didn't look either injured or concerned about the glow.

"I'm alright, Al, I swear. The only thing that happened was I got startled," Ed soothed his fussing brother the moment his own heartbeat slowed down to an acceptable rate. The wolf looked up at him, a patient gaze in its eyes as Ed felt a grin stretch slowly across his face. "Al! I got my Spirit Animal! She's here!" Ed exclaimed, grabbing Al's arms and jumping up and down in uncontrollable excitement. Soon Al's expression was matching his own as Ed's excitement rubbed off on him. "Look at her! Isn't she the most beautiful Animal you've ever seen?!" Ed gushed as he let go of Al and knelt in front of the wolf,  _his wolf_ , and started running his hands through her fur. He noticed absently that his hands trembling slightly but he ignored that in order to focus on how soft his wolf's fur was. The wolf was leaning into his touch, eyes closed and tongue almost lolling out of her mouth as she drunk in all the attention Ed was lavishing on her.

"She's lovely, Ed. She really is. You're so lucky! You got your Spirit Animal and you're only 9!" Al exclaimed, hardly believing that his brother seriously had his Animal. He knew he'd wake up in the morning and flip because there's a giant wolf in their camp before he remembers what happened. "What's her name?" Al asked, a little demandingly and pouted a little when Ed laughed.

"I don't know. She hasn't told me yet. You remember mum telling us it can take a couple of days for your Animal to complete the bond by telling you their name. Mum told us that Cleo didn't tell her what her name was for nearly a week, remember?" Ed said and Al barely managed to shove his feelings of grief over their mum and the jealousy he felt as he watched Ed interacting with his Animal. Al reminded himself that his Animal would appear when he was ready and felt himself smiling as he watched Ed gushing over the wolf. He could already tell the two of them would be as close as Cleo and their mum was, if not closer. "Anyways, we can talk more about my wolf after we get this fire up and running and dinner cooking. I'll leave one of the rabbits for her to eat," Ed declared as he shoved Al in the direction of their semi-forgotten dinner, the wolf padding silently behind them.

Ed couldn't make heads or tails of his emotions as he and Al picked up the firewood and the rabbits and bird that had fallen prey to their traps. He couldn't believe his Animal had appeared; the moment he had waited for had finally come! He was half-convinced that this was an extremely lucid dream and he would wake up with only Al for company on this desolate island. The other half of him was absolutely elated that she was finally here, that his dreams was, in fact, the Dream every kid longed for and wasn't the universe screwing with him again. Though he knew Al had been wanting his Animal as much as he had, he never could explain to his younger brother just how stronger the want for his Animal had grown since their mother's passing.

Ed had heard from numerous adults about how they'd never even realised how incomplete they'd been until they'd met their Animal and had the hole they didn't know they had filled. There was something indescribable about how it felt to have a creature who would love you unconditionally, who wouldn't judge you and would always be there for you no matter what happened in your life. It was a little scary knowing that he would have someone he couldn't hide  _anything_  from. His wolf would know every single thing about him; the good, the bad and the questionable but the fact that she would still be there for him helped soothe his fear of abandonment

He'd never admitted it out loud but ever since his mother and Cleo had passed away, Ed had been acting as mother, father and brother to Alphonse and the pressure had slowly been killing him. Granny Pinako and Winry helped him with Al and remind him they were both still children but he'd mostly only had himself to rely on up until now. He loved Al and would never give him up or begrudge him anything but he just wanted to have someone whose sole concern was for him and he despised himself for that feeling. But now he had his Animal, someone who would be there just for him and help him with everything and he would never feel like it was him against the world again.

"Hey, Ed?" Al's voice interrupted Ed's musing and the older blonde realised he'd been sitting in his usual dinner spot. He hadn't even noticed himself walking over there and the smell of roasting meat had him looking over to the crackling campfire, where he saw the rabbits and bird slowly being roasted. He flushed as he realised he'd spaced out enough that Al had had to do everything himself so they wouldn't waste the animals Ed had skinned and gutted for their dinner. The feeling of his fingers tangled in soft fur had him looking down to see his wolf asleep next to his feet.

"Sorry, Al," Ed apologised sheepishly. "Is something wrong?" He asked, looking around to see if he could figure out what was causing the slightly confused look on Al's face.

"I don't know if something's  _wrong_ , per say, but I noticed while you were spacing out," Al gave him a teasing grin that had Ed grinning back guiltily, "that your wolf's fur and eye colour looks like they've changed. Unless I'm just imaging things," Al said and Ed's brows furrowed in confusion. "Her fur was pure white and her eyes were brown when we first saw her, right? Because her eyes match yours and her fur looks like its tinged with gold now." Ed frowned as he recalled his first look at his wolf before nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, they were. Wait," Ed said as Al's words sunk in, "did you say they've changed?" Ed asked and Al rolled his eyes before gesturing to his wolf, obviously telling him to look for himself so Ed did and found that his brother was absolutely right. If Ed wasn't mistaken, his wolf's eyes were now the same shade as his own and her fur would've matched his own hair if it weren't for the fact that the first inch of her fur was still pure white.

"Have you ever heard of an Animal changing their colouring like that before, Brother?" Al asked and Ed shook his head, both in answer to Al's question and in disbelief.

"I've never heard of it happening before. I mean," Ed said, going into ranting mode, "I've heard of Animals who have shared similar personality traits with their humans and similar colouring. You know as well as I do that Granny's hair used to be the same colour as Den's fur when she was younger but I have never heard or read about an Animal whose  _entire_  colouring changed like hers did!" Ed exclaimed. He hated not knowing the answers to a mystery and lacking the ability to find those answers out. He saw his wolf was looking at him with amusement and he found himself sticking his tongue out at her.

"Maybe that silver light had something to do with it?" Al suggested, mulling over everything he'd read and heard but coming up with nothing. "Maybe Mrs. Curtis might know," Al offered when Ed's mouth twisted as he couldn't give an answer.

Ed pondered the idea and concluded that if anyone knew the answer, it would be her. Their – hopefully – soon-to-be teacher was the single most powerful and knowledgeable alchemist the two boys had ever met. Granted, the pool of alchemists they could compare her to consisted of each other and their father and they only had the stories their mother had told them about Hohenheim's alchemy to compare too since neither remembered actually seeing his alchemy in action. However, Izumi's method of performing alchemy with no circle was something neither boy had ever seen, read or heard of.

"It's possible she might. She's our best chance for an answer, unless my Animal decides to talk to me before the month's up and knows the answer. You can ask Mrs. Curtis if that doesn't happen, 'kay?" Ed decided, nodding enthusiastically.

"Hey! Why do I have to ask her?" Al's voice rose a few octaves.

"You want to know!" Ed pointed out.

"It's your wolf!" Said wolf growled at Al, who quickly corrected himself. " _She's_  your wolf!"

"I'm honestly good with living without that knowledge if it means not being beaten up by that crazy woman!" Ed informed him. "What if it's something really common that both of us should probably know and we ask her?"

"Considering this is a new development for both of us, if we asked her than she'd probably not beat us up. Especially if we flatter her somehow while asking," Al rationally pointed out and Ed had to concede that point.

"It doesn't matter anyway. We won't get to ask her  _anything_  if we don't solve that damned riddle," Ed grumbled, refusing to admit Al had won. The smug look on Al's face told Ed that his younger brother knew he'd won anyway. "Have you had anymore-" Ed suddenly stopped in the middle of what he was asking when he'd heard a foreign voice.

" _Ayala,"_ the soft-spoken voice resonated through his mind, causing Ed to jolt violently enough that he nearly fell off the log that had been serving as his seat. He could hear Al still but his brother sounded muffled, like Ed was under water.

" _Who are you?"_  Ed demanded as he shook his head, trying to clear his head of the intruding voice. Though he was certain he'd never heard the voice before, it was somehow as comforting and familiar as his mother's. For his efforts, Ed was rewarded with a lilting chuckle.

 _"I would be the wolf next to your feet. My name is Ayala,"_  the voice explained and Ed found himself gaping at the gold-tinged wolf sitting next to him and was rewarded with the same lilting laughter as before.

"ED!" Al's shout of his name got through to the older Elric that time and Ed jumped in surprise.

"Ayala," was all Ed managed to gasp out as he tried to get over the two most recent shocks of the night. "Ayala," Ed repeated, voice stronger this time and he managed to drag his gaze away from his wolf – Ayala, he had to remind himself – so he could meet Alphonse's worried eyes.

"I-what?" Al asked, thrown by his brother's response.

"Her name," he said, as he gestured to his wolf. "is Ayala." Al's confused face was priceless.

"Really? She told you already?" Al asked excitedly. Being told your Animal's name after only a couple of hours was rare. Most animals waited at least a day.

"Yeah, she told me." Ed looked ecstatic and Al couldn't help but grin with equal enthusiasm. However, Al thought he could sense something amiss with Ed's mood.

"What's wrong?" Al asked, frowning a little in concern but Ed waved it off.

"Nothing. Just another thing I might have to ask Mrs. Curtis about," Ed said with a light chuckle. "Don't worry about it. Let's just have dinner and go to sleep. Maybe we'll have figured out that stupid riddle in the morning," Ed scowled as he remembered they  _still_  hadn't puzzled out that riddle yet.

He gave Al a reassuring smile as he pulled the cooked meat off the fire before serving it up. Ayala got an entire cooked rabbit to herself and Ed made sure to throw the bones that remained far enough away from their camp that they wouldn't have to worry about foxes or the like coming too close. Though, he snorted internally, they wouldn't have to worry about that with Ayala around anyway. The affirmative growl in his head had him grinning madly again because it reminded him that he had his Animal and he felt another wave of excitement rush through him.

Once he'd disposed of the bones, he and Ayala joined Al around the fire for another hour or so as they tried to puzzle out the riddle before Al decided they should call it a night. Ed reluctantly agreed so they doused the fire and curled up on their leaf mattress. To both their surprise, Ayala made herself quite at home in between the two of them, allowing Al to take advantage of her body heat as well. It took Ed a little bit to convince Al that Ayala wasn't going to bite him if he touched her but they soon managed to fall asleep all curled up together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art in this chapter is by procastinagoat  
> I've never had fanart of any of my stories before or since but procastinagoat asked if they could do art of Ayala when I first wrote and posted this story on FF.net and I accepted and this was the result! I am open to other artists doing fanart for this or any of my other stories. Just message me if you're interested :)


	3. Chapter 3

When Izumi and Sig arrived back at the island, they were expecting to find two semi-traumatised boys. There was the slightest chance there would only be one surviving boy waiting or that the Curtis' might have to go searching for the two of them or their remains. What they were  _not_  expecting, however, were two excited boys and a wolf waiting for them in the same spot the boys had been dropped off a month earlier.

She ignored the wolf for the moment, though she could tell Suna was questioning Sig since she could hear her husband whispering back to his Animal, and demanded to answer to the riddle. Once the boys had given her the correct answer, she then ordered them to explain the golden wolf. When an answer wasn't immediately forthcoming, she smacked the oldest boy up behind the head and repeated her request for information.

This time, Ed was quick to explain and Izumi listened with an impatient expression. The wolf – Ayala, as Izumi soon learned – sat patiently at Ed's side as Ed and Al both stammered through their versions of what had happened during their month on the island. When Ed finished speaking, Izumi gave the boys and wolf an assessing look before nodding sharply once and congratulating Ed on getting his Animal at such an early age. The elder Elric looked very suspicious about the praise, which Izumi was pleased about, until it turned to excitement when Izumi informed them that she would accept them as her students. She kept the uncaring air about her but she almost cracked a smile when Sig gave Ed a congratulatory hug that caused the young boy to yelp in surprise and probably a bit of pain.

Since she'd accepted them as students, she spent the boat ride back to civilisation informing them about what she would train them in, how their training would go and what she expected from them as her students. They would be taught alchemy, survivalism and combat training that varied from weapons to hand-to-hand. She informed them that they would train six days out of the week, where the seventh day would be for reading theory, relaxing and catching up on their chores. Izumi told them once they were finally at the Curtis' home that the remainder of the day was for both boys to familiarise themselves with her house and to show her how proficient they were in alchemy so far.

* * *

For the first few days of their training, Ed struggled far more than Al when it came to the combat portion of Izumi's tutelage because of his bond with Ayala. Because his previous fighting experience consisted solely of wrestling with Alphonse and some other boys back in Resembool when they'd been younger, Ed was getting his arse constantly handed to him by their teacher which was causing Ayala sympathy pain. Because of this, Edward's guilt was through the roof and he'd started considering not continuing with the training but Ayala put a stop to that thought by reminding him that the sympathy pain didn't last long and that the more effort he put into training, the quicker he would learn and the less he'd get hurt.

With Ayala's support, Ed stayed on as a student and slowly but surely, he was soon giving as good as he got. While he may not have landed many injury-inducing hits against their teacher, he was no longer spending his nights feeling like one massive bruise. Between him and Al, their bouts against Izumi were now starting to end in draws more often than defeat and their alchemic knowledge was expanding rapidly to the point where even Izumi was impressed with how quickly they were picking everything up, though she never said it out loud to them. Two months into their training, Ed and Ayala were pulled aside by Izumi for a private chat.

"I'll be training you separately from Alphonse –" Izumi started saying but found herself interrupted by Edward.

"Why? Is he doing something wrong? I can work with him on our day off to help him get better," Ed offered, panic in his voice since he hadn't noticed Al lacking in any area. He wasn't as good as Ed was at alchemy but that was only a narrow margin. He certainly made up for it in their combat training, managing to beat Ed every time.

"Don't interrupt me, boy," Izumi snarled as she cuffed his ear. "As I was saying, I'll be training you separately because you and Ayala need to learn to fight together. Three times a week, you and Ayala will train against me and Koda. During the time you two are with us, Alphonse will work on his alchemy so he can improve." Izumi's face made it clear to Ed what would happen if Al didn't show improvement during that time. "The two of you need to learn to work effectively as a team so that if you ever find yourselves in a position where you need to fight, you don't end up getting in each other's way and getting yourselves killed. You can pass these lessons on to your brother once his Animal appears, assuming you haven't gotten yourselves killed and are out of my house by then. We'll start tomorrow," Izumi informed him, turning to walk away from them but Ed stopped her by grabbing her arm.

Ed snatched his arm back before Izumi could snap it off and rushed into his reason for touching her, hoping it would save his life. "I was hoping to ask you some questions about Ayala and Spirit Animals in general," he explained before she could snap at him. She raised a brow for him to continue, making certain her lack of patience was evident. "What happened when you first met Koda?"

"When I met Koda, we initiated our bond by touch. I'm sure that you gave Ayala a pat as soon as you saw her, yes?" Ed nodded and Izumi gestured in a 'there you go' motion. "That's what happened with Koda and I. Two days after Koda first appeared, he told me his name, thus completing our bond." Izumi paused for a moment, letting him process that before narrowing her eyes. "You should know this already. I imagine your mother and other adults would've explained this to you and your brother when you were younger."

"She did, though Cleo took longer to warm up to her than Koda did for you," Ed said with a sad smile. Izumi didn't comment, letting him have the moment he needed to pull himself together, which he did so he continued. "So, nothing happened when you touched Koda? There wasn't a glow or any changes in Koda's appearance?" Ed queried cautiously and Izumi knew they were starting to get to what Ed really wanted to know about.

"Is that all you want to ask?" Izumi knew the answer so she wasn't surprised when Ed shook his head. "Then finish asking!" She snapped at him, causing him and Ayala to shrink back slightly.

"Okay! The other thing I wanted to know about was the telepathic side of the bond!" Ed exclaimed, speaking rapidly. Izumi crossed her arms and waited for him to continue, just to make sure that was everything he wanted to know. When he didn't say anything – just looked really nervous – after a few moments, Izumi spoke.

"To answer your first question; I've never heard about, read about or witnessed any glowing or physical changes to either party during the initiation of the bond. The way an Animal looks when it first appears to their human is the way it'll look until it passes away," Izumi told him, eyes flicking to Ayala's gold fur and eyes. She hadn't asked the wolf's human about her appearance – a gold wolf was not something you see every day – as she'd wanted Ed to approach her about it as it was obvious the boy had wanted to ask about something since she and Sig had brought the brothers and Ayala back from the island.

"The answer to your second question varies from bonded pair to bonded pair," Izumi went on to say before Ed could interrupt. "As a general rule, a freshly bonded pair can speak with images or short messages. The telepathic bond strengthens over time. Koda and I can carry entire conversations between ourselves now whereas we struggled to say more than three or four sentences to each other at a time during our first few weeks as a bonded pair. Something that never seems to be inhibited by the strength of a bond is the Spirit Animal's ability to send impressions," Izumi told him.

"'Impressions'?" Ed asked, face screwing up in confusion. He looked to Ayala for an answer but Izumi beat the wolf to it.

"Yes, an Animal can impress its feelings onto their human. If you're in a situation they don't like, for example, they can impress their feelings of danger or fear onto you to encourage you to leave. An example would be when Koda and I first visited the beach after he appeared. He impressed on me his love for the water but hate for the sand," Izumi explained and Ed's face cleared into one of understanding. "Now, why have you wasted my time asking me about things you had already undoubtedly asked the entirety of the Animal-bonded population in Resembool about?" Ed cowered under her piercing glare.

"When Ayala first appeared on the island and we initiated our bond, we both kinda glowed silver for a few seconds and when the glow disappeared, Ayala had gold fur and eyes when she'd had white fur and brown eyes before," Ed explained quickly. "We can also speak to each other as long as we want. We haven't found our limit yet, actually, for that or for sight-sharing." Ed peeped through his fringe, risking a glance to try gauge Izumi's reaction and found himself as stunned as his teacher looked. "Uh, Teacher? You alright?"

"Of course I am," Izumi snapped on reflex. "I've never heard of that happening before and the only conclusion I can think of is that your bond is exceedingly strong. Far stronger than any bond I've ever seen, especially in a bond as young as yours. We'll test just how strong it is during our training," Izumi said decisively, putting a stop to any further discussion. "Now, come on. We need to find your brother and get started on your alchemy lesson," Izumi said before she started striding away, forcing Ed and Ayala to try and keep up.

Ed and Izumi's private lessons began in earnest the next day while Alphonse worked on improving his alchemy under the watchful eye of Sig and Suna, whose job it was to alert Ayala and Koda if something happened. When both wolf and human appeared after their first in one piece and far less bruised than Al had feared, the younger Elric questioned why. Ed explained that their teacher spent most of the lesson teaching him more about the bond and what they should expect when they started training. Though he knew most of this from books or the week he, Al and Ayala spent on the island before Izumi came back for them, he and Ayala did learn new information.

Their next lesson two days later was nowhere near as painless as the first lesson had been. Ed and Ayala suffered twice as much thanks to their bond forcing their pain on each other when they got injured. Unlike the first few days of Ed's training, the two didn't consider asking for the lessons to stop. Instead, they used the pain as a motivator to improve their skills and after a long, painful four months, Ayala and Ed could hold their own against Koda and Izumi. While they still couldn't take Koda and Izumi down, they were still proud of the fact that 70% of the time, their matches ended in a draw.

The team training also helped Ed improve his own combat skills. That said, he was still annoyed that he and Al couldn't win against their teacher, though he knew that that was a combination of Izumi having the upper hand from her years of experience and Ed and Al not being as in sync with each other as Ed and Ayala were. Ed was even more annoyed when his improvement wasn't enough for him to best Al in any of their sparring matches, though his irritation was soothed when Al pointed out that Ed could whoop his butt in alchemy any day of the week. Ayala just thought Ed should focus on the fact that he was improving, not on how many wins he got and rolled her eyes every time she felt him dwelling on it.

* * *

22 months after Trisha Elric's passing, Edward and Alphonse – now 11 and 9 respectively – were now on their way back to Resembool with Ayala watching the scenery from her window seat. After nearly two years under Izumi Curtis' intense and rigorous tutelage, they'd started missing the familiar sights and smells of Resembool as well as their only remaining family, Granny Pinako and Winry. Izumi had been satisfied with how their training had progressed under her watch and had given them permission to head home, confident that they likely wouldn't get themselves killed doing something idiotic.

The morning they were due to leave, they were surprised to be joined by Sig, Suna, Izumi and Koda for the walk to the train station. After some discussion, the boys decided to take a train from Dublith to Central before switching trains at Central to catch a direct train to Resembool so they wouldn't be laid over in East City. They bought their tickets, double-checked them then boarded the train and found their seats. Ayala got first choice and decided on the window seat while Ed sat next to her and Al sat opposite the golden wolf. Izumi, Sig and their Animals stood on the platform next to their window where Izumi spent the next few minutes threatening them with violence and death if they didn't stick to their training schedules religiously or if Izumi got word of them doing something stupid with their alchemy that resulted in injuries. The train whistle blew, signalling their impending departure, as both boys promised Izumi they wouldn't.

As the train started pulling away from the station, Ed and Al waved their teacher, her husband and their Animals goodbye until they couldn't see them anymore before letting themselves melt into the train bench in relief, relishing the fact that no one would smack them upside the head for it. After a few hours, the boys got bored of their card games, books and the constant travel and soon Ed found himself curling up on Ayala as she curled herself around him. Al wondered off to the train car that sold food and drinks and came back with some snacks only to be greeted by the sight of his brother and wolf asleep so he put their share of food aside while he ate his own and opened another book.

* * *

Ed and Ayala woke up only half an hour later, Ed unable to sleep very long thanks to the movements and noise of the train and Ayala because Ed was waking up. Al handed over their food and drinks, which Ed thanked him for on behalf of them both as he accepted them and gave Ayala her share. Alphonse waited for them to finish eating and for Ed to come back from disposing of their rubbish to voice something he'd been thinking about since they got on the train.

"Hey, Brother?" Ed made a noise to show he was listening as he took his seat and opened his own book. "When we get back, when do you want to, you know?" Al asked nervously, keeping his voice low so that no one would overhear them.

"I think we should wait a couple of months. Maybe even until after your birthday," Ed told him. "We still don't have the recipe and until we have that, we won't know what ingredients we need or how difficult they'll be to get. I know one of the books in the study has the recipe but I don't know which one and we really should read through them all in case some of the others contain information about this array," Ed pointed out and Al nodded. "This is the one array that we need to know absolutely everything we can find out about it. We can't take any shortcuts on this one," Ed said, a pointed look at Al. His younger brother flushed as he recalled the minor array he'd caused a rebound with when the shortcut Al tried backfired and left him with no eyebrows. However, the flush soon disappeared into a serious expression.

"Are you sure we should go through with it? Teacher told us it was completely impossible," Al reminded him, shuddering as he recalled the memory of Izumi beating her lecture about why human transmutation should never be attempted into them the one time they'd dared ask her about it. The lecture had lasted for hours and both boys had felt it for days afterwards.

"I'll make you a deal, Al," Ed proposed. "When we get back home, we study every single book that bastard left behind. We get all of the information we can get our hands on and we study it until it's burned into our brains. If we both agree that we can do it, we go ahead. If not, we leave it alone and never try it, by ourselves or together, and we never talk about it again. Deal?"

Despite the fact that he was certain they could succeed with this array; Ed knew it would only be possible if they worked together. Though they were few and far between, Ed had found some stories about what happened to alchemists who'd attempted human transmutation and it never ended well. However, those alchemists had attempted that array by themselves which was why Ed knew he would need Al's help to bring their mum back. Having said that, Ed didn't want to force or guilt his brother into helping him if he didn't want to. Al's stubbornness was as strong as his own so if he wanted Al's help, his younger brother would have to agree on his own.

Al pondered over Ed's proposal for a few moments before giving Ed a sharp nod. "Alright, Brother. We only try if we both agree that we'll succeed," Al said and Ed gave him a smile.

* * *

They spent the next few hours discussing what Granny and Winry's reactions would be to them being home and to Ayala, whether anything might've changed in Resembool, whether they should see if they could stay at the Rockbells for the night before going home or whether they should just go home straight away. Eventually, they decided they'd wait and see what time it was when they got back to Resembool before deciding on that. They played another few card games and got the chance to stretch their legs in Central when the conductor announced they were about to arrive.

Because they needed to switch trains to get back to Resembool quicker, the boys checked with the station employees to see where their next train would leave from. Once they were certain of the departure time and station, the three went exploring. They'd rarely visited East City when their mum was still alive and they'd never seen Central so they took the offered opportunity to stretch their legs and look around before heading back to the station to board their train.

They made it back to the station on time and found their seats quick enough. They didn't have to wait long for the train to leave and soon they were chugging along. Eventually, Al got tired and decided to try and nap as best he could. Ed, having taken a nap earlier, wasn't tired so he spent his time mulling over their plans for the future. Ayala eventually broke through his thoughts.

" _I think you should heed your teacher's warnings. I get a really bad feeling whenever I imagine the two of you trying to activate that array,"_  Ayala said, her soft voice echoing slightly in Ed's head.

Despite its disarmingly soft tones, Ayala's voice never failed to grab his attention and demand all of it. Her voice never failed to calm him down from his strongest rages and make him listen to her or whoever was around him. She rarely yelled at him, never needing to since he normally listened, with the only notable exception being when he'd ignored her warning and almost toppled over a small cliff face. The only reason he hadn't was because Ayala had grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled him back. He'd then copped a five-minute-long lecture that only stopped when Ed had wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and apologised profusely.

Sighing at the familiar argument, Ed looked at Ayala pleadingly. "Please don't start this again, Aya. You heard our deal. If one of us decides we shouldn't go through with it, we never will. We'll be fine," Ed said reassuringly and heard her grumbling in his head.

" _I still think this is a terrible idea,"_  Ayala muttered as she curled up slightly.

"Duly noted," Ed told her, leaning against her and closing his eyes. "I think I might try and get some sleep before we arrive. Do you need anything?" He asked her but she assured him she didn't. He squirmed further down the bench until he was lying flat with his head pillowed on Ayala's hindquarters. Ayala waited for him to settle before she twisted so her head was resting on Ed's stomach and she was facing the aisle, just in case of an opportunistic thief.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ed opened his gummy eyes at Ayala's persistent nudging and mental prodding. His momentary panic was soothed by Ayala telling him they were close to Resembool. Ed sat up and rubbed his eyes while he cursed the uncomfortable train bench and stretched any kinks and knots out. A glance out the window told Ed they had a couple of hours until sunset and maybe three hours until complete darkness. Groaning, Ed stood up, letting Ayala hop off the bench as he did so, and poked his brother awake.

"We're nearly in Resembool. I'm gonna go to the loo," Ed told him. Al yawned and gave him a drowsy nod before getting up and following Ed towards the bathrooms, leaving Ayala to stand guard over their gear.

The conductor came over the public-announcement system to inform them they were approaching Resembool station just as the two boys got back to their seats. They spent the remaining travel time making sure they had all their gear together and waking themselves up a bit more. Ed was looking forward to being able to sleep in a little the next morning. The train's brakes started squealing as the conductor applied them and Ayala whined her dislike of it. When the train finally came to a complete stop, Ed, Al and Ayala made their way down to the car doors do they could escape as quickly as possible.

They found themselves held up for a couple of minutes when people at the station recognised them and enquired after their health and Ayala. Ed was congratulated quite a few times on getting his Animal but, thankfully, those in Resembool considered asking questions about someone's Spirit Animal to be rude unless the subject was brought up by the Animal's human. This meant that aside from the initial congrats, they were mainly left alone so they were able to get out of the station quickly and start making their way down the path that led to their home.

After a short discussion, the boys and Ayala came to the mutual agreement that they should head to Granny's first and let the Rockbell women know they were back. Neither of the boys wanted to deal with their empty childhood home right away and Ayala wasn't curious enough about it to argue. She knew why they didn't want to go there immediately and she'd see it soon enough.

The further up the road they travelled, the more excited the boys became until Alphonse especially was nearly vibrating in his attempt to contain his excitement. Ayala was grinning from the second-hand excitement she could feel from Edward when she suddenly picked up a scent and a foreboding feeling. She stopped dead in her tracks and sniffed the air, trying to figure out what was approaching. Before either boy could question her behaviour, her jaws closed over Ed's jacket sleeve and she pulled her human backwards and to the ground in one vicious yank.

Ed yelped as he was pulled to the ground and was about to question Ayala when something tackled Alphonse into the dirt. The figure was sobbing and – once Ed could decipher it – lecturing the boys about being useless at staying in contact and demanding to know why they hadn't sent her any letters. Having identified their attacker as their childhood friend, Winry, Ed pulled himself off the ground and wiped any dust off himself and got to work detangling Al from Winry long enough that his brother and friend could get to their feet. Once they were, Al enveloped Winry in a less violent hug and Ed turned to Ayala.

"How'd you know she was there? We never heard her," Ed asked curiously. Ayala preened slightly when she felt his awe at her reflexes.

" _I caught her scent and I was able to sense her intentions,"_  Ayala informed him proudly.

"'Her intentions'?" Ed repeated questioningly and Ayala nodded.

" _Yeah. As a Spirit Animal, I'm able to sense someone's intentions towards you. When I sensed her, I could tell that her plan was to tackle you to the ground, which could've resulted in bodily harm to you,"_  Ayala explained. The two were distracted when Winry was finally able to stop crying and focus entirely on lecturing her first victim, Alphonse. Edward was fairly certain he was actually being yelled at too but he wasn't paying attention to Winry and so far, she hadn't noticed.

"That's really cool but could you maybe give me a heads-up next time? I thought we were really in trouble!" Ed exclaimed before laughing when Ayala gave him a sheepish apology. Unfortunately, his laugh wasn't through the telepathic link so it caught Winry's attention and turned her rage fully onto him.

"AND YOU! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE OLDER BROTHER! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE MORE RESPONSI- is that a wolf?" The comic change in Winry's tone almost had Ed and Al laughing at her but she didn't give them the chance. "Why do you have a wolf?"

"Winry, this is Ayala. Ayala, Winry," Ed introduced the two. "Ayala is my Spirit Animal. She appeared a few weeks after we left Resembool," Ed explained. Winry blinked owlishly at the two of them before –

"EDWARD ELRIC! YOU COULD'VE WRITREN ME A LETTER OR PICKED UP THE PHONE TO TELL ME YOU GOT YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL!"

* * *

It took Winry nearly half an hour to run out of steam and stop her yelling in order to wrap her arms around Ed's neck and squeeze him tightly in a hug. She then led the boys and Ayala along the road and towards her home, interrogating Edward about everything she wanted to know as they walked. Winry had noticed almost immediately that Ayala's eyes matched Ed's exactly when she'd knelt in front of her to give Ayala a proper 'hello' and she knew enough about wolves to know that golden fur wasn't normal.

Rather than risk another 30-minute long lecture, Edward decided to save them all the time and just answer every question he was asked as best he could and dutifully relayed Ayala's answers when Winry asked her a question. When he explained why Ayala's eyes and fur were the colour they were, Winry was just as amazed as Izumi had been and offered her own theory about it.

"Obviously, it's because Ayala is special," Winry told them simply. "There's no way it's because of Ed."

"HEY!" Ed cried indignantly. "We already have our own working theory," Ed sniffed at her but Winry didn't seem to care. He elected to ignore Ayala's laughter ringing in his head. "Teacher believes it's because our bond is so much stronger than anyone else's. The only thing we don't know is why," Ed admitted. Despite all of their private lessons, Izumi and Ed hadn't come up with any explanation for the unique bond.

The rest of their walk devolved into friendly banter and teasing comments and Ed barely noticed as they turned up the Rockbells driveway. He certainly did notice when the house came into and the four of them decided to race each other up drive to see who got to surprise Granny about their arrival. However, much to their disappointment, Pinako was already waiting on her veranda with Den sitting next to her legs.

Once they were in view, Den loped down the stairs in order to greet his favourite boys and to introduce himself to Ayala properly. After Ed and Al said hello to Den, much to the collie's delight, they headed up the steps and greeted Granny. Winry shoved passed them with a quick hello to her grandmother so she could get a drink of water and Alphonse decided to join her while Ed and Pinako watched their Animals as they sized each other up. Though fights between Animals were rare, they weren't unheard of so there was always some nervousness when Animals introduced themselves. Only when Den and Ayala deemed each other acceptable did Granny say something more than a greeting.

"Let's go inside and talk over dinner. I've got some stew on the stove for you and your wolf."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

"Let me see if I've got this right," Granny said the moment Ed and Alphonse caught her up on the last near-two years of their lives. "You were left on an uninhabited island for a month with no means to survive except your own wits and a riddle that you had to solve. During this month, Edward got his Spirit Animal and they have some kind of unique bond? Then you gave someone practically every single cent you had left to you names so they could spend the next 18-odd months beating you up, all in the name of alchemy and combat training?" Granny asked as she knocked her pipe on the table.

Once Pinako, Ed, Den and Ayala had entered the house, Granny had served up the stew she'd had cooking on the stove. Ed and Al's mouths immediately watered when the achingly familiar scent of their mother's stews filled their nostrils and they'd devoured as much of it as they could. After eating their own serving, Ayala and Den had retired next to their respective human, having exhausted themselves from acting suspicious of each other. Winry had wanted to look more closely at Ayala now that they weren't in the middle of a road but Ed had told her to just wait until another day. He'd used the long travel and the fact that Ayala hadn't seen Resembool before so was adjusting to the change of scenery as his excuses and Winry backed off. Ayala had thanked him profusely, not feeling up to be petted and cooed over like some common dog right now.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Ed said, nodding at what Pinako had said. He glared daggers at the glass of milk Winry had placed in front of him. His hatred of the drink hadn't lessened in his time away and even Izumi's beatings hadn't been enough to make him drink it. Al rolled his eyes at his brother as he sipped his own milk. "Hey, speaking of our bond, have you ever heard or seen something like it, Granny? Teacher hadn't but she has the theory that it just means we've got a ridiculously strong bond," Ed told her. Granny dragged on her pipe as she thought.

"No, nothing comes to mind. I have no idea why the two of you glowed silver or why Ayala's colouring changed when the bond was initiated. I know your mother's bond with Cleo wasn't abnormal but I'm not sure about Hohenheim's. We never spoke about his bonding process," Granny told him, not missing the way Ed's expression soured at the mention of his father but she didn't comment. She'd wasted enough breath over the years trying to get Edward on the road to forgiving his father but the boy was stubborn and nothing she, Trisha, Winry or Alphonse had done had convinced Ed to try and forgive Hohenheim. "Your teacher's guess is as good as mine," Granny went on saying, exhaling some smoke. "If she is right, that would mean that the amount of energy you hold for your Animal would be massive."

Ed felt his and Ayala's surprise. Neither had thought about that and Izumi had never mentioned, though that might've been because she'd assumed they would've made the connection themselves. The amount of energy a human held for their Animal directly correlated to how strong their bond with their Animal was. This meant that the pool of energy actually grew over the years as the bond between human and Animal strengthened.

"What do you think, Aya?" He decided to ask her since Animals were able to sense their energy level inside their human. It was how they were able to get their human to stop healing an injury before the energy ran out.

" _Since I can't sense another Animal's energy in their human, I don't know for certain but the energy you hold for me is massive. I could shift into something huge, like an elephant, and hold that form for hours without making a dent,"_  Ayala told him, not even opening her eyes from where she lay at his feet.

"Are you serious? I have that much in me?!" Ed exclaimed in shock. Ayala just hummed in confirmation before going back to her drowsing while Ed's attention was caught by the curious expressions on everyone else's faces. "Ayala says I have a massive amount of energy in me but she doesn't know why I do either," Ed explained.

Now that they were satisfied about Ed's statement, the others turned the conversation away from Ed and Ayala's bond to specific questions about what Ed and Al learned in Dublith. Halfway through a story Al was telling, Ed slipped Ayala his undrunk glass of milk but he wasn't quick enough to avoid Winry's eagle eyes and soon found himself being lectured. He snarked back and soon the lecture turned into full blown argument. Al, ever the peacekeeper, managed to talk them down before it could turn nasty and so he could finish his story. Ed didn't think the amount of amusement he could feel from Ayala was appropriate.

* * *

Laden with bags of groceries, leftover stew and other basic household items the Rockbell women had insisted they take with them when the boys had decided they should make use of the remaining daylight and head home. They'd barely been able to wave goodbye between their bags from Dublith and the bags the women had loaded them with but they managed and soon they were on their way home.

"Hey, Ed?" Al's quiet voice broke the silence that had permeated the air between the two of them.

"Yeah, Al?"

"How about we go see mum before we go home? Introduce her to Ayala and tell her about what we've been up to?" Al asked, voiced tinged with sadness and hopefulness.

Ed glanced at the sinking sun before he made his decision. "Alright, but we need to go home first. I'm not carrying this stuff to the cemetery and back," Ed said decisively. While he really did want to go see his mother's grave, he knew the visit would make the two of them sad and he didn't want to laden with all their gear on the walk home.

"Thanks, Brother," Al said, giving him a massive smile.

Both boys gave their childhood home a bittersweet smile when they laid eyes on it for the first time in nearly two years. As they approached the front door, Ed started digging around in his front pocket for their house key. A small plume of dust greeted them as Ed unlocked and swung the door open, the air caused by the door swinging open stirring up the settled dust. The boys placed their gear just inside the door and Ed shut it and locked it once more behind them as they joined Ayala, who had been waiting a couple of metres away.

* * *

As they drew closer to the cemetery, Edward's mood dropped and he almost jumped when he felt soft fur under one of his hands. Looking down, he realised Ayala was trying to offer him what comfort she could and he gave her a grateful smile as the cemetery came into view. The remaining walk didn't take long and soon enough, the three of them were settling in front of Trisha and Cleo's headstone and talking animatedly at it about what they'd been up too.

Ed and Al soon turned their retelling of the past two years into a competition of who could tell the most embarrassing stories and moments about the other they could. Ayala huffed in amusement at some and was helpful enough to remind Ed of a few of Al's more memorable moments as she lay there with her head in Ed's lap and listened to them. They slowly ran out of stories and Ed noted they were running out of daylight so he decided to address the one thing they'd glossed over at the start.

"Hey, mum. You won't believe this but my Animal finally showed up. We found each other on that island Teacher trapped us on. Her name's Ayala and she's a wolf. There are no words to describe how happy I am she's here. Al still hasn't gotten his yet but I have a feeling it won't be too long. I wish you could meet her, mum. I think you'd like her." Al had been sitting quietly as Ed spoke but when he heard Ed's wavering tone, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm know mum's really proud of you and I'd bet that she would love Ayala," Al said as Ed struggled to keep himself from crying. He'd promised himself he wouldn't because if he did then Al would and Ayala would start fussing over them.

"Thanks, little brother," he said as he gave Al a watery smile. He didn't know how Al managed it but he always knew what to say to help Edward cheer up. "Come on, we better head home. It's getting really dark now."

Al looked around properly for the first time and took in the setting sun. They'd be lucky to get another hour of sunlight and they still had a whole house to clean. Standing up, the boys said their goodbyes and promised they'd try and find some flowers to bring for her on their next visit. Ayala pressed her forehead against the stone in her own goodbye before she started trotting to the edge of the graveyard to catch up with her human and his brother.

* * *

Once again, Ed unlocked their front door but this time both boys stepped over the threshold and into their home. Ed flicked the switches next to the door to light the entryway and hallway and were pleasantly surprised to see there wasn't an awful lot of dust on everything. Evidently, Granny and/or Winry had paid their home a visit to clean everything in the last few weeks. Despite this, they still had some cleaning to do so the house was back up to their mother's standard. So, once they'd checked the fridge was still working and sorted out the food stuff the Rockbells had given them, they stuck into the actual cleaning.

Fortunately for them, Ed had developed an array months ago that drew moisture from the air and mixed it with the dust and dirt in a set area. He then used another array that drew the thin layer of mud into a compact ball that he could then throw outside or into the bin. Ayala followed them through the rooms they'd been through, cleaned and repaired to make sure they were good enough for her. Even with Al utilising the moisture array, cleaning the whole house took nearly an hour, as they had to change the stale sheets on their beds and repair several small things. Once done, they then had to unpack their belongings and check that the water was still working in the bathroom. When they'd finally gotten the chance to sit down, both boys felt the exhaustion that came from using so much alchemic energy in such a small amount of time. After all, water manipulation was no easy feat.

Having finished her thorough exploration of the house and deeming it suitable for her, Ayala joined the boys where they'd collapsed in their spots at the kitchen table. She sat at Ed's feet and looked up at him expectantly, though it took her pawing at his knee for him to realise she was doing that.

"What's up, Aya?" Ed asked tiredly and Ayala winced in sympathy.

" _Do we have anything to eat? You two need to replenish your energy and I'm hungry,"_  Ayala asked and Ed grimaced at the idea of moving. He mentally went over what Granny had given them, because Ayala was right and they did need to replace the energy they used and remembered the stew she'd packed for them.

"Yeah, we have some leftover stew. I'll stick it on the stove to warm up," Ed said, heaving himself to his feet and going about to do just that.

Digging through the fridge, he grabbed the container of leftover stew and poured it into a saucepan that Al handed him with a tired smile. Thanking his brother before shooing him back to the table, Ed lit the stove and set the saucepan over the flame. Ayala waited patiently next to Ed as he sat back down for the duration of time it took for dinner to reheat. Her patience won out when Ed got up twenty minutes later and served them all dinner.

"So what's the plan, brother?" Al asked as he relaxed back in his chair, tummy full to bursting point now they'd finished the serving of stew. Ed looked equally as relaxed, slumping slightly in his chair while Ayala lay sprawled on the floor and fought to pay attention to their conversation rather than slip into the food coma she wanted to.

"Well, tomorrow we need to check the outside of the house to see if there's anything that needs repairing. I reckon the roof will have a couple of leaks and we need to get them fixed before we get a storm," Ed told him, groaning a little as he sat up. "After that, I thought I might take Ayala for a walk around to some of our old hiding and playing spots so that she can get used to the area. You're welcome to come with us if you want or you can head back to Granny's and see if we can celebrate your birthday with them," he said before continuing. "We also need to go to town and get some supplies because what Granny and Winry gave us won't last us for long but we can do that the day after tomorrow. At some point, we'll need to start researching so maybe once we've finished in town, we come back here and go through the bastard's study?" Ed suggested and Al hummed in thought.

"I think I'll go to Winry's tomorrow to ask about my birthday but other than that, I think it's a good idea. Also, you really should stop calling him that. He's still our father," Al said imploringly but Ed was having none of it.

"Fathers don't leave their families with no good reason and they certainly don't stay away from their kids after their mother dies! That  _bastard_ ," Ed emphasised the title with a deadly glare, "doesn't deserve to be called our father!" Ed spat, his golden eyes sparking with hate. The anger he felt was so intense that it broke Ayala out of her food-induced stupor and caused her to whine in distress. "Sorry, Aya," Ed whispered to her, reaching down to ruffle her ears in apology.

"I know you hate him, Ed, but I don't! I just miss him," Al said sadly. "He'll come back; I know he will! He's our dad. He loves us," Al pleaded, eyes watering a little. Ed just shook his head and stood, pushing his chair a little harshly out of his way.

"Believe whatever you want, Al," Ed said, voice shaking in the effort it was taking him not to snap again. "It's been two years since mum passed and longer since we started sending those damned letters out. Mum spent even longer than that, holding onto the same damned hope and look how well that worked out for her," Ed said, tone hopelessly sad. He didn't give Al a chance to say anything; he just left the kitchen and headed for his bedroom, Ayala padding silently behind him.

* * *

Al stayed seated in his spot at their kitchen table as he struggled to stop the tears that had formed from falling. He'd almost forgotten about the letters he and Ed had posted in a desperate ploy to get their father home in time to see their mum before she passed. The pain he'd felt every time they checked the mailbox only for there to be no reply from Hohenheim flared momentarily and Al almost choked on a sob. It wasn't like he didn't know why Edward was always so angry every time their father was mentioned. He'd only made the mistake of pushing Ed to his limit with questions about their father once.

" _A TURNED BACK AND PACKED SUITCASE! THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER ABOUT THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING BASTARD, OKAY?!"_ The anger in Ed's raised voice and eyes had been burned into Al's memory and he'd scared Alphonse so much that the younger boy had avoided Ed for the entire day. Since that moment, Al had done his best to keep his questions to a minimum and avoid the subject of their absent father whenever possible so he would never cause an outburst like that again. Though Edward had eventually apologised to him for yelling and the incident was all but forgotten by the elder Elric, it stuck in Al's mind vividly. Sighing, Al finally pulled himself together enough to stand from the table. He cleared the table and washed the dirty dishes before he strode out of the kitchen. He had an older brother to find and apologise to.

Al found Ed upstairs and curled up on his old bed with Ayala wrapped warmly around him. Ayala perked her ears up when Al approached but otherwise didn't react to his intrusion to her human's room. She didn't even flinch when Al sat on the edge of Ed's bed, causing the mattress to dip and his brother slide minutely towards him. After a moment of no one moving, Al lay on his back so he was face-to-face with his brother.

"I'm sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to upset you," Alphonse whispered in the darkness. Ed shifted slightly before sighed.

"It's okay, Al. I'm sorry for getting upset. I just don't like thinking about him and I don't want to see you get as sad as mum was when she thought we weren't looking," Ed said just as softly, voice tinged with sadness. Al turned onto his side so he could wrap an arm around Ed's shoulder, although it was tight squeeze with Ayala lying right there.

"I promise I won't bring him up again," Al said, grateful Ed wasn't as angry with him as he feared. "Hey, brother?" He asked after a couple of moments of silence.

"Yeah, Al?" Ed answered, eyes flicking open at his brother's nervous voice.

"Can I stay in here with you? Just for tonight?" Ed frowned at his brother. He didn't understand why the younger blonde was nervous. He knew Ed didn't mind.

"Course you can." Al smiled and rearranged himself so he was under the blankets, though not without kneeing poor Ayala a couple times. She got up with a snarl and moved herself down to the foot of the bed and glared at Al.

"Sorry, Ayala." She huffed as she went back to sleep but Ed knew she didn't really mind if the fondness he felt through their link was anything to go by. It didn't take the two boys long to settle into comfortable positions and fall asleep.

* * *

The next two weeks flew by for the brothers. They'd made sure to pay Granny and Winry plenty of visits to discourage Winry turning up unexpectedly and disrupt their study time. They'd set a day for a supply run into town each week and they'd fixed anything that needed it on the house with alchemy. Because it was so old, neither brother was surprised when they discovered their fridge had carked it but Ed used an old array he'd found in one of their father's journal to make the fridge work without electricity.

Ed and Ayala made it a habit to go exploring for at least an hour every afternoon, even after she'd grown familiar with the area. The two boys continued their sparring routines with each other, having a match nearly everyday while Ed and Ayala did their best to keep up with the specialised training Teacher had given them, though it was much more difficult since they didn't have another bonded pair to act as opponents. The alchemy side of their training was much easier to keep up with, thanks to the dozens of books their father had left behind in the study. Although their original aim had been to scan each book and discard the ones that didn't mention human transmutation, they ended up reading through them much more carefully because the knowledge contained in them was too tempting to pass up.

Soon enough, they were spending as much time as possible in the study, devouring book after book as they chased the knowledge each one contained. Ayala was always there with Ed and even though she found the study a bit tedious to start with, she still joined them in reading and discussing the theory. She may have been a wolf but she was Ed's wolf for a reason. Slowly but surely, the two boys started gathering information about the array they wanted to know everything about.

* * *

Three weeks after they returned to Resembool, Al flew into Ed's room and pounced on top of his sleeping brother, scaring the boy and wolf so badly that Ayala almost bit Alphonse.

"Alphonse Elric! What the fuck?! Ayala could've bitten you!" Ed shouted as he sat up and glared at his brother where he was sprawled on the floor. "You know you shouldn't scare her awake. For that matter, you know you shouldn't scare  _me_  awake so you better have a damned good reason." There were plenty of more effective and safer ways to get him and Ayala out of their bed. Scaring them was the dumbest and most dangerous way Al could've gone about doing that.

"Sorry, Brother but I was just so excited! I couldn't wait to tell you!" Alphonse didn't look overly apologetic but Ed was prepared to let it slide when he saw the excitement plastered all over his brother's face. Rubbing his hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up a bit, Edward looked at his brother expectantly.

"It had better be good or I'll let Ayala bite you for real," Ed threatened. Al gulped. Both boys had been nipped by Ayala when she was displeased with their actions. "The sun's barely up!" Ed whined before Al could answer.

"It is, I promise!" Al swore. Ed flourished his hand to tell Alphonse to get on with it. "Well, the first part is 'cuz it's my birthday and we get to go over to Granny's to celebrate it."

"I know that. The second part?" While Ed was happy that his brother was excited for his birthday since neither had really celebrated it after their mother passed, though Izumi and Sig had tried to give them nice birthdays while they were under Izumi's roof, Ed wasn't happy about the early wake up call.

"Well, I don't know if it's real or just another false dream but for the last four nights, I've dreamt about the same animal!" Al blurted out, trying really hard not to grin.

Like Ed had done, Alphonse had found himself having what he thought was the Dream only to find himself heartbroken and disappointed when they turned out to be false. This time though, Al was certain it wasn't another false dream and was really the Dream he'd been hoping for. He'd woken up this morning with the feeling and he couldn't keep it to himself any longer, hence why he'd risked Ayala's wrath. If the grin on his brother's face meant what he thought it did, Al might avoid Ayala's teeth still.

"That's awesome, Al! You've never had the same animal dream four times in a row! Maybe this really is the Dream!" Ed exclaimed, just as excited for his brother and Al had been for him when Ed had finally told him about having the Dream on the island. He and Ayala had seen the jealous looks Al had given them when his younger brother had thought they wouldn't see. Ed knew Al hadn't meant anything by them and he could admit to himself that if their situations had been reversed, Ed would be acting in the same manner.

Ayala watched the scene unfold in front of her and found herself in something of a situation. She was exceedingly happy for her human's brother. Alphonse was a very sweet person and she knew how badly he yearned for his own Animal. As a Spirit Animal, she had the ability to be able to sense when human close to hers would get their Animal but not until the day before the Animal's arrival. This instinct was primarily so the Animal wouldn't be taken by surprise and defend their human when there was no need.

"Ayala says she can tell me whether your Animal really will appear the day before it's due so I can tell you, if you'd like?" Ed offered when Ayala gave him the message to pass on.

"Thanks Ayala, but right now I just want to wait and see," Al said, grateful for the offer but he didn't want to ruin the surprise. Plus, Ed didn't have an Animal tell him when Ayala was gonna turn up and Ed had dealt with the suspense alright. "And before you ask, Brother, I'm not telling you what Animal it'll be."

"That's mean, little brother," Ed chided. "By the way, Ayala says you're welcome and that the offer will continue to stand if you change your mind later," Ed passed along before he swung his legs out of bed and stood. "Since we're now up, we might as well get some breakfast." The enthusiasm he received from his statement made Ed laugh as he kicked Al out of his room, claiming to need to get changed while Ayala raced down to the kitchen so she'd be ready for breakfast. Ed shook his head at her antics as he closed the door.

* * *

After spending the day trying to wheedle out what kind of animal Alphonse had been dreaming about to no avail, the boys and Ayala raced each other to Granny's house, eager to celebrated Al's birthday with their last remaining family. Al had been so excited to be celebrating his birthday with his family that he hadn't allowed his nerves about the fact he could be getting his Animal in a few short days overcome that excitement.

Granny and Winry had greeted Alphonse with birthday wishes and Den had given the birthday boy some kisses, much to Al's displeasure. The Rockbell women had gone all out for Al's 10th birthday celebrations and made him a special apple pie, using the freshest apples they'd been able to get their hands on. After dessert, they'd presented Al with the birthday gifts they'd gotten for him and he tore into them with child-like delight.

Winry had given Al a journal that was covered in cats (which Al squealed over) and Ed had given his little brother a set of books on different fighting techniques. Winry had scoffed but Al was delighted. He'd been growing bored with the repetitiveness of his and Ed's fighting routines and reveled in the fact that he'd get the chance to switch things up.

The rest of night passed with them playing card games that Ed tried to cheat his way through and Winry clobbering him when she caught at it. After a laughter-filled few hours, the boys and Ayala ended up crashing in Granny's spare bedroom because it was too late for them to try and walk home safely, even though Ayala used Ed to promise both women that she'd get them home in one piece. Ayala had been miffed that her assurances were ignored and had given Winry and Pinako the cold shoulder until Winry had apologised and complimented her enough to win back some affection.

* * *

The next morning, Ed and Ayala were pleased to find themselves waking up without a human throwing themselves on top of them. Alphonse was just as excited as he had been yesterday as Ed and Ayala discovered when they looked over at him. He'd had the same dream, further proof it was the Dream. The two got themselves ready for the day ahead and left the room clean and tidy before they joined the Rockbells for breakfast, Ayala eagerly leading the way to the kitchen.

* * *

Unfortunately, the combination of having the dream for the sixth time and sleeping in their own beds proved too much for Alphonse's restraint and he woke Edward and Ayala up once more by leaping on their sleeping forms. Edward gave him no sympathy as he cleaned the skin Ayala had broken when Alphonse had startled them awake. Alphonse spend the ordeal alternating between wincing at the alcohol stinging the wound and apologising to an extremely irate Ayala.

To further prove his regret over waking them, Alphonse cooked breakfast and gave Ayala and Ed more than their fair share of the bacon. Ed grinned and gave Al a couple of his rashers to make Alphonse's pitiful looking plate look a little better. Though he'd managed to contain his nerves and excitement well enough during the start of breakfast, Alphonse couldn't maintain that control for long and it didn't take him long to start babbling about his Animal and whether it would be happy here.

Edward found his brother's behaviour thoroughly amusing and he was exceptionally impressed when the nervous energy didn't dissipate in the slightest throughout the whole morning. Ed found it less amusing when Al nearly ripped a page out of the book he was reading during their study session so he sent his baby brother outside with orders to put the techniques in the books Ed had given him for his birthday to the test in a bid for Al to get rid of some of that energy. When Ed and Ayala emerged from the study for lunch, Al had calmed down significantly and had even prepared them lunch. Alphonse declined their offer for him to join the two of them on their afternoon walk in order to keep going through his new books and to prepare for his Animal.

" _You know, it'll be really good for him to get his Animal tomorrow,"_  Ayala stated as she and Ed walked through a wooded area near their house. Ed hummed in agreement and didn't comment on the fact that she'd confirmed Al would be getting his Animal definitely the next day.  _"He can stop worrying about when he'll get it and feeling guilty about being so jealous of you because you have me,"_ she pointed out and Ed grinned wryly at that.

"You noticed, huh?" Ayala response was a flat look that didn't need a translation. "You know he doesn't mean it, right? I mean, I'd be the same way if I was in his position."

" _I know, Ed. Thankfully, that will stop tomorrow. He'll be too busy focusing on his Animal,"_  Ayala said as she leaped over a fallen log and waited for Ed to clamber over it himself.

"Yeah, that'll be good for him. So, he's definitely getting it tomorrow?" Ed asked.

 _"Yup. Do you wanna know what it is?"_  Ayala offered even though she knew his answer.

"Nah. Best to let it be a surprise, like he wants." Ed felt Ayala's approval run through him, which he answered with a grin.

* * *

Two hours later and an almost fall on Ed's part, the pair called it a day and headed back home. They reached the house just as the sun started sinking so Ed started thinking about what he should cook them up for dinner. Even if Alphonse hadn't cooked both breakfast and lunch, Ed knew he would be next to useless in the kitchen. As Ed walked through the door and spotted Al's pale face, Ed decided on an easy dinner of toasted sandwiches.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked after watching his brother eating his dinner almost mechanically and not move when Ed declared bedtime.

"I'm so worried, brother," Al answered meekly. Ed pulled his chair around so he could sit next to Al and placed an encouraging and comforting hand on his shoulder. "What if my Animal doesn't like me? What is this is just another false dream and it doesn't turn up at all?" Al was crying now and Ed used the hand on his shoulder to draw his brother into a hug before he tried to soothe him enough that Ed would be heard over Al's sobs. Those sobs grew in intensity when Ayala placed her head on Al's knee to offer him some comfort of her own. When Al eventually calmed down enough, Ed started talking.

"You're an idiot." Al made an insulted noise but Ed continued. "You are. There's no way your Animal isn't going to like you, you know that. And you've had that dream for the last six nights. The false dreams have never lasted longer than three nights for either of us. You probably have a feeling in your gut that's telling you that this is finally happening, right?" Al gave a nod. "I had the same feeling for the last two days before Ayala turned up and I have a feeling that your Animal will be here tomorrow, okay? So stop crying and get to bed. You don't want your Animal seeing you half-dead for your first meeting, right?" He said as he stood up, extending a hand for his brother to grab. Al chuckled and wiped his face before accepting Eds hand.

"You're right, brother. I'm sorry I got so worked up," Al said as he watched Ayala bound up the stairs.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure plenty of other people went through the same thing." Ed smiled reassuringly. "Now, go to sleep and so help me if you wake us up by jumping on us again," Ed warned, pointing a threatening finger at his brother. Al laughed and promised he wouldn't before he gave Ayala and Ed another hug each and went into his room, closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

Ed got himself ready for bed and once he was settled, he was joined by Ayala. However, sleep seemed to be eluding him that and he finally gave up after a few minutes and asked Ayala what was on his mind. "It's not possible, right?" Ed whispered and Ayala cracked an eye open.

 _"What's not?"_  She asked, yawning widely.

"That his Animal might not like him." Ayala could hear the worry in his voice.

 _"Of course it's not,"_  Ayala said. _"Although, I wasn't too impressed when I first saw you,"_ she teased.

"HEY!" came Ed's indignant whispered shout that had Ayala laughing.

 _"I'm only kidding,"_  Ayala laughed then laughed harder at his pout. _"No, there's no need to worry. Al's Animal will love him,"_ she consoled him when she finally managed to calm down.

"Good. Al deserves an Animal who loves him as much as he'll love his Animal," Ed said and Ayala hummed in agreement. "Goodnight, Aya."

" _Goodnight, Edward."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcomed! I would love to know everyone's thoughts on this chapter


	5. Chapter 5

Al had taken Ed's warning from the previous night to heart and didn't wake Ayala or Ed by jumping on them the next morning. However, Al was devious and took advantage of a loophole Ed had overlooked. He couldn't wake the two up by throwing himself bodily on them but there was nothing stopping him from throwing Ed's door open violently as he squealed in uncontainable delight and nerves, which is exactly what he did.

At the sound of the door slamming into the wall, Ed and Ayala were awake and in defensive positions in record time. In the time it took for the two to register there was no immediate threat, Al had the thought that their teacher would be very proud of their response. However, judging from the expressions on his brother and Ayala's faces, they weren't thinking the same thing as Al. There was a heartbeat of time where Ed and Ayala just stared at Alphonse before Ed twitched in his direction and Al took off running. Ed and Ayala were nice and waited two full seconds before they tore after him.

Although he got a head start, Alphonse soon found himself begging for mercy as Ed tried to merge his face with the kitchen floorboards. Ayala made her displeasure known by using her body weight to stop Al from using his legs to dislodge his brother. He finally managed to bargain for his life and offered to make pancakes for breakfast if he was allowed to live. Ed and Ayala graciously accepted his bribe and let him up so he could start making good on his promise.

Half an hour later, Ed was polishing off the last of his pancakes while Ayala was licking the maple syrup residue still on her bowl off. Even though he hadn't eaten much the night before, Al didn't eat as much as Ed had and Ed had noticed. As he chewed on the last of his pancakes, Ed leaned back in his chair and watched the way Al half-heartedly push some pancake around on his plate before stabbing it onto his fork and nibbling slowly at it. Ed could hazard a guess at what was causing Al's lack of appetite so, once he finished his mouthful, he decided to see if he was right.

"Al, stressing about when your Animal will turn will do nothing except make you sick and annoy me." Al's guilty look showed he'd hit the nail on the head.

"I know, Brother, but I can't help it," Al said sheepishly and Ed gave him an understanding look.

"Look, like I said, stressing isn't helping you at all. Your Animal will turn up today so stop worrying about that. Ayala has assured me that you and it will get along just as well as we do so you've no need to worry there. Stressing over the exact time it turns up is only going to make you crazy which means you'll drive me crazy and that'll make me hit you," Ed told him and Al found himself nodding in agreement. "The best solution is to just keep busy, distract yourself until it turns up. So let's go get some more research done. We can leave the front door open in case it turns up while we're in the study, okay?" Al's grateful smile shone on his face.

"You're right, Brother. Let's go keep me busy!" Al said with renewed enthusiasm as he leapt from the table and dragged Ed with him to the study, ignoring Edward's surprised curses. Ayala lifted her head to watch the scene unfold in front of her and let out an amused huff as she went back to her post-breakfast nap. Ed mentally cursed her as he managed to pry himself from his brother's iron grip.

"I'm gonna get changed first. You can do the same, little brother. We are expecting Winry over sometime today, remember?" Ed said in response to Al's questioning look which, to Ed's immense amusement, soon turned into one of embarrassment, complete with the deep red flush.

Cackling madly as he watched Alphonse make his mad dash to his room, Edward followed suit. He made his way up the stairs to the upper level of the house with Ayala's soft laughter at Alphonse's reaction ringing in his head. Once he'd gotten changed into day clothes, Ed made his way back downstairs where he found Alphonse waiting for him and soon enough, they were in the study and immersing themselves in the books spread in front of them.

* * *

Just as their stomachs started grumbling – signalling it was close to midday – the two boys, now joined by Ayala, were starting to think about making themselves some lunch. Absolutely none of them, not even the wolf, noticed as an increasingly irate Winry stood in the doorway of their study with her hands on her hips, an annoyed scowl on her face as she glared at them.

"OI!" She shouted, effectively getting all of their attention. "IT'S RUDE TO IGNORE YOUR GUESTS!"

"For fuck's sake! That's the second time today!" Ed swore as he rubbed his knee where he's banged it against the floor. Winry quirked an eyebrow but Ed ignored her. Typical.

"We're sorry, Winry. We were so caught up in the books we didn't hear you," Al apologised as he stood up. Also typical was the fact that Ed didn't offer anything except a gruff 'sorry' after his brother pointedly glared at him.

"Whatever. I'm surprised you two aren't half dead from forgetting to eat," she huffed at them.

"Well, we do stop reading for important things like eating," Ed said with a straight face.

"Are you saying I'm not important?!" Winry screeched at him. Even Ayala cowered slightly. As usual, Al ran interference.

"No, he didn't mean it like that, Win. You know he didn't. Brother thinks you're very important," Al assured her as Edward rolled his eyes. After a not-so-subtle elbow from his brother, Ed acquiesced.

"I didn't mean it, Win. You're my favourite gearhead." Winry narrowed her eyes at the usual insult but that would probably be the nicest thing Edward would ever say about her so she accepted his apology.

"Whatever," she sniffed dismissively. "Do you lot want the lunch I brought for you or not?" She asked before walking away, leaving the two boys and the wolf to scramble behind her.

She made it to the kitchen before they did and got set to work reheating the leftovers from hers and Granny's dinner last night for them. She struggled to hide a grin when she glanced at the table and saw the three of them waiting patiently at the table. Once the meal of chicken and veggies had been heated up to the perfect temperature – according to Winry – she served them all and herself a portion before she sat at the table, making sure not to sit in Trisha's chair since she knew the boys wouldn't be happy about that and dug in.

They chattered about nonsensical things throughout the meal, with Ed speaking for both himself and Ayala as usual. Ed didn't bring up the fact that Al was expecting his Animal sometime today and – to his surprise – neither did Alphonse. Because he couldn't ask why while Winry was there, Ed had to constantly bite his tongue every time he found himself about to ask. After an hour or so, Winry bade them goodbye since she and Granny were expecting patients that afternoon and set off back to her home. Al and Ed waved her goodbye from the door and Al fully expected to see Edward and Ayala head out next but, to his surprise, both of them headed back into the house.

"Aren't you going for your walk, Brother?" Al queried and Ed looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Of course not," he scoffed at him. "You think I want to come home and find yourself pacing a hole in our kitchen from your nervous energy? No, thank you," Ed told him. "Besides, you got to see me and Aya bond. I'm not missing seeing you bond with your Animal," Ed informed him, leaving no room for argument. Al's jaw almost hit the floor as he realised he'd forgotten completely about the fact that his Animal was turning up sometime today.

"I think your distraction technique worked a little too well, Brother," Al said, slightly ashamed of the fact that he'd forgotten something as life changing as that.

"That was the whole point, Al," Ed reminded him with an added eyeroll. "I'm assuming that's why you didn't mention it to Winry?" Ed asked and Al nodded, causing Ed to chuckle. "Alright, well you can tell her later. For now, how about we head outside and spar?" He suggested, trying to put as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could muster but Al didn't look overly convinced. "You can put those new techniques to test against someone," Ed told him and  _that_  got the younger Elric motivated enough to get him out the door. Ed shook his head as he and Ayala followed Al's babbling about the techniques he'd read about to their usual sparring spot.

* * *

Her spot under the large, shady tree in the backyard offered Ayala a good vantage point to keep an eye on their immediate surroundings and the two boys while giving her a pleasant place to nap in the afternoon sun. Because of her bond with Edward, she could sense the moment Alphonse's Animal would appear rapidly approaching. This was an ability only Animals whose humans had close family and friends were afforded. Because Spirit Animals can talk to one another, Ayala made sure to keep her senses open so she would be able to greet the newcomer. This was her way of making sure Alphonse's intended Animal knew she was there and that she wasn't a danger. The other reason she wanted to locate Al's Animal as soon as possible was so she could warn Ed. After all, some people do panic when, for example, a lion comes running at them out of nowhere.

Ayala dozed for half an hour, making sure to keep some of her focus on trying to find Al's Animal as she lay in the dappled shade of the tree. Both boys were down the slope, laughing and taunting as they tried out the techniques Al had learned from his books. When she finally felt the Animal approaching, she was surprised when they initiated contact with her. She acknowledged it and told the newcomer what kind of animal she was but she neglected to pass along the message that Ed and Al were only sparring, not fighting.

This meant that when Al's Animal first laid eyes on his human, all he saw was Al being attacked and his Animal instincts overtook everything else. Sensing the danger to Ed, Ayala launched herself down the hill and towards Ed, racing as fast as she could. She slid to a stop in front of Edward, who'd jumped away from Al when he sensed her approach, and bared her teeth in vicious snarl as she let loose the most threatening growl she could muster at the Animal who'd come to a stop in front of Alphonse.

The Animal in front of Alphonse was arched up at Ayala, spitting and hissing at her as it bared its teeth in its own snarl. It took Alphonse and Edward several moments to realise that Al's Animal had even appeared but, in their defence, they were trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. Before either boy could try and do anything to prevent to two Animals in front of them trying to tear each other's throats out, the Animals went silent. Al's Animal – some kind of spotted leopard, if the brothers weren't mistaken – moved so it was now sitting next to Al, not quite touching him, with the only part of it moving being its twitching tail. Ayala sat right up against Edward and appeared well-behaved, except for the feral snarl that graced her muzzle every time the leopard twitched its tail.

"Ayala, would you like to explain what the fuck just happened?" Edward asked, still a little dazed. After all, it's not every day your spar match is interrupted by a leopard trying to eat you. Ayala's ear twitched but other than that, she gave no other sign of having heard him. He felt a flicker of irritation at being ignored and when he checked, he was surprised to see her glaring at the new Animal with a ferocity that beat his angriest glare out of the water.

He went to demand an answer from his wolf when Alphonse caught his attention. He turned to watch as his baby brother knelt in front of the leopard, whose whole attention was now on Alphonse, and hovered his hand a few centimeters away from the dappled head of the big cat. Ed held his breath as Al visibly exhaled and closed the gap between him and his Animal, initiating the bond between the two of them. Though it had been something he and Ayala hadn't expected, Ed was a little disappointed there was no glow or visible change in the leopard to accompany their bond. The fact that nothing out of the ordinary happened caused the familiar thirst to want to find out about the glow and changes in Ayala flare in Ed momentarily.

Despite the lack of glow, Alphonse had a massive smile on his face and his eyes watered as he turned to glance at Ed before his attention went right back to his Animal. Both Ed and Ayala felt immense amounts of joy for Alphonse, even if Ayala was still ticked at the leopard for trying to eat her human. Feeling Ayala's irritation, Ed was reminded that his question still hadn't been answered so he turned away from Al, who was now petting his Animal reverently, and faced his own. However, he barely opened his mouth when he found himself crashing into the ground.

"LOOK, ED! I GOT MY ANIMAL!" Alphonse half-squealed, half-screeched in his ear, rendering Ed temporarily deaf. "ISN'T HE AMAZING?!" Al didn't give Ed the chance to comprehend what he'd had yelled at him before he was yanked off the ground and unceremoniously dragged towards the leopard who was watching the two brothers with intrigue, amusement and some suspicion, though Ed suspected that was aimed at him. Ayala saw it as well and let out a small snarl as she joined Ed.

"Hello, I'm Edward Elric, or Ed for short," Ed introduced himself to the leopard. "I'm Alphonse's older brother," he said before gesturing to Ayala. "That's my Animal, Ayala. I'm not entirely sure why you tried to attack me and she's," Ed glared at his wolf, "not telling me but I hope we can get along." Ed gave the leopard a smile, not wavering slightly, even though the leopard looked like he wanted to see what his flesh tasted like.

Ed was man enough to admit that if he hadn't been on the end of that particular look from Ayala a few times, he might've had the urge to run for the hills. As it was, the leopard seemed to be almost surprised when he didn't flinch and his expression turned into one of approval. Ed noted that during this whole event, Al's grin hadn't lessened in the slightest and Ed was a little worried his cheeks would start hurting. Once he felt like he wouldn't be attacked by the leopard for turning his back, Ed gave Ayala his attention.

"Now do you wanna explain what happened, Aya?" Edward asked. His tone, however, suggested it really wasn't up for debate and Ayala decided Ed should probably know.

" _Do you remember when I first met Winry? I didn't know it was her and I pulled you onto the ground because I thought she was trying to attack you?"_  Ayala asked and Ed nodded. It was a pretty unforgettable first meeting between Ayala and Winry.  _"Well, Al's Animal hadn't initiated the bond with Alphonse when he first saw you so he had no idea who you were. Can you imagine what conclusion he immediately drew when he saw the two of you sparring?"_  Ayala didn't give him the chance to answer that.  _"All he saw was his intended human apparently under attack and he did what came instinctively. He tried to protect his human by removing the perceived threat, which is exactly what I would've done in his situation. I sensed his intentions towards you and I intervened, that's all,"_  Ayala explained and Ed allowed him some time to see the situation from the leopards point of view.

"While I appreciate you trying to protect, we really need to come up with a code or something you can say before you tackle me to the ground or try to give me a heart attack!" Ed scolded, though he was grinning by the end of it. Ayala laughed at him and he retaliated by ruffling her fur a little rougher than he normally would, causing her to snap lightly at him.

Ed sat at the base of the slope Ayala had raced down in her rush to save him so he could watch his brother and leopard working each other out. Ayala decided to join him, letting him use her as a pillow. For a minute or so, they watched as the leopard circled Alphonse, who was seated cross-legged on the ground and watching his Animal in turn. Once the leopard had gotten his fill of walking around Alphonse, he sat directly in front of Alphonse and looked at him expectantly. Since Al hadn't been told the leopard's name, thus completing the bond, he couldn't speak to him telepathically so he had no clue what the big cat wanted. Al looked at Ed, obviously hoping his brother knew what the leopard was silently asking and Ed rolled his eyes. It was a little obvious what the spotted leopard was after.

"Maybe he wants to be shown around?" The approving look he got from the leopard told Ed he'd hit the nail on the head and Al almost facepalmed. "Aya and I'll just chill here while you show him the house," Ed told him nonchalantly, knowing Al would've invited him and Ayala along to be polite but wouldn't actually want them there.

"Thanks, Brother." Alphonse smiled at him before turning his attention to his Animal. "Do you wanna check out your new home?" The leopard made a chirping noise of agreement and soon both had disappeared into the house. Edward stretched himself out fully, still using Ayala as a pillow as she sprawled out above him. Neither said anything to each other but they didn't have too. They just let themselves enjoy the sunlight as they listened to Al's muffled voice coming from inside the house.

* * *

Ed woke up to Al nudging him in the side with his foot. Ed cracked one eye open to see what his brother wanted, only to discover there was only an hour of daylight left. He bolted upright and almost fell back down when all the blood rushed back to his head. Al, the traitor, just laughed at him. Ed glared at him, once his head stopped spinning. Ayala was no help and Al's leopard looked way too amused for his own good. Ed grumbled as he dusted himself off.

"What do you want, Alphonse?" Ed huffed. Al grinned at his attitude but he didn't comment on it.

"I was wondering if we could go show Winry and Granny my Animal today?" Al asked, looking hopeful. The leopard looked at Edward with a calculating look but Ed only sighed and scratched his head as he thought the request over.

"Not today, Alphonse," Ed said. "We've got barely any daylight yet and I really think you should wait until your bond's complete. How else will you be able to introduce him properly if you don't know his name?" Ed pointed out. He knew how excited Al was to show off his Animal as he'd felt the same way when Ayala turned up. The fact they'd still had a week on the uninhabited island before Izumi would come back for them helped dull that excitement.

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Al said, looking and sounding crestfallen. His Animal tried to cheer him up by rubbing up against him and it seemed to work a little.

"But I promise, the second he tells you his name, we'll head straight for Granny's, okay?" Edward swore, hoping that would lessen the sting of disappointment. It certainly seemed to work since Al's demeanour turned much brighter.

"Okay, Brother! Since it's nearly dark, can we have dinner now?" Al asked, happy with the compromise and Ed grinned.

"Yeah! Let's have a big dinner. To celebrate your Animal turning up!" Edward suggested enthusiastically. Al raised a knowing brow at his older brother.

"You'll use any excuse to have a big dinner, won't you?" Al said teasingly and Ed responded by sticking his tongue out at his little brother.

"Shut up, Al," Ed said, ignoring Al's scoffed 'mature'. "Let's go get dinner started!" He grinned as he moved to the house, Ayala bounding after him with just as much enthusiasm as her human. Al and his leopard followed the energetic pair, both shaking their heads at their antics.

* * *

They woke the next morning a little later than usual but Ed figured that was mainly because of the food comas they'd eaten themselves into the previous night. Ed almost groaned when he remembered that that meant they'd need to go shopping soon to restock on their food. Since Alphonse hadn't woken him and Ayala with squeals of excitement, Ed assumed the leopard hadn't completed their bond and he was proven right when he and Ayala finally made it downstairs and Al didn't mention anything.

Since his disappointment was evident, Ed decided to apply some tact to the situation and didn't mention anything about learning the leopard's name. Instead, he offered to take over the cooking duties since Al had cooked the previous two mornings. Al readily handed over the tongs he was holding and went to sit at the table as Ed kept an eye on the sausages Al had been cooking.

Once the food was ready, Ed almost served only himself, Al and Ayala out of habit but he caught the slip quickly and made sure the leopard got some breakfast. Al had noticed the almost-mistake and shook his head slightly. He watched in fascinated horror as Ed started scoffing down his food like it was his last meal. Ayala was making short work of her own breakfast and Al couldn't help but think Ed truly couldn't have been given a more suitable Animal. After all, the two of them had just clicked so seamlessly together that it Al had to remind himself that Ed didn't always have Ayala. But sure enough, Al's thoughts turned to how quickly Ayala had told Ed her name. it had taken all of three hours after their first meeting! So why hadn't his Animal told him his name yet?

"I can hear you overthinking about something from over here. I bet Winry can hear you from her place." Ed's voice broke through his musings. He looked up to see his brother watching him steadily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Brother," Al denied reflexively. His lie wasn't convincing in the slightest, even to his own ears.

"You're asking yourself why your Animal hasn't told you his name yet, aren't you?" Al opened his mouth to deny it but Ed stopped him with a look. "There's no point in worrying about it. You'll make yourself crazy and your Animal too. Even with a half bond, he can still feel your emotions. Only he knows the right time to complete your bond. Every bond is unique, you know that," Edward said sternly, reminding him of a fact that he should've remembered himself. Al looked guiltily at his Animal. He hoped his leopard had realised that Al wasn't blaming him at all. Said big cat stretched languidly and curled up against his legs, showing him that he knew and that Al shouldn't blame himself either.

"You're right, Brother. I forgot about that," Al apologised but Ed waved it off.

"I know I am," Ed said dismissively as he placed his plate near the sink. "Come on, we gotta go study some more. I think we're really getting close to a breakthrough. It won't be long before we can get mum back!" Ed's conviction almost outweighed his excitement at the prospect of them having their mum back.

All the research they'd been doing the last few weeks had done nothing to diminish Ed's belief that they would be able to succeed where others had failed. While Al was still hesitant about it, he had to admit that he was starting to believe that they might really be able to do this. Al had been surprised when Ed had told him the night before Al's birthday that he really believed they might be able to perform the array as early September, maybe October, which was only a couple of months away. Having a deadline, no matter how tenuous, seemed to light a fire under the boys and they were cracking down on the studying even more now.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. No one decided to pay them a surprise visit and they were able to get through several books. The only difference between this day and the last several was the fact that Al's gut was twisting uncomfortably with the worry he felt at not learning his Animal's name already. Even with Ed's reminder at breakfast, Al couldn't help but feel as though he'd done something wrong and that's why the leopard wasn't completing their bond.

Every time he sensed his human having those thoughts, the leopard rubbed up against Al in a comforting, loving manner. Although Al really appreciated the gestures, there was only so much patience a 10-year-old boy can hold and Al knew his legendary patience was starting to run thin as he tried to stick to his brother's advice of not worrying himself sick.

So, when they headed off to bed that night, Al was a little surprised that Ed's parting words were 'quit worrying or I'm gonna knock you out'. Well, he wasn't surprised at the threat but more at the fact Ed had noticed he was still worried. Al thought he'd been in the clear when Ed had found an extremely promising journal of their father's and had proceeded to devour it in record time before he handed it over to Al, only for the younger Elric to realise it was the book that contained the transmutation recipe they'd been hunting for.

In an effort to make sure Ed didn't turn his attention back onto Al and his worrying, Alphonse had admitted that he thought that if they followed the recipe to the letter, they'd be able to pull it off. Ed hadn't looked too enthused about using their father's recipe but had finally decided that he didn't care, so long as brought their mother back. Al had never seen Ed so focused before, even when Al and Ayala coaxed him out of the study for dinner and sleep, which was why Al had been surprised Ed had noticed he was still upset about his Animal not completing their bond. Al tucked himself into bed with his leopard curling up around him and fell asleep hoping that tomorrow would be the day their bond was complete.

* * *

The next day proved just as fruitful as the previous day. Ed and Al found several more journals that held more information about human transmutation. Evidently, it had been something their father had researched thoroughly when he was younger and Al wondered whether their father had performed human transmutation before. He didn't voice his question though, just in case Ed snapped at him for mentioning Hohenheim, but he did spend some time trying to figure out who their father had wanted to bring back so badly.

* * *

By the fourth day of having Al's leopard appear, Ed had grown immensely tired of Al's poorly hidden moping so he and Ayala herded him and the leopard out of the house and took them on their afternoon exploration. Alphonse finally cracked a real smile for the first time all day as he watched his Animal leap from tree to tree where he could and discover new sights and smells. Ed and Ayala mentally congratulated themselves for a job well done.

They then silently cursed themselves when Al asked if he and his Animal could join them for their special training. Ed had to explain that they needed a completed bond before Ed could pass along the lessons to them. But Ed promised that as soon as the bond was completed, he would drag the pair out to start their lessons and assured Alphonse he knew that their bond would be completed soon. They wanted Alphonse and his Animal to get started on the lessons as soon as they could because they were an excellent way for a bonded pair to fine tune their teamwork and their instincts during a fight. Plus, Ed and Ayala were keen to find out if Al and his leopard would be able to use the special ability the two had accidentally discovered that had rendered Izumi speechless when she first witnessed it.

They continued on their afternoon walk, spending more time than Ed and Ayala normally would've exploring to try and maximise the amount of exposure Al's leopard got to their immediate area. Eventually though, they did have to head back but Al had promised that he would join them every afternoon from then on and he apologised to his leopard for not thinking of joining them the previous times. From the look on his face, it was clear the leopard had forgiven him. As they entered the house, Al offered to cook dinner while Ed and Ayala got themselves cleaned up. Not one to argue about getting out of cooking, Ed immediately agreed and headed upstairs while Al and his leopard went into the kitchen.

_"Chester."_  Al dropped the plate he'd been holding out of surprise. It smashed into pieces but Al didn't notice. He just shared at his Animal in shock. The leopard looked calmly back.  _"My name. It's Chester. Also, I'm not just a leopard, I'm a Sunda Clouded Leopard,"_  Chester informed him a little haughtily. It took a few moments for Al to process the fact that the voice he heard was inside his head and that could only mean...

"BROTHER!" Al screeched loud enough to cause Chester to flinch in shock. He heard a thump upstairs and running footsteps before his brother burst into the kitchen, proceeded by Ayala who skidded to a stop as soon as she entered. Ed barely avoided crashing into her while simultaneously pulling his shirt over his head.

"Al! What's wrong?!" He asked frantically as he spotted the broken dish and his brother looking shell shocked in the middle of the mess. His Animal was just sitting there, looking pleased with himself. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" He asked as he manoeuvred around the shards of the dinner plate, wincing as a fragment dug into the soft sole of his foot. Al stuttered for a bit before managing to string enough words together.

"He spoke," Al finally said, disbelief drenching his voice. Ed looked taken aback.

"What? Really?" Ed asked, grabbing his brother by the forearms, accidentally stepping on another chip of plate. He and Ayala winced in tandem but were much more concerned with Al's situation than they were with a tiny cut on Ed's foot. Al seemed to suddenly realise what he'd said and gripped Ed's forearms tightly as he looked slightly manic.

"He spoke to me! He told me his name! His name, Ed! He told me!" Al started shaking Ed like the 11-year-old was a ragdoll. Ed removed Al's grip on him, grimacing as he did so. His little brother had a very tight grip.

"So what is it?" Ed asked, excitement for his brother evident in his voice.

"Chester! And he told me he's a Sunda Clouded Leopard!" Al grinned so widely Ed was sure his face would split.

"That would explain his colouring. I thought he was a subspecies of the clouded leopard. Their colouring is fair brighter whereas Chester," Al grinned madly as Ed said his leopard's name, "is a bit duller, probably so he'd blend in with a darker, jungle environment." Ed paused as he realised something. "This means we can go to Granny's! You can introduce Chester to them since you've got a completed bond and we can start training together," Ed told him excitedly and Al grinned happily.

"Can we go tomorrow?" He asked, already knowing that Ed wouldn't let them go tonight since it was already dark. Ed nodded in agreement.

"We can head over after breakfast and spend a couple of hours there," Ed said. "We can start training tomorrow afternoon. We'll put our study on hold for a couple of days until the two of you have gotten the basics of the lessons down," Ed said decisively. "But this is amazing, Al! Your bond's complete!" Ed said giddily, causing Al to laugh at the sudden change in Ed's tone. Soon enough, all of them were laughing together before Al saw Ed's bleeding foot and started fussing.

"You're hurt!" He exclaimed before realising why he was. "I'm sorry, Ed. I should've picked up the broken plate first," he apologised but Ed waved it off.

"Teacher did way worse to me during training and it's my fault for not checking the floor first," Ed told him as he pulled himself up on the kitchen bench so he could clean up his foot. "If you really wanna show how sorry you are, you can clean up that plate so Aya and Chester don't hurt themselves," Ed told him. Al rolled his eyes at his brother before finding the dustpan and brush after ordering both Animals to stay where they were.

Once Al was done and Ed got his foot to stop bleeding, Ed marched Al upstairs and towards his room with Chester and Ayala following dutifully behind them. Alphonse's protests were being completely ignored, much to Chester's amusement until Al was shoved into his room. Chester headed in after him and curled himself up on the bed before watching the two brothers, who were now arguing.

"There's no way I can sleep now! I'm too excited," Al whined, trying to convince Ed to let him stay up.

"Okay, firstly; I don't care," Ed told him. "Secondly; you'll come off that high and be exhausted when you do crash and thirdly; you can use this opportunity to talk with Chester without me or Ayala there," Ed said. Al pouted at first but decided his brother had some good points and bade both Ed and Ayala goodnight.

He climbed onto his bed, careful to avoid Chester, and used the wall to lean against as he watched his leopard's chest rise and fall with the even rhythm of his breathing. Now that he could feel it for himself, he finally understood what Ed had tried to explain to him when Al had asked what it felt like to have a completed bond. It was like finding the other half of your soul and he realised why Ed struggled to describe it; there were no words.

_"I can feel you staring at me."_  Chester sounded amused as he lifted his head to look at his human. Al startled guiltily.  _"What's wrong?"_  Chester asked.

"I just... I finally understand what my brother was trying to explain to me. About how the completed bond feels," Al explained, his voice cracking a little. He was ecstatic the bond was completed but a small part of him still wanted to know why it had taken Chester four days to complete it.

_"I can tell you're wondering about something. Is it why I took so long to complete the bond?"_  Chester's smooth voice asked. Al figured it would take more than a couple of hours for him to learn just how deep this bond went. He nodded yes but didn't voice his question out loud. He didn't want to ask Chester if he didn't want to answer.  _"I waited this long because I wanted to observe how you normally acted. Granted, I didn't expect you to be so worried about why I hadn't bonded yet but that's because I didn't realise Ayala had bonded so quickly with your brother. I promise that it had nothing to do with any failings you think you have. I just wanted to see how you interacted with everyone before I completed the bond. I am sorry that I caused you so much distress though."_ Chester sounded completely apologetic but Al didn't care. In fact, he was extremely happy since he now knew that Chester hadn't thought he was horrible or something like that.

Chester felt his chest warm as he felt Al's undiluted happiness through their bond. He'd known that Al had been upset while their bond was incomplete, like he had told Al. Even the half-complete bond let him feel the echoes of what Alphonse felt and vice versa. Now that the bond was complete, Chester had complete access to Al's feelings and thoughts as well as being able to use the special abilities all bonded Animals could use, like telepathy and sight-share.

Chester made a surprised noise when Alphonse wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. The leopard purred happily and felt Al bury his face in his fur. After a few moments, Chester worried Al was getting uncomfortable and managed to convince him into lying down properly. As soon as Chester got himself in a comfortable position, Alphonse pulled him in closer and they fell asleep curled up together.

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast, Ed made good on his promise and the four of them took the long route to the Rockbells house to give Chester a chance to familiarise himself more with the area. The plan was still relatively the same: spend the morning with Granny and Winry before they went into town to stock up supplies after their big feast when Chester first showed up then go back home and start teaching Chester and Alphonse the lessons Izumi had taught Ed and Ayala.

Because Al wanted to surprise Winry and Granny with Chester, he begged Ed and Ayala to go ahead of them. Ed and Ayala rolled their eyes simultaneously at his antics but Ed's chuckle was enough for Al to know they really were onboard with his surprise plan. As he and Chester his, Ed and Ayala headed up the stairs of the Rockbell house and knocked on the front door. Den didn't greet them but it wasn't uncommon for the collie to be inside with Granny while she worked on her chores so Ed wasn't worried.

"Where's Alphonse? Is he alright?" Winry asked the moment she opened the door and saw only Ed and Ayala.

"Oh, I see where we stand in the pecking order. Not even a hello before you start asking after Al. Well, if we're not wanted, Ayala and I'll just leave," Ed said melodramatically as he and Ayala went to turn around. Winry grabbed his arm before he could.

"Stop being a big baby. I only asked because you two are attached at the hip," Winry laughed at her best friends dramatic ways. "But seriously, is he okay?"

"Well, something major did happen. You could say life-changing even." Edward grinned as he waved Al over from where he was hiding.

Winry looked confused as a perfectly healthy-looking Alphonse sauntered over with a massive grin on his face. For a moment, Winry was fully prepared to start lecturing them about trying to worry her when she spotted a leopard following behind Al. To her credit, it only took Winry a moment to understand the significance of what that meant. Her squeal of delight almost sent Ayala and Chester deaf with their sensitive hearing and the force behind the shove she gave Ed's shoulder to get passed him and down the stairs was likely enough to bruise him. It certainly hurt enough to make Ed rub the spot and glare daggers at the blonde mechanic.

Ayala sat next to Ed's feet, glowering at Winry as her shoulder throbbed with sympathy pain from Ed's injury. They watched as Winry gave Alphonse a hug tight enough they saw Chester twitch before she let go to start demanding introductions and answers. In that moment, Ed and Ayala heard both Granny and Den come to stand next to them, likely attracted by Winry's squeal.

"So Al got his Animal, huh?" Granny asked, removing the pipe from her mouth as she spoke. "You boys are the youngest I know of to get their Animals. When did he get his?" She dragged on the pipe as she waited for his answer.

"Chester turned up nearly five days ago," Ed told her. Winry must've asked the same question because everyone within five kilometres heard her screeched response.

"WHY'D IT TAKE YOU FIVE DAYS TO INTRODUCE US? IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WERE ON AN ISLAND LIKE ED! WE'RE JUST DOWN THE ROAD!" A thump, sound of pain and low growl were soon heard as Ed chuckled. At least it wasn't him getting hit with Winry's favourite wrench.

"What she said," Granny's croaky voice said.

"We didn't want to bring him by until their bond was complete and that didn't happen until last night. Al was so worried about it but Chester obviously explained why it took so long because Al was a lot happier this morning," Ed informed her. She nodded as she tapped her pipe to empty it.

"Fair enough. Well, come in if you'd like. I've just boiled the kettle." Granny turned around and headed to the kitchen without waiting for an answer.

Ed and Ayala watched Al as Winry studied Chester closely. Den had also joined them at some stage and was waiting to introduce himself to the newest arrival. Ayala and Ed followed Granny inside and joined her for a cuppa. They sat in amicable silence and were soon joined by Winry, Den, Al and Chester. Winry was obviously satisfied with whatever answers Al had given her because he didn't look too beat up. Chester was giving Winry a dirty look but she looked safe from his wrath.

"Why didn't you tell me Al got his Animal?" Winry demanded as soon as she saw Ed.

"Wasn't my place. You wouldn't like it if someone blabbed to everyone in town that you got your Animal before you could tell them yourself," he pointed out. Winry narrowed her eyes at him like she was trying to telepathically figure out if he was lying to save his own arse before nodding in acceptance. Ed gave Al a dirty look when he looked disappointed at the lack of violence.

It was soon apparent that Winry had only asked enough questions to squash her curiosity enough to let the four of them move inside to join Ed, Ayala and Granny. Ed and Pinako were happy to leave the interrogation to Winry, with Ed only interrupting a couple of times to add a snide comment or remark. About halfway through Winry's questioning, Granny interrupted with an offer to make lunch, which was readily accepted by Ed, because he was hungry, and Al, because he hoped it would quieten Winry for a little while. He was soon proven that not even a delicious lunch cooked by her grandmother was enough to get Winry to pause in her relentless questioning.

After lunch was eaten, Edward took pity on his brother and put a stop to the endless streams of questions from Winry by telling her and Granny that they needed to go into town. Winry didn't seem happy that she wouldn't get all her questions answered but she let them go without arguing. They left the two women and Den before showing Chester more of Resembool and its surrounds by taking a convoluted route into town.

The supply run took a little longer because of that but by the time they were done and heading back up the quickest route to home they made it back to the house with plenty of daylight left for Ed to keep his second promise to Alphonse. Once the food was put away, Ed and Ayala led the other two to their training ground and spend the next couple of hours going through everything Izumi had told them during their first lesson with her. By the time the lecture-side of the lesson was done, they still had an hour of daylight so Ed suggested Al and Chester put what they'd learned to the test. The two readily accepted.

An hour later, Al and Chester were heaving for breath while Ayala and Ed simply stood there. Since their teacher and her Animal hadn't shown them any mercy, Ed and Ayala hadn't shown Al or Chester any either. They did decide to cook dinner that night though, not quite mean enough to make Al do it, even though it was his turn to cook, and Ed even washed up while Al was in the shower. There were no arguments or half-hearted protests from either Al or Chester when Ed suggested they got to bed.

While Ed had felt a little bad about how hard he was being on them, he didn't feel bad enough to slow the lessons down. Alphonse and Chester hadn't expected Ed to do so anyway. Though he hadn't witnessed the aftermath of Izumi's lessons with Ed and Ayala, Chester had heard about it from Alphonse and knew that the lessons could be worse so neither of them complained, even though they found themselves on the ground, gasping for breath and nursing wounds nearly every day for a week straight.

* * *

A month soon passed since Chester first spoke to Alphonse and the boys found themselves in a good routine. They'd start the day with breakfast then head to their father's study to continue their research before breaking to have lunch. Once lunch was eaten they'd move out to the house yard where they would either spar as bonded partners, Animal vs Animal and human vs human or Ed vs Chester and Al vs Ayala. After that, either Ed or Al would go inside to start while the other would patch up any wound the Animal's suffered and get them all cleaned up.

As September slowly passed them by, both boys found themselves a mixture of excited, uncertain, scared and determined in growing amounts with each passing day. The energy in the house grew tenser as the two boys continued absorbing of the information they could get their hands on. The day Ed suggested they buy the required ingredients during their next shop made all nervous tension in the house skyrocket. Chester was especially nervous as he hadn't been given very long to get used to the idea, unlike Ayala who had had almost two years to process what her human wanted to do before they even starting researching, but – like Ayala – Chester agreed to let the boys to be the ones to decide when the time came. Secretly though, Chester hoped the boys would feel his and Ayala's reservations and not go through with their plan.

Once they had all of the ingredients needed gathered and the array drawn carefully in the basement where no one was allowed into anymore, just in case it was accidentally activated or ruined. All that was left was to study all their notes to make sure they'd forgotten nothing. Like Ed had said on the train from Dublith to Central, this was the one array where absolutely everything had to be perfect. Ed's firm belief they would succeed was only dampened by Al's apprehensiveness about going through with the plan. When Ed asked him, Al couldn't give him a straight answer about whether they should go through with the plan, Ed told him to take as long as he needed until he could decide either way.

It took him a few days but Al finally approached Ed in late September and told him that he thought they should go for it. Once he was assured by Al that he was completely sure, Ed grabbed his little brother in a tight hug and told him they'd do it the next night. He then proposed that they go to bed early that night and spend the day scrubbing the house top to bottom before going over their notes one final time. Al agreed wholeheartedly and once dinner was done and dishes were washed, the boys went to bed with their Animals so they would be fully rested for the next day.

* * *

The next morning had the boys going into clean-up mode the moment they'd finished their breakfast. Because they didn't want to risk someone walking in on them attempting the one array that would see them in front of a military firing squad with no questions asked the boys had decided they would be better off activating it at night. It was also the reason they'd chosen the basement to perform the alchemy needed since that room had the best chance of hiding as much of the energy that would be released as possible.

As soon as their breakfast dishes were washed, the boys turned their attention on the rest of the house. Every single nook and cranny were scrubbed clean and everything, no matter how minor, was fixed, both on the inside and outside of the house. Nothing was missed, not even something as tiny as a slightly raised nail. Once the house was clean, the Animals were taken up to the bathroom and washed until they were cleaner than they'd ever been and the bathroom was cleaned again as the Animals dried themselves off. Once they were dry, they were told they weren't allowed outside again unless the house was on fire and only then were they allowed outside if the boys weren't able to get the fire under control.

Once they'd gone over their notes one more time and couldn't find something they'd missed or hadn't considered, they went into the kitchen where they made and had dinner, making sure there was enough left over in case their mum was hungry when they brought her back. During dinner, the storm that had been making its way towards Resembool had finally hit and they ate their food to the sound of rain falling outside. No one, not even the Animals, spoke during the meal and before anyone knew it, Ed was cleaning up the dinner dishes and telling them it was time to head to the basement.

The storm outside had picked up during their meal and Al almost jumped as they headed for the basement when a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded. For a moment, once they were in the basement and the boys were standing carefully in the array to place the container they'd put the needed ingredients into, Al had the thought that the storm was a sign they shouldn't go through with it. When he said he wasn't sure, Ed had looked at him and told him that he needed to be. Al knew that even now when they were literal moments away from activating the array, Ed would walk away if Al said he wasn't on board. Taking a moment, Al finally nodded resolutely and pulled the small knife out of his pocket, poising the tip over one of his fingers in preparation to add the final needed ingredient.

Ed gave him a blinding smile and, as a flash of lightening lit up the room, both boys nicked their finger and allowed a few drops of their blood to mix with the other ingredients that would be used to bring their mother back. They quickly wrapped their tiny wound with a small bandage so they wouldn't accidentally drip blood onto the array as they carefully made their way out of it, making absolutely certain they didn't touch any of the symbols or lines until they were in the clear. The thunder and lighting continued to roll and flash outside and the rain was now pelting their house with renewed ferocity.

Both Animals were waiting where their humans had said for them to wait. Because of their bonds, the boys were fully aware of how anxious and fearful their Animals were but they were too close to their goal to spend the time needed to soothe their Animal. Both Animals refused to leave the room so Ed had them both wait at the furthest end of the room, just for the boys' piece of mind. The two boys knelt next to each other, with some space between them for elbow room, before they took a deep, calming breath and gave each other a final nod. If they'd taken the few moments to look back at their Animals, they would've noticed that both of them had their fur standing on end and were baring their teeth in matching, feral snarls, but they didn't. Instead, they both placed their hands onto the array and activated it.

The blue alchemic energy they created lit the room up so brightly that the lightning strikes outside didn't even register to the elated Elric brothers. They kept their hands on the array, fueling it with as much alchemic energy as it required and grinned at each other as the energy crackled and danced in front of them as it raced to reach the container in the middle of the array. This was it; they were going to succeed where no other alchemist in history had done so before. They would, in a few short moments, have their mother back.

* * *

But then everything went to hell. The air suddenly turned dangerous and not even a heartbeat later, their brilliant blue alchemic energy turned purple, signalling that something had gone horribly wrong with the transmutation. The planks of wood that made up the ceiling and walls of the basement started rattling violently and the glass panes in the windows started shaking brutally as the purple alchemic energy mimicked the angry storm outside. Before either brother or Animal could process the magnitude of what was happening, Ed felt something  _tearing_  at his leg.

Whipping his head around to look, he heard Ayala's howl of pain as he watched his leg being torn away from him by little black hands. Another scream – this one of terror and confusion – had him looking back towards the array and to his complete and utter horror, Ed watched his little brother being grabbed by identical tiny black hands and ripped slowly apart in front of his very eyes. Al's scream of his name had Ed wrenching himself out of his frozen stupor and reaching desperately for his baby brother, willing himself to just grab a hold of Alphonse because if he did, he could save him.

Just as he felt his fingertips touch Al's, his brother was gone with a final pained scream. Chester's pained-filled writhing and yowling stopped the moment Al disappeared in front of Ed's disbelieving eyes. The pain in his left leg reached a new height and he heard Ayala's bloodcurdling scream pierce his skull. Before he could even start processing everything that happened, Ed blinked and found himself pain-free and standing in a blindingly white room, two big, black doors looming over him.

" _Welcome, little alchemist_." Ed's spine felt like someone had dropped freezing ice water down his shirt and he spun to face the owner of the spine-chilling voice. He came face to face with a humanoid being that had no identifiable features except for its massive, creepy grin.

"Who are you? Where's my brother?" Ed asked in a shaky voice. The being seemed to consider his question.

" _Who am I?_ " It asked. " _One name you might have for me is the world, or you might call me the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am All and I am One. So, of course, that also means I am you. I am the truth of your despair, the inescapable price of you boastfulness. And now I will bestow upon you the despair you deserve._ " Before Ed could fully process Truth's answer, let alone respond to it, the black doors behind him swung open and pulled him inside.

The knowledge he felt being crammed into his head was so overwhelming, he almost wanted to pass out from the intensity of it all. His screams and pleas for it to end fell on deaf ears and he was willing himself to lose consciousness when he saw her. He couldn't see her face, only her silhouette, but he knew it was his mother who was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel of knowledge he was going through. He cried out for her, reaching as desperately for her as he did for Al but, just like what happened with Al, the moment their fingertips touched, Ed was yanked back to the sickly white room and the humanoid being.

" _How was it?_ " Truth asked. Ed took his time before he answered, forgetting momentarily about all of the trauma he'd just gone through, as he focused on what he just learned.

"I see. My theory wasn't wrong! It is possible! It's just missing something! Please, you have to show me more!" Ed begged as he scrabbled at the doors, freezing instantly when he heard a chuckle that sent violent shivers down his spine sound from behind him.

" _Silly alchemist,_ " it chided. " _I've shown you all I can for the price you paid,_ " it grinned at him as he looked at it in confusion.

"Price? What price?" No sooner had those words left his mouth did he feel a shadow of the immense pain he'd felt in the basement. Looking down, instead of seeing all of his left leg, he was confronted with the sight of everything below his knee missing. Now confused and in rapidly-increasing pain, Ed looked at Truth only for his expression to change to one of horror when he saw  _his_  leg appear where Truth's was.

" _This was your price. It's the law of equivalent exchange. Isn't that right, young alchemist?_ " Truth laughed as Ed was thrown back into their basement.

* * *

Before he'd been kidnapped by Truth, the basement was at risk of being torn apart by the windstorm the rebounding alchemic energy had created. After Truth had thrown him back, bleeding heavily and in indescribable pain – both physical and emotional – the basement was eerily still. Their hand-written notes were strewn across the room and anything lighter than the wooden chair had been upended and displaced. Ed noted in dazed surprise that the window managed to survive intact as he took in the damage done to the basement in a detached way. At least, until he spotted their Animals.

Chester was lying on his side, pain etched into his face and twitching randomly from residual pain, chest rising and falling slightly as he drew in the barest of breaths. Ayala was in better shape but only just. The only thing that made her condition better than Chester's was the fact that she was conscious and Ed choked on a sob as everything that had happened started sinking in.

"This is wrong. Please, someone help else. Anyone... please just help us," Ed begged from where he knelt, tears streaming down his cheeks. "What have I done?" He questioned before he remembered what he and Al had been trying to achieve. "Mum? Mum please, please help us!" He begged as he choked on his tears, looking for his mother in the middle of the array.

However, rather than being greeted by his mother's kind and loving face, he found himself staring at a half-formed monster. He watched in horror as the deformed creature moved its head to look over at him, its lank, long, dark hair flopping as it did so. The creature –  _their mother_ , a small voice in Ed's head reminded him – reached out for him and Ed felt bile rise in his throat as it did so. He choked on his scream of horror and vomit as the creature's arm detached from its body with a wet rip before hitting the ground with a squelching thud.

"My baby brother," Ed sobbed. "Alphonse, what have I done?! This isn't what we wanted! He's gone! Alphonse is gone! My little brother!" He screamed in grief and anguish. Ayala had managed to fight through the phantom pain and her own horror to thrust her head under his hand to try and comfort him.

Ed glanced at her before turning his attention to Chester, tears cascading down his face as he looked at his brother's Spirit Animal. Because of his emotional turmoil, it took Ed a few moments to realise what he was seeing.  _Chester was still breathing_. He wasn't dead, only unconscious and the magnitude of that fact hit Ed with the force of a brick wall. Grabbing the shirt Al had been wearing before Truth had torn him apart, Ed created a bandage to try and stem the blood pouring from what remained of his left leg before focusing on Chester once more.

Ignoring the pain he was in, Ed dragged himself towards Chester, forcing himself to ignore Ayala's own pained whimpers as his movements only increased the pain he was in to the point where his vision started to spot. Forcing himself to stay conscious, Ed blinked the black spots away and place his hands on Chester's chest. He almost laughed in giddy relief as he felt the leopards ribcage rise and fall. It was only shallow but it was proof that Chester was still alive and if Chester was still alive, it meant that somehow, so was Alphonse. After all, an Animal can't survive without its human. When Trisha had passed away, Cleo had followed only moments later and it had been well over three minutes since their array had failed catastrophically.

Then he felt his hopes stutter as Chester started taking longer to draw in his next breath. At this rate, he was going to lose his only chance to get his brother back alive in less than a minute. He had to act right now. Looking around the room for something to help him, his eyes fell on the massive suit of armour their father had put in the study and forbade them from touching. He couldn't transmute a human back to life, he was still missing the key piece of information he needed, but maybe there was something he  _could_  do.

"I'm sorry, Ayala. The pain isn't over yet," he apologised to his wolf as he dragged himself across the room to the armour and knocked it over, its helmet bouncing away. Ayala could tell what he was planning. "I don't know what it'll take for this to work but it's not going to be painless," he told her.

Ayala could see the desperation and pleading in her human's golden eyes as plain as day. She knew that there wasn't a lot Ed wouldn't do for Alphonse, especially after their mother's passing. She glanced at Chester who was now barely drawing a whisper of breath and looked back at Ed. She could be selfish and tell him she wouldn't be able to handle the pain and he wouldn't do a thing except watch Chester draw his final breath but she also knew he would never be able to live with himself and neither would she. She was more than willing to go through any amount of pain so Ed wouldn't lose his only family.

_"Don't worry about me. If you survive, I'll survive,"_ she said resolutely, somehow finding the strength to send that message through their bond.

Her permission was all Ed needed to hear before he moved as quickly as he physically could. He pulled the neck of the armour so it was between his right leg and what remained of his left leg. The armour settled in the pool of blood his wound had created, despite his using Al's discarded clothing as a make-shift bandage, but Ed paid in no attention as he dipped his shaking finger into the blood and stilled his hand as much as he could before he painted the array he needed. Once the array was drawn onto the inside of the neck of the armour, he placed his hands together and made one final anguished plea, ignoring the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Give him back," Ed demanded "He's my brother. Take my leg, take my arm, take my heart! Anything, you can have it! Just give him back," he said, voice trembling. "He's my little brother! I need him! So give him back!" He shouted before placing his hands on the blood array and activated it.

Blue energy crackled for the second time that night but this time it didn't rebound on the alchemist who activated it. The moment the energy faded from existence, the payment for the successful array was taken and both Ayala and Edward screamed as Ed's entire right arm was ripped from his body. Ayala lost consciousness immediately but Ed fought to stay awake, needing to see if this array was actually a success. A look over at Chester showed him that the leopard's breathing was far more obvious and even, though he was still unconscious. The hand of the armour moved and Ed let himself slump backwards so he was laying on the ground. Blackness threatened to overtake his vision once more but he only succumbed to it when he heard his brother's voice call his name.


	6. Chapter 6

Chester had an extremely bad feeling. He felt his skin crawl like a million ants were marching just underneath it and his fur was standing on end. He wasn't sure if his twisting stomach was going to cause him to throw up or just stay an awful roiling mess of nerves. He wanted to grab his idiotic human and drag him bodily out of this basement. His Spirit Animal instincts were screaming out him to get himself and Alphonse as far away from this situation as possible. His senses were going insane at the amount of  _simply wrong_  he could feel in the air and a glance at Ayala told him she was feeling the exact same way.

Before he could ask her whether they should put a stop to this – they were Spirit Animals so it was their duty to do everything to save their human – the boys were placing their hands on the array and activating it. He felt Alphonse's ecstatic delight as they all watched the blue energy dance its way to the middle of the array. Despite the uneasy atmosphere created by Chester's instincts and the aggressive storm outside, Chester let himself believe that  _maybe_  he and Ayala had been worrying about nothing. Of course, that was the moment everything went wrong.

The light turned purple and he knew from Al that that meant the array was rebounding. The atmosphere in the room darkened and soon Chester and Ayala were struggling to keep their feet under them as the dangerous alchemic energy created a ferocious windstorm in the basement. Crouching so his belly was almost on the ground, Chester made to crawl forward, his need to get to Alphonse almost overwhelming his other senses when he heard Ayala's scream of pain and saw her human's lower left leg being torn away from him by what looked like tiny black hands.

His frozen shock was broken as pain worse than anything he could've described tore into his very being and he managed to look at his human before the pain overtook him. To his horror, he watched helplessly as his human was being grabbed all over by those same black hands and being slowly torn to pieces. He watched as Edward valiantly fought through his own pain, causing even more if the whimpers Ayala were making were anything to go by, to make a grab for Alphonse. He prayed to whoever was listening that Ed would make it in time only to witness his human disintegrating before his very eyes with his scream for his brother cut off before it was completed. The last thing he saw before he mercifully passed out was the heartbreaking look of disbelief and horror on Edward's face.

* * *

Ayala felt terror crawl up her throat as she watched the blue alchemic energy created by the boys turn a nasty purple, indicating a rebound. Like Chester, she knew that the destruction caused by a rebound was directly related to the strength of the transmutation which meant she knew this rebound was going to be devastating. Just as Chester tried, she got low on her belly to try and crawl to her human without being blown off her feet by the windstorm. She didn't manage one step before her left hind leg gave way underneath and a scream of pain tore its way from her throat.

She fought her way through the threat of unconsciousness caused by the sympathy pain to see Ed's lower left leg disappear and blood rapidly pooling where it had been moments ago. She heard Chester's own screams of pain and she looked over to find the leopard writhing in agony next to her. The sympathy pain she felt flared to new heights and she wrenched her gaze from Chester to her human and felt her throat close in panic as she witnessed Ed reaching for Alphonse, his desperation to get to his brother overwhelming their bond, only to watch in complete disbelief as Alphonse disappeared right in front of them.

The moment he did, Chester stopped moving and Ayala's grief threatened to overtake everything until she noticed he was still breathing. Before she could tell Ed, her connection with him was cut and she looked over to where he'd been only to find he was  _gone_. Completely vanished into thin air. Ayala gaped for a moment, barely registering that her sympathy pain was also gone, before she got up and started searching for Ed, believing in her grief that Ed had somehow managed to hide somewhere in the basement. There was no blood leading up the stairs and no blood smeared anywhere like it was from where he'd lost his leg to where he'd been when Alphonse vanished to indicate Ed had managed to drag himself somewhere.

* * *

Stumped and overwhelmed, Ayala went back over to Chester, who was still breathing and twitching randomly from pain, and watched over him until her left hind leg started feeling sympathy pain again. It built slowly, which caused her some confusion, until it hit her all at once, causing her to yelp in agony and fight the urge once more to pass out. When she opened her eyes, Ed was sitting where he'd been when he'd vanished, sobbing and calling out for someone to help him. She felt all of the knowledge that had been crammed into his head but her biggest worry was the amount of physical and emotional pain he was in.

She left Chester's side to limp towards her human, the sympathy pain in her leg so severe she couldn't place weight on it, listening to the heart-wrenching pleas for help her boy was sobbing. She'd nearly made it before she was almost knocked over by the wave of disgust, disbelief, horror and grief that flooded her bond with Ed and looked up in time to witness the thing they'd created – something she hadn't even noticed in her frantic search for Ed when he vanished – reach for him and have its arm thud grotesquely to the floor with a wet squelch.

She reached him as he started begging for Al as the realisation of what had happened started sinking in for Ed. She thrust her head under his hands and onto his lap, trying to give him whatever comfort she could. She felt a semblance of gratefulness break through the mass of disbelief and grief in their bond when something she couldn't see caught his attention. Following his line of sight, she realised he'd noticed Chester and berated herself for not bringing up his continued survival before now. She moved just as Ed grabbed Al's abandoned shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage for his leg and prepared herself for what was about to happen.

The sympathy pain caused by Ed's army crawl made her want to curl up but she stayed where she was as Ed placed his hands on Chester's ribcage and felt his breathing. She felt the moment Ed realised what it meant that Chester was still alive only to feel that hope stutter as Chester's breathing started failing. Then she felt him look at something and form a cautious plan to get his brother back. When she eyed the armour Ed had noticed and saw the determined expression on his face, she braced herself once more as Ed crawled his way over to the armour as quickly as he could and knock it over. The noise the helmet made as it clanged onto the ground made Ayala wince before Ed's attention was on her.

"I'm sorry, Ayala. The pain isn't over yet," Ed said apologetically. She knew what he wanted to do. She knew his window of opportunity was narrowing rapidly. She also knew the self-sacrificing idiot that was her human wouldn't risk his happiness over her well-being, even if it meant him losing his one chance to get his brother back but she also knew he wouldn't forgive himself or her if she voiced her selfish thoughts for no more pain.

 _"Don't worry about me. If you survive, I'll survive."_  She used the last of her dwindling strength to give him what he needed: her permission.

His expression melted into one of gratefulness and he dipped a finger into the pool of his own blood and drew out a circle on the inside of the armour. Placing his hands together, she watched him make one last, begging plea to some unknown being, bargaining for his brother's life. He placed his hands on the blood array and she watched the blue light flare once again. She knew it had worked from the triumph she felt from Ed before her right front leg gave out and she crashed to the ground, writhing in complete agony. The last things she saw before she passed out was the armour moving and Ed slumping to the ground, blood pooling under him.

* * *

When Alphonse woke up, he found himself lying on his back and looking up at their basement ceiling. As he called out for Ed, worry and fear in his voice, he realised his voice sounded  _weird_. He didn't know how to describe it but it was like his voice wasn't coming from his mouth and it sounded kind of tinny, like he was speaking from inside a metal container. As he moved to get up, he realised two things; he couldn't feel himself physically moving his eyes but somehow, he was able to look around and he felt different.

He tried to recall what he last remembered as he sat up. He remembered preparing the ingredients required for the transmutation before hesitating and voicing his concerns to Ed just before they went to add the soul data. He then recalled how he finally made up his mind for them to go ahead and they cut their fingers, added the blood to the other ingredients before they made their way carefully out of the array to kneel at the edge of the outer circle. He remembered placing his hands on the circle at the same time as Ed, sharing one more confirming nod before releasing the alchemic energy he'd built up. He recalled watching as his and Ed's blue alchemic energy joined up and crackled its way to the centre of the array and sharing a victorious grin with his brother before the energy turned purple and violent.

Then he remembered Ayala screaming in pain as Ed looked behind him. Alphonse remembered seeing his brother's lower left leg disappear in front of their very eyes before there was pain. Everything he recalled between seeing Ed's leg being torn away from him to Al's view of the basement ceiling was white-hot, unimaginable pain ripped through him. He barely remembered seeing Ed lunging for him, reaching a bloody hand out to grab him before his pain ended and the next thing he knew; he was waking up on the floor.

He sat up fully as it hit him just exactly what Ed stretching a bloody hand towards him meant. His brother was hurt and, knowing Ed's luck, he was hurt badly. His sight fell on Chester first and felt relief as he saw his leopard's chest rising and falling with each breath. He could still feel his connection with Chester but having visual confirmation that he was in one piece and not hurt was much better at soothing his worried nerves.

His eyes next fell on Ayala as he looked for Ed and he thought he was going to faint as he realised that Ayala was laying in a pool of blood. Her gold and white fur was matted with the red liquid and she wasn't moving. Like Chester, Al could see her breathing but if that was her blood staining her coat, she wouldn't last much longer without Ed's interference. He reached for his brother's wolf, determined to stem the bleeding until he found Ed and figure out what kind of condition he was in, when he caught sight of his arm and froze.

His arm was metal. His gaze followed his arm and he caught sight of his legs and he realised they were metal as well. He tried to take a deep breath to stem his panic when he realised  _he wasn't drawing in a breath_. He felt his panic climb further and he sprung to his metal feet, making an ungodly amount of noise, before catching sight of his brother for the first time since he woke up.

He was missing his lower left leg, just like Al remembered, but he was now missing his entire right arm and he was lying unconscious in a rapidly growing pool of his own blood. The leg wound was still bleeding sluggishly through a makeshift bandage but the second wound was pouring out blood. Al grabbed the jacket he'd been wearing and scurried to his big brother's side. He tore the jacket into the strips he needed before wrapping his shoulder wound in a poor imitation of how he'd seen Granny wrap an injury. When he touched Ed's face, he almost cried out when he couldn't feel any warmth. It took him a moment to realise it  _wasn't_  that his brother wasn't warm; Al just literally couldn't feel him at all. He couldn't feel anything! A look at Ayala told him she was still breathing and when he looked even more closely at Ed, Al could've wept with relief as his brother drew shallow breaths of his own.

Al desperately wanted someone to tell him why he was a suit of armour but with Ed in the shape he was, he didn't have the time to wait for someone to wake up. He found the helmet that belonged to his armour and put it on before scooping Chester and Ayala up carefully and draping them over an arm each to balance out their weight. Neither Animal so much as twitched as he picked them up and Al felt himself grow even more worried before he shoved it away. He needed to get Ed to Granny so she could help them and if she could help Ed, she'd probably be able to help the Animals as well.

He carefully lifted his brother in a bridal carry, being extra careful not to touch or jostle the wounds so he wouldn't cause his brother more pain, before hurrying up the stairs of the basement as fast as he dared. He didn't spare the room or anything in it another glance as he crossed the threshold into the main house. Al didn't stop to close any doors as he rushed his brother and their Animals out of the house and into the pouring rain. He barely spared a thought to the rain, just hoping it would clean Ed's wounds a little and not slow him down as he ran as fast as he could without risking him falling over.

In what seemed like no time but what also seemed like hours later, Alphonse finally spotted the Rockbell house. He would've wept in relief but he'd already discovered he couldn't even shed a tear in this new body. He almost stumbled in his rush to get to the front door and forced himself to slow down so he wouldn't risk his precious cargo. He hauled himself up the front steps, carefully knelt down and rested Ed on his legs as he extracted one of his arms. He lay Ayala carefully on the ground next to him before he started pounding on the door as the thunder and lightning of the passing storm continued on behind him.

* * *

At first Pinako thought she was imaging the sound of someone trying to bash her front door in. Winry had had a late night but Pinako had finally gotten her to stop working and turn in a couple of hours ago so she knew it wasn't her walking around or working on some automail limbs. She almost dozed off again, convincing herself drowsily that it was just the thunder from the storm outside, when Den launched himself up off his bed and at the door, barking like crazy.

Muttering as she climbed out of bed, she demanded answers from her Animal through their bond as she made her way to the door but got nothing except undiluted fear and worry for her troubles. Opening her bedroom door up, Den shot out of it the moment he could. As she shuffled down the hallway, Winry appeared from her bedroom, yawning widely after she'd obviously been awoken by Den's barking and the noise outside. With Winry behind her, Pinako made her way to the front door where Den was now trying to claw his way though.

"Den, that's enough! What has gotten into you?" Pinako scolded as she reached the door. Though she wasn't certain about what was waiting for her on the other side, she knew from Den's reaction that it wouldn't be pretty. When she opened the door though, she did not expect to see a suit of armour kneeling on her front porch with a golden wolf next to it, a Sunda clouded leopard draped over a massive, metal arm and a heavily bleeding and unconscious Edward draped over its lap.

"Please, Granny. It's me, Al! You've gotta help them! Please!" The armour's tinny voice pleaded and Winry gasped from where she stood behind her and realisation hit Pinako hard. Den was fussing over the two Animals and Edward but she paid him no mind.

"Al?" Winry gasped. "What happened?" Tears spilled from her eyes as she took in her two best friends. Granny interrupted Al before he could even answer.

"Never mind that," Pinako ordered, turning from concerned grandmother to professional surgeon. "Winry, get everything ready. Ed's losing a lot of blood. We need to get to work now. We can get the story later," she ordered as she beckoned Al inside and shooed Winry towards the surgery room so they could start prepping it.

Al immediately picked Ayala up once more before shifting Ed so he was cradled in the one arm before he clanged into Granny's house, leaving a trail of water and mud behind him. At Granny's gesture, he placed Ayala and Chester on the beds that sat just inside the patient room, though he needed Winry's help with Chester so he wouldn't dislodge Edward and accidentally drop him. Granny then instructed him to carefully place Edward on the sterile surgical table before ordering him out of the room. Winry shut the door on him with a promise to bring Chester out the moment he didn't need medical attention. Alphonse didn't even get the chance to say anything before he was facing a closed door.

* * *

It took Alphonse a couple of moments of staring at the closed surgical room door before he came back to himself and carefully sat himself on the ground, mindful of the spikes on his armour, and leant up against the wall. Now that Edward and the Animals were in the best hands possible, Al let himself relax for the first time since he woke back up in the basement as a suit of armour. Before he'd realised Ed was badly hurt, Al had remembered only up to the point where he saw Ed reaching out for him before everything had gone mercifully black.

Now that he had nothing he needed to worry about – like getting his severely injured brother to Granny's before he bled out – Al could devote some time to trying to recall what had happened between Ed reaching for him and him waking up to the view of their basement ceiling. He stared at his metal arms that were resting on his metal knees and tried to force himself to remember. He knew something had happened since Ed was missing two limbs, not just the one Al saw being taken, and he was a freaking suit of armour! But no matter how hard he tried; Al just couldn't remember anything more than he did. It seemed he was just going to have to wait for Chester or Edward to wake up to find out what had happened.

He went to sigh before remembering he couldn't before settling for leaning his head back against the wall. Judging from the amount of blood that coated their basement floor and the blood slowly drying on his armour, Al knew his brother wouldn't be waking any time soon. His hope for an answer sooner rather than later lay with Chester but Al had his doubts about how much his leopard would remember. With the amount of pain Al could remember being in, he only hoped Chester passed out before whatever happened had happened.

* * *

A door opening next to him startled him enough to make him jump, causing his armour to clank slightly before he got himself to his feet. Upon further investigation, he discovered it was Winry trying to carry Chester and his borrowed bed out to him. Knowing first hand how heavy his leopard was, Al was quick to relieve her of part of her burden and let her place the bed next to the spot he'd been sitting in before he placed Chester on it.

"Is he okay? What about Ayala and Ed?" Al asked as sat next to his Animal and placed a massive hand on his head carefully. Winry took the opportunity to sit and it certainly looked like she needed it. A glance up at the clock had Al jumping a little in surprise as he realised it had been over an hour since he'd been first kicked out the surgical room.

"Chester's fine. Granny thinks he was overwhelmed by the pain you must've been in and the emotional impact to him from seeing it. He just couldn't handle the combination but he'll wake up soon." Winry looked like she was gonna cry at the thought but stopped herself last minute. "Ayala is pretty much in the same boat as Chester. She'll be alright," she said, answering one of Al's next questions before he could ask. "Granny said that Den could sense Ayala using the healing energy in Ed to heal herself faster since Animals can sense that sort of thing. He did say something else but Granny thought he was wrong," Winry said, more to herself than to Al but she started talking again before he could ask what she meant.

"Ed's doing as well as can be expected. Granny managed to stop the bleeding and he'll need more blood transfusions before we can risk moving him to the spare room but Granny said he can go up there tomorrow. Once he wakes up, Granny says he'll be fine. At least, physically. We'll need your help for that," she added and Al nodded his readiness to help. Winry gave him a tired, tight smile before frowning at Al slightly. Before he could ask what was wrong, Winry got up and left, only to return a few minutes later with a bucket of soapy water and a couple of sponges.

"What's that for?" Al asked as she placed it carefully next to him on the side Chester wasn't lying.

"You're covered in blood, mud and who knows what else. You're getting scrubbed down so you don't give Ed an infection when you're allowed to sit with him," Winry informed him as she handed him a sponge and got to work cleaning his armour. After a moment, Al started mimicking her, working on one of his legs.

"You said Den had mentioned something weird?" Al enquired curiously after a couple of minutes of silence between them. Winry startled slightly and Al figured she must've been in her own world too.

"Yeah. He said that Chester was taking energy from Ed too. Like Ayala. But that's impossible, right?" Winry asked, pausing in her scrubbing, since she wasn't as well informed as the boys were on the subject of Spirit Animals. Al prepared his response but was interrupted by Granny shouting.

"WINRY! Get back in here and finish helping me." Winry immediately jumped up, dropped her sponge and rushed back into the room, barely managing an apology before the door shut and Al was left by himself again, with the exception of the unconscious Chester.

* * *

He continued cleaning the mud and muck off his armour but instead of trying to force loose any missing memories, Al was now thinking about what Winry had just told him. While he was grateful to hear that Ayala would be perfectly fine and that given some time, so would Ed, his thoughts were on what Winry had said about Chester's energy. It wasn't possible for Ed to have Chester's energy inside of him because Chester wasn't Ed's Animal. Not unless there was something he was forgetting or didn't know about that made it possible but he wouldn't be able to find out until Ed or Chester woke up.

Alphonse had eventually decided to focus on cleaning himself up rather than puzzle over things he didn't have all the pieces to. He was almost finished with his task, or as much as he could do of it by himself anyway, when the door next to him and the still unconscious Chester opened unexpectedly for the second time tonight and caused Al to jump, almost upending the bucket filled with dirty water.

He watched as both Granny and Winry appeared this time, the younger of the two closing the door behind her gently once Den trotted out after them. There was a quick and quiet argument that eventually had Winry waving goodbye to Al before heading up to her room to try and catch up on her interrupted sleep. Granny and Den didn't do anything except watch as Winry went upstairs, waiting until they heard the barely audible click that indicated her bedroom door closing before Granny rounded on Alphonse with a glare ferocious enough to make Al tremble.

"I want an explanation now," Pinako ordered, keeping her voice level but forceful. "Don't you dare lie to me or tell me half-truths. Just tell me why you turned up on my front porch as a suit of armour, both of your Animals unconscious and your brother bleeding out and missing two limbs." Granny Pinako was not one to mess with when she was scared and angry and right now, Al could tell she definitely both right now.

"We tried to bring mum back," Al's voice wavering slightly, "and the transmutation failed." Pinako's breath hitched as she processed what he said. "I think it rebounded on us but I don't know what happened. I lost consciousness a couple of seconds after the array turned on us," Al told her. "When I came to; Chester and Ayala were unconscious and Ed was passed out and bleeding so much. I don't know how I became a suit of armour or what happened to Ed. I'm hoping either Chester or Brother will be able to answer those questions for me," Al told her, voice meek and scared. His tone softened Pinako's anger slightly and she sighed internally.

"I warned you boys after Winry found out about her parents death," Granny said. "There are some things alchemy just can't do." Granny shook her head, her disappointment as plain as day and Al hung his head in shame. Granny sighed before deciding she couldn't say or do anything that would punish the two boys more than they'd already been. "Den and I will head over to your house before someone decides to pay you a visit and finds out what you've done. _You_ ," Granny stressed the word, glaring at Al when he went to say something, "will stay here with your brother and the Animals. Re-wet the cloth on his head every hour. He developed a slight fever and I don't want it getting any worse if we can help it. Den and I will be back soon," Granny told him. Al hesitated for a moment before he nodded in agreement and stood up, picked Chester and his bed up and disappeared into the patient room, closing the door carefully behind him. Granny waited for the door to shut before she and Den left her house to deal with whatever mess the boys had created.

* * *

Al's first order of business was to put Chester down and make sure he was comfortable so he placed the bed back next to Ayala, whose breathing was much more even so Al took it as a good sign, and arranged Chester carefully on top of it. He noticed that someone had cleaned Ayala up as well. There was no longer any blood marring her golden fur and Al made a mental note to thank Winry and Granny for cleaning her up. Once his Animal was comfortable, Al turned to his brother and froze in shock.

His brother no longer lay on the surgical table Al had placed him on but had been moved to the patient cot that had been set up on the other side. He had several blankets on him but they only covered him to mid-way up his chest so Al could see the sterile-white bandages that were wrapped around what was left of his right shoulder. There was a very obvious void in the blankets where his brother's lower left leg should've been and Al wished he was capable of crying. Like Granny had told him there would be, there was a clean, white cloth on Ed's forehead and Al immediately took it and re-wet it before placing it gently back on Ed's forehead.

Since neither Animal nor Ed looked like they were going to wake up any time soon, Al made himself as comfortable as possible and sat on the floor next to the Animals so he could keep an eye on them and Ed at the same time, forgoing the chair left next to the patient bed for a patient's loved one to use. He didn't want to break it and have to tell Granny about why it was broken. He wasn't sure he could still perform alchemy in this form and he didn't want to break something only to find he couldn't fix it.

He hoped, for his brother's sake, that Ed would stay unconscious for a day or two and give his body the best chance to heal as much as it possibly could before Ed woke up. Al watched Ed's deep, even breaths for a while as he sat in the room in complete silence, with only the muffled sound of rain on the roof to break it. He continued to wait in silence, switching out the cloth on Ed's forehead every hour like he'd been instructed to do, and hoping that Chester would wake up soon.

* * *

It took nearly another hour, just after Al had switched out the cloth one more time for Ed, for one of his wishes to come true. Movement from his left had Al focusing on his Animal and he watched with bated excitement as Chester started shifting minutely. Al made himself stay completely still, just in case Chester was only going from unconsciousness to sleeping but Chester lifted his head and blinked blearily.

Al watched as his leopard stretched and yawned before he looked around the unfamiliar room, taking in the sterile walls, Ayala and Edward before his eyes landed on Al. Al must've accidentally shifted because the next thing he knew, Chester was on his feet, back arched and hissing at him. Al felt a split second of devastation before he shoved that feeling away because of course Chester didn't know it was him. However, before he could reassure Chester of who he was, recognition flashed in Chester's eyes and the leopard relaxed slightly.

" _Al?"_  Chester asked tentatively through their bond and Al almost laughed with relief. After what Winry had told him about Den's comment on Chester's energy, he'd been a little worried they wouldn't be able to communicate like they should've been able to.

"Yeah, it's me, Chester," Al informed him gently. Chester's hackles lowered and his tail de-puffed before he walked over to Al and started a thorough investigation of his armour, including the inside of it, once Al removed the chest plate. Once done, Chester sat in front of him perplexed.

 _"You've got no body,"_  Chester said blankly, causing Al to chuckle at his straight-to-the-point reaction.  _"How did that happen?"_  That caused Al to pause.

"You don't know?" Chester shook his head. "What was the last thing you remember before you lost consciousness?" Al asked.

 _"Well, I remember you two idiots activating that array and everything going to hell. I saw you being torn apart by little black hands until you just disappeared. I heard your screams and I could do nothing to help you. The very last thing I remember seeing is Ed's face when you disappeared right in front of him. I blacked out after that,"_  Chester informed him, glancing over where Ed was laying. Al could only imagine his brother's face.

"You don't remember anything else?" Al pressed. He'd hoped he'd have woken up momentarily when Al regained consciousness in the basement.

 _"No, sorry. It seems like I don't know any more than you do, huh?"_  Chester guessed and Al nodded in agreement.  _"There is something else."_  Al would've looked hopeful, if he had a face until he registered the fact that Chester sounded unsure.  _"You don't have any of my energy in you."_  Chester looked puzzled, like he couldn't actually believe he was saying that.

"Well, how'd you heal?" Al asked. "If I don't have your energy than where is it?" Al asked before Chester could answer the first question, sounding more confused than Chester had. A jolt of understanding suddenly passed through their bond, coming from Chester. "What is it?" Chester looked at him, debating how to answer.

 _"I don't know exactly how it happened, but my energy is in your brother,"_  Chester told him. _"And I don't mean I'm using Ayala's energy. What I mean is your brother has both Ayala's energy and mine in him. They're still separate so I couldn't use Ayala's even if I wanted too,"_  Chester explained.

All Animals have the ability to sense their own energy. It was how they kept an eye on the level of energy they had left and Chester could sense his inside of Ed. He had no idea how his energy ended up in Edward because he'd never heard of such a thing. Then again, he thought wryly, he'd never heard of an Animal who'd lost their human before getting them back as a suit of armour.

"How is that even possible?" Al gasped. "Brother and I have read every single book we could get our hands on about Spirit Animals and not one single book ever even hinted at an Animals energy being able to be transferred to another human," Al said, shaking his head.

He couldn't believe this was even happening. First, he woke to find himself as a suit of armour, not even properly human anymore. Then he finds his brother severely injured, missing two limbs and bleeding out and now he finds out his Animal isn't even fully his anymore! He wanted to cry and scream at the unfairness of it all but of course he couldn't even do that, thanks to his new body. This was all Ed's fault! Al hadn't even wanted to do that stupid transmutation but he didn't want to disappoint Ed and his older brother had probably used that against and look what happened! He no longer had a flesh and bone body and now he no longer had his Animal!

 _"You're being an idiot! Calm down!"_  Chester shouted at him, destroying Al's urge to punch something. The big cat had nearly been bowled over by the amount of anger and blame being directed at Edward. He knew Alphonse was just reacting out of shock and anger and that he didn't mean it but he wasn't thinking straight and it was Chester's job to make him see sense.

 _"I am no more Ed's Animal than I am Pinako's. I don't know why my energy is in him but I'd have to assume it has something to do with the fact that you don't have a human body,"_  Chester told him once Al was calm enough to listen to him.  _"Our energy needs to be kept alive, like a human organ does, which means it needs a human body to host it. Whatever happened must've caused your body to be destroyed and while you somehow managed to come back as a suit of armour, you do not have a human body anymore. My energy needed a human host so whatever happened to get you back obviously also caused my energy to be placed in Edward. If it wasn't, I would be dead,"_  Chester told him bluntly and felt Al's shame. Chester didn't let himself soften towards him though. Alphonse needed to hear everything Chester had to say.

" _Furthermore, this whole situation is not just Edward's fault and you bloody well know it,"_  Chester told him.  _"_ You _agreed to go along with the plan and_ you _placed your hands on that array alongside your brother. Edward didn't force you into doing anything which means you are as much at fault for your current situation as Ed, Ayala and I are,"_  Chester spat.  _"Do you really think your brother isn't going to blaming himself the moment he wakes up and realises what the price was? You and I both know that Ed's a stubborn, self-blaming moron who will refuse to let you or me or Ayala take any of the blame for what happened."_  Alphonse cringed at his leopard's words because Chester was completely hitting the nail on the head.  _"You need to accept the fact that you had an equal part to play in this and you need to take responsibility for it. And I'll tell you something else you might not have noticed but I did,"_  Chester said, voice going low and calm.  _"Edward was only missing his leg after you disappeared. His arm was still there when I lost consciousness."_

Al felt like Chester had physically slapped him. He hadn't put that together before now even though that he remembered seeing Ed with only a missing leg just before he disappeared. This meant that whatever Ed did to bring him back – because Ed had to have done something to bring him back because there was no other plausible explanation – cost him his right arm. Alphonse couldn't imagine the amount of pain Ed must've in with his leg missing and Alphonse disappearing right in front of his very eyes. Even though he was in that amount of unimaginable pain, Ed still found the strength to do whatever he'd done to bring Al back, undoubtedly knowing there would be a price to be paid.

Chester was also right in regard to what he'd said about Ed shouldering the blame by himself. He knew that when Ed wakes up after Granny takes him off the sedation he was undoubtedly under and realises what had happened to Alphonse, Chester and himself, he'll refuse to let any of them take any amount of the blame. Alphonse felt disgusted and ashamed of himself for blaming his brother, even for the split second that he'd done so.

* * *

The sound of Pinako approaching her front door, causing the slightest of creaks to sound on her front steps caught Chester's attention and he was quick to warn Al of her imminent arrival. Al ended up being grateful for that warning because apparently Pinako turned into a ninja the moment she entered the house. She would've caused him to jump when she opened the door to Ed's temporary room because he hadn't heard her or Den enter the house.

Once she was in the room, she ignored them in favour of checking on Ed. Den, however, came over and nudged both Chester and Alphonse before he checked on Ayala and reported back to Pinako. Once she was finished checking on Ed's wounds, breathing and fever and deemed them acceptable, only then did she come over to talk with Alphonse. If he hadn't known Granny's tells as well as he did, he would've missed the haunted look in her eyes.

"I've cleaned the evidence up as best I could. The array, what you two made and the blood are all gone," Granny told him. "I've left the books and notes for you to deal with since I couldn't understand what was what."

"What we made? The transmutation failed. We didn't bring anyone back," Al told her, confused. He tried to remember what was in the middle of the room as he was saving his brother and the Animals but he never saw anything. He was sure he would've noticed another human in the room with them though. Granny's face flashed with pity momentarily before her usual stoic expression fell back into place.

"You didn't bring anything  _human_  back," Granny corrected him gently and looked a bit sympathetic when Al seemed to recoil in shock. "Whatever you made wasn't human. I couldn't describe what I found even if I wanted to but I know that I'll likely see it in my nightmares. I can only hope Ed never saw it with everything else going on," Pinako said, giving Ed a pitying look where he lay oblivious to everything going on around him. Pinako was clearly finished with the subject and Al would've pressed her for more information only if he was suicidal. Granny Pinako could be more stubborn than his big brother when she wanted to be.

"Anyway," Granny said, startling Al slightly as he hadn't expected her to have anything else to say, "I'm sure Winry told you that I don't plan on moving Ed tonight. If he wakes up before I check on him in the morning, come and get me immediately. I mean it, Alphonse," Granny said sternly. "If he shows any sign of waking up, either you come and get me or you have Chester send Den a message. Understood?" Al and Chester both nodded in agreement and she seemed satisfied. "Good. It's good to see you up, Chester. Try and get some rest," Granny told them before replacing the cloth on Ed's forehead with a fresh one and leaving the room with nothing more said, Den following her closely.

"I'm a horrible brother, aren't I?" Al asked Chester as he looked at his knees. Chester hummed for a moment, contemplating his answer.

 _"Not necessarily,"_  Chester said finally. _"You were angry, scared and upset. It's only natural you lashed out at someone else. I believe that's a typical human quality. I'm sure your brother would understand. Besides, you don't feel that way now right?"_ Chester asked him.

"No, I don't. You were right and I knew that anyway. I guess..." Al trailed off, not really knowing how to finish his sentence. He didn't know what he was thinking when he blamed Edward.

 _"I know. Like I said, you had a normal human response. Something horrible happened to you and you just wanted to blame anyone except yourself and unfortunately Edward was the only one you could lash out at,"_  Chester reassured him. Al hummed in agreement since he knew Chester would have a clearer idea on what he'd been thinking in the moment.

* * *

With nothing left to really discuss, they lapsed into companionable silence for the rest of the night. Every hour, Al got up to change the cloth on Ed's forehead in a bid to keep his fever in check, if not break it outright, then joined his leopard back on the floor to keep watch over his brother and wolf until morning. Edward barely stirred during the night and neither did Ayala but Al wasn't overly worried.

If he used Chester as the baseline for when to expect Ayala up, she wouldn't wake until a couple of hours after Ed did. When Al asked why it had taken Chester so long to wake up, Chester told him it was because he'd been taking his energy from someone unconscious. Despite the fact that he himself was unconscious, Chester told Al that he was instinctively taking the energy at a much slower rate than normal because he knew the human with his energy was also unconscious and therefore, unable to control how much energy was taken.

Chester then went on to explain that this is the only situation where an Animal can take their energy to heal themselves; normally the human needs to initiate the healing but obviously, if the human isn't conscious, they can't. The downside to this was the fact that if the Animal accidentally used more energy than strictly necessary, it would be the human who suffered the consequences. Chester warned Al that Ed would need to be extra careful now if he and Ayala ever needed to be healed at the same time.

"Is there any way we can get your energy back to me?" Al asked concerned. If the Animals got severely injured and Ed had to heal them, he might be left in worse shape than the Animals.

 _"None that I can think of,"_  Chester said before humming for a moment. _"I mean, aside from you getting your human body back by some miracle. That's the only way I can think of,"_ Chester informed him and Al scoffed.

In order for him to get his body back, someone would have to commit human transmutation again and considering how much this failed one cost the both of them, he would never let anyone or himself try another attempt. Unless they could figure out a way to get his body without it costing them so much, Al was content to make do with his current situation and he told Chester just as much. The leopard was in complete agreement and they didn't speak any more on the subject. The next thing they knew, dawn's pale light was breaking through the window in Ed's room and they heard the sounds of Pinako and Den getting up to start their day.

"No movement during the night?" Granny asked as she entered the room and headed for Edward immediately. She start unwrapping Ed's leg wound to look at it and change the bloody bandages for new ones as she waited for the answer.

"He shifted a couple hours after you left but never woke," Al dutifully informed her.

"Ayala?" Granny was all business at the moment.

"She never stirred," Al said. Granny huffed her acknowledgement. She checked the wound, deemed it satisfactory and re-wrapped it with fresh bandages before looking at his arm. Al didn't look any more than he had too. Finally, she was finished with his arm and threw the dirtied wrappings in the waste bin. She checked his temperature and finally smiled a little.

"His fever broke overnight. He no longer has a temperature," she informed Al, who made a small noise of happiness. "I'll leave him here until this afternoon to see if he wakes. We'll have to move him this afternoon either way as I'll need this room if I have any more patients come in. if he doesn't wake before then, he'll not wake until tomorrow," Granny explained and Al nodded. "Winry should be up soon so you and Chester can spend some time with her instead of keeping yourselves locked up in here. Den can stand watch for us," Granny told him. "Before she does wake up though, did Chester fill in any of the gaps?" She looked disappointed when Ed shook his head.

"No, he lost consciousness soon after I did. And I do mean within two or three seconds after me. The last thing he saw was me being torn apart by whatever took Ed's leg." Granny startled a little at the part about him being torn apart but she latched on his last words.

"Just his leg?" Granny's curiousity was peaked. She'd assumed both injuries had happened at the same time.

"Yeah. Chester pointed that out to me last night. Only his leg was missing when I blacked out. When I came to, his arm was gone. We think he used his arm as payment to get my soul back." Al kept his answer as short as possible.

"Yeah, that sounds like something Ed would do," Granny sighed. All Al could do was just nod in agreement.

Granny finished up what she needed to do in Edward's room before informing Al she was going to get herself and Den some breakfast. Al had come to the conclusion only a couple of hours earlier that he no longer needed to eat so he declined Granny's offer of breakfast. She accepted it with no argument, telling Al that she likely had realised what he had, and extended the offer to Chester who, after a check with Al, agreed and followed Den and Pinako out of the room.

* * *

An hour later, Winry could be heard walking down the stairs and Al half-expected her to come and check on them right away but Chester - who had rejoined Al the moment he'd finished his breakfast - reported that he could hear Granny telling her to have breakfast first. It took Winry another fifteen minutes to actually enter the room and check on them herself. She gave Al and Chester a smile and Al realised his guess of Granny catching her up on their condition was right because she didn't look surprised to see Chester up and about.

"No change yet?" She asked, nodding towards Ed.

"No, he and Ayala are still asleep. Granny wants to wait until this afternoon to move him." Winry nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, if he hasn't woken by then he likely won't wake till tomorrow," she said knowingly. Al chuckled slightly.

"Your grandma said the same thing. Guess you've picked up a thing or two," he explained when she gave him a questioning look. She made a silent 'ah' of understanding and smiled kindly at him.

"Do you wanna go for a walk? We don't have to talk about anything but going outside might be good after everything," Winry offered good-naturedly. Al hesitated because what if Ed woke while he was out? Chester injected himself in the conversation before Al could turn down her offer.

 _"Remember Granny said she'd send Den in here? He can contact me if something happens and we'll come back straight away. Going for a walk would be good,"_  Chester reminded him and Al gave in after a couple of moments because Chester was right; being cooped up in here wouldn't be good for him after a while and Ed wasn't likely to wake in the next hour or two.

Hauling himself up, Al glanced at his brother's still form before nodding to Winry and following her and Chester out of the room, leaving Ed and Ayala to their sleep. Winry closed the door softly before leading him and Chester out of the house only after they'd told Granny where they would be going and Al getting her to promise that Den would contact Chester the moment anything happened. In return, they promised to have Chester contact Den if they were going to be longer than the two hours' they said they would be.

* * *

Winry took the lead and they ended up going away from civilisation, up the back of the Rockbell property rather than towards the Elric property of towards town. Alphonse and Chester found themselves grateful for her decision. Neither wanted to deal with curious townsfolk questioning them about Al's new look or where Ed was.

Alphonse finally recognised the place Winry was leading them too. He could soon see the massive, shady tree that they'd sat under dozens of times with the boys' mum and Granny Pinako whenever the two families agreed to catch up and have a picnic. This spot was almost directly between their two properties and they could see both houses from their vantage point. In spring, they would've been surrounded by the most beautiful wildflowers and Al would've grinned at the memories of Winry making flower crowns for everyone – including the boys – and them picking flowers for their mum and Granny.

Winry stayed quiet during the whole walk, only speaking when she asked if both of them were all good or if they wanted to stop for a bit. She didn't mention anything about the previous night, other than to comment about how slippery the rain had made everything. Chester was grateful for that and for the chance to stretch his legs properly and he soon branched away from them to do a proper exploration of the area as the two humans continued up the familiar path.

When they finally reached the top, they sat under the tree while Chester climbed up onto one of the branches and flattened himself along it. Alphonse couldn't help but automatically look for his house and he would admit that he was a little surprised to see that it looked practically the same. Considering the horror that had happened inside of it, it was a little shocking that it looked so unassuming from the outside.

"I told myself I wouldn't ask," Winry began and Al tensed up, "and I won't but I want you to know that if you do wanna talk about it, I'll listen. I guess you already told Granny everything 'cuz she would've made you but I'll listen." She went quiet after that. Al could practically feel the curiosity radiating from her but he didn't say a word as he tossed up his choices.

He could tell her. She would find out about what they'd done eventually as either Granny or Edward would tell her. While he didn't have all the answers so likely wouldn't be able to answer all of her questions, he could tell her about what the starting point to the night's events had been. It wasn't like he didn't trust her to keep it a secret from everyone. She and Granny were their only family and they wouldn't tell the military about what they'd done. The only thing stopping him was that he didn't want to see her disappointment in them and he didn't want to make her cry.

They stayed quiet for a little while, maybe half an hour, before Alphonse made his decision just as Winry looked like she was going to suggest they head back. At his gesture, she settled back down and he started talking. He didn't start from that night but instead started from the day of Trisha and Cleo's funeral, about how Ed had first suggested bringing their mum back. He told her everything they'd done; he didn't get into the specifics of the information they'd read but otherwise he told her everything, ending only when he once he told them about the relief he felt when he heard Granny heading for her front door.

While she'd started out looking like she wanted to lecture him and Ed about thinking about committing human transmutation, her expression slowly turned into one of realisation then horror as he continued talking. Tears spilled down her cheeks in increasing frequency as Al talked about the previous night and he heard her choking on her sobs as he described watching Ed's leg being taken, hearing Ayala's cries of pain, barely hearing Chester's pain-filled screams over his own and Ed's face before he disappeared. She seemed to calm down a little as he told her about waking up in the basement and him rushing the Animals and Ed to her home.

He fell quiet after that, to give her time to process everything he'd said since it was a lot to take in. Even he'd struggled to process everything while he was waiting for Winry and Granny to update him on the Animals and Ed last night and he'd witnessed it all first-hand. Before she could even try to say something, movement above them caught their attention and they looked up to see Chester sitting up. He had his head tilted slightly, as if he was listening to something, before he leapt gracefully out of the tree to land in front of Winry and Al.

 _"Den contacted me. Ed's showing signs of waking up,"_  Chester informed him.

Alphonse was on his feet and pulling Winry along behind him before Chester had managed to finish his sentence. Winry seemed to realise what Chester had told him from his behaviour because she didn't protest the manhandling and just ran alongside with him. The three of them didn't slow down until they were on the front porch and the only reason they entered the house at a calmer pace was because Granny would've killed them if they ran in her house.

* * *

Al and Winry burst into the patient room to find Granny doing some checks on Ed, who was watching her blearily. From the looks of how glazed his golden eyes were, Ed was barely aware of where he was or what was going on around him. He didn't even react to their entry, just nodded his head at Granny, who gently pet his cheek before giving him more painkillers and murmured something to him. Ed just closed his eyes and unconscious before Al or Winry could say or do anything. Granny didn't let them say anything either before she was shooing them out of the room and shutting the door.

"Why didn't you let me speak to him?" Al demanded angrily.

"Did you hear him speaking?" Granny snapped back, causing Al to shrink back. "He was too exhausted and on too many painkillers to speak to anyone! I had to give him more because he almost screamed the house down from how much pain he was still in," Granny informed him coolly. "I'll ease him off of it so he'll wake up more pleasantly next time," she told him reassuringly when he started fidgeting in worry.

"I also didn't let you in there because if he saw you only two things would happen: he wouldn't recognise you and would freak out, potentially hurting himself more, if he saw a suit of armour walking around or he'd recognise you and freak out at what happened to you, potentially hurting himself more," Granny informed him bluntly. "Since he'll wake up a bit nicer next time, I'll let you speak to him then but only if he remembers what happened," she said sternly. "If he doesn't, you'll only see him once I've explained what happened to. Got it?" Alphonse nodded as he ducked his head in shame. Just like he'd done last night, he'd spoken before taking a couple of seconds to make sure his emotions were justified.

"I'm sorry, Granny. I didn't mean to snap at you," Al apologised meekly. Pinako shook her head.

"Of course you did," she snorted, "but don't worry about it. You think you're the first family member to snap at me because I wouldn't let them in while their loved one was coming off of painkillers?" Granny scoffed at him.

Though her words worked to lessen his guilt, he still felt bad and silently promised himself to not react like that again, not just with Granny but with anyone. It wasn't fair to them and they shouldn't have to suffer outbursts like that just because they're used to it. He saw Winry place her hand on his arm in a comforting gesture and – while he appreciated it – the fact that he couldn't feel it wasn't doing anything to cheer up his mood. Chester sent him the mental version of a comforting hug through their bond, which did help.

"Did Ayala wake up?" He changed the subject slightly. Granny relit her pipe now she was away from Ed.

"She tossed a bit when Ed screamed and while he was conscious but no, she never fully awoke." Granny placed the pipe between her teeth and drew in a breath then exhaled the smoke. Al figured her waking fully would've been too much to ask for.

"Can I go back in and sit with him, please?" Granny nodded her agreement and Al went back inside without looking back.

Upon entering the room, Al automatically glanced over at Ed and if he hadn't been told he'd woken up, he would never have guessed. The only difference between how he'd looked now and how he'd looked when Al and Winry had left for their walk was the fact that his top blanket had been removed and he no longer had the washcloth on his forehead. Alphonse felt slightly more morose as he took up his vigil at his brother's side once again and checked on Ayala as Chester got himself settled. She looked the same as before as well and Chester reported that she was still unconscious, not asleep.

They spent a few hours in the patient room doing nothing more than sharing some small talk and staring at nothing. After a couple of hours, Chester curled up on his bed next to Ayala and decided to have a nap but only after he made sure Al would be alright. Alphonse had told Chester not to be silly and get some sleep if he wanted but after three hours of boredom, he'd started regretting that decision. Thankfully it wasn't long before he heard someone approaching the room and he shifted in his place as he watched the door.

"Okay, we're gonna shift Ed to the spare room," Granny told him as she walked into the room. "I need this room for any patients who come in and he'll be more comfortable on that bed," Granny said as she started disconnecting his IV. "He'll need a saline drip put in once he's settled but I'll be weaning him off the sedatives once he's in the room." Guessing Al's thoughts, she continued. "He'll still be on painkillers but I'll be lowering his dosage of that too so that he can wake up. He needs to start moving around before his muscles start to atrophy." Al was standing by this stage, ready to help move Ed.

"How's he gonna do that?" Al was understandably confused. How does someone move when they're missing a leg  _and_  an arm? Granny paused in her work to think for a moment.

"We'll have to devise an exercise plan for him. Believe it or not, but there's plenty of small exercises he can do to make sure his muscles don't atrophy. Of course, that is if he doesn't elect to get automail," Granny answered. Al stopped mid-step. Automail? He hadn't even thought about that being an option.

"Isn't he too young for automail? I've never heard of a child getting automail before," Al asked curiously. Knowing his brother, he'd definitely opt to get the automail. Edward was the personification of stubbornness and having automail would help him maintain that stubbornness. He didn't like people fussing over him.

"He'd have to get the ports reinstalled after every major growth spurt since he hasn't finished growing. Of course, this is entirely up to him but automail on children isn't rare. It's uncommon but certainly not rare," Granny told him, a little sadly. She never did like putting automail on kids. "If he got automail, I'd have to take the rest of his shoulder and anchor the port into his collarbone, ribs and shoulder blade. His leg will be taken above what's left of his knee so the port and connection part act as the knee joint," she explained as she finished getting Ed ready for the move. "I'd need to do the installation surgery first and wait a few weeks for his nerves to calm down before he could get his automail limbs connected. Of course, he might not actually want the automail but if I know your brother," she trailed off but Alphonse didn't need her to finish her sentence. But something stopped Al from outright agreeing with her. Granny didn't seem to notice and motioned for him to move Ed.

"He's not going to be the same when he wakes up, is he?" Al asked as he lifted his big brother into his arms and followed Granny out of the patient room. They were going to bring Ayala up once Ed was situated. Granny sighed.

"No, I don't think he is. You and Ayala will have your work cut out for yourselves when he awakens, I imagine," Granny predicted as she reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to her left. Al followed her in and gently placed his brother on the bed situated in the middle of the room. It had been moved from its spot against the wall so that Granny would have better access to his arm. She set him up with a saline drip and arranged the blankets around Ed. "Go on, go get Ayala and her bed. You might as well bring Chester's bed up here too. I guess this is where you'll be staying while your brother recovers." Al nodded and left the room.

When he got back to the patient room, Chester was already up and waiting for him. Al carefully picked Ayala up, careful not to accidentally hurt her since he didn't know his own strength right now before grabbing her bed. Chester helped by dragging his own bed behind him since Al had his arms full with Ayala and her bed. A short march up the stairs and Al had both Animals sleeping quarters sorted and was now waiting patiently for Granny's next set of instructions.

"Alright, I'm leaving the two of you alone until I check up on him before I go to bed. I'm sure Winry will be in before she goes to bed too," Granny warned him. "I've taken him off the sedatives so he'll wake up once they wear off, which should be in a couple hours. If he shows signs of waking before I check on him, you make me aware of it so I can see what he remembers before he see you," Granny told him, leaving no room for argument. She waited for him to nod before continuing. "The painkillers will help take the edge off his pain. He should be relatively pain free in a couple days, a week at the most. Try not to jostle him when he starts waking up though, okay? If he starts fussing but not waking up, I suggest putting Ayala on his right side. She won't hit any wounds if she turns over and her being that close will be soothing for him. Should work a treat." Granny instructed him as she double-checked the bandages she'd put on that morning.

"Is that a good idea? What if she rolls over in her sleep or something and hurts him?" Al questioned her and Granny gave him a flat look.

"Of course I'm sure. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have suggested it," she said curtly and Alphonse cringed. Of course she knew what she was on about. "Ayala will subconsciously know where Ed's hurt and avoid his injuries. It would be the same the other way around. Plus, if she's next to him, it'll help him feel better. It's got something to do with the bond. Some alchemist's probably explained it but I don't much care for reading about alchemy," Granny explained as she finished checking Ed. Apparently satisfied, she turned to leave.

"Thank you, Granny," Al near whispered, "for looking after him." Pinako waved his thanks off with a smile and left the two boys and their Animals alone while she went to clean the room Ed had been in with a parting reminder to come and get her immediately if Ed started to wake up.

* * *

Once Granny had left the room, Al made himself as comfortable as he could. The upside to being in this room was that there were some books in here that they'd left during their visits so they'd have something to read if they forgot their own books. Grabbing a stack, Al opened one and started reading while Chester started to groom himself. Ayala and Ed continued to sleep soundly but this time, because of the lack of sedation, Ed was a lot more active than he had been.

No one came up until after when Winry and Granny normally sat down and had dinner. Winry came in when it had gotten proper dark outside and Al had been forced to turn on a lamp so he could continue reading. Judging from her damp hair and scowl, Granny had ordered her to go for a shower before she went into the room and considering Winry had been in her workshop after their walk and likely covered in grease and grime, Al was thankful for Ed's sake that Granny had made her shower.

Winry entertained him for a couple of hours with detailed descriptions of what she'd been up to in the workshop. She apprehensively informed him that she'd even been playing around with some blueprints for an automail arm and leg for Ed, if he wanted them installed. She then nervously rambled on, saying that Ed wouldn't  _have_  to have automail installed just because she was planning on building him a set and that if he didn't want them, it would still be good practise for her and Al put her out of her misery by telling her he thought it was really nice of her to be thinking of Ed's options. That put her at ease and their conversation continued in a much smoother fashion until Granny came in to check on Ed before retiring for the night and ordering Winry to bed.

Their childhood friend went with some fussing but Granny wouldn't budge so she eventually admitted defeat and grumbled a goodnight to them before leaving. Granny wasn't surprised when Al reported that Edward had been moving and shifting but he hadn't shown any other sign of waking up. She explained that he'd only just come off the sedative so it wouldn't have completely worked its way out of his system yet. That plus the fact that Ed was still on the painkillers meant it would take longer for him to wake up. Once again, Granny warned him to come and get her before Ed fully awoke so she could talk to him first and explain the situation if need be and both Chester and Al promised once more to do as she said. Satisfied, she bade them goodnight and left the room, telling Al that there was food in the kitchen if he or Chester were hungry and to help themselves.

Al immediately felt horribly guilty because he'd completely forgotten that he was the only one who didn't need to eat now. Chester was still a flesh and blood animal and therefore he needed food so he wouldn't drain his special energy. Chester had been quick to inform him that he didn't mind because he hadn't had an appetite all day and he would've told Alphonse if he was hungry and couldn't get food himself. They headed downstairs right away so that Chester could eat his fill before they decided that a quick walk would do them some good. Al didn't want to stray too far from the house just in case and Chester completely understood so they walked to the end of the driveway and back before heading back upstairs.

To Al's relief and disappointment, Ed was still fast asleep, as was Ayala, when he and Chester entered the bedroom once more. They got themselves settled in the same spots as before and set in to wait for Ed to shake off the remaining sedation. Chester and Al decided to pass the time by playing some games like 20 questions, chatting about insignificant things and quizzing each other rather than just reading, napping or watching the clock on the wall tick by slowly.

* * *

Around 2:30am, movement caught Al's attention and he looked hopefully at his brother's bed. Chester woke up from his nap, sensing Al's hope, and he also focused on the bed-ridden boy. At first, Al thought it had been a trick of his mind but then Ed started squirming far more than usual and Al felt his hopes go up further. It wasn't until he saw a flash of gold as Ed's eyes half-opened then closed that Al instructed Chester to wake Granny up. After a few moments, Chester passed on a message from Den telling them to leave the room.

Just as they opened the door quietly and stepped out of the room, Granny and Den appeared. A stern look from Granny told them exactly what would happen if they tried to follow them in without her needing to use words. She did leave the door open so they could listen in though and they watched through the gap as Granny approached the bed.

* * *

Ed felt heavy. That was all he could think as he struggled to get his eyes to open so he could see where he was. He felt dazed and confused and he didn't understand why he had to fight to keep his eyes open. His limbs were sluggish and difficult to move. He heard someone moving around in the room he was in and when he finally managed to open his eyes, he recognised the spare room in Granny's house and identified Granny as the one walking around. This just added to his confusion as the last thing he remembered was being in his own house.

"Granny?" Ed asked, voice immensely perplexed. "Where am I? What-" His golden eyes bulged as the horrific events flashed through his mind and Pinako knew he was recalling the events that landed him here. "Where's Al?! The Animals?!" Granny made a gesture for him to settle when Ed spotted Al's armour standing near the door and recognition flashed across his face. "Al? Is that you?" His voice was croaky from disuse and Granny was quick to grab the cup of water from the bedside she'd had the foresight to put there for him to drink. He took some sips as he waited for Al to speak.

"It's me, brother," Al confirmed solemnly. Ed tried to sit up but both Granny and the pain stopped him.

"Don't strain yourself, Ed. You've done a lot of damage to your body. Al and I'll explain what we can but only if you stay still. Alright?" She offered as a compromise and Edward accepted. Granny took a breath and started talking.

"Firstly, both of the Animals are completely fine," Granny told him and Ed breathed a sigh of relief. "Ayala is still unconscious but we didn't expect her to awake before you did. Chester is also fine," she told him and now that he'd calmed down a little, Ed could feel Ayala through their bond. "As you can see, Al is fine, in the loosest definition of the word," Granny said, waving a back in Al's direction and Ed had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

"Now, I don't know much beyond what Al has told me but you two idiots decided to go and perform an array that was taboo for a reason and it failed spectacularly," Granny said bluntly. "It was always going to fail. You boys may be geniuses but you are complete idiots for thinking you could do what hundreds of alchemists have failed at before," Granny informed them and both couldn't argue with her point. "But that's beside the point. Can't change the past now." Granny's anger at their stupidity was still evident and Edward cringed at her disappointment. She noticed and sighed before continuing.

"Al could only remember up until he was taken and Chester doesn't remember much more. Apparently, the transmutation rebounded and from what we can gather, it took most of your left leg," Edward looked down to see the blanket lying flat where his leg was supposed to be and Granny's voice softened as she delivered the news that would be the hardest, " and Al lost his whole body. We don't know what you did or whether  _you_  did anything but somehow Alphonse is now that suit of armour. We think that if it was you, it cost you your right arm." Ed hung his head as he absorbed this information and tried to sort through the pieces he could remember until he could recall the events from that night.

He could remember everything and he told them everything. The storm, the alchemic energy changing colours, the little black hands. Ayala howls of pains mixing with his own screams as his leg was taken. Alphonse disintegrating in front of him, Chester collapsing. The white space and Truth's spine-chilling voice. All that knowledge being crammed into his head. Chester's breathing and that warm spark of hope. Ayala giving him permission and the clang of the armour as it fell. Drawing the blood array and pleading for his brother to be given back to him. The pain of his right arm being torn away disappearing as he collapsed.

He looked up at them and started talking now that he had all the events in order. He told them everything that had happened from the moment Al disappeared to the moment he collapsed. The only thing he didn't tell them about was Truth and his world. If Al could remember it and hadn't told Granny or Winry, Ed wanted to know why. If Al didn't remember it, Ed wanted to tell him when they were by themselves.

Ed finally finished filling in the gaps and waited for their reactions. Granny looked ashen and her face was slack with shock. Edward couldn't even tell what Al was thinking. It finally hit him in that moment and he fully processed what he'd done to his little brother. Tears slowly dripped from the corners of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Al, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have pushed you into doing the transmutation. I should've listened!" Ed sobbed, not bothering to hide his tears. "Now you're stuck in that armour! You can't do anything in it! You can't feel people touching you, you can't eat, you can't sleep and it's all my fault! I'm sorry, little brother. I failed you and I failed mum. I promised to look out for you and look at what I did!" Edward sobbed, his voice rising hysterically. Al felt a pang of guilt as he remembered his outburst in the hours just after the rebound. He hurried to his brother's side, not worrying about the noise he made.

"No, Brother," Al disagreed. "It's not just your fault. I agreed to it, remember? I helped activate it. It's my fault too." Edward went to interrupt but Al stopped him. "If you hadn't bonded my soul to this armour, I'd be dead and so would Chester. You saved both our lives! You went through an unbelievable amount of pain just to get me back! I don't blame you, Brother. Please try not to blame yourself," Al begged, refusing to let Ed shoulder the blame if he could help it.

Edward's sobs had faded to sniffles while he listened to his little brother. Tears still rolled down his face but Al knew what he said had gotten through, for the most part. It probably wouldn't change Ed's mind but he now at least knew that Al didn't blame him in the slightest and that would have to do for now. Granny watched the brother's exchange with sad eyes. It'd be a tough road ahead for both of them but they'd have each other, at least.

"Okay, that's enough excitement for tonight," she said decisively. "Ed, I got rid of the evidence and locked the house up so no one can get in so don't you start worrying about that. You need to get some more sleep. Hopefully when you wake up next, Ayala will join you," Granny told him as she started fussing with Ed's bedding. "You hear that, Alphonse? He needs sleep." Edward and Alphonse both knew better than to go against Granny's orders. Chester nudged Al mentally to get his attention.

 _"Tell Edward that I don't blame him either,"_ he requested. Alphonse was about to repeat what Chester said when he saw Ed looking at Chester like he'd never seen him before.

"What's wrong, Brother?" Chester didn't look any different to him so Al was completely unsure as to why Chester was on the end of that look.

"Did Chester just speak to you?" Ed asked, voice wavering in disbelief and uncertainty. Al nodded, unsure of why Ed was asking. "Chester, can you speak to Al again, please?" Chester looked as confused as Al felt but humoured the blonde.

 _"Do you know why he's asking me to do this?"_  Chester asked Al but Al didn't get a chance to answer.

"Holy crap!" Edward exclaimed, eyes bulging out of his head. "I can hear Chester!"


	7. Chapter 7

If Ed wasn't in shock himself, he would've laughed at the gaping expressions Granny, Al and Chester sported after his announcement that he could hear Chester. He was now sitting completely up in bed, ignoring any and all pain, so he could stare at Chester like he was trying to figure out whether Chester was playing a trick on him. Al felt like he'd been struck and that despicable hate he'd felt when Chester confirmed his energy was in Ed flared again before Al stomped it out.

"You can hear Chester? Like you can Ayala?" Al sounded like he was going to faint. He could feel the complete confusion radiating from Chester. Apparently, his Animal had no clue either. "How is that even possible?" He asked when Ed's shaky nod answered his first two questions.

Ed opened his mouth once, twice, but each time no noise came out and Al would've teased him for not knowing everything if it was a different situation. Even Granny looked stumped and Chester was as much help as them. Al was a little annoyed that Ed didn't know the answer but when he looked at his brother's face, he recognised the expression. His brother was thinking about all the relevant data he had and was forming a theory.

"How did Chester heal himself?" Ed's question threw Al.

"What? Why's that important?" Al's brain wasn't currently over the shock so it wasn't trying to make big intelligent leaps at the moment. Ed stared him down until he relented. "He said his energy is stored in you, like Ayala's only his is separate from hers. He can't use hers and vice versa." Edward nodded, like he expected that answer.

"I think something happened when I brought your soul back. I don't know how to put it exactly but I think our souls are connected, I guess?" Ed made a face, evidently not happy with his wording but continued. "Spirit Animal energy needs a human host to work so when I brought your soul back – the part of the human the physical Animal is attached to – I must've also unknowingly made myself Chester's energy holder. That would explain why his energy is in me. His energy got attached to me because I could only bring your soul back," Edward explained and something in Al's mind clicked. That actually made a lot of sense but that still didn't answer the second question regarding Chester.

"Is that also the reason you can hear him?" Al asked but Ed shook his head.

"No, it isn't," Ed said and Al bit back a growl of impatience. "Their energy is only used for emergency food or healing for the Animal. It doesn't play a part in Animal's being able to speak, to their human or other Animals because if it did, human's would've felt the draining energy whenever the Animal spoke to them or other Animals." Again, Al could see the logic behind that. After centuries of researchers dedicating their lives to uncovering all of the secrets behind the bond, Al thought it was extremely unlikely that  _none_  of them had noticed the Animal's energy level dropping as it spoke to its human. Next to Al, Granny was nodding in agreement.

"So why-?" Al started to ask but Ed cut him off.

"Granny, can you get Den to talk? Please?" Edward asked. Pinako's eyebrows almost flew off her face in surprise but she nudged Den awake since he'd somehow managed to stay asleep through all of the excitement.

 _"What?"_  Den grumbled as he got to his feet in annoyance.  _"I was sleeping."_  He glared at Granny.

"I can hear him too!" Den turned to face Edward, who was looking at him in wonder and confusion.

 _"Say what?!"_  Den exclaimed loudly, causing Ed and Granny to flinch.  _"How come you can hear me all of a sudden? It shouldn't be possible for a human to hear an Animal they aren't bonded to."_

"I don't understand either. Can either of you think of a reason I can hear both of you?" Edward asked. Both Chester and Den looked at each other but neither could think of anything that would explain Ed's new ability.

 _"No, we've got no clue,"_  Chester admitted. Edward looked crestfallen.  _"It's like you've got the Spirit Animal side of the bond, at least when it comes to the telepathy side of things."_

"What do you mean by that last part?" Edward asked, excitement bubbling in the pit of his gut.

 _"Well, in simplest terms? Think of our telepathy as a telephone. Humans only ever have the one number to 'call' and that belongs to their Animal. Humans can't 'call' each other and they can't talk to other Animals because they don't possess their numbers,"_  Chester explained and could tell Den was explaining it in similar terms to his human.  _"So, before today, you only had Ayala's number so she was the only one you could call. Same goes for Alphonse and me and Den and Pinako."_  Both boys nodded in understanding.  _"It's a different story for Animals. While humans only possess their Animal's number, all Spirit Animals can connect to each other. I can talk to Den and Ayala and any other Animal I come across but I shouldn't be able to talk to you because Animals can't talk to a human they aren't bonded to."_  Chester waited for a moment, just to make sure they hadn't gotten confused before wrapping his idea up.  _"Somehow, you're able to talk to us now. It's like you've been given our phonebook, if you will, and you can call any number on it. We can answer you if we chose to, even though you're not our bonded human. The only thing I don't understand is_ why _you've gotten our phonebook,"_  Chester said and Edward had to admit that the explanation made sense. It didn't answer the question of why he now had this ability. The only thing he could think of was that somehow it had something to do with Truth. He couldn't recall every single piece of information he'd had crammed into his brain but he could sense it all.

"Okay, that's enough for tonight. I don't care how this happened and I don't care why," Granny told them. "You, Edward Elric, need to get some sleep. You've still got a massive amount of healing to do and sleeping is very good for that. I'll give you some painkillers to get you through the rest of the night," Granny said as she moved to do just that. "You lot can continue this discussion in the morning, assuming you're in good enough shape for it," Granny ordered, giving Ed the shot of morphine and pressing on his good shoulder to get him to lie down so he was comfortable.

"I don't wanna sleep. I need to talk to Al more." Ed knew he was whining but he didn't care. He needed to apologise to Al properly, while he wasn't doped up.

"Granny's right, Brother. You need some sleep. Whatever it is, it can wait until you wake up. Okay?" Ed barely hid the flinch he felt every time he heard his little brothers voice. It sounded like him but tinny. It sounded wrong. Unfortunately, Edward knew arguing would get him absolutely nowhere and not just because he was feeling the drowsy side effect of the painkillers but because Granny and Alphonse were as stubborn as mules. He locked gazes with his little brother.

"I'm sorry about everything, Alphonse. I'll fix it somehow," Ed swore before the morphine took effect and knocked him out before Al could respond.

* * *

Al watched as Ed settled into a deep sleep. His breathing wasn't the nice, even breathing it had been before but was now laboured, like he'd just been running. Alphonse realised that his breathing was because of how much pain his brother was in. Even if he'd stayed still during their whole talk, Ed would've been in immense pain but his brother had aggravated his injuries when he'd sat up suddenly after he apparently heard Chester talking. Al wasn't really surprised that his brother had thrown out Granny's advice to stay still when he heard Chester; Al would've done the exact same thing if he'd suddenly heard Ayala or Den in his mind.

Alphonse also wouldn't be surprised if, once his brother was awake again, Al would have to fight with Ed about who was to blame. Al knew his job of convincing his brother would be made a bit easier thanks to Chester and – if she was awake by then – Ayala but it would still be a massive job. Edward was very stubborn and if he didn't want to let someone take the blame for something, they wouldn't. He barely heard and responded to Granny passing on goodnight wishes from herself and Den as he pulled up the blankets on his brother's bed so Ed wouldn't get cold during the night. He was too busy thinking of ways he could try and convince Ed that he had equal blame in what happened to them. Once he finished fussing over his brother, Al went and sat next to Chester and Ayala and silence reigned for all of a minute.

 _"What a weird night."_  Al snorted involuntarily.

"You said it. I can't believe he can hear you and all the other Animals." Chester looked at his human.

He could sense the lingering shock in Al's mind but he could also sense the dampened jealousy and almost childish belief of how unfair it was that Al was doing a valiant job of trying not to feel. Chester didn't blame Alphonse for having those feelings though. After everything the boys went through, Ed ended up with 2 missing limbs but gained an unknowable amount of knowledge  _and_  an ability that literally no one else has ever had while Al ended up stuck as a soul bound to a suit of armour that couldn't physically feel, eat, sleep or do anything a human body could. Chester could understand why Al felt like he'd paid the biggest share of the price of the failed transmutation and had gotten nothing in return. However, Chester felt like Ed had been holding something back from them and the leopard wanted to know what.

"You wanna know the weirdest part?" Al's question brought Chester out of his musing.

 _"There's a weirdest part to this night?"_  Chester asked dryly. Al chuckled.

"Yeah. Ed doesn't know why he can suddenly hear other Animals." Chester waited but Al had obviously thought that was enough of an explanation because he didn't expand on his answer.

 _"How is that weird? I don't even know why he can hear us,"_  Chester asked.

"Because Brother knows everything," Al told him, "and even if he doesn't know right away, he always knows which book or books we could find the answer in. If he can't even give us a book to have a look at, it means he really has no clue why he can talk to all of you," Alphonse pointed out.

 _"Good point except for the fact that the answer won't be in any book. Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of humans and Spirit Animals,"_  Chester informed him.

"How do you know? Spirit Animals bonding to humans has been happening for, well, forever. Isn't it possible this has happened before?" Al asked.

" _I know this because all Spirit Animals are brought into existence with the acquired knowledge of every Spirit Animal before us,"_  Chester revealed.  _"It's how we know that for a bond to be complete, we have to give our human our name. it's how we know how to shapeshift if we need to. It's how we know everything we can expect – no matter how rare – from our bond,"_  Chester explained and Al listened, enraptured by the new information.  _"If a human had ever been able to speak to every single Animal before, not just their own, I would know about it because of this. The fact that neither Den nor I had ever heard about this being even remotely possible means that it's never happened before in our history."_  Al would've gaped if he was capable of it.

"Well, maybe it was the transmutation? Maybe something happened to Ed while he was forced through the Gate." Ed had told them about going through the Gate of Knowledge, just not about Truth. Alphonse knew his brother was still hiding something about that but right now he was unable to ask Ed anything more about it. Now, Al was grasping at any straw he could grab to try and make sense of this whole situation. He never had liked not knowing everything about something.

" _You two are not the first to have attempted human transmutation, you are merely the first to come out of the experience alive,"_  Chester reminded him coolly.  _"If anyone who had committed the taboo before you and somehow_ had _survived and never told anyone what they'd done, they still never gained the ability your brother has from the Gate of Knowledge because, like I said, all Animals created after that event would know about it. If the transmutation_ was _the reason Ed gained this ability, he's the only human who's ever gained that knowledge."_  Al looked crestfallen when he realised Chester's reasoning was sound.

"So, will Ed now have every Animal in his head? Will he have them talking in it all the time now?" Al asked, no longer envying his brother at the idea of it. Having that many voices in your head at once would not be fun.

" _That's a good question,"_  Chester said as he thought about his answer.  _"As you know, normally the only voice a human hears in their head is the one that belongs to their bonded Animal. Animals, on the other hand, can talk to all other Animals. I think we really need to start thinking of Ed more as a Spirit Animal when it comes to his new ability,"_  Chester told him.  _"If it works how my telepathy works than, no, Ed won't have dozens of voices in his head at the one time."_  Chester waited to see if Al was going to ask anything but his human seemed happy to let Chester talk uninterrupted.  _"As an Animal, I can talk to multiple other Spirit Animals at one time, like how a human has a conversation with multiple other people, only we don't speak out loud. Having said that, if I wanted to talk to, say, Ayala without Den overhearing us, I can simply not include him in the conversation. I believe I would liken it to how you and Ed sometimes walk away from Pinako and Winry to have a private conversation. If need be, I can block Den from my mind temporarily so he can't overhear me and Ayala accidentally,"_  Chester explained and Al nodded.

" _Now, normally I wouldn't have to worry about blocking someone when I'm talking to you because no other Animal can overhear an Animal's conversation with their bonded human. Now that Ed can talk to me and other Animals and not just Ayala, I'm not sure whether he will be able to overhear you and I talking or whether he will instinctively know to block other Animals from overhearing him when he converses with one of us. We'll only know for sure when we're able to test all of this when Ed wakes up. Then we'll know for certain the extent of his new ability,"_  Chester told him and Al felt relief as he realised his brother wouldn't be driven insane by dozens of voices in his head.

"Good, I was a little worried about that," Al admitted and Chester could understand that fear.

" _Like I said, we won't know what he already instinctively knows about this ability until he wakes up and we can test it. Den and I can help him learn what he needs to and since none of it involves Ed physically doing something, we can start immediately,"_  Chester told him and Al hummed in agreement before they lapsed into silence for a few seconds.  _"We'll probably have to wait for Ayala to wake up though,"_  Chester said, breaking the silence.

"Why?" Al asked confused. Surely Ed wouldn't want to learn to block his own Animal mentally so why was Chester suggesting they wait for her to be awake?

" _Because it would be easier to start with Ed learning to block other Animals if he was focusing on only Ayala's voice. Once he can do that, we can move on to him blocking voices even when he isn't talking to any Animal, with the exception of Ayala's voice. Again, this is only if Ed doesn't possess the instinctive knowledge needed to do this automatically,"_  Chester told Al, who didn't really seem to be quite getting it just yet.  _"Okay, you know when you and Edward get really into a topic you're discussing, like alchemy, and you manage to block out Winry when she tries to talk to you? Or when the two of you are sparring and I have to yell at you through the bond to get your attention?"_  Chester asked and Al nodded a little sheepishly.  _"Well, it's similar to that. You and Ed are so comfortable with each other that you'll block anyone you don't see as a threat when the two of you are completely focused on something. Having Ed focus on Ayala will make it easier for him to block me or Den. But again, like I already said, he may already know how to do this and all we need to do is help him recognise those skills so he can apply them."_  Al nodded in understanding then and leaned back against the wall.

"I get you now," Al told him before glancing at Ayala. "Hopefully Ayala will be waking up soon. I mean, Ed's only asleep now, not unconscious, and you woke up a couple of hours after everything. Ed's been conscious for a couple of hours now so it shouldn't be too long, right?" Al asked and Chester shrugged.

" _I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. You were gone for maybe 10 minutes, 15 tops. Ed's been unconscious for a little over 36 hours and he was only awake for maybe 20 minutes. He might not have been awake long enough for Ayala to register that her human had regained consciousness. She might not wake up until morning. Having said that, I could be wrong and Ayala could wake up in a couple of minutes but we do have to take into account that Ed suffered two major injuries at different times,"_  Chester told him.

"What do you mean?" Al asked and Chester shrugged.

" _Just that we really don't know how that will affect the state of her mind. She might be out if longer than I was because Ed suffered his wounds at different times or she could wake up sooner than I expect because Ed spent the time he was awake funnelling more healing energy to her rather than her taking it slowly,"_  Chester told him.  _"My point is, don't use our situation as a baseline to judge their situation from. Ours was vastly different from theirs so you can't expect them to follow the same script as us,"_  Chester informed him and Alphonse found himself taken aback. He hadn't even fully realised that he'd been doing that and mentally berated himself for it.

"I didn't even think about that. That's pretty stupid of me, hey?" Al chuckled sadly. He was supposed to be nearly as smart as his brother and he didn't even spot that. How pathetic.

 _"Don't worry about it. I'm sure your brother would've missed it too, if the situations had been reversed,"_  Chester soothed. Al wasn't convinced but admitted Chester could've had a point. Al lay his hand on Chester's head and gave him a scratch behind his ears.

"You should get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on him and you need rest if you're going to attempt teaching my brother," Al told him.

Because Chester knew Alphonse wasn't exaggerating and that he would likely need a lot of patience and rest to deal with Edward if he woke up in an unhelpful mood, he curled up on his bed, leaning up against Al's giant thigh and fell asleep quickly. Alphonse watched as Chester's breathing settled into the even pattern that indicated he was actually asleep and felt himself relaxing as he continued watching the almost-hypnotic rhythm of Chester's breathing.

* * *

Only once he was certain Chester was properly asleep did Al let all of the emotions he'd been squashing down flow into him so he could deal with them. He hadn't even realised that he'd been scared that Ed wouldn't wake up until his brother actually had and the massive flood of relief had almost knocked Al on his arse. He knew his jealousy and other negative emotions he'd felt when Ed had told them about being able to hear Chester and Den were irrational and uncalled for so he dismissed them almost immediately.

Once he'd worked his way through the negative emotions, he focussed on the positive ones; specifically, how grateful he was that Ed woke up, that he remembered and that he seemed alright. He knew that it could've been a completely different story if he'd not woken up when he did in the basement or if Ed had managed to contract an infection or if any number of small things hadn't worked in their favour. Shaking his head slightly, Al decided to simply to focus on the fact that they had survived the whole experience and not ended up like the alchemists they'd read about who'd attempted human transmutation and hadn't survived.

Al just wished he'd tried harder to talk Ed out of activating that array. If he hadn't ignored his gut feeling telling him that it was a bad idea and put his foot down, they wouldn't be in this position. The worst part was that he knew  _why_  he hadn't tried harder; he didn't want to upset Ed and have him mad at him for the next week. Al scoffed at his idiotic self. He'd managed to avoid having Ed upset at him for a couple of days and now would have to spend the foreseeable future trying to get Ed to stop beating himself up for something that wasn't entirely his fault. Job well done right there.

Alphonse had eventually pulled himself completely out of that headspace and spent the next few hours staring at nothing as he waited for Ayala or Ed to wake up. His non-thinking was broken only when he heard the slightest creak from his left, indicating the door was being open. A glance out the window told him the sun was well and truly up, telling him it was a brand-new day. He turned to the door, a greeting for Granny at the ready, only to find himself looking at Winry. Getting over his shock, Al beckoned the waiting blonde into the room and shifted himself slightly so that Winry could sit in between Chester and him.

She walked over quietly, giving Ed a few glances, checking she hadn't woken him before settling herself gracefully in the spot Al had gestured to. "How's he doing?" Winry asked, keeping her voice low as she spoke.

"Good," Al whispered back. "He woke up briefly last night," Al said before cutting off any response she was going to make. "He filled us in on everything we didn't know about that night and we also found out that he can apparently hear Chester and Den when they speak. So, you know, that was fun." Winry looked as shocked as Al had felt upon finding out last night's discovery.

"Seriously? He can hear them like he can hear Ayala? Could you?" Winry couldn't believe it. It was something she had literally never heard of before.

"Yup, yup and no," Al answered simply. Chester twitched in his sleep and Al signalled for them to lower their voices again.

"Well. I mean, that's just," Winry struggled with her words for a moment, "unbelievable. I guess that's kinda understating it." Al snorted.

"Just a little," he whispered, amused. "We didn't wake you with all the excitement last night, did we?"

"Nah, I was dead to the world," Winry assured him. "Did Granny give him painkillers so he'd go back to sleep?" She asked, nodding towards Ed.

"Yeah. Only way to make him go back to sleep. Plus, the pain was getting worse the more he stayed awake. I could tell," Al told her. Winry nodded knowingly.

"Makes sense," Winry said. "Not just about the pain part but you and I both know that Edward would've wanted to explore his newfound ability until he knew everything about it instead of doing something 'useless' like sleeping so he'd recover faster." Al couldn't stop the giggle that escaped at how accurate Winry was.

Just as Winry flashed him a bright smile, Chester growled – making them jump – and gave them an ultimatum: either they shut up and stop disturbing his sleep or they go away and talk. Al passed along the message and they decided that heading downstairs would be for the best but only after Al made Chester promise to tell him when Ed woke up. Once they'd gotten the leopard's word, the two headed down to the kitchen where Al made himself useful and got Winry and Granny, who had been in the kitchen when they got there, a cup of their favoured hot beverage before he sat at the table.

"So, Ed filled you in on the details you couldn't remember, right?" Winry asked Al once he was seated, ignoring Pinako's hiss to leave it.

Al knew she'd been burning with curiousity since he told her that Ed had filled them in, despite how casual she was trying to be right now. Granny didn't say anything, leaving it up to Al whether he told Winry what Ed had said. There were a few moments where Al debated whether Winry should hear it from Ed himself but then decided he didn't want to his brother to have to talk about that night as soon as he woke up. So, Alphonse took it upon himself to fill Winry in on everything Ed had told him and Granny. Alphonse knew it would happen but he still felt bad when Winry started crying and once he finished filling in the blanks, Alphonse stayed quiet, unsure of what to do now.

"So, Al, I'm guessing since you're down here, Ed hasn't woken at all since last night?" Granny asked, taking a small amount of pity on the youngest Elric and changing the subject.

"No, he hasn't. Chester's keeping an eye on him for me," Alphonse confirmed, his relief obvious at her question. Winry sniffled as she tried to pull herself together.

"I figured. I did dose him up as much as I could," Granny told him. "What about Ayala? Any sign of her waking up?" Granny took a sip of her tea while waiting for Al's answer.

"No. I mean, she did move about a bit but she hasn't woken fully," Al reported. Granny frowned at that. Al didn't miss the expression "Is that a bad thing?" Al asked, worriedly.

"No, I suppose not. It is unusual that she hasn't woken up completely yet but she could be feeling the painkillers effects as well. Some Animals who are closely bonded with their humans do and she and Ed are two of the closest I've ever witnessed. Even your mother and father weren't as close to their Animals as you and Ed are," Granny divulged. Al perked up slightly at the mention of his father. Obviously, it was a taboo subject in the Elric household, even before their mother's death.

"Really? I knew mum and Cleo were really close but I don't remember anything about dad though. I don't even know what his Animal was," Al said morosely. Granny was silent for a moment.

"Your mum and Cleo were as close as Den and I are, if not slightly more. Cleo always seemed to know just when your mother needed comfort or space. She knew what Trisha wanted even without her asking. She helped look after you kids and she even tried to get along with Den on the rare occasions they were near each other," Granny told him and both he and Winry fell silent as she spoke. It was very rare these days for Pinako to talk about either Trisha or Hohenheim. "Your father had big, beautiful dapple-grey Percheron stallion. That horse was one of the gentlest creatures I've ever met. When you two were little, before your father left, that horse let you climb like monkeys all over him. I think his name was Calix but Hohenheim told us he preferred to be called 'Cal'. He was a funny Animal. Den always said that he smelt old, like a museum or something," Granny recalled.

"But that horse loved you boys. I remember when Ed was born and started walking. Trisha was due to give birth to you any day when he learned and she was terrified that Cal was going to stand on him. One day when your mum's back was turned, Ed walked right out the door and headed straight for Cal. When your mum realised Ed had gone outside, she panicked and ran as fast as she could only to find Ed curled up against Cal's side." Al laughed at the image of little Ed curled up against this massive horse. "Your mother was a little laxer after that. Hohenheim had told her that Cal knew about Ed being able to walk around and had kept extra vigilant for the day that he toddled out the door. You were nearly 4 when your dad left. Surely you can remember them, even a little bit?" Granny never knew about Al's lack of memories. Ed had a few but he never talked about his father and Trisha hadn't brought the subject up unless one of the boys, usually Al, did.

"No, I don't remember him at all," Al said sadly. "If it weren't for the few pictures we have of him, I wouldn't know what he looked like. We don't even have photos of his Animal," Al told her. Granny drained her teacup and went over to her picture board. After searching for a bit, she finally spotted the photo she wanted. It was almost completely covered by another photo. She handed it over to Al, who took it carefully.

"If I'd known you couldn't remember, I'd have shown it to you years ago." Al barely heard her. It was a picture of his father, Ed sitting on his shoulder, his mother who was holding him, and their two Animals. He recognised Cleo immediately. She was sitting at her humans feet and behind them all stood a massive horse. He was a beautiful creature. The photo showed off his colouring well. His father stood just a bit taller than his wither, his mane and tail were dark and he was almost black in his darkest spots but he was magnificent. And Al couldn't remember him at all. He looked at the photo a little longer before looking up at Granny.

"Thank you for showing me this, Granny," he said sincerely as he made to hand the picture back. She waved him off though.

"No, you keep it. You can show Ed when he wakes up, see if he remembers Cal at all," she said dismissively. Al would've grinned if he could've but he did the only thing he could; he offered her a grateful thanks. Chester's voice sounded in his head almost immediately after Granny returned his unseen smile.

 _"Hey, Ayala's waking up,"_  Chester told him and Al stood up immediately." _You should probably get up here so Pinako can tell her Ed's condition and so she knows what you look like now. Tell Winry to wait a bit. We don't want to overwhelm the wolf."_ Al immediately passed on the message even as he started making his way to the stairs. Winry looked hurt that she wasn't allowed in until Granny told her that she could visit once Ayala had time to adjust.

* * *

Granny and Al managed to enter the room just as Ayala opened her golden eyes. Chester was waiting nearby and the three of them watched as Ayala struggled through the fog that was undoubtedly in her brain. They knew the moment she had recalled everything when her eyes opened impossibly wide and she bolted upright. A look around had her spotting the bed Ed was currently occupying and if Alphonse hadn't figured out what she was about to do, no one would've been able to stop her when she launched herself at the bed.

As it was, Al had figured her next move out and stepped forward to intercept her. She instinctively slid to a stop and went to snarl at the person blocking her path to her injured human when her brain registered what she was actually seeing and she scrambled back a little, mouth still in a snarl, as she took in the armour that was now Al. Chester hissed his own warning but Alphonse gestured for him to back down and he crouched in front of Ayala, arms spread placatingly.

"Easy, Ayala. It's me, Alphonse," he said soothingly. She did not look like she was going to calm down. "If you settle down, we'll explain everything. You can't hop up next to Ed just yet either. Just calm down and we'll fill you in on what happened. Okay?" He held eye contact with the wolf until she slowly nodded. Slowly, Ayala allowed herself to relax and take in both Granny and Den, who had slipped past Al to check on Ed, before she looked at Chester. Obviously, they were talking to each and Al waited patiently.

 _"She wants to know why we won't let her near Ed."_  Chester obviously had to translate considering Al lacked Ed's newest ability.

"He's hurt. Badly hurt. If we'd let you jump up there with you not thinking as clearly as possible, you could've hurt him more," Al told her. She narrowed her eyes at him before Chester spoke again.

_"She knows he's hurt. She can sense the wounds. She wants to know what happened after she collapsed. The last thing she remembers is Edward asking for her permission to bring you back. She doesn't even remember you being brought back."_

"Ed brought my soul back," Al told her as Granny moved behind him. "He bonded me to this armour and I don't have a physical body anymore. He lost his right arm preforming that transmutation. He blacked out almost immediately afterwards. From what he told me last night, he didn't collapse until he heard my voice so I know that I woke up pretty much straight away. I saw you and Chester unconscious and Ed bleeding out. I grabbed all of you and came straight to Granny's and she patched Ed up and checked both of you over," Al informed her. "You can probably already tell but Ed has lost his right arm and most of his left leg. He woke up last night for a few minutes but Granny gave him some painkillers and he went back to sleep. He hasn't woken back up yet." Al kept the story as short as possible. Ayala seemed to absorb his answer.

 _"She wants to know how I'm still alive if you don't have a physical body and she also wants to know when Ed will wake up again,"_  Chester dutifully translated.

"I'm not sure when he'll wake up again. Granny?" Al was purposefully ignoring the first question for the moment. Granny thought for a moment.

"He should be awake in the next hour, I'd imagine. Although his system has been through a lot so it could be longer," Granny finally answered. Al faced Ayala again and knew she hadn't simply forgotten the other question.

"Chester's still alive because Ed has his energy in him. We think it's because an Animal's energy needs to be kept inside a physical human body and because Ed brought my soul back, Chester's energy was given to him to keep safe," Al told her. "From what Chester's told me, it's completely separate from yours so you don't have to worry about sharing the same energy. Ed is also completely in control of it, as far as we know. We haven't actually tested to see if I'm still able to use it to heal Chester," Al told her. Ayala didn't look upset although it was hard to tell considering she wasn't his Animal.

 _"She says she can sense something else is different about him. There's something there that wasn't before,"_  Chester told Al. Al frowned. She could sense that?

"I'm not sure if this is what you're sensing but it's the only thing I can think of. Ed can hear other Animals. He heard Chester and Den last night," Al told her hesitantly. She was going to find out any way so he figured that they might as well give her time to adjust before Ed woke up. Al could definitely tell that this news had unsettled her.

 _"She says that she can't believe it and asked me if it was true. I told her yes and she seems a bit rattled by this,"_  Chester informed him.

"Wouldn't you be if I woke up suddenly hearing other Animals?" Al asked him.

 _"Touché."_  Al watched Ayala closely, who seemed to need a few minutes to process what they'd just told her.

The only person or Animal moving in the room was Granny, who was currently fussing over the bandage wrapped around what remained of Ed's leg. Ayala finally pulled herself together and walked herself over to Ed's right side, allowing Granny to work unhindered on Ed's left. She stood on her hind legs, resting her weight on her front paws as she placed them on the bed and watched eagle-eyed as Granny went about doing her job. Ayala winced as she got her first look at the wound but considering what it looked like in the basement, Ayala thought it was a definite improvement. Granny rewrapped the leg wound and shuffled around to join Ayala so she could look at his other wound. To do so, she ended up nudging Ayala to get her to move over and the golden wolf growled at her.

"Don't you growl at me, missy. You'll stay out of my way if you want him to heal proper. And you'll not argue or I'll toss you out of the room. Your presence is helpful, not necessary. Got it?" Granny didn't even look up from her work but Ayala looked suitably chastised and sulked over to Ed's left side.

 _"Ayala would like me to ask you to tell Pinako that she's sorry and that she won't do it again,"_  Chester told Al after a few quiet moments. Al dutifully passed the message on.

"I don't need an apology. You need to remember that I'm helping him. If you're in my way, I can't very well do my job now can I?" Granny's voice took on a softer tone. Suddenly, she was drawn back to Ed. Ayala had pricked her ears up and mimicked the position she'd taken up on Ed's right side, but this time she did so with more alertness. Her tail had started to slowly wag side to side and Al had a suspicion as to why. It was soon proven when Edward's eyes flickered open. "Glad you finally decided to join the living again, Edward. You've had Ayala worried out of her mind." Granny smiled at him. Ed grinned back and immediately looked to his left, only to be greeted by a wet tongue and an enthusiastic wolf. He reached out his only hand and scratched her softly behind the ears.

"Hey, Aya. Glad you finally woke up. Are you okay?" He asked as Granny fiddled with the bed so he was now sitting up slightly. Ayala had abandoned all her dignity and was on the bed, wriggling herself as close to Ed as possible. Alphonse and Chester watched the exchange, happiness exuding from them.

"Get Ayala to calm down. I'll bring you both up some breakfast," Granny told him as she left the room.

 _"Edward, I'm so happy you're alright! Al told me everything that happened after we both passed out. I told you I had a bad feeling about that transmutation."_ Edward grimaced as her tone took on a lecturing theme.  _"You should've listened to me! Then none of this would've happened! You would be safe and so would Al!"_ Ayala couldn't cry like humans but her voice sounded just as heart-wrenching. Edward gathered her in a one-armed hug and pulled her as close as possible.

"I'm sorry, Aya, I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it back; I really do. You and Chester were right. I knew Al had doubts but I ignored them. I really thought we could do it. I was so wrong. It's all my fault and  _I'm sorry_!" Ed's voice was muffled by her fur and she could feel parts of it getting wet from his tears. Ed eventually calmed himself down and loosened his grip on Ayala's fur, wiping his tears away. He then realised that Chester and Alphonse were in the room and his face lit up as he smiled at them. "How are you guys? Are you handling everything okay, Al?" He asked, looking guilty as he thought about Al's situation again.

"I'm fine, brother. I really am. Chester's doing good too. He wants to talk to you about something though," Al told him truthfully. He wasn't really used to being a suit of armour yet but he didn't think anyone would've really expected him to be after only 48 hours.

 _"I want to start testing your ability soon now that Ayala's awake. I think you should learn how to block out Animals unless you want to talk to them. That way you don't have dozens of Animals voices in your head at any given time. However, it is possible that you may not hear multiple Animals at the same time, anyway,"_  Chester told him. Al was confused as well. Didn't they discuss this last night?

"I thought I would hear lots of Animals. What makes you think I won't?" Ed asked. He could feel Ayala's confusion too.

 _"Well, I only thought about it a while ago but it's possible that you'll unconsciously block Animals other than Ayala from talking to you unless you want them to be able to talk to you directly,"_  Chester decided to explain in greater detail.  _"Okay, so obviously you'd never block Ayala because she's your Animal."_  Ed nodded in agreement. He'd never block Ayala. _"However, like I explained last night, you might be able to hear Animals when they either talk to another Animal or don't guard their conversations with their human. The reason we don't automatically guard our conversations with our humans is because other Animals can't hear us talk to our humans and there's never been a case of a human being able to hear an Animal they weren't bonded to. We know you can overhear us when we're talking to our human because you heard me talking to Al and Den talking to Pinako last night however, there is the chance that because you now know of your abilities, you'll automatically block an Animal if you're not talking to them. This will prevent you overhearing them when they talk to their human. You'll need to warn other Animals so they can do the same thing, if you chose to talk to them. It's nothing personal but our conversations with our humans are supposed to be private."_  Chester finished his explanation. Edward considered this new information.

"Okay so how will we test it out?" Ed asked, Al echoing him.

 _"It'll be simple,"_  Chester assured him _"We know you can hear me and Den already. So when Den and I talk to each other next, you need to block us so you can't hear us. Unfortunately, there aren't any Animals nearby who don't know you can hear them so we'll have to wait until a new one comes in if someone visits Pinako. Before they find out you can hear them, you'll have to block their voice out. If you're successful, they won't know there's anything strange. After a few goes, it should become second nature for you to block out any Animal except for the ones you choose to hear."_  Ed nodded in agreement.  _"Again, this is only if you don't automatically know how to do it now that you're aware that you can talk to other Animals."_

"Okay. But it has to wait until after breakfast. I'm starving and so's Ayala." Ed laughed as Chester and Al heard three stomachs growl and Ed grinned at Chester. "So are you, it appears." Al laughed alongside Ed only to hear Ed's laughter break off suddenly. Al turned to see Ed looking at him, guilt taking its place in his expression. "You can't eat, can you?" Ed asked solemnly.

"No, I haven't since dinner before that night." He looked up to see Ed's expression. "But it's okay! I'm alive and so are you and the Animals! And I know that you'll help me try and find a way for me to get my body back so it's okay. I promise," Al said, making himself sound as optimistic as possible. Ed did his best to give his little brother a reassuring smile but knew he failed when he felt his lips tremble.

Granny chose that moment to walk back into the room with the breakfast she'd promised them. Ed got porridge – Granny informed him it was made with water when he gave it a suspicious look – while Ayala and Chester were given servings of uncooked mince. She was quickly followed by Den and Winry, the latter being delegated to drink carrier since Granny couldn't carry everything and she'd been insistent on seeing Ed now that he was awake. The juice for Ed was set on his bedside table and Winry gave the Animals the water she'd brought up for them while Granny helped Ed sit up enough that he could rest the porridge bowl on his lap and use his left hand to eat.

Thankfully for Ed, Winry curbed her urge to throw herself bodily on top of him in her excitement at seeing him awake and instead settled for perching on the edge of his mattress. Granny left them to it and headed back downstairs, telling Winry to bring the dirty plates and cutlery with her when she came down. It didn't take long for the room to be filled with the sounds of laughter and chatter as the three of them enjoyed the fact that they could still talk to each other.

* * *

The rest of the day passed smoothly. Ed slept for the most part, mainly because he was still healing and because Granny was keeping him on painkillers as much as possible. He really only woke when someone brought up food or he needed to use the bathroom. Because his wounds weren't being aggravated by Ed moving around a lot, they were healing far quicker and cleaner than Al would've thought possible and Granny wasn't having to change the bandages as often as he thought.

There was a minor argument when Granny brought him a glass of milk with his lunchtime meal and insisted he drink it, using his wounds to try and justify her orders. Ed won the argument when he informed her that he didn't care if milk was the secret to regrowing limbs, he still wouldn't drink the vile liquid. Granny had given up and given the milk to Chester before leaving Ed to his meal. Edward had gloated for half an hour about the win until Al threatened to hold him down and tip a glass of milk down his throat if he didn't stop.

The Animals and Ed didn't get a chance to work on Ed's ability because Granny and Den had left after lunch to get some supplies from town, leaving Winry in charge on Ed's care. By the time the two had come back, it was nearing dinner time and Ed was sleeping again. Even after dinner, Ed was just too tired to stay awake so the Animals unanimously decided to leave the lessons until another day. Al had a sneaking suspicion that Ed's fatigue wasn't solely from the pain his was in but his brother wasn't telling him anything, merely just dismissing his concerns by telling him he was fine.

* * *

This continued for nearly four days. Ayala stuck to Ed like glue, only leaving his side when she needed to use the toilet, to eat or when Ed ordered her to join Al and Chester on a walk so she could get some exercise. Chester was as happy to stay in Ed's room with Ayala, Al and Ed as he was to go outside and explore. They were joined by Winry whenever she wasn't busy doing chores or working on her orders and because of the amount of time she spent with them, Winry noticed how Ed was pulling back from them a little more each day and she shared many worried looks with Al.

Ed's mood did pickup when the Animals decided that they should really start working on figuring out Ed's newfound ability. Den was more than happy to lend a helping paw whenever Pinako didn't need him for any reason. Granny had roused on Winry for slipping behind on her orders and had banned her from Ed and Al's room, allowing her to join them for meals and no longer until she was caught up again so she wasn't there when they did start the lessons. Since he couldn't listen to the other Animals anyway and Chester couldn't think of a reason for him needing to be in the room, Al joined Winry in her workshop for the day, leaving Ed, Chester, Ayala and Den to each other.

" _I think we should start by figuring out whether you can hear other Animals while you're talking with Ayala,"_  Chester said decisively. He'd been placed in charge of this experiment by mutual silent agreement amongst the others.  _"I'd like for you and Ayala to start talking to each other. I don't care about what but you need to speak to one another for at least five minutes. At some stage during those five minutes, Den and I will start talking. If you hear us at any time during those five or so minutes, let us know. Ready?"_  Chester asked and Ed nodded before a question came to him.

"Wait, wouldn't talking to Ayala mean I won't hear you two anyway?" He asked. "You said that when Animals talk to their human, their conversation is blocked already. Wouldn't it be the same for me? Wouldn't I be on a different wavelength to you two?" Ed looked questioningly at Chester.

" _You're correct and that's part of the reason why we're doing this test,"_  Chester told him.  _"If you can hear us while talking to Ayala, it means that your brain is no longer on a separate channel to us, to use your comparison. If you want to use the radio comparison, you can imagine it as every Animal having their own channel. As you know, you should only be able to tune into Ayala's but you've now got the ability to tune into other Animals channels. If you can hear me and Den while you're tuned into Ayala's channel, it means that we need to teach you to how to block us and any other Animal you don't want to hear or talk to in that moment,"_  Chester said.  _"If you can't hear us, however, we'll move onto the second test, which will be having you talk to Den or me while the other two Animals talk to each other. If you can't hear them, including Ayala, then you already know how to block unwanted conversation. If you do hear them, you get to do some mental training. Okay?"_ Chester asked and Ed seemed to be satisfied for the moment and nodded to let them know he was ready.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Ed asked Ayala once Chester gave him and Ayala a look to tell them to start talking. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then a lightbulb went off.

 _"How are you? Don't give me the usual response either. I can sense your emotions, remember?"_  Ayala was quick to the point. Ed loved that about her because he hated it when people beat around the bush like it made the situation any better but that didn't mean he wanted to answer.

"I'm fine, Aya. I keep saying that because it's true." Ed wasn't speaking out loud because he didn't want the other Animals to overhear. Ayala snorted.

 _"Yeah and I'm a mouse. I know you're not fine,"_  Ayala said. _"You're drawing back from Al and Winry a little more every day which they've definitely noticed, by the way. So, what's wrong?"_ Ayala asked persistently. Ed sighed and leaned against the headboard.

"It's nothing important. It's my problem anyway so don't worry about it," Edward said, defences crumbling a little. Ayala struck at the crack is his wall and dug deeper.

 _"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be worrying and you wouldn't be trying to keep me from it. So what is it?"_  The wolf was making some very valid points.

"It's my problem. Leave it be, Ayala." Ed knew he was on the verge of begging but he didn't want anyone to know.

 _"Your problems are my problems. That's how this bond works, Edward,"_  Ayala reminded him gently." _Even an insignificant problem is shared. I want to help you but I can't unless you tell me what's wrong. I can read emotions, not minds,"_  Ayala pleaded with her human.  _"I'm not going to tell anyone, if you don't want me too,"_  she promised, looking him in the eyes and refusing to break contact. He couldn't bring himself to break the eye contact either and finally, he caved.

"It's Al." He hung his head. He felt Ayala's surprise shoot through their link. "I don't mean him literally. I meant, it's what I put him through and what he has to deal with now. It's all my fault. He's 10 and he's nothing more than a soul bonded to armour. He can't feel anything. He's limited on what he can do. He's 10 years old and I almost killed him because of my overconfidence." Ed sounded defeated. "I know you all say it's not just my fault but it is. Al wanted to back out of doing it and I pushed him into it. All I lost was my arm and leg while he lost everything except his soul."

 _"It's not your fault, Ed. Not entirely,"_  Ayala told him before continuing over his disbelieving scoff. _"The blame lies with the four of us. Hell, the five of us if you include your father's decision to leave his journals there where you could read them. Without him doing that, you'd have never found the recipe,"_  Ayala said. _"My point is, Edward, the blame isn't solely yours to refuse to share and we won't let you shoulder it by yourself. I'll tell you something else, there's no way Al hates you for the way he is,"_  Ayala said confidently. _"He's alive because of you. Yes, he may not be complete but he is alive and that's what matters most. All of us are alive because of your decision to bond Al's soul to that armour. If you hadn't, he and Chester would be dead and you would've bled out and I would've died alongside you. That decision saved four lives,"_ Ayala said gently.  _"While that decision wouldn't have been necessary had the attempt to use that array never happened, it did happen and you can't change the past. You can only learn from it."_  He could tell Ayala really believed what she'd just said and he was grateful for that. She made some good points but it still all boiled down to the fact that he ignored his little brother's fears which meant it was still his fault.

Ayala sensed that her words hadn't gotten through to him. In fact, if anything, his refusal to let them take the blame for their part in that night happening only solidified and she sighed internally. She really hadn't expected to get through to him on the first go and, though it made her sad, she knew why. She was his Animal and she knew that he would've been more likely to dismiss her words as her attempt at making him feel better, not her telling him the truth. She was determined to get him to believe her though and was prepared for the long haul. Before she could try again though, Chester interrupted them.

 _"Alright, time's up. You two obviously talked about something heavy,"_  Chester commented, not needing to be connected to their emotions to be able to tell that. _"Ed, did you hear me or Den at all?"_

"No. I didn't hear you guys at all." Ed had actually forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

 _"Excellent. That means either you block out other Animals automatically or you're only able to hear Ayala when she's talking to you,"_  Chester said. _"So now we move on to the second test so we can tell which it is. Who do you want to chat with next? Me or Den?"_  Chester was excited. He now knew first-hand the emotions Alphonse and Edward felt whenever their theories were being proven right. Ed's grin at his obvious excitement didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I guess I'll chat with you, Chester." Chester nodded his agreement. Following the same rules as before, he started the test.

 _"Can you hear me?"_  Chester started out simple.

"Yeah, loud and clear." Edward still felt a little awkward, chatting to Chester like this. It went against everything he'd learned.

 _"Good. Now, what were you and Ayala talking about? I know it was something significant. I could practically smell the tension."_  Jeez, Chester didn't hold back either. Maybe it was a Spirit Animal thing?

"It wasn't anything too important. Don't worry about it," Edward tried to deflect but Chester was just as good as Ayala.

 _"Was Ayala as convinced by that as I am?"_  Chester asked conversationally and Ed glared at him.  _"I'll take that as a 'no'. So, what happened?"_  Chester was obviously not about to drop the matter. Ed sighed and gave in, knowing that Chester was only going to say the same thing Ayala did. So he told him almost exactly what he'd told Ayala. Edward finished and waited for Chester to speak and a moment of silence passed before,  _"You're an idiot."_  Ed literally moved back slightly in surprise.

"What?" He asked, dumbly.

 _"You, Edward Elric, are an idiot. A massive moron. You think you're the only one who fully blames themselves for everything that happened?"_ Edward was too stunned to answer so Chester took advantage of that and continued.  _"Your brother believes that if he'd been a little more adamant in his stance on not wanting to go through with it, you would've stopped and this would've been avoided. He believes he's a horrible little brother because he couldn't say a sentence out loud. He knows you wouldn't have gone ahead with it if he'd have done so but he just didn't want to let you down,"_  Chester revealed and Ed felt his heart tighten at the thought of Al blaming himself.

" _The same way, I believe, that you felt when you sacrificed your arm and brought Al back. You didn't want to let your mum and little brother down by not doing everything in your power to save him. Ayala and I blame ourselves for not listening to our instincts and telling you to stop. We knew something bad was going to happen, we knew it, and we still let you two go ahead with it. You believe that if you had have just listened to what your gut said about Al's fears, none of this would've happened. Don't you see? There were four,_ four _, opportunities for this whole disaster to have been avoided. You only missed one,"_  Edward was almost crying. Chester hadn't pulled his punches but that's what Ed had needed. But there was still the fact that Al's situation was Ed's fault.

"Al's still trapped in that unfeeling metal because of me. You and Ayala and Al couldn't say or do anything. I made that decision all by myself." Ed's voice shook and a tear escaped his eye. Chester shook his head.

 _"And Al is grateful for that every minute of every day,"_  Chester told him. _"Sure, sometime in the future he might resent what he can't do or feel in that armour but he is going to realise that he is still alive and it's only because of the actions you made. He feels guilty over the fact that him being bonded to that armour has cost you your arm. He doesn't blame you at all for his situation. He's happy with it because he knows the alternative is his death."_  Chester's tone was a bit gentler this time. Ed still had tears rolling down his face freely now.

Ayala had panicked slightly at the sight of the first tear making its way down Ed's cheek and the churning mix of emotions she could feel coming from him. However, once she realised what Chester was doing, she settled down and focused back on her conversation with Den. Chester was currently doing what Ayala and Alphonse had so fair been unable to do so she was happy to leave him to it.

Ed felt his belief that the events of that night were his fault and his fault alone waver as he processed Chester's words. The leopard was right when he said that there were opportunities for the other three to stop the transmutation from happening and they didn't. However, Ed knew that the fact that Alphonse was now stuck as a suit of armour for the foreseeable future was his fault only. No one had forced him to bind his soul to the armour and Ed would never forgive himself for the life his brother now had to live. In order to be forgiven, Ed decided, he'd have to focus his efforts on getting Al his body back.

"Thank you, Chester." Ed gave him a watery smile and reached his hand out. Chester accepted the thanks and moved his head under Ed's hand so he could scratch his ears. They parted after Chester realised they were actually in the middle of an experiment.

 _"Time's up! Ed, you obviously did hear them at all?"_  Chester asked.

"Nope, I didn't hear either of them. I guess that means that I know how to block what Animals I don't want to hear, eh?" Ed asked but cut any answer off with a huge yawn.

 _"Yup. Congrats. We don't have to try and train your brain. Now, get yourself some sleep before Pinako turns us into rugs for stalling your recovery time."_  Chester was kind of joking. Ed chuckled and made himself comfortable.

"Thanks for everything, Chester. And thanks for helping out, Den." Edward moved his golden eyes to meet those of the black and white dog.

 _"Happy to help one of my favourite humans out,"_ Den said, unashamedly honest. Ed watched the collie dog leave the room, followed closely by Chester so they could find their respective humans. Ayala made herself comfortable on Ed's right side, having been told by Granny that that was the only side she was allowed to lie on since she would be less likely to hurt Ed accidentally that way. The last thing Ed remembered was Ayala lying her massive golden head on his stomach as he shut his eyes.

* * *

The next week passed relatively the same. Edward wasn't sleeping quite as much but he still wasn't his usual happy self. He spent most of his time awake trying to remember if there was anything in any book he'd ever read that might be able to get Al's body back. Chester insisted on doing a couple more experiments with Ed's ability. He had Ed listen to him and Ayala while ignoring Den. He had Ed ignore Chester while he and Ayala were talking to him and focus on Den and Ayala.

He also wanted to know what kind of range Ed had with other Animals. With your own Animal, you could be across the country and still talk to them and he wanted to see if Ed was afforded that same range with an Animal other than Ayala. So when he and Al next went exploring, he used that as an excuse to test it. However, they called it quits when they got nearly 10km from the Rockbells and Ed could still hear Chester.

Ed had chucked a fit when Al came home with dozens of books from the house as he hadn't wanted Al to go there alone. Al, however, had decided to seize the opportunity to check up on the house and get some new reading material since he'd read everything at Granny's twice. Ed couldn't argue with his points but that didn't stop him from scowling in displeasure. Though once Al handed over a couple of books, the scowl disappeared and the boys were soon discussing theory and the books' contents like they normally did.

* * *

Three weeks after the accident, Granny declared Ed to no longer be at risk of infection if he went outside and started letting Al or Winry wheel Ed out of the house so he could get some fresh air and soak in the sun. Neither Granny, Al, Winry nor any of the Animals approached Ed about whether he'd thought about getting automail or not. Ed wasn't an idiot. He knew automail would be something he'd need to get installed if he wanted to find a solution to getting Al's body back. He also knew the risks involved in getting automail when your body wasn't fully developed but he also knew a wheelchair would severely limit his ability to keep his promise.

His biggest problem was getting enough money together to be able to afford the surgery and limbs. Automail installation wasn't cheap and he couldn't expect Granny or Winry to install the ports or give him the limbs for free. The problem was they'd spent most of their inheritance paying Izumi's teaching fees and what was leftover had gone towards everything they'd needed to buy in the months they'd been home. What they had left  _could_  be enough to cover the surgery and limbs but that led him to his second dilemma; they'd need that money to travel cross-country, chasing down leads for that miracle. He knew they certainly wouldn't have enough money to afford both the automail and the trips.

That night, he decided it was a decision he couldn't make by himself so he told Al and their Animals about his problem the moment Granny and Winry had bade them goodnight. He explained to Al that he fully planned on keeping the promise he made him but that the only money they had left could either go towards automail limbs or towards them hunting down leads but that he'd also need those limbs to go running after leads. Al had asked only one question after he finished listening to Ed.

"Do you have any clue as to what we're supposed to be looking for?" When Ed had said no, he hadn't found the book he knew had an answer in it, Al had told him to get the automail.

Ed tried pointing out once more that they'd need that money for travelling and other things but Al dismissed it, saying they'd simply figure out the money problem later. When Ed continued trying to argue, Al pointed out that Ed's expected recovery time would be two or three years so they had time to sell things or use their alchemy to fix houses or whatnot in exchange for a fee or something along those lines to raise some money. Al was positive that they'd manage to get the money they needed together somehow and Ed had to admit that he was a little surprised at how quick Al was with his solutions.

He asked Al about it and learned that he'd been thinking about it ever since Granny had mentioned automail being an option for Ed. Al had come to the same conclusion as Ed had and knew they'd need a solution for their future money problems so he'd spent some time thinking about one. So unless one of them got a job that let them travel wherever they'd need to go and paid them a decent amount, working odd jobs around Resembool was the only feasible idea Al had come up with. Both boys agreed that it was extremely unlikely that someone would hire a child and pay them to travel around the country.

Ayala and Chester kept their inputs to a minimum, preferring to leave it up to Alphonse and Edward to work out. Both Animals were just happy that Edward was slowly pulling himself out of the slump he'd been in and considering their future. After a lengthy discussion, the Animals were relieved when the boys finally came to a decision. Edward would get automail installed and they'd use the time it took for Ed to recover to work odd jobs around town. Ed declared that while Al was busy getting the money from their house, he would talk to Granny and Winry about his decision. With the discussion over, Ayala and Chester both suggested their humans get some rest which, thankfully, both agreed was a good idea and soon Ed was asleep while Alphonse sat against the wall and read his newest book.

* * *

When Ed woke the next morning, he discovered both Alphonse and Chester had already left. When asked, Ayala told him they'd only left a few minutes ago and Ed knew they wouldn't be back for a couple of hours. He lay in bed and listened to the sounds around the rest of the house to figure out where the others were. Soon, he knew Granny was in the kitchen and Winry was in her workroom. He pulled himself into his chair and with Ayala's help, got himself into the bathroom.

On his way back to his room, he ran into Granny who had been on her way into his room with his breakfast. She helped him get comfortable on the bed and handed over his breakfast before giving Ayala hers and going through the usual routine where she asked a million questions as she checked his wounds. He answered them as he ate and got through his food quick enough that Granny was able to take the dishes back down to the kitchen when she left. Before she could though, Ed stopped her.

"Al told me that you told him that automail is an option for me. Is that true?" Edward asked, deciding to be upfront and Granny blinked in surprise.

"Yes. Do you want automail?" She asked and Edward nodded. "You understand that because you're still growing, you'll much more regular adjustments? Depending on how quickly you grow, you might even need the ports removed and new ones put in. Automail surgery is extremely painful," she warned. "I've had the toughest blokes you can imagine break down and sob like three-year-old children because the pain was too much. You know how the surgeries work, right?" Edward shook his head.

"I know the basics of what you have to do but I don't know the details," he admitted. Granny grabbed the chair and sat herself down on it to explain.

"Your leg won't be a major issue. All we'd have to do is take what's left of your knee and install a port into the thigh bone. The connection that attaches the automail leg to the port will act as your knee," she explained before wincing a little. "It's your shoulder that will be the most painful. We'd have to take what remains of your shoulder before we anchor the port to your collar bone, top three ribs and scapula," she said. "Like your leg, the connection that attaches your automail arm to the port will act as your shoulder. We'd have to do the port installation first and wait a month before attaching your automail so your nerves have the chance to settle. You can't be sedated for the surgery which means you will be in a world of pain and Ayala will cop the feedback from that for a little bit," she told him, getting to the part that made several people decide against the surgery. "Every time we have to disconnect and reconnect your automail limbs in the future, whether for repairs or adjustments, it will hurt just as badly as the first time. Most people pass out when they get their automail connected, it's that painful. The surgery is 50 times worse. The rehabilitation process is also painful, especially the first year. It takes most people three years before they're done. So I'll ask again, are you sure you want automail?" Granny had never looked more serious in her life. Ed thought hard for a moment but he knew the answer. He looked Granny right in the eyes.

"Yes." His answer left no room for argument or doubt. He'd discussed it with Al and he'd discussed it with Ayala. Both were behind him.

"Very well. We'll have you scheduled for surgery by the end of the week. We need to make the ports first," she told him when she saw he was going to question the surgery date. Ed nodded in agreement and, seeing he had no more questions, Granny gathered the dirty dishes and left the room. Ayala and Ed contacted Chester about an ETA before they settled more comfortably to get some reading done.

A couple of hours later, Al turned up with more books and the chest that held all their money. "I told Granny I wanted automail. She's on board with it. I'm getting the ports installed at the end of the week," Ed told him the moment they walked through the door.

"How come it's gonna be that long?" Al asked as he put the chest under Ed's bed and added the books to the appropriate piles.

"They need to make them," Ed replied. Al hummed as he found a book to read. "Hey, Al?" Al looked up at his name. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Ed had already asked Ayala enough times. The last time she threatened to make him need three automail surgeries if he asked again.

"Of course I am, Brother." Al's voice sounded like he was smiling so Ed smiled back. A few minutes later, Granny came into the room with some fresh water for Ed.

"I see you've decided to move your library to this room," she commented as she skirted the book piles. Al laughed.

"This is barely a tenth of what's left in the house, Granny. Oh!" Al exclaimed, grabbing for the chest he'd just hidden. "Before I forget, here." He went to give it Pinako but realised she didn't have any hands free. "Oh, it's all the money we've got. It's for the automail," he told her and to their surprise, she shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're not giving us the last of your money for this," she told them.

"But we have to. Equivalent exchange. I can't accept the automail for free." Ed was bewildered. Again, Granny shook her head.

"You're not," Granny told them, placing the pitcher on the bedside table and facing them both. "You're gonna pay me back by fixing some things up around the house when you're better and you're going to be testing any new limbs that Winry comes up with. You'll have them installed and need to report on their functionality. After this set, you'll only have to pay for any that you've damaged. Agreed?" Ed and Al were stunned. Automail was expensive. Not 'only the uber rich can afford it' expensive but certainly not something that every family can afford. And that was just for the one limb.

"Okay, Granny. I can start fixing things up around the place while Ed's recovering," Al offered once he got over his shock.

"That's fine, Alphonse. I'll come back up in a few minutes with a list of chores you can start on," she told him. Both boys nodded in agreement and she left their room.

"That was really nice of Granny," Al commented as he poured Ed a glass of water.

"Yeah, it really was," Ed said, still stunned at the development. He didn't think Ayala's amusement at his reaction was appropriate though and nudged her with his remaining foot as he accepted the water. "You do realise this means that we've now got something we can use to start our search though?" Ed said and Al nodded.

"I did. Now all we've got to do is figure out what we're going to be searching for," Al said and Ed hummed in agreement. "Why don't you come down to the sunroom, Brother? I'm sure Ayala and Chester would love to stretch out in the sunlight," Al suggested and Ed shrugged his shoulder.

"Yeah, alright. It'll save Granny coming up the stairs with your chore list," Ed said, grinning as Al groaned a little before he took the empty glass and helped Ed into his chair.

* * *

Ed watched as the sunlight made Ayala's fur glitter beautifully as he tried to mentally sort through the books they had at home, trying to work out which ones would help him solve Al's problem. He enjoyed being in the sunroom as much as Ayala and Chester did. It provided him with a bigger sense of independence since he could pop into the kitchen himself if he wanted a snack or drink or he could go outside and play with Den or the Animals if they wanted to. He relished in the knowledge of how fair he'd come in the month it had been since the accident and he knew that with a bit of practise, he'd be able to do nearly everything by himself once more, even if he didn't get automail.

The only thing he couldn't do, it seemed, was work out which books he needed Al to get on his next visit to the house so he could try and find a solution for him. He was seriously starting to doubt whether there even was a solution which in turn made his guilt more prominent. What if there really wasn't an answer? What if Alphonse was stuck in that armour for the rest of his life? He shook his head clear of those thoughts though. He  _knew_  there was something written in one of those books in the house that could help him. He just needed to remember.

Ayala, privy to his emotions, could sense what he was thinking and felt herself grow a little sad before she felt his determination come back in full swing. She smiled to herself as she felt it. If there was one thing she admired most about her human, it was the fact that he never gave up unless he'd exhausted every lead.

The sound of Den barking madly at the front door had Ayala and Chester jumping to their feet. Ed didn't even flinch at the noise or their sudden movements and Ayala knew it was because he was too deep in thought to have noticed. Den wasn't talking to them but his barks were ones of warning and that got Chester and Ayala curious. While they were used to visitors since Winry was a brilliant automail mechanic and Pinako was a renowned doctor in the area, Den's barks to announce them were usually friendly – as long as he knew them – but never as full of threat as the ones he was sounding now.

They relaxed a little as they heard Pinako rouse of Den for barking at their guests but they were alert once again when the next thing the heard from the elderly woman was an exclamation of surprise and the heavy thud of boots on the wooden floor. Den's threatening growls could be heard by everyone and Ayala and Chester took up protective stances from where they stood in between the two boys. Alphonse closed his book and placed it next to him, unsure of what he should do and Edward looked up in time to see a raven-haired man in the blue uniform of the Amestrian Military storming towards him, a wild look in his eyes.

The lioness who was trailing behind him was obviously trying to get him to calm down if her pleading looks were anything to judge by. She fervently threw the same looks to Ayala and Chester and Ed knew she was trying to get them to not attack her human. No one else followed him into the sunroom but Granny could be heard talking very angrily to someone in the other room so Ed knew there must be at least one more military officer and Animal to worry about. However, for the moment, the severely pissed off officer in front of him was the one who got his undivided attention.

"WE WENT TO YOUR HOUSE!" Ed felt fear and anger flare inside of him at those words. "WE SAW THE FLOOR! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The officer shouting, spitting madly as he reached out to grab Ed by the front of his shirt, presumably to pull him up to eye level, Ed thought. A flash of anger rolled through him and he glared at the man.

"If you touch me," Ed said, voice low and filled with promise. The hand paused, millimetres away from his shirt, "I won't be the only person in this room to need automail."

The soldier pulled his hand back in surprise as he tried to process what just happened. It hadn't been the threat to stop him – he'd been threatened numerous times before – but the conviction in the boy's voice. This kid – who couldn't have been more than 12 – who had suffered the loss of two limbs recently was looking him dead in the eyes and threatening him. The man backed away slightly and finally noticed something he should've noticed immediately.

A golden-tinged wolf was approaching slowly from the boy's right, lips lifted in a silent snarl and golden eyes burning protectively, a low growl sounding deep in her throat. On the boy's left, a spotted leopard was mimicking the wolf's movements, its own lips curled up as it hissed low, similar to a snake. A glance behind him told him the collie dog who had greeted them at the door was poised, ready to defend the boy in needed. The man startled when a suit of armour he also hadn't noticed stood and walled to stand between the leopard and the wheelchair-bound boy.

"We're so sorry. We didn't mean it. We're sorry." It took the soldier a few moments to realise that the words were coming from the armour. It took him seeing the golden boy place a comforting hand on the shaking arm of the suit and soothing words to make the connection.

"You're the Elric brothers. You're Edward and Alphonse." He was stunned. He hadn't expected them to be so young. The boy in the wheelchair, he presumed he was Edward, turned back to face him.

"And you're an arse," the blonde spat. "If you go to threaten me or my brother again, I can guarantee you that you and your lioness won't be able to stop all three Animals from taking you down, no matter how good your alchemy is," the boy informed him coolly.

"Brother!" The armour said, shock and reprimand in his voice.

"You heard him, Al," Edward said, not breaking eye contact with the soldier, "he broke into our house and since he hasn't given us a search warrant and you were there this morning and didn't say anything was amiss, I'm assuming he didn't have reasonable cause. Therefore, he's an arse." Edward said this with the air of one who knew he was completely right.

* * *

The soldier looked stunned with the boy's abrupt manner. Most people held their tongues when faced with a military soldier. He could hear his lioness laughing in his head and shot her an annoyed scowl. He could've sworn he'd seen amusement flash across the face of the boy as he watched his Animal but it was gone too quickly to tell. He heard angry mutterings come from behind him and turned to be faced with the old woman he'd barged past coming into the room, a ferocious glare on her face and it took all of his military training not to cower under it.

"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot," the man said, clearing his throat. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang. Is there somewhere we can sit? I do have something I'd like to discuss with the Elric brothers," Mustang asked politely. Edward and Alphonse exchanged a glance before they nodded at Granny, who sighed and gestured for Mustang to sit at the table in the room. Al pushed Ed into his usual spot and stood formidably behind his brother while the three Animals that didn't belong to Mustang placed themselves where they could easily attack from if necessary. Mustang sat himself opposite Pinako and his lioness decided to check out the room. No one spoke for a few moments until Mustang took it upon himself to start the conversation.

"This is a surprise, to say the least. I came to Resembool because I'd heard rumours about a brilliant alchemist who lived here. If I'm being honest, I'd expected to find Hohenheim, not a child skilled enough to perform human transmutation nor advanced enough to bond a soul to a suit of armour immediately after a rebound." Mustang's keen eyes had seen the way Ed flinched and snarled at the mention of Hohenheim. "I'd say he's definitely more than qualified to become a State Alchemist. Should he choose to, he'd have access to restricted materials and be given special privileges. In return, he'd have to serve the military in times of crisis." Edward zoned him out after that. He was focused on the lioness who was watching him closely. With one ear listening to the soldier in case he said something interesting, he decided to test his ability on an Animal he'd never met.

"Can you hear me?" He didn't say this out loud. He still didn't like or trust this Mustang person and didn't want him to know about this ability. He grinned in triumph when she visibly froze at hearing another human speak to her.

 _"You can talk to Animals other than the one you're bonded too?"_  She asked, stunned. She was shocked even more when he flashed her a grin and slight nod.  _"You can hear us too? That's unbelievable!"_

"You can say that again. I'm Edward, by the way. The wolf is my bonded Animal. Her name's Ayala. The Sunda Clouded Leopard is my brother's Animal. He's called Chester." Edward was still, by all pretence, listening to the adults. Granny was now arguing with Mustang, yelling at him for trying to pull the boys into serving the military.

 _"My name's Nala. He always forgets to introduce me to people when he introduces himself. Are you actually listening to their conversation?"_  Nala asked. Ed snorted in amusement.

"Kinda. Right now, your human is trying to win an argument with Granny. He wants me to become a State Alchemist but I'm not sure whether that's a good move for me. I've gotta get my brother his body back and I can't be a military dog and chase leads down for my brother at the same time." Ed didn't know why he was confiding in an Animal he barely knew. Maybe it was because she hadn't immediately blocked him and told her human about his exceptionally unique ability.

 _"I'm honestly so angry at him for even offering a child this job. He knows how hard it is but as much as I hate to admit it, he has a good point,"_  Nala said. _"If you became a State Alchemist, you'd have access to hundreds, if not thousands, of restricted books and alchemy journals that the public would never have access too. You'd have money to be able to go gallivanting around the country looking for leads. And I know that Roy would be willing to give you missions near places he hears rumours about that might lead you to your answer. I know him and if you made that one of your conditions for working under him, he'd accept it."_  Ed could tell Nala was being hones because he didn't think she'd lie about that sort of thing. He also knew Ayala and Chester were listening in, even if they hadn't made any sign they were and he made a mental note to get their opinion on it later.

"I'll think about it. It's something I need to discuss with my brother and Ayala first. Are you going to tell him about our conversation?" Ed asked.

 _"No, it's not my place to tell. Besides, his reaction when he finds out might be interesting,"_  Nala smirked. Ed had a feeling he and this lioness would get along very well. He still wasn't sure her human was all that great though. Ed gave a short nod of thanks and Nala settled behind her human, a slight smirk on her face. Mustangs voice brought Ed back to the present.

"Edward, the military is willing to offer you the opportunity to reach your goals; to try and find a way to restore your bodies back to normal. You'd have access to every book in every library, one of which could very well hold the key to success," Mustang said, unknowingly echoing his lioness. "If you're willing to take that chance, contact me at Eastern Headquarters." Mustang stood up and Nala followed suit. Granny stood as well, glaring at Mustangs retreating back.

* * *

Winry had been sitting awkwardly next to the blonde Lieutenant who'd accompanied Mustang on his trip to Resembool, knowing her grandmother wouldn't have wanted a military officer in their house unaccompanied. The offered tea sat untouched on its tray in front of the two blondes. A magnificent barn owl sat on the armrest of the chair nearest the blonde stranger, cleaning its feathers. Winry's small voice broke the silence between the two.

"Uh, Lieutenant?"

"Please, just Riza. Riza Hawkeye." She stuck her hand out for Winry to shake. "Pleasure to meet you." Winry ignored the offered hand.

"Lieutenant Riza... Have you ever had to shoot anyone?" Winry's voice shook. Hawkeye started at the question. The owl looked up, watching the young blonde.

"Yes, I have," Hawkeye answered, slight hesitation in her voice.

"I hate what you soldiers do," Winry said as she glared at her hands, eyes blurring from tears she refused to shed. "Soldiers are the reason my mum and dad left for the war and soldiers are the reason they're dead. And now you... Now you're here to take Ed and Al away too." She still wouldn't meet the Lieutenants eyes.

"If they go, that decision will be theirs and theirs alone." Winry looked up in disbelief. "Yes. It's entirely up to them now. Whether they move forward or stay still. It's their choice. They choose their own path." Hawkeye's voice was kind but firm.

"Miss Riza, why did you become a soldier?" Hawkeye didn't answer right away.

"Because there's someone I have to protect." A door swung open next to them and Mustang walked out. Riza immediately stood to attention.

"We're leaving," was all he said as he reached out to take his offered coat from Hawkeye. Nala exited the house first and Hawkeye's owl flew out after her. Mustang and Hawkeye were followed out by Winry. Riza paused at the bottom of the stairs and faced the young girl.

"I guess this is goodbye, young lady." She was surprised to find the girls hand offered to her.

"It's Winry," was all the girl said as Hawkeye grasped the offered hand.

"Right. Bye, Winry. I hope we meet again someday." She smiled as she followed her commanding officer. Once out of earshot, she spoke to Roy.

"Do you think they'll come?" Riza had glimpsed the boy before Roy had barged in. She thought he'd looked... defeated.

"Oh, they will. Both of them, I'd imagine." Mustang smiled confidently. Nala rolled her eyes. A gesture that went unnoticed by both humans but not the owl flying beside them. Nala promised to explain it later when the owl queried the eyeroll.

"Are you sure? I have a feeling that the Rockbells won't let them without a fight." Hawkeye was certain she was right.

"Don't you worry, Lieutenant. There was fire in that boy's eyes. He'll come."

* * *

Back in the house, Winry and Pinako had re-joined the boys in the sunroom. They'd stepped away to clean up the tea and prepare lunch. They heard Al and Ed talking and the silences that meant the Animals were talking. Granny carried the tray of food for the Animals while Winry carried the tray for humans. Once they'd eaten, Granny asked the question she and Winry wanted to hear the answer too.

"What did you decide?" There was no denying that the boys were talking about the soldier's offer so there was no point in pretending otherwise. Ed and Al looked at each other and nodded. Ed faced Granny with a determined expression on his face.

"I'm joining the military. I'll become a State Alchemist."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally meet Mustang and Hawkeye. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated by the author and I'd love to know what you thought!


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone currently in the Rockbell house knew how stubborn Edward when he'd made his mind up. They also knew there would be no changing his mind once it was made unless something life-changing happened. So when he announced his decision, eyes and voice filled with conviction, to join the State Alchemy program, they knew he was serious. However, despite knowing all of this, Pinako couldn't keep her silence when Edward told him his decision.

"Edward, you're 11 years old! Why do you want to chain yourself to the military? There's got to be another way for you to keep your promise," Granny exclaimed. "The military will just use your alchemy against innocent people, like they did in Ishval! Your alchemy will cost innocent people, like Winry's parents, their lives! You'll just be a tool for them to wield." She didn't yell, she didn't even raise her voice.

Ed knew that Granny and Winry wouldn't accept his decision straight away. Winry had nursed a hate for the military ever since she received word about her parents death, Pinako long before that. When Edward had made his announcement, Winry hadn't said anything after he voiced his decision nor had she said anything while Pinako spoke. In fact, she didn't say anything until a couple of moments after Granny's rant and when she did speak, it was with an emotionless voice emotionless voice and it was only to tell them she would be going upstairs to start work on Edward's ports.

"I know that, Granny. I'd considered it a while back but thought I'd be too young. But that Mustang came here looking for me. That means I'm not," Edward started reasoning once Winry had left to go upstairs but Pinako interrupted.

"He didn't know you were a kid!" She protested.

"He did when he made that offer," Ed pointed out. "I'll have access to books I've never heard of and books I'd never be able to read otherwise. I'll have a steady income, which means I could afford to go after any leads and I'll be able to keep Al safe from them, too. If I don't join now, they'd only keep coming back to try and recruit us. Al could be discovered and taken away while I try and figure out a way to get him back on limited funds and knowledge!" Edward exclaimed. "I've discussed this with Al and Ayala and they're both on board with it. I'm doing this, Granny." Pinako sighed. She hated it when the boys actually made rational arguments and this was certainly one of Ed's best.

"Fine. We'll get you your automail, like we agreed. Hopefully you'll see some sense in the three years you'll spend in rehab." Granny could only hope as she started taken his measurements for Winry.

"Three years? Screw that. I'll do it in one," Edward declared. Pinako just gaped at him.

"Are you an idiot? You'll have yourself spitting up blood!" This time she did yell at him.

"I will do this in one year. I'm not letting Al spend any more time in that armour than he has too." Edward refused to budge on the matter. Granny didn't bother arguing further, instead settled for muttering curses under her breath while she finished up her work and went to find her granddaughter and Al took this opportunity to get a word in.

"Brother, I don't want you to hurt yourself more than necessary. Take the three years to get used to the automail. I can wait," he pleaded but Ed shook his head.

"No, Al. That programs for old people anyway. I'll be fine." He smiled at his little brother. "Besides, you think I'm gonna let some stupid automail tell me what to do?" He knocked the back of his hand on Al's chest plate.

Alphonse may have chuckled at his brother but he was still worried. If Ed strained himself too much trying to rush through the healing and adapting process, he could do some serious damage. He just hoped that Ed would see sense and slow down if he had too. They sat in silence for a few minutes, their Animals having gone outside when Granny had started lecturing Ed so they could have some peace and quiet.

"Hey, Brother?" Al spoke a little uncertainly.

"Yeah, Al? What's up?" Ed frowned at his brother but Al was looking out the window.

"Do you have any clue on how to get my body back?" He asked after a minute of silence. Ed understood the reason behind the uncertain tone of voice now.

"No, not yet. Getting your body back would be committing human transmutation and we saw how well that worked last time," Ed sighed. He'd been struggling over this for three weeks now. He knew there was a tiny piece of information he was missing that would suddenly make the answer obvious.

"There's no way we are doing that again." Al shook his head for emphasis. Edward didn't need any convincing. Their failed human transmutation cost them this much. How much would a successful one cost? "It's a shame we can't bypass the laws," Al said without really thinking. Ed sat up like he'd been zapped.

"That's it!" He exclaimed, startling his brother. "We just need to bypass the laws of equivalency! We need-"

"A Philosopher's Stone!" Al exclaimed alongside Ed. Ed could've smacked himself for taking so long to figure it out.

"There's that book of that bastards that we read, remember? It contains some information about it. Was it one of the ones you grabbed on your trip there this morning?" Ed asked hopefully.

"No but I know which one you mean. I can go and grab it when Chester and I go for a walk this afternoon," Al offered. Edward nodded. He was buzzing with excitement. Finally,  _finally_ , they had a faint hope to latch on to. Ayala and Chester both let themselves back inside when they felt the rush of excitement run through their bonds.

 _"What happened?"_  They both asked their respective humans. Ed and Al both told them pretty much the same thing. They had an idea on what could make Al normal. They just needed to get the right book. Both Animals were almost as excited as their humans were. This was good! They finally had somewhere to start.

"I want Ayala to go with you this afternoon," Ed said suddenly.

_"What?"_

"What?" Both Al and Ayala echoed each other.

"You haven't been far from me since we woke up. I can't go, obviously. Plus, I'd like to test our linked vision. We've gotta keep on top of our skills so they don't get rusty. This will be a good way to do that." He spoke to Ayala but out loud so Al could hear him.

 _"What if something happens to you?"_  Ayala knew she was being overprotective, worrying about nothing but she couldn't help it! She was reluctant to let Ed out of her sight.

"I'll be fine, Aya. I have Granny and Den here and Winry will keep me company, if she ever talks to me again. You won't be gone that long and if I need you, I'll reach out. Go and stretch your legs. You're starting to get a bit chubby from laying around here," he said with a smirk.

 _"Call me chubby again and I'll bite you,"_  she warned.  _"I'll go with them if it's alright with them. It is their walk after all,"_  she said, caving.

"Thank you. You two don't mind, right?" He asked Al and Chester. Both agreed to let Ayala tag along. "Thanks, you two." Ed smiled. They all sat around, chatting about whether either of them could think of any more books they'd need until they finished coming up with a list and Al stood, ready to go. Ayala and Chester stood to follow him and with a final pat to her head, Ed watched his wolf follow his brother and his leopard outside. He mentally prepared himself for the link.

"You ready, Aya?" He asked telepathically.

 _"Of course,"_  she replied smoothly. Ed grinned and gave the command.

"Ayala, sight!" Suddenly his vision was filled with Al, Chester and the Rockbells' driveway. Ayala turned her head to let Ed get in all the view while she walked. They saw wildflowers and trees. There were some sheep in the fields and some paddocks being prepared for crops. Ed didn't realise how much he missed it until he was seeing it again. Edward was still completely aware of his own surroundings. He would be able to sense if someone approached him but he only saw what Ayala saw. He wouldn't be able to see Granny or Winry even if their face was centimetres from his own.

The only sign that Edward gave that he wasn't completely there was the bright blue rings that surrounded his golden irises. The same could be seen on Ayala's eyes if anyone looked closely. The blue rings told anyone who approached them that their vision was linked with their partner. The colour never varied from bonded pair to bonded pair, similar to the colour of the healing energy when it was being used. If an alchemist knew the healing array instead of just relying on their bond, the alchemic energy would be green. While Ayala was walking, she and Ed were happily chatting away about things they could see. Eventually they reached the house and Ayala and Ed both inhaled sharply.

"You two okay?" Al asked, looking down at Ayala.

Taking a moment to gather the required strength, Ayala nodded and, with Ed's encouragement, moved forward. She could still sense the lingering evil from that night. A mound of dirt was visible under the tree Ayala liked to lounge under and both Ayala and Ed surmised that that was were Granny had buried that  _thing_. The three of them entered the house and looked around. Aside from some slightly moved furniture and tracked-in dirt – courtesy of that bastard colonel, Ed assumed – the place looked untouched. The surfaces were still clear of dust, all the photos were in the spots their mum had put them, the dishes they'd washed after their last dinner were still in the drying rack, doors that were shut were still shut. It seemed either the colonel hadn't done a great investigative sweep of the place or he was really good at covering his tracks.

Ayala followed Al into the study, pointedly ignoring the basement door, even though it was wide open, presumably left that way by Al when he rushed them to Granny's. Ed was happy to notice that his and Ayala's connected vision was working perfectly. In fact, it seemed stronger than ever. They'd never maintained a connection this long. They watched Al for a few moments before Ed decided there was something else he wanted to test.

"Ayala, I'm going to disconnect our vision now. You ready?" With Ayala's mental agreement, Ed blinked and was back in his own body.

Blinking his eyes a few times, he checked around himself for anything different. Seeing nothing, he relaxed. If Granny and Winry had to go out and came to tell him, they would've left a note once they realised he was sight-sharing. No note meant they were still home. He sat for a moment, thinking about why he'd disconnected with Ayala. There were actually two things he wanted to test out. The first thing shouldn't be too hard. He just needed Den so he reached out telepathically.

"Hey, Den, can I borrow you for a minute?" Den's affirmative answer came seconds before the clicking of his nails alerted Ed to his approach. Once in the room, he located and sat in front of Ed.

 _"What's up?"_  He queried.

"Okay, I want to see if I can visually link with you." Den looked at him.

 _"What? What makes you think you can? Did you with Chester or something?"_  Den was confused. Normally when the boys wanted to test something it was because they had a hunch. Granted they were normally right but this still seemed a bit odd.

"No, nothing like that. I just wanna make sure the talking thing is all I got. I'd prefer to test this sort of thing out with Animals I trust. And yes, I could ask Chester but then I wouldn't know if it was just cuz I have his energy in me. Please, Den? If I can, I promise I won't activate the link without your permission," he pleaded. Den sighed but he didn't see the harm in it, though it still felt weird. If Ed could sight link with him than he could with other Animals and he was a little uncomfortable with the idea. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong but both parties have to agree to the link right?"

 _"Yeah. If you tried to link with Ayala and she didn't want to, the link would fail. It doesn't hurt either party but it's gotta be agreed upon by both the human and the Animal."_  Den knew that from experience. He'd tried to link with Pinako while she was on a date without him and she'd denied it.

"Okay. So, Den, do you wanna try it? See if I can?" Ed asked. He was leaving it up to Den. If he didn't then they wouldn't. Den thought it over for a couple of minutes.

 _"Okay, let's try this,"_  he finally agreed. Ed shut his eyes and Den followed suit. It was how all bonded pairs activated their sight share the first time. For some reason, it made it easier. Once Ed felt the frail bond between him and Den, he latched onto it and said the command.

"Den, sight!" Both opened their eyes and Ed could see himself. It was unnerving, looking at himself and then suddenly he wasn't. Den looked around and Ed saw what he did. The link had worked! "Okay, I'm disconnecting it now." A second later, Den was back in his sight and he was in his body.

 _"Wow,"_  was all Den could say. He'd half expected it not to work because it shouldn't have been possible. Even Animals can't sight-share with each other. Sight-sharing with a being who wasn't his bonded human was beyond odd.

"You can say that again." Ed looked as shocked by this development as Den felt. "I honestly didn't expect it to work. Maybe with Chester because of his energy but not with you. It was just a wild theory. How is it possible I can sight-share with you?" He looked at Den, practically begging for an answer.

 _"I have no idea, Ed. You must've been given the knowledge and just not remembered it. It's the only explanation that makes any sort of sense to me,"_  Den answered honestly. Ed sighed and slumped back in his wheelchair.

"You're probably right. Thanks Den. For everything." Ed smiled tiredly at him. He was still in some pain and he was getting tired which meant it must be nearly dinner time. Den smiled at him and trotted out the room to find Pinako and tell her about Ed's newest ability. Ed watched him go then resumed gazing out the window. The sky was beginning to turn from orange to dark blue which meant he was right about the time. Al, Ayala and Chester shouldn't be too much longer before they're back. He wanted to test his second theory out but he needed to wait another day or so before he could.

* * *

It wasn't much longer before he heard the now familiar clanging of Al's armour, indicating his arrival. When his brother walked through the door, Ed immediately saw why he'd taken a bit longer than he'd thought. His little brother was carrying a lot more than the agreed upon books. Ed grinned at him. Noting the absence of the two Animals, he figured they were doing a scout around the house. Both Animals trusted the military as much as Granny did.

"Did you raid our whole library?" He asked teasingly. Al chuckled at him.

"Nearly. The book you first thought of was hidden behind all the books we'd read after it." He placed the pile on the table and pulled one carefully from the stack. "Here. This is it, right? You stopped your shared vision before I could check." Ed winced a little guiltily. He looked at the cover and nodded but made no move to grab it. He wanted that information but he was seriously tired. "Good. So why did you end the shared vision? I thought you were trying to go for a new record."

"I thought of a couple of things I wanted to test out. One has to wait another couple of days though," Ed said, frowning in annoyance. He hated having to wait to prove his theories right or wrong.

"The other thing?" Al prodded.

"Oh yeah. I wanted to see if the telepathy was the only new thing I could do with Animals and I asked Den to help me out. Apparently, I can sight-share too," Ed informed him. Al dropped the book he was holding in shock.

"Seriously? You can sight-share with other Animals? Hey, why didn't you ask Chester first?" Al asked as he bent down to grab the book.

"I really didn't think I'd be able to, if I were being honest." Ed sighed. "I asked Den because I wanted to see if I could sight-share with an Animal whose energy wasn't inside me. If I could with Den, I can with others," he explained simply.

"BOYS! DINNER!" A sudden shout from Winry startled them both. Ed's stomach growled out loud. Al laughed at him and pushed him towards the dinner table in the kitchen. Winry was finishing setting the table and Granny was placing the food down, ready for them to eat. Al was touched that they always set a place up for him, refusing to leave him out of anything.

"Call your Animals inside before Den eats their dinner too," Granny told them. Both boys sent a message to their respective Animal and before long, Ayala and Chester were scrabbling through the door, ready for food. Ed served himself and happily dug in while Al sat and watched. Granny and Winry were a bit more civilised and ate like they weren't starving to death. "So, Edward, Den tells me you two had a productive afternoon," she said pointedly.

"Yeah. I still can't believe it actually worked," Ed said through a mouthful of potatoes. His attention was grabbed by Ayala.

 _"What worked? Is it why you stopped sight-sharing with me?"_  She didn't pause in her eating at all.

"Yeah. I had a theory and Den helped me test it out. I can sight-share with other Animals." That made her stop eating. Chester stopped as well.

 _"Seriously? So you can talk and sight-share with other Animals now?"_  Ayala sounded upset. Ed frowned at her.

"Yeah, it looks that way. What's wrong?" He asked that last part telepathically.

 _"It's just... you can hear other Animals and now you can sight-share? That's two major things that are normally exclusively shared between the bonded Animal and human. I guess I'm just upset that you can do that with other Animals. It feels like it's not something that's just for us anymore,"_  she sighed and went back to eating. Ed felt horrible. He didn't think how this would affect her. It wasn't like he'd asked for these abilities but at the same time, he'd been so caught up in how cool it was that he never took her feelings into consideration.

"I'm sorry, Aya. I didn't realise how much this would upset you. I don't plan on using these abilities unless I have too." he said, trying to reassure her.

No one else at the table seemed to realise anything was wrong. He finished his dinner and he and Al excused themselves with Chester and Ayala from the table before heading up to the room. Al went back downstairs while Ed got himself ready for bed only to came back up after a few minutes to find Ed and Ayala curled up together, both already fast asleep. He placed the new books on the floor and arranged the blankets around Ed and Ayala so they were covered better before switching the main light off and turned on the little lamp that emitted barely enough light to read by. Chester was curled up asleep next to him, his back pressing against Al's leg. The walk this afternoon must've been more tiring than he thought. Another bonus for not having a physical body; you didn't get tired walking. Al was determined to see the bright side to his predicament.

Alphonse knew Ed was still beating himself up over what he no longer could do so Al was making a list of things he could do. He wanted to be prepared for the day that Ed had a breakdown. He knew it would happen, especially if he did become a State Alchemist. Ed would have all the pressure of being the military's dog, providing for himself and the two Animals, making sure Al was still okay, keeping the military from finding out about their situation and trying to find a solution to getting their bodies back. Al was prepared to help out but he knew Ed wouldn't let him if he could help it. Al sighed and dragged his focus back to the book he was reading about botanical alchemy.

* * *

Another two days passed before Winry had finished creating her masterpieces for Ed's surgery. When he asked to see the automail limbs, she admitted she hadn't even designed them but she was gonna be spending every waking minute on them while he was recovering from the port installations. Ed realised that even a super automail genius like Winry couldn't be expected to make two ports and two limbs in less than a week, although he never said that out loud. It had taken her until the day after Mustang's visit to talk to Ed again, though neither brought up the State Alchemist thing.

Ayala and Ed had had a big discussion about Ed's abilities and both realised that they'd have to make do with it. Ed had promised that, aside for Chester, he wouldn't sight-share with another Animal unless it was an emergency, something he'd planned on doing as soon as he discovered he could. The talking was less of an issue since both of them had had so long to get used to it. The morning of the surgery, Granny came in with the breakfasts as usual but stayed to discuss the finer details and make sure this was what he definitely wanted.

"Now, I've explained how the ports are attached but you need to understand this," Granny said, sitting on the spare chair. "We can't give you any sedatives or anaesthesia because we have to make sure the nerves aren't damaged. We also can't sedate Ayala, which means she'll feel everything until she either blacks out or the sympathy pain stops. I'll install the shoulder port first, since it's the biggest and most painful job," Granny told him. "You can't have Ayala in with you either. She's not sterile and I can't risk you getting an infection. Den will help look after her but she can't be in the same room," Granny told them before talking over any protests. "You'll be in more pain than you were when you woke up from losing your limbs when you wake up after the surgery. We can't connect your automail until every single nerve had stopped hurting. Don't lie to us about when that is either because if we connect them before you're fully healed, you'll set back your rehab by 6 months. Do you understand, Edward? You'll be awake for the whole thing and Ayala will be too. This decision isn't to be made lightly." She didn't sugar-coat it but that was the best way to do this. She needed both Animal and human to realise this wasn't going to be like a normal surgery. This was going to be horrific.

"We know, Granny. We've discussed this and we both know the risks and what we have to go through. We're willing to do this." Ed wasn't lying. Ever since he'd made the decision, he and Ayala had talked every day about it. Ed knew some of what automail surgery entailed from stories Winry's parents had told and he knew the rest from what Granny had told him when he decided he wanted them. Ayala was prepared to endure the pain he would go through. Pinako saw no hesitation in either of their eyes and left to get the procedure room set up for his surgery.

Since Ed knew he wouldn't be allowed to eat after breakfast, he and Ayala spent the next few hours away with Al and Chester reading and discussing books with each other. Eventually, Granny came up to collect Ed. Al helped him down the stairs and on the table. Winry and Granny shooed him outside and left him, Ayala and Chester to wait on their own. Ayala and Ed hadn't liked hearing they couldn't be in the same room but Granny wouldn't budge on her decision. Al had assured Ed that he'd help Ayala as best he could and both Chester and Den had promised too. Ed still didn't like it but he finally accepted he couldn't do anything about it. Ed watched as Winry and Granny donned surgical scrubs and got themselves ready for the procedure. They hooked him up to oxygen and a heart monitor and after a final check, started the operation.

* * *

Al watched Ayala as she paced worriedly in front of the surgery room. He knew the moment the surgery had started because Ayala collapsed and started whimpering in pain. He knew nothing he could do would make her pain stop but he couldn't do nothing so he gave her soothing pats and whispered that everything would be okay. He couldn't hear his brother, which worried him a bit but he couldn't focus on that. He'd promised Ed he'd help Ayala and he was determined to do that. The whimpers became louder and soon she was howling in pain and the sounds broke his heart. Chester and Den were doing their best by trying to distract her and it was working a bit but not enough.

Eventually, tears started running down Ayala's face, soaking the fur as they went. The hands on the clock seemed to crawl by. Before they started, Granny had said the surgery shouldn't take long, maybe four hours at most. Al didn't know how he'd be able to stay where he was for four hours while his brother's Animal screamed in pain, knowing his brother was in equal pain just on the other side of the door. Soon the sound of drills was added to the mix of noises and Al had a hard time trying not to think of them being pressed into his brother's bones. After a while, the drills stopped and Al still hadn't heard Ed scream. Ayala seemed to be either close to losing consciousness or the sympathy pain was lessening and Al hoped whichever it was would happen shortly. Granny had also explained this to both brothers.

While the human was getting automail installed, the Animals bonded to the amputee felt sympathy pain throughout the whole procedure however the sympathy pain dulled down after a couple of hours of surgery. No one could explain why but people who studied the Bond thought it was a coping trait. If Ayala's sympathy pain was lessening, it meant that the surgery was at least halfway over. A quick check of the clock had shown that nearly two hours had passed. Al was mildly shocked to see that. Soon Ayala's howls of pain were reduced to whimpers once more but Al continued providing what comfort he could and settled down to wait for the surgery to end. Chester asked him a few times how he was coping but other than that none of them really communicated. Ayala's whimpers were done to small groans and finally, the door swung open to reveal Winry.

"Granny wants you to move him upstairs," Winry told him, looking exhausted. "He finally passed out once we were done. Since he has, moving him won't hurt him and it'll be better for him to sleep on that bed. You can take Ayala up there as well but Granny wants to talk to her first," she said as she removed her gloves and scrubs. Al nodded and went in to collect his brother. He saw the shiny ports but his attention was drawn to the bandages wrapped around them. The skin not covered was angry red and painful looking.

"Be careful as you pick him up. Try not to jostle him too much and make sure his shoulder port isn't touching you," Granny ordered as Al walked over. Nodding, he followed her instructions, holding Ed away from his body slightly and headed out. He noticed Ayala was moving very slowly and asked Chester to let her know he'd be back to get her if she wanted. Chester passed her grateful answer along and Al promised to be back in a minute. He made his way up to their room and settled Ed carefully on the mattress. Winry and Granny had followed him up and made themselves busy getting Ed comfortable. Al headed back down and gently scooped Ayala up. He went to put her on Ed's bed when Granny made him stop.

"Until he wakes up and she can sense where his pain is, she can't be on the bed with him. I can't risk her knocking the ports this soon after surgery. She'll have to sleep on the bed on the floor for now. In a couple of days, she can go back up on the bed though." Al did as she said and placed Ayala on the dog bed she'd previously used while unconscious. Ayala did not look pleased at all but Granny wasn't to be moved on her orders. "Now, it goes without saying that no one but me and Winry is allowed to touch his bandages. I'll check on them in the morning. Let me know if anything happens throughout the night."

"Granny?" Al asked before she headed for the door.

"He'll be fine, Alphonse. He's tough," she reassured him.

"I know but that's not what I was going to ask. I wanted to know why I couldn't hear him scream. Is that room soundproofed or something?" He didn't think it was since he could hear the drills when they started. It wasn't that he'd wanted to hear his big brother in immense pain but he was still curious.

"No, nothing like that. You didn't hear him scream because he didn't. Not once throughout the whole surgery. He refused to even whimper. I've seen military men, farmers, coalminers, blokes who could take a lot more pain than the average person on that table cry like babies but your brother didn't even shed a tear. He said he had to be tough since the pain he was about to go through was nothing compared to what you went through." She left the room, leaving a stunned Al behind her.

He looked at his brother with indescribable feelings. He couldn't believe his 11-year-old brother was able to sit through a surgery 80% of amputees opted out of without even crying. Ayala didn't speak to anyone for the whole night before she eventually drifted off to sleep. Chester tried making small talk but Al wasn't really in a talkative mood. He apologised to Chester and suggested the leopard get some sleep, which he reluctantly did. Al spent the night alternating between his books and watching his brother, paranoid something would happen if he took his eyes off him for more than a minute or two.

* * *

Two days passed and Ed been awake for long enough to have some food and use the toilet before he fell back asleep. He told Al his constant sleep was due to the fact that his nerves felt like they were on fire and sleeping was the only way to escape that sensation when he'd asked why he was sleeping so much. Al had just been exceptionally grateful for his brother's constant sleep when Granny had changed the bandages for the first time and he hadn't been able to stop his horrified gasp before it sounded. The scars looked ugly, angry and so painful. Al knew the swelling would go down as his body adjusted to the ports but he pitied his brother. He'd have those scars for the rest of his life. He soon lectured himself for feeling that way because he knew Edward wouldn't want his pity and he wouldn't care about the scars. He'd say they were proof that he survived what they'd gone through. Granny probably heard his reaction but she was nice enough not to say anything to him except that the bandages could come off permanently when the swelling was completely down and the scars were healed.

* * *

It wasn't until nearly nine days after the surgery that Ed was able to stay awake for the whole day. By that time, Winry had announced that she was done with the blueprints for Ed's automail and would start building them the next day. Ed grinned at her enthusiastically, excited at the thought of being that much closer to standing on two feet again. Granny had decided that they should probably start to tailor a plan for Ed's rehabilitation. She also told him that he'd better get used to writing with his left hand since automail wasn't able to perform something as intricate as writing.

So, ten days after the surgery, Ed started learning to write with his left hand. The results weren't legible in the slightest but he was determined. He worked constantly on his writing while Granny spent the next few days working on a rehabilitation plan for him. Ed was surprised that things as simple as putting on his clothes were on the list and Granny explained that if he didn't do it properly, the clothing might snag and he could tear them when he queried it.

Granny then went on to explain that he should consider a new wardrobe. She told him that he'd need to wear pants made of more resilient material like denim or leather so his automail leg wouldn't wear through them as quickly. The shirts, she told him, didn't really matter as long as they weren't half-sleeves as they could get caught in the elbow joint and tear, ruining the shirt and possibly the limb as well. Before he had the chance to comment on that, she was then telling him that he should also invest in a pair of thick-soled boots so his left foot wouldn't wear through the sole as quick. Ed quickly realised that having automail was a little more complicated than he'd thought.

Ayala was just happy to be able to sleep up next to Ed again. She supported him throughout the whole learning process and encouraged him when he felt like it was too much. Eventually, his handwriting went from completely illegible to some-what legible. Four weeks after the surgery, Ed woke up and felt nothing. Absolutely no pain. Al, Ayala and Chester were all excited for him. It was the first time since that night that he'd been completely pain free. He told Granny as soon as she walked through the door to check on him and she smiled and said he could have the limbs connected in a couple of days. Winry wasn't quite finished with her masterpieces yet, what with all the other orders she was working on as well, and she'd wanted Ed's to be perfect.

After making this revelation, his younger brother decided that he should go outside and enjoy the sun and the breeze for once. Ed agreed on the condition that he could take the book that Al brought back for him. Al agreed, not that he really would've protested against it the first place. Sometimes, letting his brother think he got his own was just as good. Ayala and Chester seemed to be happy they were all finally going out together, Ayala especially. She hadn't been outside with her human for ages and she'd missed it. Ed was just happy that Ayala was the happiest she'd been since that night. Ed proceeded to speed read through the book, hoping to find the information he was looking for. Al was happy to sit next to him, watching the two Animals act like animals for once, frolicking and enjoying the sun. Edward's sound of triumph had their attention turn to him.

"The celestial stone that destroyed the city of Xerxes in one night. The grand elixir sealed away by the Eastern Sage. It goes by different names, but it's always the same thing: some kind of object that amplifies alchemy. And that's the Philosopher's Stone. If we could just get our hands on it somehow, I might be able to get your body back," he read out loud excitedly before snarling at it. "Damn books! They tell us everything but how to find it!" He was frustrated at the lack of locating information but more than happy about the fact that they finally had some hope to grab onto. He faced his brother, an exuberant expression on his face. "When I become a State Alchemist, I can use their library to research things like this. I can figure out how to make a Stone or at least where to start looking. We're one step closer to getting you your body back!" If Al could've, he would've grinned at his brother's enthusiasm.

"And you yours," Al reminded him. Ed hummed in agreement but never said anything out loud, presumably going back to the book to see if he could weed out any more information. He'd never told Al but if it came down to one of them being back to normal, he would completely refuse to be that one.

He and Al had both been told, repeatedly, how taxing automail would be. How much it would hurt, the fact that it weighed a ton, every single con to having automail. Ed knew that Al hated the fact that Ed was getting something that would be a massive burden to his system and would have to deal with every day for the foreseeable future. Ed also knew that his baby brother would try and get Ed back to normal first. Ed also knew that he'd rather drink milk than let their possible one-shot be wasted on himself. He didn't think of his future automail as a burden; he thought of it as constant reminder of what they'd been through and the lessons they learned from it. For the moment though, he was happy to sit in the sun reading and watching his Animal act like a puppy.

* * *

While he was waiting for Winry to finish up the limbs, Ed remembered his second theory he'd wanted to test. Between surgery and the recovery, he'd completely forgotten. Hopefully he wouldn't catch her at a bad time but since she was the only Animal he'd only ever talked to once and was living in a different town, he wanted to see if he could talk to her from this distance. So, closing his eyes, he reached out for her and when he sensed the almost invisible link, he sent out a message.

"Hi Nala. It's Edward Elric. You and that colonel visited me in Resembool about a month ago." He could feel her startle at the message and knew he'd gotten through causing him to grin. The Eastern Command was hours away by train and the fact that he'd been able to reach her from here was beyond exciting.

 _"Hello, Edward. I remember you. Kinda hard to forget the only other human who can communicate this way. Are you okay?"_  She sounded a bit worried and a bit more confused. Ed figured that was probably because she never spoke to anyone aside her human or Animals she knew.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for disturbing you but I wanted to see if I could send you messages from this distance. Nothing's wrong," he apologised. Understanding went through their barely-there bond.

 _"I understand. I'm glad I could help you out. And I'm glad nothing's wrong."_  He could feel her smile.

"Oh, hey before I drop the communication, have you told your human about me being able to do this?" Ed suddenly asked.

 _"Nope. He has no clue. Right now, he's too busy swearing at his paperwork to have noticed my initial shock at hearing from you."_  Nala sounded like this wasn't a one off. Ed couldn't help but laugh.

"Before I forget, I think I should tell you something. I found out that I can sight-share with other Animals too." He didn't know why he was telling her this. They'd had one ten-minute conversation over a month ago.

 _"Really? That's intriguing."_  Nala's curiousity was peaked.  _"Did you want to see if it worked long distance too? Is that another reason you contacted me?"_

"I hadn't even thought about it, actually," Edward admitted. He really hadn't.

 _"Did you want to? I admit, I'm curious to see if it would work."_  Nala's voice would've betrayed her curiousity, even if she had admitted to it. Ed thought for a moment.

"Okay, but only for a moment. Winry said she'd be finished making my automail today and Granny wants to connect it as soon as it's done," Ed told her.

 _"You're getting automail?"_  Nala was distracted by that bit of information. She'd never heard of a child getting automail.

"Yeah, I'd decided to get it done the night before your human barged into Granny's home. My ports have been installed and I don't feel any more pain now so the next step is to connect the limbs."

 _"Wow, I admire your courage. Not many adults opt for automail since it's so painful."_  She was truly impressed with this kid.  _"Okay, I'm ready to try this whenever you are."_  She closed her eyes and prepared for the sight-share. She faintly felt Edward do the same. She opened her eyes the instant she heard the command. She looked around her humans office, mindful not to actually look at him on the off chance he looked at her and saw the blue rings around her eyes. She felt Edward disconnect them after a few seconds.

"It worked! It was a bit fuzzy but I'm assuming that's from the distance," Ed said, voice giddy. "Thanks for letting me try, Nala. I won't be using that ability with other Animals unless it's an emergency though," he assured her, his voice still ecstatic. Nala couldn't help but feel that way too. There was something about this kid and it wasn't just his one-of-a-kind abilities either. She knew her human had felt something when they'd met Edward.

 _"I'm glad it worked. Hey, did you think about Roy's offer, if you don't mind me asking?"_  She'd actually forgotten until just now the purpose of their visit.

"Yeah, I've decided to accept it," Ed told her. "Your human didn't leave any instructions though. Do I turn up at Eastern command or do I call him first or what?" Sometimes, Nala thought, Roy really did deserve one of the bullets Hawkeye threatened him with.

 _"Call him first and tell him when you're ready to travel. And if you have any questions, just ask me, okay Edward?"_  Nala offered. It felt weird but nice being able to talk to another human like this.

"Thanks, Nala. You can just call me Ed, by the way." A slight pause before he came back. "I gotta go. Winry's nearly finished and Granny wants to talk to me. Bye, Nala and thanks again." She felt the connection break before she could respond. Nala looked at her human. He was still busy complaining about the paperwork. He probably thought she was listening this whole time. He probably also thought she cared. She smiled to herself and leapt up onto the leather couch Mustang insisted she stop sleeping on. Pointedly ignoring the dirty look he sent her, she stretched out and went to sleep.

Edward felt elated and slightly awkward. He felt weird after contacting Nala and he didn't know why. It could be because he'd never asked her permission to contact her. Maybe because she'd been really nice and helpful. He didn't know why he'd told her about the sight-share or the automail or even accepting Mustang's job offer. His musings were interrupted by his brother coming back with the two Animals.

"Hey, why do you look so happy?" Al asked as a way of greeting. Ed raised an eyebrow.

"What? I can't be happy for no reason?" He semi-teased his brother. He didn't know where Granny was. He could of sworn he'd heard her call him when he was chatting with Nala.

"You've never looked happy for no reason," Al shot back as he looked for his book. His brother was right. Dammit.

"Well, remember when I said I had two theories I wanted to test when I asked Den to sight-share with me?" Ayala perked up at this.

 _"What did you do?"_  She immediately asked while Al and Chester both said 'yes'.

"Well, the second theory was to see what the range was when it came to the telepathy thing. I know humans and their bonded Animals can talk to each other from anywhere in the world but since I can talk to Animals I'm not bonded to, I wanted to see if there was a limit on distance." At their 'go on' gestures, Ed continued. "Well, I contacted the only Animal I've spoken to who isn't in this house and it worked. I could speak with her and, at her insistence, we found out I can sight-share that far away too." He finished and waited for the inevitable questions. Surprisingly, these came from Al.

"Well, who was the Animal and how far away are we talking about?"

"She's at Eastern Command in East City and her name is Nala. She's Mustang's Animal." Al's metaphorical jaw dropped. Chester and Ayala's physicals jaws actually dropped.

"You mean the lioness? You spoke to her? How'd you manage that?" Al sat in his usual reading spot but kept his focus on Ed. Chester and Ayala assumed their usual spots too.

"Well, while Mustang was here, I struck up a conversation with his Animal, mainly to see if I could. We had a nice chat while Granny was arguing with Mustang about how immoral his offering a 11-year-old a State Alchemist title was. She was the one who convinced me to at least think the offer over. I don't think I can do the long distance talking with Animals I haven't met face-to-face with, though. I'm assuming it's the same with Animals talking to other Animals?" He phrased the last part as a question and Ayala confirmed his assumption. "The sight-share was only for a few seconds but it worked. It was a little blurry though and I put it down to the distance."

 _"You sight-shared with her too?"_  Ayala asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't going to but she asked if I wanted to see if I had a distance limitation on that ability. Turns out I don't and now I know so that, if there's ever a major need to, I know that I can," he assured her. She could sense he was telling the truth and accepted it. It was hard having the only human who had was able to do these sorts of things. Finally, Granny made herself known by clomping in through the door.

"Didn't you hear me calling you?" She glared angrily at Edward, who barely managed not to flinch.

"Sorry, Granny. I distracted him," Al apologised. Pinako glared at him before focusing her attention back on the older Elric.

"Never mind that. Winry's ready with your automail. The first connections are always the worst so we'll be doing it up here. You'll probably want to sleep afterwards. Your nerves will extremely sensitive after this. Which means," she focused her eyes on Ayala, "you will have to stay off the bed for tonight and probably the better part of tomorrow." Ayala sighed. She'd been expecting that. Ed gave her a one-armed hug to tell her that he wasn't that happy about it either. Hoping down, she made herself comfortable on her bed on the floor. Granny stepped out and headed for Winry's workshop. Ed could feel the nerves building up inside him. He felt like he was going to sick just thinking about.

 _"You'll be alright. You made it through the surgery without shedding a single tear. You can do this,"_  Ayala said soothingly. She was right and Ed knew it. He felt the nausea dissipate and readied himself for the upcoming pain. Granny soon returned, followed by Winry, each woman carrying a limb. Ed hadn't seen many automail limbs but he knew that these were something special. He may not have Winry's automail fetish but he could appreciate well designed things. Winry had his arm and aligned it with his shoulder port and Granny did the same with his leg.

"We're gonna attach both at the same time. That way, you don't have to go through it twice. Are you ready?" Granny asked. Ed nodded his head and prepared himself for the pain. "On three. One. Two. Three!" Both Granny and Winry smoothly inserted the limbs and connected them almost at the exact same time. Bolts of pain shot through Ed's limbs and he felt himself tense as he waited for it to pass. Ayala had whimpered and stiffened from the sympathy pain. After what felt like forever but was really only a few seconds, the pain passed and he relaxed against the mattress and Ayala against her bed.

"Alright, Ed, we need to see if they connected properly. Just wiggle your toes and fingers," Granny asked. Winry and herself were watching for movement. Ed focused for a moment and his fingers and toes moved. Winry, Granny and Ed all looked happy and relieved before making him go through a couple more tests. "Okay, that's good. We'll leave you alone now. You'll be resting for the next two or three days before we start your rehab. Don't try and walk anywhere or lift anything with both arms. When you need to use the bathroom, use the chair. Your nerves need to settle down and get used to the connection. You can move the limbs just don't put any weight on them, got it?" Granny ordered. Ed nodded his compliance. Satisfied, Granny left both boys alone and Winry followed albeit reluctantly.

Ed immediately sat up, even though his body still felt like shards of glass were being pushed into it and set about examining his new limbs. He could bend both limbs at the appropriate joints, he could wiggle each finger and toe and he could touch each finger to his thumb. Overall, he had almost all his functionality back. He lay back against the bed and turned his head so he was looking at his brother.

"We're one step closer to getting that Stone now. Just gotta get through rehab and become a military dog," he grinned tiredly at his brother. Al placed his overly large hand on Ed's golden locks.

"Go to sleep, Brother. You'll need your rest if you want to finish rehab in a year." Ed obeyed his little brother and fell asleep almost right away, Ayala following suit. Al sat back against the wall and grabbed his latest book. Chester sat with him.

 _"I can't believe he got through the surgery and connection without at least crying,"_  Chester commented.

"I can. He's always been stubborn and always determined to not show weakness. That's my brother for you," Al said but he couldn't deceive Chester. Al was just as shocked as everyone else at Ed's pain threshold. Just judging from the pain Ayala was in, Ed should've screamed himself unconscious. Even Granny had said she'd never witnessed anything like it. Chester changed the subject.

 _"Are you reading another botanical alchemy book?"_  He asked, glancing at the pages to try and see the subject.

"Nope. This is one of my father's journals. Ed doesn't know I brought them over here. I just wanted to read them, try and get a sense for who he is," Al tried justifying his reasons.

 _"I get it. I noticed you'd been using that photo Pinako gave you as a bookmark."_  Chester didn't judge him. He knew Al missed his dad and just wanted to feel close to him. Al unconsciously shifted the picture.

"Yeah. Didn't want to lose it," was all he said. Chester could tell it ran a little deeper than that. Al didn't want to forget there was a time when they were a family.

 _"Is the journal interesting?"_  Chester asked as he made himself comfortable and gave Al his undivided attention. It seemed to be the right thing to do because Al's mood lifted and he started recapping the journal for Chester while his brother and his wolf slept.

* * *

Edward stayed in bed like a good patient the next three days. He didn't try and walk or lift anything, just like Granny told him. He was severely tempted to but you only ever disobey Granny's medical orders once. Ed had learned that lesson after their mum passed away and Granny looked after them when Ed had caught a bad flu. Ayala was allowed back up next to Ed the day after the connection, which both she and Ed were happy about.

The day after that, Granny had him stand up for the first time to see how the pain was in his leg. It wasn't horrible but Granny said he still needed another day on full bed rest. She also had him extend his right arm and lift it as high as he could and stop if he felt any twinges or pain. His arm was completely functional and fine. The pain was in his shoulder port. Granny said that it'd go away once his body adjusted to the extra weight.

They'd spent the days going over the rehab plan Granny had made for him. He'd have to learn to walk again, adjusting his step so he didn't stomp everywhere. He needed to learn his own strength again so he didn't break anything he tried to pick up. He needed to learn to fight again. That was, however, the last part of his rehabilitation plan. Granny wanted him to learn how to pull his punches so he didn't put his fist through someone's brain or something like that.

Al was more than happy to offer his assistance with that stage. Granny agreed since he was trained to the same level Ed was but mainly because Ed wouldn't be able to hurt him. Ed was still expected to improve on his handwriting in the meantime and he'd need to re-train with Ayala for their team fighting. Granny rolled her eyes when she learned that he still planned to finish rehab in a year. So, Ed started his training the next day.

* * *

The first month of training was the most difficult. He was learning how to walk again and how to manage his arms strength so he didn't smash things he picked up. While these sorts of tasks weren't just physically draining, they were mentally exhausting. He went to bed frustrated most nights because he'd smashed 9 out of 10 plates that day or because he'd cracked a floorboard walking. Ayala and Al were always there encouraging and Granny and Winry were quick to point out that he was improving but he wasn't improving quick enough for his liking. His handwriting now resembled a messy seven-year-old's instead of chicken scratch, which was the only thing he would begrudgingly admit he was doing well with.

The second month passed much the same as the first only with more dishes left intact and floorboards undamaged. Ed was finally admitting that he was improving. Granny reluctantly added daily walks to his regime so he could strengthen his leg. For that month he returned back to the Rockbells, spitting up blood because he kept walking further than he was capable of. He'd also added things like chin ups to his rehab so he could strengthen his arm. This made Granny yell at him when he threw his breakfast and some blood up.

The third, fourth and fifth months passed the same way. He could go on longer walks and had started jogging. He wasn't spitting blood up or otherwise ruining his health anymore. He still felt he needed to improve faster but at least he only broke a plate every couple of weeks now. His handwriting never got past an eight-year-old's so they assumed it wouldn't. During this time, Nala had contacted him to see how he was coping with the automail, something that both he and Ayala were surprised with. She seemed pleased he was adapting well enough and dropped the conversation. Ed didn't let himself query the randomness and continued with his training.

After the ninth month, Granny announced that he and Al could start sparring. Ed had made great strides with his rehabilitation and even Granny admitted he might be done inside the year mark. The first time they fought, Al flattened Ed. Ed wasn't used to the weight of the automail so all of his moves were useless. They continued fighting until Ed was finally able to land a punch. Each fight afterwards, Ed learned more about what he had to compensate for and was able to adjust his strikes. Al still won all their fights.

The tenth and eleventh months showed Ed's improvement on a bigger scale. He could now pick up anything without hurting it or himself. He knew most of his limitations. He knew how to move his hand to lessen the chance of it getting caught in Ayala's fur or his own hair when he braided it. He could walk around and you'd barely be able to tell he had an automail leg. He was holding his own in his and Al's sparring matches for longer. They started team-fighting with their Animals again and Ed was happy to discover that, despite the lack of practise, Ayala and he were capable of defeating Al and Chester on the odd occasion.

Ed also ventured into town and bought material so he could make himself new clothes and found a store that stocked the boots Winry had suggested. Being a small town, everyone knew the Elric brothers had been in an accident but they didn't know the details. They all offered Edward congratulations on his recovery and asked him to pass their well-wishes onto his little brother. Ed didn't even realise how worried he'd been about peoples' opinions about him changing until he heard that. No one had even commented on his automail, except to pass on their astonishment at his rapid recovery from the surgery.

* * *

A year had passed and he was back to his old self. He could hold an egg in between his finger without breaking it, he could clap Winry on the shoulder with no fear of hurting her. Granny was surprised to announce he'd finished his rehab in the year he'd promised. The only thing he and Al hadn't tested was whether their alchemy worked the same. Al drew a familiar array on the ground and placed his hands next to it. Ed could feel the nerves radiating from Chester and Ayala and realised this would be the first time since that night that either of them tried alchemy. He held his breath and watched the blue activation energy dance as Al created a small horse figurine. Ed released his breath and gave his brother a glowing review. Now it was his turn. Readying himself, he instinctively clapped his hands rather than draw an array and moved the left one over his right forearm, manipulating the metal to extend into a blade. He admired it while Ayala gave her own sigh of relief.

"Wow, Brother! You can do alchemy just like Teacher!" Al exclaimed. Ed was confused.

"You can as well, right?" He'd figured Al had activated that array the old way because he felt like it.

"Me? No. No way," Al had said. Edward was even more confused.

"So you didn't see it?" Now it was Al's turn to be confused.

"See what?" Ed looked at his new blade.

"Never mind - OW!" He rubbed the back of his head where a wrench had just collided. "What's your problem?!" He glared at the blonde who'd thrown it.

"DON'T YOU GO MESSING UP MY AUTOMAIL WITH YOUR FREAKY ALCHEMY!" Winry shrieked at him.

"IT'S MY AUTOMAIL AND I'LL DO WHATEVER I WANT TO IT!" Ed retorted. "BESIDES, IT'S NOT DAMAGED, SEE?" He yelled as he clapped his hands and transmuted the arm back to its original shape. Winry at least had the decency not to continue the argument. She just scoffed and headed to pick up her weapon, muttering about boys and alchemy as she headed back instead. Ed scowled at her, rubbing the back of his head with his flesh hand. Ayala was glaring at Winry's retreating back while the back of her head throbbed with sympathy pain. "YOU COULD AT LEAST HAVE THE MANNERS TO APOLOGISE TO AYALA!" Ed yelled before Winry managed to shut the door. Said blonde poked her head back around the door.

"SORRY, AYALA!" The door slammed behind her.

Ed huffed and turned back to his brother. "Evil witch. Do you wanna spar again?" He asked but Al shook his head.

"No. You look tired, Brother. Let's head inside." Ed was disappointed but he couldn't argue. He ached from their previous rounds of sparring that day. "We can start creating your new clothes instead." Edward smiled at his brother. He'd almost forgotten about the material he'd bought.

They laid it out on the living room floor and Ed clapped his hands together. The bright light flared and dissipated, leaving a perfect pair of leather pants in its wake. Happy with the result, he went and tried them on. Satisfied with fit, he came back out and made another three pairs out of the remaining material. He'd bought himself some tank tops and a black jacket but he still felt like he needed an extra layer. He hadn't found any material he'd liked in Resembool so he planned to go hunting in East City when he applied to be a State Alchemist. He also bought some thick white material and fashioned a pair of gloves so he could hide his automail hand and avoid questions about it.

"Nicely done, Brother," Al exclaimed when Ed finished clothes making.

"Thanks, Al. Hopefully these'll last longer than the stuff I've been wearing the past year." Ed chuckled at the memory of the dozens of pants Granny had to throw away because his automail leg ripped through them.

"I'm sure they will. Hey, Ed?" Al's voice grew a little quieter. Even Chester had a bit of trouble working out what Al wanted to ask.

"Yeah, Al? What's wrong?" Ed asked, worry seeping into his voice a bit.

"Nothing. I just wanted to know when you'd planned to head to East City?" Ed blinked in surprise.

"I-I don't know. I hadn't thought about it, actually. I need to ring Mustang first and find out when he wants me down there," Ed managed to get out. "Do you not want me to apply anymore? Is that the problem?" He was still confused by Al's tone of voice.

"Huh? Oh! No, no, no, no!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "I still don't mind you applying. I just wanted to know how long you'd be here so I could spend as much time with you as possible," Al said, fidgeting his fingers nervously.

"Oh," Ed said before he realised what Al had implied. "Hey, you know I'm not joining the military unless you and Chester are allowed to accompany me on missions, right?" Al's and Chester's heads both snapped up in surprise.

"Really?" Al asked for both of them.

"Well, yeah," Ed said, surprised he was even having to explain this. "I am your legal guardian. They can't make me leave you behind. Plus, Mustang knows our situation. He'd have to let me. I've gotta keep you safe and I can't do that if you're stuck here." Ed smiled and placed a comforting hand on his brother's arm. Al's eyes lit up and he hugged his brother.

"Thank you, Brother!" Al exclaimed happily while Ed sputtered at the bear hug. Chester showed his happiness by rubbing against Ed's legs and purring. Al finally realised Ed before he passed out.

"You're welcome. Although, you'll have to stay here while I go apply," Ed held his hand up to stop Al's protest. "No, listen. I don't want to risk you being questioned while you're waiting for me and on the off chance I'm not allowed to be a State Alchemist, I don't want the military to know about your situation at all. It's not up for debate, Al. I won't risk you being taken away from me." The last sentence is what killed off any protest Al was going to make.

"Okay, Brother. I understand. Chester and I'll wait here until you come back and then we can start our search," Al forced his voice to sound happy. Ed was relieved. He'd expected Al to argue about this.

"Thank you." He gave Al a smile.

"No problems. So when do you plan on calling the colonel?" Ed sagged against the chair.

"As soon as I'm convinced I can be civil for five minutes," Ed grumbled. If Nala hadn't said he should call first, Ed would've just turned up at Mustang's office.

"I don't know why you have something against him. You've barely met him!" Al exclaimed. Sometimes, his brother could act like such a child. "You know, the quicker you call him, the sooner it's done," he pointed out. Ed groaned but his brother had a point. Damn him.

"Fine. I'll call him tomorrow morning after breakfast," he gave in.

"Why not now?" Al asked, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was barely 6pm.

"'Cuz we don't know his office hours. He coulda knocked off already. Tomorrow's soon enough," Ed replied lazily. Al wasn't convinced but he couldn't force his brother. He'd do that if he hadn't called Mustang's office tomorrow though. "I'm gonna take these up to our room and have a shower before dinner. You good down here?" Ed asked as he hopped up and gathered his newly made clothes. Al nodded and Ed headed up the stairs. A few minutes later, Al heard the water running. Winry emerged from wherever she'd hidden away once she'd come inside.

"So, did you ask?" She and Al had talked a lot while Ed was doing his early stages of rehab. She knew he was worried about Ed joining the military and being by himself.

"Yeah. He plans on making it a condition on his contract that I be allowed to go with him on missions." Al sounded happy, which Winry was pleased to hear.

"So both of you are going to leave soon?" She didn't like that thought. She still wasn't completely on board with Ed joining the State Alchemists.

"Yeah but we'll visit whenever we can and Ed has to come back for maintenance anyway. Plus, Ed hasn't been guaranteed acceptance into the military yet so we'd only be away when we hear rumours." Al knew she didn't like the idea of Ed joining the military but he didn't realise how sad she'd be if they both left.

"I know but Ed's a genius. There's no way they wouldn't take him on," she said before glaring at him. "Don't you dare tell him I said that."

"I won't, I promise!" Al held his hands up submissively.

"Good." They moved on to a different subject after that, waiting for Ed to emerge from the bathroom so Winry could go for a shower before dinner.

"Shower's free, Win," Ed said, startling them. Despite having the automail foot, Ed moved like a ninja these days. Winry jumped up.

"About damn time. We thought you were asleep in there or something," she teased.

"Hilarious." Ed rolled his eyes. "I needed to wash my hair and didn't want it catching in the automail," he explained as he sat down. He pulled out a brush and Ayala immediately sat in front of him. Winry rolled her eyes and headed for the bathroom.

"Me first then you," Ed told his wolf as he ran the brush through his hair. If he didn't brush it before it dried, it knotted like nobody's business. Ayala let out a disappointed whine but it was just for show. They all knew the nightly routine.

"I can't believe you use the same brush for your hair and for Ayala." Al shook his head as Ed finished with his hair and immediately started on the gold-tinged wolf.

"What? I clean it after I use it on her. Plus my hair's clean when I get out of the shower." Ed didn't see the harm in it. Ayala couldn't care less about their debate. She was in heaven. Her human knew how to brush her fur well. Al watched Ayala turn boneless with pleasure. Chester didn't mind being brushed but they didn't do it every night like Ed and Ayala. Chester preferred grooming himself.

"It's just weird, that's all." Ed snorted.

"In case you haven't noticed, weird is normal around here." Al laughed. His brother made a good point. Ed had just finished brushing Ayala when Granny called them to the table and Winry had reappeared. They sat themselves down and dug in, Ed with a bit more gusto than anyone. Because of the automail, he ate nearly four times what everyone else did and he snacked constantly.

"So, Ed, have you decided when you're going to East City?" Granny asked once they'd all eaten their fill. Granny was still against Ed's decision but had realised about ten months ago that she couldn't change his mind so she'd stopped trying.

"Um, no. I've gotta call Mustang in the morning to see when he wants me out there," Ed told her. Granny nodded.

"Okay, let us know so we can check the trains schedule tomorrow. We may as well get the shopping done tomorrow while we're in town." Ed was grateful she wasn't arguing about this anymore. She hopped up from the table. "It's your turn to clean up tonight, boys," she reminded them as she headed off. Winry grinned and headed for her workshop to get some more work done on orders she had. Ed groaned and started collecting dishes to wash. Once he'd managed not to break a single dish for a week straight, Granny had started him, Al and Winry on a rotating schedule for dish washing.

Once done, he headed for his room with Al, Ayala and Chester all in tow. They stayed up and read for a bit, debating points in the books and testing some of the tamer theories until Ed and the Animals crashed for the night. Al then did his nightly routine. He pulled the blankets around Ed so he was warm. He gave Ayala a pat on the head and placed his brother's book on the ground. He switched the lamp on and the main light off. He sat next to Chester and bade him a good night before resuming his reading.

* * *

The next morning, Ed dressed in what would be his everyday attire. He'd been wearing the boots whenever he went into town so he could break them in and now they were nice and supple. He put his gloves on so he could braid his hair without risking the blonde strands getting caught in the metal. Once dressed, he headed downstairs and joined his brother and the Animals at the table for some breakfast. Once he finished, his brother chose to remind him about his promise the day before.

"You gotta call the colonel." Ed sighed and looked at the clock. It was nearly 7:30am.

"I'll call him a bit later. It's way too early now. He might not even be in yet," Ed argued. "I'll call him at 10, okay?"

"Okay. But you better call. Granny wants to go into town before lunch," Al said.

"I will. I'll call him at 9:30. That way we'll have plenty of time, okay?" Ed hated himself for offering the compromise but he didn't want to risk Granny's wrath if they had to leave late.

"Okay, Brother. What do you wanna do in the meantime?" Al asked. Ed thought for a bit. There was still an ability he and Ayala shared that he hadn't made sure was still there.

"Let's team-fight." He wanted to test his and Ayala's extra ability and make sure it worked. With both Animals on board, they headed out the back to the sparring area. Both teams took their fighting stances and after a moment's pause, started the fight.

* * *

By the end of it, Ed had his answer and everyone bar Al was panting from the effort. Ed had suffered some minor bruising and a couple of scratches from Chester's claws that he hadn't dodged in time. Ayala and Chester suffered much the same fate. If Al had been human, he wouldn't have come out unscathed either. In team fights, both sides were fairly evenly matched. Al took pleasure in the fact that he still kicked Ed's arse in one-on-one fights. Ed and Ayala were pleased their final unique ability was still intact. They headed inside to patch themselves up and see if it was time for Ed to make his phone call.

Ed pointedly ignored the clock as he headed straight for Granny's non-emergency emergency first aid kit. He checked the scratches on his arm and decided they needed cleaning out but nothing more. He checked Ayala over and cleaned out her wounds but they weren't anything serious. He did the same for Chester since his fingers weren't as bulky as Al's. Satisfied both Animals wouldn't die of their wounds, he finally checked the clock. He was surprised to see it was nearly 10am. He didn't think their sparring had gone for that long. Before Al could prod him along, he made his way to the phone. Picking it up, he dialled the operator and waited for them to answer.

"Hi, can you connect me to Eastern Command, East City please?" The pleasant voice on the other end of the line patched him through. Ed took the time to steady his nerves. A female voice eventually picked up the line. "Hi, can you patch me through to Colonel Roy Mustang please?" A pause. "Edward Elric." Another pause. "Thank you." Ed had never had to be this well-mannered in his life. He didn't know how his brother managed it. After a minute, Mustang finally picked up.

"Roy Mustang speaking." He even sounded arrogant on the phone. Ed reminded himself to use his manners.

"It's Edward Elric. I'm calling to find out more about becoming a State Alchemist." He made his tone nice and pleasant. Al gave him a thumbs up in encouragement.

"Ah, the boy from Resembool, yes?" Ed counted to three before answering. As if the bastard didn't remember who he was. He'd only committed and survived the greatest taboo in alchemist history.

"That's be me. What do I gotta do to sign up to become a State Alchemist?" The Colonel had ignored him before. He refused to let him do it a second time.

"There's an exam you have to take. It consists of written, physical and practical portions. Overall, it should take you two days to complete, assuming you pass each part." An exam. Fantastic. He could deal with that.

"When's it next being held?" Slightly curt but still passable as polite.

"Officially, they're held three times a year. However if you're being recommended by a high-ranking military official, you can apply anytime." Smug prick. Ed couldn't help his response.

"Are you a high-ranking official?" Al smacked his hand on his forehead. Ayala and Chester cackled in Ed's head.

"Yes," came the curt reply.

"Brilliant. Are you willing recommend me?" Ed decided cutting this phone call short would be in his best interests.

"I've seen evidence of what you can do and I'm willing to recommend you." Mustang still sounded smarmy.

"Yay me. Okay, when do you want me to head in for the exam?" A slight pause.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he didn't sound like he thought he was, "but aren't you getting automail installed?"

"I've had it installed." Ed wanted to know where this was going. "Your point?"

"My point being, doesn't recovery and rehabilitation take at least three years? I made you that offer a bit over a year ago." The colonel was doing a very good job at hiding his confusion. Ed could still tell it was there though.

"I completed my rehab about a fortnight ago. I waited until now to call you because I needed the extra time to get me and my Animal's fighting skills back up to the level they should be. So when can I take this exam?" Screw being polite anymore. Ed counted it as mission accomplished if he didn't start swearing.

"Impressive." Mustang hid his surprise well. "You're welcome to head to East City this week, if you'd like. The exam will be held in Central but I think you and I might need to work out some conditions, don't you?" Back to being the smug arsehole.

"Yeah, we do. I'm heading to town later today to get the train schedule. I'll give you a call back to let you know when to expect me. That okay with you?" Ed was pretty sure his voice conveyed that he didn't really care if it was.

"I'll give you my direct line." He rattled off a phone number. Ed repeated them to Ayala so she could tell him later. "I look forward to your call." A dial tone told Ed the call had been disconnected. Rude. He grabbed some paper and a pen and Ayala repeated the phone number for him. He left it next to the phone and finally turned to face his brother.

"I didn't swear," he pointed out. "I didn't even raise my voice."

"You were rude," Al countered.

"So was he!" Ed retorted. Al sighed.

"I'll go tell Granny we can go into town whenever." He headed off to do so.

 _"Honestly, I think you did fine,"_  Chester said with a slight smirk as he trailed after his owner.

 _"That could've gone a lot worse and I think you handled yourself well considering."_  Ayala was still amused. Thanks to their hearing, both Animals had picked up on Mustang's side of the conversation. Ed smiled at her.

"Thanks, Aya and Chester. I still can't believe how Al is able to remain as polite as he is for as long as he does." He once again marvelled at his brother's strength to hold back snarky or sarcastic comments in conversations.

 _"Hello, Ed."_  A voice he hadn't heard in months sounded in his head.

"Nala?" He asked, confused. How come she was contacting him? Ayala had no idea either.

_"Yes. My human seems to have just gotten off the phone with someone who was interested in becoming a State Alchemist. That wouldn't be you, would it?"_

"Yeah. I should be leaving for East City in the next couple of days." Now it made sense. She was just checking to see if it was him who'd called.

 _"I thought so. Roy isn't used to people who don't talk respectfully to him over the phone. I figured it had to have been you, considering how your first meeting went with him and the context of the call."_  She sounded amused.

"Haha, yeah. Good reasoning." He was glad she wasn't angry at him for dissing her human. Ayala hated it when people spoke badly about him.

 _"I think you working for him will bring his ego down a much-needed peg or two. I guess we'll see. I look forward to seeing you in a couple of days."_  Ed laughed and told her he would and she ended the connection.

 _"She doesn't seem too bad,"_  Ayala admitted.

"Yeah, she's so different from her human. It's kinda weird," Edward remarked. Ayala hummed in agreeance and they both went to find everyone else. Granny, Al, Chester and Den were all waiting on the front porch when Ed and Ayala joined them. "Where's Winry?" He looked around for the wrench-wielding lunatic.

"She's staying here to try and finish some orders up. She gave us a list though." Al held up the list and Ed noted there was a lot written on it. "We were just waiting for you. Let's go now." Ed nodded and followed them down the path.

* * *

The walk into town wasn't eventful. Ayala chased and caught a squirrel. Chester used the trees to work on his stealth mode. Den plodded along next to Granny. It was agreed that they'd go straight to the train station so they didn't have to carry around any shopping so once they entered town, that's where they went. Ed went up the bloke working the ticket counter and got a train schedule for trains heading to East City. Thanking the man, he re-joined the others and looked at the paper in his hand.

"So there's a train that leaves tomorrow morning at 6 or one that leaves tomorrow night at 6. The next train isn't until two days later with the same times," he told them once he read them. Granny and Al looked at each other.

"Well, which one do you want to catch? If you get the one that leaves at 6:00pm, you'll get into East City late that night. You'll be tired and the train isn't the best place to sleep. If you got the 6:00am one, you'd get to East City by mid-day and you'll be more awake," Granny told him.

"Yeah but I can always get a hotel and get a couple hours sleep before heading to Eastern Command later that day if I get the 6:00pm one," Ed pointed out but Granny shook her head.

"I wouldn't risk it. I think you should catch the 6:00am train in three days. Until you're accepted as a State Alchemist, you need to watch your spending," Granny argued. Ed almost face-palmed at the fact that he hadn't even thought of his money.

"Okay, you've made your point. I'll get the 6:00am train in three days." That would give him plenty of time to pack whatever he'd need and get used to the idea of being away from Al.

"Good. Now let's go get the shopping done." Granny led them to the first shop they needed to visit.

Al and Ed didn't need to buy much. Ed would need a suitcase and they always checked the bookstore for new alchemy books. Once their short to-do list was done, they caught up with Granny and had lunch at a little cafe before carrying on. Unsurprisingly, everything Winry needed was automail related. Granny bought what she'd asked and paid extra for the shopkeeper to have it delivered later that day. They did the grocery shopping which Ed offered to pay some of since he was eating most of it. Granny let him pay for the food to be delivered and that was it. Stubborn bat. Granny also needed to get medical supplies ordered in to restock her practice. They were finished and headed home by 2:00pm.

"You'll have to call the colonel as soon as we get back, Brother," Al reminded him.

"I know. I planned on it." Ed had really planned on it. The sooner he did it, the sooner he didn't have to think about it.

"You need to behave yourself this time." Al was starting to nag.

"I behaved myself last time," Ed hissed.

"You insulted him," Al pointed out.

"He deserved it," Ed told him.

"You can't be rude. He's doing you a favour." Al was definitely nagging.

"I didn't yell or swear. I wasn't any ruder than he was and he's got some sort of agenda, getting me to join the military. I know he does," Ed argued. Backing an eleven-year-old to join the military as a State Alchemist was beyond risky. Mustang had to be getting something out of this. He didn't seem like the kind of man who'd do it without it being beneficial for him. Ed just didn't know what he got out of it.

"You should still be nicer." Al didn't bother arguing the last point.

"I'll try," Ed sighed. Hopefully, it would be an extremely short conversation. Ayala and Chester had wisely decided to stay out of this little argument. Once they got home, Ed made a beeline for their room to dump his new suitcase and the two books he'd bought. Heading back down, he beelined for the phone so his brother wouldn't get the chance to nag him again. Dialling the number he'd written on the paper, he listened to it ring before it cut off when Mustang picked up.

"Roy Mustang speaking." Nice thoughts, Edward, nice thoughts.

"It's Edward Elric." That wasn't so hard.

"Oh, Ed. I take it you got the train schedule." Ed's eye twitched. He hadn't told Mustang he could call him Ed. Bastard.

"Obviously." Screw nice thoughts. Back to plan B. Don't swear. "I'm catching the 6:00am train out of here in three days' time. It shouldn't take me more than 4 or so hours to get to East City."

"Okay. I'll have someone pick you and your Animal up from the train station. We can talk that afternoon once you arrive. Just for curiosity's sake, will your brother and his Animal be joining you?" Ed narrowed his eyes. He did sound genuinely curious.

"No. He's staying here."

"Okay. Now which Animal is yours again? So I can tell whomever I send out." Fair enough. Having an Animal with colouring as unique as Ayala's was bound to be easy to spot.

"The wolf. She has gold-tinged fur, if your next question was about her appearance."

"Good guess. I'll see you in three days, Edward." He must've picked up on Ed's tone when he called him Ed.

"See you then." Ed took the liberty of hanging up this time. It felt good. He faced his brother, ready to verbally defend himself. Al sighed.

"At least you didn't insult him or swear at him." Al figured that was the best his brother could do when talking to someone he didn't have a great impression of. Ed breathed a sigh of relief. "How about we have another spar?" Al offered, figuring that would help his brother work off the urge to hit something. Ed accepted gladly.

* * *

Ed and Al spent the next day reading some alchemy books. Al wanted to read the new ones he'd bought but Ed decided to keep his for the train. He'd pinch Al's new books once he'd finished them as well. They debated the theory and got into a full-blown argument over a point one author made. One alchemic transmutation later, Al ended up apologising to Ed.

* * *

The day after that, Ed and Al spent the morning sparring. They were trying to fit in as much as possible since neither would be able to train against each other for a few days. That afternoon, Ed and Ayala went to visit their home. Ed hadn't been since the night of the transmutation, unless you counted the times he sight-shared with Ayala. Everything was as he'd seen through Ayala's eyes. The place was dusty but not horribly so. He really had one goal in coming here and that was to see the place where he'd fucked up their chance at a normal future.

He headed for the basement, Ayala tagging along albeit reluctantly. He needed to see what was left so he knew what he had to do to erase all evidence of that night. Mustang had clearly spotted something that told him what they'd done. When he entered the room, he immediately saw what it was. The faint outline of the array was still there. He looked around and saw the faint stain on the wooden floorboards and realised it was from his blood. Bile started rising up his throat and he fought to keep it down. He looked at the middle of the array and his mind kept flashing images of what they'd created. He looked away. Clapping his hands together, he erased what was left of the chalk outline and hightailed it out of the room, Ayala hot on his heels.

Leaning against the closed door, he heaved in lungful's of air, trying to calm himself down before he had a panic attack or threw up. Or both. Ayala helped by pressing her warm body against his right side and sending soothing waves through their bond. After a few minutes, he was calm enough to leave the house without his legs threatening to give way. By the time he made it back to the Rockbells, he was completely fine. He had dinner with them and headed up to his room to pack what he needed so he was ready the next morning. Once he'd finished packing, he headed for a shower. Upon emerging from the shower, he found Al, Granny, Winry and the Animals all in his room.

"What's up?" He asked as he entered the room.

"Since you're leaving so early, Winry and I wanted to say goodbye now. Al and Chester want to walk you to the train station tomorrow and neither of us will be up as early," Granny explained. Winry hoped up and gave him a hug. Surprises, he gave her a hug back.

"I may not like the idea of you joining the military but I can't stop you so good luck with the exam!" She said as she let go of him. "And don't you dare mess up my automail." She held a wrench threateningly.

"Me and  _my_  automail will be fine. Thank you," he smiled at her and Winry headed to her room.

"Make sure you've packed everything and please try not to hit Mustang. You and I may be on the same page when it comes to that man but he is a military officer. If you have to hit him, just refrain from using your automail." Granny winked at him and patted his arm as she waited for Den.

"I'll try to remember that. Thanks, Granny." He laughed at her.

 _"Good luck, Ed. I have every faith you'll be a State Alchemist when you come back,"_  Den told him. Ed gave his ears a scratch as a thank you and both Granny and Den left. He turned to face the only occupants still in his room.

"What? No heart-felt well wishes from you two?" He laughed as Al pegged his own pillow at him.

"Oh shut up and make sure you've packed everything. You've got an early start tomorrow. Get some sleep." Ed put his pillow back and tossed the books he wanted to take in his suitcase. Once done, he closed and alchemically sealed it so it wouldn't accidentally open on the train.

"Good night, little brother. Don't forget to wake me up bright and early," Ed said as he waited patiently for Ayala to get comfortable.

"Don't you worry, Ed, I'll get you up. Good night," he said as he switched the lights off.

* * *

True to his word, Al got a grumbling Ed and Ayala up early. 3:30am to be exact. He made his brother go into the bathroom to get ready for the day while he took the suitcase and Ayala downstairs. Chester had volunteered to stay upstairs in case Ed tried crawling back in bed. Al had just finished preparing his breakfast when Ed shuffled into the dining room and sat. His hair was a mess. Al placed the food in front of his half-awake brother and took the hairbrush from him. He slowly started detangling the knots for Ed but didn't bother with trying to plait it. His fingers were too big and incapable of creating a braid. Once Ed had finished his food and the coffee his angel of a brother had made him, he plaited his own hair.

They washed the breakfast dishes up and by quarter past four, were heading for town. The sun hadn't even thought about rising yet so they were relying mostly on memory and Chester and Ayala's keener eyesight. Ed moved his suitcase to his right hand and tiredly rubbed his eyes with his left. Finally they made it to the train station with an hour to spare. The ticket salesperson seemed about as awake as Ed. Neither spoke much more than requesting the ticket and requesting the money. Once Ed had been given his change, he and Al headed for the bench to wait for the train. Ayala and Chester curled up at their feet. Ed dozed for most of the time while Al did what people-watching he could. Resembool was small and not many people were awake at this time. The sound of the train pulling in startled Ed and the Animals awake. Standing up, Ed stretched and grabbed his suitcase again. When the conductor announced passengers could board, Al finally spoke.

"Good luck, Brother. Please don't hurt the colonel and please behave yourself," Al practically begged. "I'll miss you and I'll see you when you get back." Ed tapped him on the chest plate.

"I can't promise either of those things. I'll contact Chester and let him know when we get there and what's going on as soon as I know. I'll miss you too and I'll see you in a few days." Al laughed and waved his brother onto the train. The older Elric sat at a window close to Al and smiled at him. Ayala made herself comfortable on the train seat. "Love you, little brother," Ed said through the open window.

"Love you too, Ed," Al said as the train pulled away. They waved to each other until they were both out of each other's sight. Al sighed. "Come on, Chester. We should head back." He started the long walk back to the Rockbells, Chester walking by his side.

Ed slid the window shut and leaned against the cool glass. Ayala rested her head in his lap. Neither felt the need to speak. Eventually, Ed nudged Ayala aside and curled up on the seat, his flesh arm pillowing his head and tried to get some sleep. Ayala didn't protest and adjusted herself so she was more comfortable. After about an hour, Ed woke up feeling a bit more rested and sorer than when he boarded. He headed for the toilet and when he came back, he pulled a book out to read. Ayala was still asleep. Someone did come by to check his ticket but aside from that they were left to their own devices. The train stopped twice more to let people on and off but Ed and Ayala took no notice. The entire trip went smoothly.

Ed finished his first book and was about pull out a second when the conductor's voice filled the carriage announcing they'd be in East City within twenty minutes. Ed decided against the second book and alchemically sealed his suitcase up again. By this time, Ayala had woken up. She wandered off to find the Animal bathroom and came back to join her human in scenery watching. Edward was excited and nervous. He'd been in East City before while his mother was still alive but it had been so long. He still knew what to expect; a lot of people, loud noises, smells but he was still heading into the unknown.

* * *

Finally, Ed felt the train slow down and eventually crawl to a stop. There was a momentary pause where everyone was quiet while the conductor announced the station and then everyone was moving. It seemed most people were getting off here. Ed grabbed his suitcase in his right hand thus eliminating the risk of it being swiped. His automail hand didn't let go of anything unless he let it. He and Ayala joined the line of people who were heading for one of the exits. Ayala stayed pressed against him so she didn't get separated from him in the crowd. They finally forced their way out and were overpowered by the sensory overload. Ed was definitely not prepared for the assault the train station would have on his system. Grimacing, he looked around for an exit or at least somewhere quieter when he thought he heard his name being called. Ayala's ears perked up and she looked to their left.

"Can you hear someone calling me?" Ed asked her, trusting her ears more than his.

 _"Yeah. They're over this way. Just follow me,"_  she said and headed towards the voice, Ed keeping his left hand on the scruff of her neck. He shouldered people out of their way and eventually spotted someone dressed in the blue uniform of the military. Taking a wild guess, Ed presumed this was the person Mustang had sent to get him. Ayala agreed and soon they headed over to him. The man had blonde hair cut close to his head and a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was tall and loud as he shouted Ed's name again. Yup, definitely the right dude. He looked nice enough. Ed looked for his Animal as he approached the man and spotted it down next to his feet. It was a rooster that had light brown neck and body feathers, dark brown wings and black tail feathers. It was a stunning Animal. Ed and Ayala finally reached the man.

"Colonel Mustang send you to get me?" He asked. The man looked him and Ayala over.

"If you're Edward Elric than yes I am," he replied, sticking his hand out for Ed to shake. "I'm 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc. My Animal's name is Mark." Ed grasped his hand.

"Edward Elric. Call me Ed. This is my Animal, Ayala." He shook his hand and gestured to Ayala. Havoc concealed his surprise at the automail well. Ed was impressed.

"Pleased to meet you." He didn't even mention the automail. Ed was liking this man more.

"Likewise," he replied as he picked his suitcase back up. Havoc motioned for him to follow. Ed obliged, keeping one eye on the rooster. He didn't want to accidentally stand on it.

They headed for a sunlit parking lot and Ed had to squint so his eyes could adjust quicker. Once that happened, he got his first good look at East City. He took in everything; the buildings, the colour, the people and the animals, Spirit or not. Havoc waited patiently for Ed to get his bearings. They reached his car and Havoc unlocked the boot for Ed to place his suitcase in. Havoc climbed in the driver's side and, after a brief moments hesitation, Ed climbed in the back with Ayala. Havoc didn't say a word and left the door open for his Animal to follow suit. They pulled out of the parking lot and Havoc finally spoke again.

"So, Ed. How'd you get on the bossman's radar?"


	9. Chapter 9

Havoc's question threw Ed a bit though he knew he really should've expected something like it. He figured it wasn't very often that someone in the military tried to recruit an 11-year-old child into the military. However, he didn't want to answer the question until he knew exactly what Mustang had told his team. The man said he wouldn't tell the military but maybe he didn't include his team in that promise.

"How much has he told you?" Ed asked, deciding to find out. Havoc shrugged a shoulder.

"Not much," Havoc admitted. "He told us he'd met you on his trip to Resembool last year and offered you the chance to become a State Alchemist. He said you and your brother were involved in some kind of accident and that you were young. Mentioned you were pretty handy at alchemy." Ed let himself breath again. Mustang had told them the bare minimum.

"That's pretty much it," Ed told him. "He told us that he'd come to Resembool because of rumours about a powerful alchemist. He'd expected to find my father and he got me and my brother instead," he said, nearly snarling as he mentioned his father. Havoc raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "We'd been in accident a few weeks beforehand so we were at my neighbours. She's a doctor and a family friend. He must've seen some of our experiments while he raided our house and he was interested. He found us at our neighbours and offered me the job. Once I got cleared, I gave him a call back and here we are," Ed said it like it was the most uninteresting story ever. He continued to watch the scenery crawl by as they made their way through town. Ayala was doing the same thing.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? You don't look much older than 11." Havoc had been told that Ed was young but he was expecting a 14-year-old at the minimum.

"Close. I'll be 13 next year." Havoc mouth hung open.

"You're 12?!" He exclaimed. Ed nodded, confused. Didn't Mustang mention he was young? "How are your parents letting you join the military that young?" He almost missed the way Ed stiffened and knew he'd hit a touchy subject.

"My mum died three years ago." He glared out the window. "My father had better be dead. It's just me, my brother and our Animals. I needed a job that provided me with an income and the ability to achieve my goal so Mustang offered me one." Ayala whined and pressed her body against his for comfort. Ed wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze as thanks. Havoc noticed their actions and felt bad for asking. They feel into a slightly uncomfortable silence. Ed suddenly remembered the promise he'd made to Al. Closing his eyes, he felt for his connection with Chester. Latching on, he sent a message.

"Hey, Chester," Ed said, getting the big cat's attention. "Let Al know we got to East City okay. One of Mustang's men picked us up and we're heading to the command now and before Al asks, yes the man is nice and yes, I am behaving myself. I trust everything's good your end?" He felt Chester pass the message on, even if he couldn't hear it.

 _"Al says he's happy you made it and that you're being nice. Everything's good over here. I take it you'll contact me again after your meeting with the colonel?"_  Chester replied back.

"Yup, that's my plan. Hopefully it won't take too long. I'm not sure how long I can keep holding back my sarcasm. I might explode!" He said dramatically and was rewarded with Chester laughing at him.

 _"Your brother and I have every confidence you'll survive,"_  Chester said dryly. _"Let me know when you're done. Talk to you then."_  Ed said goodbye and ended the conversation in time to hear Havoc announce they'd arrived. Ed looked out the window and took in Eastern Command. It was big and there were plenty of soldiers. It screamed 'military building'. A soldier checked Havoc's ID at the gate and waved them through. He pulled into the parking lot and Ed let himself and Ayala out.

"Don't worry about your suitcase," Havoc said as Ed went to move around to the boot to get it. "It's safe in there until you're done with Colonel Mustang." Ed nodded and followed Havoc and Mark into the building. Ayala trailed behind, nose working overtime. There were so many new scents!

"Come on, Aya, or you'll get left behind!" She looked up and saw Ed a few metres ahead of her. She ran toward him and he ruffled her ears. "I know there's lots of new scents but you can figure them out on the way outta this place, okay?" Ayala figured that was a fair compromise. Havoc smiled at them and they carried on.

* * *

They passed plenty of soldiers and their Animals on their way and Ed and Ayala got more than a few looks. Ed couldn't believe how many different Animals there were here. He'd seen a couple of snakes, a rat, a tiger, a miniature horse and a crane, as well as the usual dogs, cats and birds. They finally reached a doorway and Havoc placed his hand on the doorknob.

"You need a minute? I know it's overwhelming, all the people and Animals," he asked kindly. Ed looked at Ayala and they both nodded.

"We're good." He smiled at Havoc. Havoc nodded and opened the door. Ed and Ayala followed him and Mark through and was greeted by the rest of Mustang's team.

"Everyone, this is Edward Elric and his Animal, Ayala." Havoc stayed next to him, which Ed was slightly grateful for, and handled the introductions.

The first man was an older man who was introduced as Warrant Officer Vato Falman. Ed shook his hand and Falman introduced him to his Animal, a yellow Stingray named Rachel. Ed hadn't seen a water Animal ever as they were less common overall inland. He knew they used the energy to change the air around them to mimic water so they'd survive out of it. He didn't get a chance to study her any more closely because he was next introduced to a slightly portly man with red hair, 2nd Lieutenant Hayman Breda. Ed shook his hand and was introduced to his Animal, a Spotted pig whose name was Dubuffet but preferred being called Du. Breda was replaced by the youngest looking member of the room, a black-haired, bespectacled man who was introduced as Sargent Kain Fuery. His Animal was perched on his shoulder, a pretty Pied Crow and was introduced as Kara. The last person left was the only woman in the room. A hard glare from her sent all the men scrambling to get back to work, excluding Havoc. Holding her hand out, she introduced herself.

"I'm 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Edward." The name rung a bell and he remembered as he grasped her hand.

"Oh! You're the soldier who Winry spoke to when Mustang was talking to Granny and me. It's nice to meet you too. This is Ayala." He let go of her hand to introduce Ayala. She smiled at her before indicating to her own Animal, a Barn Owl, who was perched on the back of a chair and watching them closely.

"My Animal is Soren. He prefers watching people before introducing himself," she explained. Ed didn't blame Soren. If he could, he'd avoid people too. "Colonel Mustang has been held back in a meeting and sends his apologies. You're welcome to wait out here with us until he returns. Havoc, you can get back to work now." Havoc didn't argue and headed straight for his desk.

Hawkeye lead Ed over to the seat next to Fuery, who offered him a warm smile before turning back to face the radio he was trying to get working. Ed wished he'd brought his books with him. He entertained himself by watching the way the humans and Animals interacted in a working environment. For the most part, the Animals seemed to entertain themselves. They played with each other or slept. Kara was happy helping her human, from the looks of it. She passed him tools or parts that he needed when he needed them. Ed watched them for a while before growing bored with that. Hawkeye seemed to notice his boredom. He noticed her slipping through a door that he assumed led to Mustang's office and then went back to watching everyone else. She came back out with three books and placed them in front of Ed.

"I'm not sure how long he'll be so I thought you might be getting a little bored. I hope one of these sounds interesting," she explained. Ed looked at them curiously. He'd never read any of them.

"Thanks, Miss Hawkeye," he said, smiling at her.

"Call me Hawkeye or Riza," she said as she headed back for her desk.

Ed grabbed the book on the top of the small pile and opened it up. Ayala sat up and rested her head on the chair arm so she could get a better look at the pages. Ed adjusted his hold so she could read alongside him. Ayala had discovered her enjoyment in reading when she and the brothers had returned back to Resembool and though Chester wasn't as big a fan, he'd read alongside Al. Ed was glad Ayala enjoyed reading alchemy books because it meant he could bounce ideas off her and debate theory, just like he would with his brother. He'd gotten a few pages into the book when he heard someone call his name. Looking up, he saw Falman looking at him curiously.

"What's up?" He asked, a little unimpressed at having his reading interrupted.

"Forgive me for asking but is Ayala reading that book too?" Falman's question had the others looking at him. Apparently, they'd all noticed but Falman was the first to ask. Hawkeye was still doing her work.

"Yeah. Why?" Ed and Ayala were a bit confused as to why that was surprising. Ever since they'd discovered their secret ability, Ed had been teaching Ayala everything he knew about alchemy.

"It's just that none of us have seen an Animal who enjoyed reading so much, especially an alchemy book," Falman said. Ed suddenly understood. He was so used to it that he'd forgotten that it was unusual to others.

"Oh. Well, she likes learning about alchemy and I explain the things she doesn't understand right away." Ed shrugged. He and Ayala didn't see it as a big deal. Everyone's curiousity now satisfied, they returned to their work while Ed returned to his book.

* * *

After twenty or so minutes, Ayala alerted him to Mustang's approach. He gave her a scratch between the ears as thanks and continued to read. When Mustang and Nala entered the room, everyone bar Edward leapt to their feet and gave a salute. Mustang's eyes were drawn straight to the new feature in his office.

"Glad to see you arrived here safely, Edward." Ed snapped his book shut and got to his feet.

"Yup, Lieutenant Havoc found me easy enough." Nala padded over, as if to inspect the new arrivals. Ed could sense her amusement faintly through their connection.

"That would be Nala. How 'bout we take this conversation into my office?" Mustang suggested, a little uneasy by how comfortable Ed and his wolf were while his lioness was circling them. That usually put people on edge.

"Hello, Nala." Ed grinned at the lioness in front of him. He looked back up at Mustang. "Sounds like a good idea. Lead the way." Hawkeye hopped up from her desk and held the door open for them to pass through and followed them through. Evidently, she'd be joining them for this conversation. Ed didn't mind. She already knew everything. Mustang sat at his desk and Hawkeye slightly behind him on his right.

"Take a seat, Edward." Mustang gestured to the couches he had in his office. Ed didn't need telling twice. He sat on one couch and Ayala sat at his feet, watching Mustang. Nala jumped up on the other couch and made herself comfortable. "Before I ask Hawkeye to arrange travel plans to Central, I think you and I should talk. I have some conditions and I'm sure you have some terms, " Mustang stated plainly.

"You'd be right," Ed answered. Mustang waited a moment but the kid clearly wasn't going to be forthcoming with them.

"Would you care to name them?" Damned brat.

"Assuming I pass the exam and am enlisted, these are my terms," Edward said, sitting up straighter. "Alphonse and Chester will be allowed with me on my missions. The only reason they can't accompany me is if I say so. It's easier to protect him from nosy military soldiers if he's close by. I'll do whatever missions you assign me but if I get a lead on the Philosopher's Stone, I'll investigate it. Al and Chester get access to the libraries as well. Finally, you and anyone you told about us will keep their mouths shut about Al's condition and what we did." Ed's terms weren't unrealistic. Mustang didn't bother pointing out that the military couldn't stop Al from accompanying his brother. He also wasn't surprised that they'd decided to go after the Stone.

"Done. As I said, I have a couple conditions. You'll be reporting directly to me as I'm the military official who recommended you. You will do every mission you're assigned with no arguments. You can hunt down any leads you get regarding the Stone but your missions will be completed first. You'll report to me after every mission and after every lead. Is that clear?" Ed mulled it over. Most of them sounded like things he'd expect to do but he knew there must be a hidden catch somewhere. He'd deal with it when it showed itself.

"Sounds fair." Well, that went easier than Mustang and Ed thought it would. Mustang nodded at Hawkeye and she left the room.

"While Hawkeye is making arrangements for us to travel, I figured I'd explain the exam in more detail." It was that or sit in silence. Ed agreed. "As I mentioned over the phone, the exam is in three parts; a written, a physical and a practical. The written part is pretty self-explanatory. It's basically an exam but with no time limit. All you've got to do is answer all the questions correctly," Mustang told him. "The second part is the physical. You'll be tested on any combat skills you have as well as a general health check. Your automail will not affect your physical negatively," he said, figuring the blonde might worry about that. "The last part is the practical. You'll choose one array to use to transmute something that shows the examiners as well as a select few higher-ups that you would be an asset to the military. As a highly regarded alchemist and your sponsor, I'll be one of the one assessing you. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what about Ayala?" Ed hadn't heard him mention anything about the Animals not being allowed in there but it was always safest to just ask. "Will she be allowed in with me?"

"Yes," Mustang said. "She'd be allowed in with you throughout the exam except for when you get your health check. Obviously, the doctors prefer Animals to wait outside the sterile rooms." Ed remembered Granny turning down Ayala's request to be in the room while she changed Ed's bandages. Granny always made her leave to minimise the risk of infection.

"Fair enough." Ayala wasn't impressed but she didn't argue either. She knew it'd be pointless. "How long does the exam normally take?" Mustang thought for a moment.

"On average, people complete it in two days. The written part is the toughest one. Most people fail it. The applicants, once they know if they've passed the written, then choose whether to take the physical and the practical on the same day or separate. Most people choose to do them on the same day though," he explained.

"How long did it take you?" Ed was curious. Mustang was supposed to be one of the top State Alchemists in the program.

"I completed the written part in just over five hours and I took the next two tests on the same day." Mustang was a little bit proud of his time. Very few had completed the written part earlier than him. Hawkeye walked back into the room.

"I've arranged for you two to take the 6:00pm train from here tonight. You should arrive in Central by midnight. I've also booked two rooms at a hotel nearby," she told them before nodding to Mustang. "You've stayed in it before, Sir. The Royal Amestris Hotel." Mustang nodded as he took possessions of the train tickets. "Since you're leaving soon, I suggest you finish your paperwork. If you're finished talking with Edward, I'll take him back to our office so he can read while he waits." Her glare told him arguments would not be wise.

"Very well, Hawkeye. Edward and I will be leaving for the station at 5:15." Edward took that as a dismissal and followed Hawkeye out the door.

"Miss Riza? How much do I owe for the room and the ticket?" He asked before they made it to the desk.

"Nothing, Edward. The military covers the cost for travel and lodgings for potential State Alchemists. You just need to pay for your own food." She smiled at him. Ed smiled back and he and Ayala headed for their seat to resume their reading. Fuery was still trying to fix the radio in front of him. Ed tapped his shoulder.

"Do you want me to give it a go?" He asked him.

"If you could. Maybe a second pair of eyes would help. I've been trying all day," he said, sounding relieved and shoved the radio closer to Ed. Grabbing the pencil nearest him, Ed sketched out an array on a piece of paper. Placing it on top of the radio, he activated it. Moments later, the radio was fixed and Kain was hugging him. "Thanks, Ed!" He exclaimed as he gleefully pulled the now working radio back towards himself. Ed got over the shock of being hugged and went back to his book.

 _"Why did you draw the array? We both know you don't need to,"_  Ayala asked curiously.

"Didn't want to show off just yet," he told her and she let it be. Humans did odd things and sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

* * *

After an hour had passed, Mustang and Nala emerged from his office carrying a stack of paper. Dropping it unceremoniously in front of Hawkeye, he motioned for Havoc to get up. "Lieutenant Havoc will be driving us to the train station. I'll be back in a few days," Mustang announced as Ayala and Ed stood up, Ed leaving the books behind, and followed Havoc and Mustang out the door after waving goodbye to everyone.

Ayala didn't bother with the smells since they seemed to be in a hurry to get to the car. They stopped by a random townhouse which was soon to be revealed as Mustang's. Five minutes later, they headed to the train station, Mustang's suitcase having joined Ed's in the boot. They made it to the station with 20 minutes until the train left. Havoc walked them to the carriage and saluted Mustang before wishing Ed good luck. Ed thanked him and followed Mustang and Nala on-board as Ayala followed him. Mustang led them straight to a private cabin and waved Ed inside. Ed did as he was told and sat on the seat that wasn't currently occupied by a lioness. Ayala clambered up next to him.

* * *

Eventually they felt the train pull away from the station. Ed spent a few minutes watching East City fly past. Once the city scenery turned into country, Ed grabbed a book out of his suitcase. Mustang did the same except his book was some paperwork that his  _wonderful_  1st lieutenant had so  _thoughtfully_  had packed in his briefcase. After 15 minutes (a record for him) Mustang grew bored with the paperwork and focused on the two in front of him. Edward was using his wolf as a pillow but she didn't seem to mind since she was too busy reading the alchemy book Ed held. Well, he might as well try entertaining himself by making conversation.

"Say, Edward?" The blonde turned his head so he could glare at him for interrupting his reading. Unperturbed, Mustang continued. "When did Ayala show up for you?" Closing his book, Ed sat up carefully so as to avoid the blood rushing back to his head. Ayala shifted so her head rested on Ed's lap.

"She turned up just before my 10th birthday, so nearly three years now." Mustangs eyes widened slightly. Kids getting Animals before their teen years wasn't unheard of. Kids getting Animals before they were even ten was exceedingly rare.

"Wow. I don't think I've met anyone who got their Animal before they turned 10." Ed wasn't surprised since he knew how rare it was. "So what happened to her?" Mustang asked.

"What do you mean?" Ed narrowed his eyes. Ayala was perfectly fine.

"I mean, what happened to her colouring? She's an Arctic Wolf, right?" Ed nodded. "They don't typically have golden eyes or gold-tinged fur," he pointed out. Ed was mildly surprised and mildly impressed. Mustang was the first person to have picked up on that or at least the first one to point it out.

"We don't actually know. When she first appeared, she was completely white and had brown eyes. When I initiated the bond though we were suddenly surrounded by this sort of silver glow. After that, her eyes were the same shade as mine and her fur had been tinged at the ends. When she completed the bond a couple hours later, I asked her what that was about. She didn't know and neither did Teacher when I asked her," Ed explained. He wasn't completely lying. Ayala and he didn't know  _for sure_  what the unique aspects to their bond meant. "How old were you?" Ed asked, nodding at Nala.

"I had just turned 12 a month before she turned up," Mustang replied, giving Nala a scratch. Not wanting to return to paperwork, he continued asking the kid questions. "You mentioned a teacher?"

"Yeah. Izumi Curtis." Mustang saw the respect and terror written on Ed's face. "She was travelling through Resembool at the same time we had a massive storm pass through. It was so big the river couldn't handle the extra water and threatened to overflow and flood the town. Teacher went up to it and built a massive dirt wall to block the water. Al and I begged her to take us on as her students. She only took us on when she found out we had no parents. She was a fantastic teacher. She is an alchemic genius and she is an expert hand-to-hand combat fighter. She taught us everything we know about fighting and how to survive off the land. Woman was completely terrifying and will skin me alive when she finds out I decided to join the military, whether I'm successful or not." Ed sounded rather fond of her considering how scary he made her out to be. "Hey, do you have a specialty?" Ed asked suddenly.

"Yup. I'm the Flame Alchemist. My specialty is the creation and manipulation of flames," Mustang told him.

"Huh. Never realised that could be a specialty. There's no books on it," Edward was mildly surprised.

"There wouldn't be. My teacher destroyed all copies of his work. I'm the only one who knows its secrets," Mustang revealed. "What about you?"

"I don't really have a specialty," Ed said after a moment. Mustang's brow quirked.

"Really?" He asked a little disbelievingly. Ed looked at him.

"Yeah. I've never focused on one specific alchemy. I learned as much as I could about every different type of alchemy I could find." He hadn't seen the logic behind focusing on one subject when there were dozens. He wanted to know them all so he studied them all and it helped that Teacher had thought the same way.

"So what are you going to do for your practical?" Mustang was slightly curious. He'd never met an alchemist who didn't specialise in one thing. Ed shrugged.

"Dunno. Guess I'll figure it when I need to." He eyed the paperwork Mustang wasn't working on. "You better finish your paperwork. Miss Riza implied something bad would happen if you didn't," Ed told him, effectively ending the conversation. Mustang baulked. Of course she'd get the kid to remind him to do the paperwork since she wasn't there to threaten him herself. Evil woman. Reluctantly he pulled the paperwork back to himself and continued going through it while Ed relaxed with his book. After a few minutes of peace and quiet, Ed glanced at Mustang to make sure he was completely occupied. Judging by the muttering and muffled swearing, he was. Ed shut his eyes and grasped for the thread between him and Chester. Locking on, he sent him a message.

"Hey, I'm on a train to Central now. I think Mustang plans on me taking the exam tomorrow, depending on what time we arrive. How's everything going? Anything exciting happen?" He felt Chester startle at the sudden message. After a few moments, presumably to pass his message on, Chester answered.

 _"Al wants to make sure you haven't killed or maimed Mustang yet. Nothing major happened here. The butcher accidentally cut some fingers off today but Granny managed to reattach them. That was pretty cool. How'd the meeting go?"_  Ed rolled his eyes. The amount of times the butcher had come in with cuts or missing digits was ridiculous.

"No, I haven't hurt Mustang," Ed said. "The meeting went well. We agreed to each other's conditions so once I'm enlisted, you and Al will be joining me on my missions. The butcher should consider another line of work, honestly," he replied, still looking at the book but not actually reading it.

 _"Al says that's good. He says he knew you and he could get along if you got over your grudge. You and I both know that he won't though. He likes cutting dead things up,"_ Chester passed along.

"I didn't say we were getting along, just that I hadn't put my automail fist through his face yet," Ed corrected with a smirk. "But we did have a conversation about Ayala and alchemy specialties. I suppose he's not a complete moron. He knows fire alchemy and he picked up on the fact that Ayala wasn't the colour she was supposed to be." Chester could hear the impressed tone of Ed's thoughts.

Whether Ed was willing to admit it or not, he was starting to like the man. Al was certainly intrigued by the fire alchemy. Ed and Al chatted through Chester for few more minutes but when Ed started having to force himself to stay awake, Al decided to end the conversation for the night. Ed reluctantly agreed and with a promise to send a message once he knew what was going on, Ed terminated the connection. After re-reading the same sentence nearly a dozen times without remembering what it said, Ed called it quits. Using Ayala as a convenient pillow, he watched Mustang work for a few seconds before his eyelids finally shut and he fell asleep.

* * *

As she had dozed most of the time on the train to East City, Ayala wasn't asleep. She felt her human use her as a pillow and felt the exact moment he'd fallen asleep, thanks to their bond. Resting her head on her front paws, she entertained herself by watching Mustang and Nala. The lioness hadn't spoken to Ed once since they turned up. Ayala has assumed that was because she didn't want to accidentally expose Ed's ability. Mustang was still doing his paperwork but his pile was getting noticeably smaller and his mood was lifting.

* * *

Once finished, he became aware of the eyes staring at him and looked up to see Ayala watching him. He thought Hawkeye or Nala watching him was unnerving. There was something down right hair-raising about a wolf's stare, even a casual one. He placed all his finished paperwork back in his suitcase and straightened to find Ayala still watching him. Mustang finally noticed Ed was sleeping, not just lying on his back reading. The kid looked peaceful. Roy finally grew impatient with Ayala's staring.

"What?" He snapped. He said it loud enough to cause Ed to move in his sleep. Ayala snarled at him and Roy took it as a warning to keep his voice down. Ayala watched Ed for a few moments and was apparently satisfied he wasn't going to wake up since she turned her golden gaze back on Roy for a moment before her eyes flitted to Nala.

 _"She says she was just observing you, trying to get a judge on your character when you're too focused on something to keep your walls up and while Ed's emotions weren't background noise,"_  Nala informed him after a few seconds. Roy was semi-surprised the wolf had actually told the truth.

"And what's her opinion on my character?" Roy really only had Nala and his teams opinions on his character. Most people were too scared of him these days to say anything bad to his face so he was genuinely curious. Nala answered to after a few more moments of silence conversation.

 _"So far, she sees no reason to worry. Though she has asked me to let you know that if she gets any inkling that you'll hurt Ed or purposefully put him in danger, she'll rip your throat out."_  Nala sounded impressed at her gall to threaten him. Roy was not impressed with Nala's lack of concern even though he knew the threat was only fair. As Edward's Animal and because Mustang knew about their secret, the threat was practically required. Still. Nala could be more angered at her audacity than impressed with it.

"Well, I have no intention of doing either," Roy informed Ayala, surprising himself. He knew he'd spoken the truth but he was surprised he'd admitted it. Even Nala looked surprised, though she hid it well.

 _"She says she believes you but she's still gonna keep an eye on you."_  Nala broke him out of his slight shock. Roy just nodded. It was expected. Humans might trust someone easy enough but Animals are generally harder to win over.

Roy went back to watching Edward sleep, even after Ayala curled up so his face was blocked from view. He hadn't thought before he offered Ed the chance to become a State Alchemist, only thinking how having a kid that powerful under his command would bring him closer to his goals and help him climb the military ladder. If he were being honest, he'd expected the elder Rockbell to have talked him away from that path but he'd received that call barely a year later.

He still didn't regret his offer but he did have a fleeting moment of self-disgust when he'd hung up. He was encouraging a  _12-year-old_  boy to join the State Alchemists. That feeling had persisted until he saw Ed curled up the chair next to Kain with his book and wolf. It disappeared entirely when Ed had laid out his terms. The boy had obviously thought it through. After another couple hours had passed, the conductor finally announced they were about to pull into Central Station. Roy hopped up and stretched before stepping over and shaking Edward's shoulder to wake him. Ayala woke first and a second later, Edward did too.

* * *

Ed woke to someone gently shaking his shoulder and calling his name. Figuring it was Al, he went to go back to sleep before realising the voice was all wrong. Inhaling sharply, he snapped his eyes open and was momentarily disorientated by his surroundings.

"Easy, kid." Mustang's hand was still on his shoulder and Ed sat up fully, rubbing his eyes with his flesh hand before looking at Mustang properly. "We're just about to pull into Central," he said as an explanation. Ed nodded sleepily and Mustang moved back to his side of the cabin. Ed dragged his suitcase up and put his book safely inside before doing it up. Ayala nudged his face and Ed cracked a smile.

"I'm good, just tired," he reassured her. Trains were not very comfortable. He missed Mustangs look of sympathy.

The train finally slowed and stopped, indicating their arrival. They vacated the cabin and were soon outside the carriage, shivering slightly at the change in temperature. Mustang looked around for a moment before indicating for Ed to follow. He was too tired to care. He just wanted to sleep. Ayala was slightly peppier from her naps throughout the day. Ed resented her slightly but she didn't take it personally.

"ROY!" Ed startled at the sudden shout. A bespectacled man, slightly taller than Mustang, had his hand raised in greeting and was standing just in front of the. Ed glared at him. He sounded way too enthusiastic and awake for this time of night. Mustang looked as enthused as Ed.

"Hughes, who told you I was coming? I need to know who to charbroil." Mustang had his money on Havoc. They finally stopped in front of Hughes. Ed now saw his Animal. Grey Fox, he recognised it from an encyclopedia of Animals he'd read. No wonder he didn't notice it straight away. The fox blended in just enough to be overlooked at first glance.

"Is that any way to greet your best friend?" He chided. Mustang glared. Hughes didn't seem to notice. "No one told me. There was a rumour in Central that someone had booked you on a train for today. I checked the manifests!" Ed admired his dedication. He still hated the enthusiasm right now. Hughes finally noticed him standing there. A look of surprise flitted across his face before recognition. Ed was naturally confused. After all, how could someone from Central recognise him?

"This the boy you told me about?" Ed saw something else flash across his face but was too tired to figure it out. He just wanted to sleep. Even Ayala was getting irritated.

"Maes Hughes, Edward Elric. Ed, this is my unbelievably nosy best friend, Maes." Hughes held his hand out and Ed shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Ed. This here is my Animal, Leo." He still sounded way too awake.

"Pleasure. This is my wolf, Ayala." Ed was going to fall asleep on his feet, he was sure.

"Now that we've all met, Hughes why are you here?" Mustang asked tiredly. He knew Ed was tired and so was he. He just wanted to get them to the motel as soon as possible so they could get as much sleep as possible.

"It would have been rude for me not to be here. Gracia and Elysia were very excited when I told them Uncle Roy would be in town." Ed frowned. Hughes must be married and had a kid. The ring he soon spotted confirmed at least half that theory. Mustang, however, had spotted the warning signs and held a hand up threateningly.

"One photo and I'll burn your whole collection. Ed can meet them in person later and I'm positive they haven't changed that much since the photos you sent me last week." Hughes removed his hand from his breast pocket in disappointed. Much to Ed's delight, they started moving towards the exit. Hughes and Mustang were arguing over the photos but Ed really wasn't paying attention. He just followed blindly, Ayala occasionally nudging him if he needed it. Finally Mustang and Hughes came to a halt in front of a rather fancy looking hotel.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Hughes clapped Mustang on the shoulder before facing Ed. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Edward. You and Roy will have to come over for dinner tomorrow so you can meet my beautiful wife and darling daughter!"

"You too. Sounds like fun." The answer, while said tiredly, seemed to be the right thing to say since Hughes beamed at him before heading off, presumably to his house, his fox trotting behind him. Ed didn't understand the energy that was coming from the man. Mustang put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"That man is way too excitable," Mustang grumbled. "Come on, let's go check in," he said, pushing Ed ahead of him. The foyer was overly bright and open and Ed was forced to squint as he waited for his eyes to adjust.

Mustang headed straight for the clerk and requested their room keys. Ed looked around, taking in his surroundings. Ayala did the same. Nala just stayed next to Ed. No use following her human when he'd just come right back here. After a couple of minutes, Mustang headed back for Ed, keys in hand. Leading the tired blonde to the elevator, he pressed the button for the fourth floor and they rode the elevator up. A ding jolted Ed back to his senses and he followed everyone out. Finally they reached their rooms. Hawkeye had gotten them rooms next to each other, it appeared.

"Here you go." Mustang handed Ed a key. "Get some sleep. I think 9 is a good time to head to Central command. Do you need me to get someone to wake you?" Ed took the key and shook his head.

"Have Nala send Ayala a message to see if I'm awake by 8. Ayala will get me up," Ed told him, unlocking his door. Ayala went straight into the room to investigate it.

"No worries. Good night." Mustang and Nala moved down to their door.

"Night," Ed called as he disappeared into his room.

He kicked his boots off, uncaring of where they landed, dropped his suitcase and slipped out of everything except his boxers and tank top. Hair unbraided, he pulled the covers aside and sank gratefully into his temporary bed. Ayala had finished her inspection of the room and joined him on the bed. Bidding each other a good night, they were both asleep within moments.

* * *

Mustang and Nala went about things a bit more civilly. Mustang placed his boots against the wall, he changed into some pyjamas, brushed his teeth and then joined Nala, who'd already made herself comfortable on the bed. Climbing under the covers, he switched the light off and soon fell asleep.

Six hours later, he woke like he normally did. He lay in bed until his bladder demanded he pay attention to it. Only then did he arise and go about his morning routine. He debated ordering breakfast but decided he and Ed could just grab something at a cafe on the way in. At 7:30, he decided Ed needed to be up if they wanted to get food so he had Nala send Ayala a wakeup call. Second later he got a reply saying Ed was awake and getting ready. Satisfied, he made himself a coffee from the small stock the hotel supplied and waited.

* * *

Ed was woken by Nala, who'd decided to take advantage of Ed's ability. Feeling more human than he had the night before, Ed started on his daily routine. Showered, hair braided and dressed in clean clothing, Ed and Ayala were ready to face the day. After coffee. Ed hoped Mustang didn't mind a stop somewhere for breakfast. He was starving and caffeine was definitely needed. Doing his boots up, he sent Nala a message saying he was ready. Grabbing his room key, he and Ayala locked up behind them and were greeted by Mustang and Nala in the hallway.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" Mustang asked as they headed for the elevator.

"Like a log. I doubt anything short of a bomb coulda woken me," Ed admitted. He was generally a light sleeper, used to waking up to Al when they were younger.

"Me too. We're getting breakfast on the way. I assume that's okay?" Mustang told him once they were in the elevator. Thank fuck. Ed needed his coffee. Ayala rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

"Sounds good," Ed told him. He was gradually revaluating his initial opinion of Mustang. Dude wasn't half bad. He could feel Ayala smirk and mentally told her to shut it which made her smirk more. Evil Animal.

* * *

They walked in silence for the most part. Ed took in the scenery, focusing on their route so he could find his way back to the hotel by himself if necessary. He was in a decent mood. He'd sent his little brother a good morning message and Al hadn't nagged him to be nice. The day was pleasant enough which meant his automail wouldn't act up. They finally reached the café Mustang had in mind for breakfast. The waitress seated them and took their drink orders while they perused the menu. Soon they had their coffee and were now waiting for their food. Ed piled sugar into his while Mustang added milk. Ed couldn't hide his shudder of disgust.

"What was that for?" Mustang had noticed.

"Milk is disgusting," Ed stated simply and was thankfully saved from any comment by the appearance of the waitress with their order. Being the only customers had its perks. Their food came quickly. She left and returned with the Animals food before leaving them be.

Ed and Mustang dug into their food, Ed with gusto. Mustang was shocked, to say the least, by the amount of food Ed had ordered. Ed felt completely human by the end of the meal. He and Mustang both ordered another coffee each to go and settled their bill while they waited. Coffees in hands, Mustang once again led the way to Central command. Mustang was insanely curious about how Ed was able to eat more food than his entire team put together but was doing his best to keep it reined in. He obviously didn't do a good enough job.

"I can feel your curiousity. Just ask before you burst." Ed was amused. He admired his restraint though.

"How did you manage to eat that much food?" Mustang felt better. Ed laughed at him.

"My automail." He elaborated when Mustang didn't show any sign of understanding. "I use a lot of energy carrying them around. Need to eat a lot to replace it." He shrugged. Despite knowing that, it didn't stop Winry from teasing him. Wrench wielding witch.

"Huh. Never knew that." Granted, Mustang didn't know many people with automail and had eaten a meal with even less. "We're here," Mustang suddenly announced. Ayala and Ed stared at Central command. It was even bigger and more militarised than Eastern Command. Mustang flashed his pocket watch at the guard, who waved them all through without a word. Ed was trying to take in all of his surroundings a quickly as possible. Ayala's nose was working overtime. Suddenly, Ayala caught a whiff of something she didn't like at all.

"What's wrong?" Ed could sense her confusion and disgust. She sniffed a few more times but she couldn't place the smell. It was everywhere.

 _"I don't know. There's a scent here. It's dangerous and wrong."_  There was no better way to describe it. The lack of specifics made Ed frowned. This scent was unnerving Ayala and he didn't like it.

"Is something wrong?" Mustang and Nala were confused. Of course, they couldn't hear Ayala's response to Ed so that didn't help.

"I don't know. Ayala says she smells something dangerous. Has Nala ever said that?" Nala's sense of smell should be just as good as Ayala's. Mustang shook his head.

"She's never mentioned anything before." He looked at Nala and she shook her head. She couldn't smell anything like that. "Can Ayala pinpoint it?" Ed shook his head.

"She says it's everywhere. Almost like whoever or whatever it is has spent a lot of time here," Ed told him. Mustang looked a little disturbed.

 _"I'm okay. Let's just this over with,"_  Ayala told Ed. Hopefully she'll soon stop noticing it soon. Until then, she'd simply put up with it. Ed placed a comforting hand on her head and she leaned into it.

"She says she's fine. She wants to get this done so we don't have to be here too long," Ed told them. Mustang nodded and led the way to the exam rooms.

"Once the exam overseer has arrived, you'll be expected to sit until you've finished the exam, or as much of it as you can. Like I said, Ayala can go in with you if she wants. I'll be waiting out here for you to finish. You'll be told the results of your exam before you're allowed to get your physical. Someone will find us to do that." He stopped outside a door. "You ready?" He asked, turning to face the boy. There was zero sign of hesitation, mind-changing or regret on his face. Just a look of pure determination. He nodded. "Okay, I'll come in to introduce you to the proctor. Once everything's organised, I'll be out here." Mustang opened the door and Ed stepped through.

It was a pretty boring room. There were nine desks, each desk able to seat three people and one desk at the head of the room that had one person sitting in it. When they entered, the person looked up and Ed could see it was a woman. A woman who apparently recognised Mustang as she stood and saluted with unbelievable speed. Mustang released her from her salute with a wave. She headed over to them and looked Ed over.

"So this is the child prodigy everyone's been talking about?" She was a pretty woman. She had dark skin and dark eyes. Her black hair was sleeked into a high ponytail and her outfit, which was not a military uniform, was perfectly pressed. Her Animal, a ginger cat, wound itself around her legs before sitting and watching them with a bored expression. She extended a manicured hand to Ed. "Camille Tyler."

"Ed Elric," he replied, shaking her hand. "This is Ayala." He indicated to her.

"This is Cameron." She motioned to the ginger cat. "Has Colonel Mustang explained to you how this works?" Ed nodded. "Good. Once you're done, I'll look your answers over. You'll have the results within an hour of you finishing, assuming you'll be within Central command?" She turned to Mustang for the answer.

"That's the plan. We will more than likely be in Investigations," Mustang said with something that sounded kinda like dread. Camille nodded; amusement splayed across her face. Ed was obviously missing something. Mustang sighed and turned to face Ed. "Good luck, kid."

 _"Good luck, Ed,"_  Nala echoed. Ed thanked them both and watched them leave. Once the door shut, Camille turned her attention to Edward.

"Righto, Edward. Pick a seat and we'll go through the rules." Ed did as he was told. She went to her desk and grabbed some paper and pencils from it before returning to him. Ayala decided she'd be up on the chair next to him. Camille didn't say anything. "This is your exam. There are fifty questions. Answer everything you can. There is no time limit. There are no bathroom breaks or snack breaks. Once done, let me know so I can collect the paper and you'll be free to go. Any questions?" Ed shook his head and looked at the paper in front of him. "Good. You may begin whenever you're ready." With that, she turned on her heel and headed back for her desk. Ed grabbed his pencil and began, Ayala watching him intently. He just hoped bad handwriting wouldn't count against him. The sound of him scribbling soon filled the room.

* * *

After two hours had passed, Mustang was beginning to question his sanity behind promising Ed that he'd wait outside for him. Since there was no time limit, he had no idea when the blonde would actually be finished. No one had actually finished this exam in less than four hours. The questions were designed to weed out anyone who just wasn't smart enough. It didn't stop people from taking the exam over and over again though. Idiots.

Nala was occupying most of the wooden bench that sat conveniently outside the room. She was gracious enough to leave just enough room for Mustang to sit. He was considering going to get a coffee when the door opened up and Ed and Ayala came out. Mustang went to hop up and ask what was wrong since it had barely been two hours since he left them in there but he stopped when he realised Ayala must've been talking. After a few moments, he was proven right when Ed nodded to Ayala.

"Yeah, okay. But don't go too far. We might get the results earlier than expected," Ed said to her and he watched as she loped off towards the entrance. He turned towards them and saw the question Mustang hadn't asked. "She wanted to explore." Understanding filled Mustang and Nala.

"I see. How'd you go?" He asked, inclining his head towards the door.

"Good. I answered everything. Miss Camille looked skeptical when I told her. Kinda how you look now," Ed said. Mustang schooled his features but knew it did no good.

"You answered all of the questions?" Ed was a genius. He expected Ed to pass this exam easily. He just didn't expect him to complete the exam this quickly. That was a little shocking.

"Yep. Miss Camille had to look through my paper to see I was telling the truth." The corner of his lips quirked upwards a little. Mustang didn't blame Camille for her suspicion. To his recollection, the quickest anyone had finished this exam had been 4 hours 22 minutes after starting. He himself had finished the exam after 5 hours and a minute. Ed suddenly let out a small hiss of pain as he grabbed his left wrist reflexively. His sudden action caused Mustang and Nala to both look at him with worry.

"What'd you do?" Edward asked, worry tinting his voice. Naturally, the other two couldn't hear what Ayala was saying. Ed's face turned from worried to exasperated. "How'd you manage that?" Mustang felt the stab of worry melt at Ed's expression. Ed sighed. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute. Don't try and get it out yourself." Ed's eye focused back on Mustang. "Ayala staked her paw. I'm gonna get it out." Ed started heading in the same direction Ayala had disappeared in.

After a small moment's hesitation, Mustang and Nala followed. Ed noticed but didn't comment. He presumed he wasn't allowed anywhere without a military escort. Thanks to their bond, Ed didn't need to ask Ayala where she was; he already knew. They rounded a corner and saw her sitting under a tree, looking slightly miserable. Ed changed course and cut across the grassy area to get to her quicker. She perked up when she saw him.

"You are an idiot," he greeted her as he crouched down in front of her, holding his hand out. He chuckled at her response and grasped the paw she placed in his hand carefully. He turned it over gently and saw the piece of wood sticking out about three centimetres out of her paw pad. "This will hurt," he warned as he used his right hand to hold her paw steady and grabbed the small stick with the other and pulled it out in one swift movement. He and Ayala flinched at the small flash of pain but it passed after a few moments. He inspected the wound closely. "It went in pretty deep. I'll have to heal it." Ayala must've been trying to argue, judging from the look Ed shot her. Placing his left hand over the paw, he shut his eyes and a flash of green light shone through his fingers for a moment before vanishing. Removing his hand, he inspected his work and deemed it satisfactory. "All done. I thought wolves were supposed to be wary of their surroundings?" He teased. She responded by bumping him so he sprawled on the ground. She seemed ticked that his only response was to laugh before sitting back up. He picked himself up and dusted himself off before turning and saw Mustang and Nala standing a few feet away. He'd kinda forgotten they'd followed him.

"Is she okay?" Mustang asked. He hadn't been close enough to hear Ed but he did see the green energy meaning Ed had used Ayala's energy to heal her. Most people only used the energy to heal severe wounds.

"She'll live." Ed shrugged as he stood in front of Nala. Ayala rolled her eyes. "She'll be fine. She just needs to watch out for sticks in the future." Ayala did not look impressed with his little jab.

"Good. Now let's go to Investigations. I did tell Camille that's where we'd be." Mustang looked like he almost wished he hadn't but they headed in the direction the Investigations department were located.

* * *

Ed and Ayala kept an eye on where they were going. Seemed both of them had Teacher's lesson about always knowing where you are in case you needed to escape permanently etched into their brain. Mustang was too busy trying to get his patience level high enough so he didn't set anything on fire before they could escape. Nala was too busy with her amusement at Roy. They reached the door and Mustang took a deep breath before knocking and, once granted entrance, lead the two Animals and Ed through the door before entering himself. Ed shot him a confused look before a newly familiar voice shouted Roy's name from across the room.

"ROY! What brings you here?" Maes Hughes asked as he crossed the room to stand in front of them both. His Animal barely raised his head from the chair he was on before going back to sleep. "And you brought Ed and Ayala too?" His tone had gone from enthusiastic to curious. Ed frowned. Wait, had Mustang actually not told his best friend about who he was and what he'd done? Mustang cleared his throat.

"Yes. Edward here is taking the State Alchemist exam." For a few seconds, Hughes didn't react. Then suddenly...

"What do you mean he's taking the exam? He's a kid!" Ed frowned, this time in anger. He really wished people would stop calling him a kid. He hadn't been a child since that night. Hughes was still going. "If you're here with him it means you're the one sponsoring him! How could you encourage a kid to join the State Alchemist program! You know full well what sort of shit the military can force an alchemist through." Mustang held a hand up to stop his ranting. Hughes obliged. Barely.

"Do you remember the trip I took to Resembool last year? The one the rumours suggested Hohenheim's return?" Ed gritted his teeth at that name but didn't say anything. Hughes nodded. "Turns out Hohenheim had two sons. I met them after Ed's accident." Ed was surprised Hughes didn't know about what he'd done, being Mustang's best friend and all. "I saw evidence of some high-level transmutations in their house and offered Ed a chance at becoming a State Alchemist. He has a goal he wants to achieve." Hughes looked at Ed with an expression he couldn't quite dissect.

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a kid!" Hughes said this like Mustang still hadn't noticed. Ed answered before Roy could.

"It was my decision. He didn't push me into doing this. I have a promise to keep and this is the best way for me to do that." His eyes never broke contact with Hughes's. There was a pregnant silence before Hughes visibly backed down.

"I still don't like it," he told them.

"You don't have too," Ed replied back. Hughes seemed like a decent enough bloke but Ed didn't have time to defend his decision to everyone. He hoped people would be as easy to convince as Maes. An automail fist would also work wonders if they weren't. Maes sighed in defeat before changing the subject.

"Are you two coming for dinner tonight?" He continued when they hesitated. "You have to! I already told Elysia her Uncle Roy was in town and she really wants to meet Ed and Ayala!" He begged shamelessly. Ed hid a smirk. Uncle Roy? "And Gracia has already planned on making you two the best lasagne you'll ever have!" He added on, as if that would seal the deal. It did for Ed. Any promise of free, home cooked food would win him and Ayala over any day of the week.

"I don't know about him but I'm down for free food." Maes grin woulda beat a kid's on Christmas. Ayala nodded her head in full agreement. Pinako made a good lasagne and this bloke was saying this one would be better. Mustang sighed. He wouldn't abandon Ed to Hughes. He'd actually subject very few people to that horror. He knew when to admit defeat.

"Fine," Mustang conceded. "As long as you swear to keep the pictures to yourself until tonight," he added; a warning finger pointed at the pocket Maes was about to slip a hand into. Hughes pouted but agreed to the terms.

Ed claimed the comfier looking couch before Mustang could. Mustang shot him a dirty look he pointedly ignored. Maes sat behind his desk and pulled some files towards him. Unlike his beloved best friend, Maes didn't detest the paperwork his job came with. They made small talk while Hughes worked. Hughes asked Roy about East City and he asked Ed about Resembool and his family. Ed didn't answer a lot of his questions but Maes didn't take it to heart. Everyone had things they didn't want to talk about and Maes could respect that even if he didn't understand why he'd wanna keep things like his birthday a secret. While they were chatting, a knock sounded on the door and Maes granted them entrance. A soldier entered the room holding a yellow envelope. He saluted both Hughes and Mustang once he reached the chairs Mustang and Ed currently occupied. Maes gave him permission to speak.

"I have Edward Elric's results." Ed sat up a bit straighter as Mustang accepted the envelope. Mustang thanked the soldier, who left after a quick salute.

Uncaring of the look Ed gave him, Mustang opened the envelope up and read the contents first. Ed's eye twitched in annoyance. Mustang finished reading and passed the paper to Maes, who took it with a slightly confused expression. Ed's eye twitch got a little worse. Maes read it and looked slightly surprised when Ed was finally passed the paper. He took it and read it. He grinned and held it for Ayala to read. He'd passed and gotten 100% on it. It was something he was used too but it felt good to get something right after everything that had happened.

 _"Knew you'd pass,"_  Ayala said smugly, though her whole body was shaking with excitement. Ed grinned at her and scratched her ears.

"We'll have to tell Al and Chester. I haven't spoken to them yet. You mind?" He had to ask Ayala. He wasn't going to reveal that talent just yet. Ayala knew that and played along, agreeing by nodding her head. She really did send the message through though. Ed had a question for the two other humans in the room. "Why did you look surprised at my results?"

"It's just I can't recall any alchemist getting 100% on that exam, ever," Mustang told him and Maes nodded his head in agreement. Ed's mouth made the 'oh' movement but no noise actually escaped from him. Mustang continued speaking. "Good job. Now that you've passed, you can move on to the second part today if you'd like. That way all you have left tomorrow is the practical and we can head back to East City tomorrow afternoon and await the results of your status there." Ed opened his mouth to reply but he was distracted by Chester speaking to him directly. He snapped his eyes to Ayala though, to keep them from thinking anything was off.

 _"Al and I are very happy for you! Congrats on passing. Also, Al is not happy that you never contacted us when you arrived in Central or before you headed in this morning,"_  Chester warned. _"He would like to know what your plans are now,"_  Chester told him, amused at the fact his human was getting up his older brother. Ed winced. He'd been so tired last night and then distracted by food and Ayala this morning, he'd completely forgotten.

"Tell Al and Chester thanks and that I plan on taking the second part this afternoon and the third part tomorrow. Tell them I'm sorry I never told them we arrived safely last night. Let them know I'll contact them after the physical." Ayala knew she didn't actually have to pass the message on. Now that Ed and Chester had connected, that connection would remain open and Chester would get any thoughts directed to him. Ed hadn't blocked him from the conversation after all.

 _"Al says you're forgiven. He figured you were too tired last night to have remembered anyway."_  Ed grinned. His brother knew him too well.  _"Just remember to keep that promise. Good luck for this afternoon."_ Ed promised and Chester broke the connection. He looked back at Mustang, who was eyeing him a little strangely. Ed felt a small pang of fear. There was no way he could suspect he could talk directly to Animals, right? No, of course.

"What? It's quicker and easier than a phone  _and_  I'm guaranteed an answer," Ed snapped. Mustang held up a placating hand up.

"I get it. I take it you're good for the physical this afternoon?" Ed knew there was something else.

"Yup. When do I take it?" Mustang looked at Maes, who seemed to read his mind and pick up the phone to call someone. After a few short sentences, Maes hung up.

"The docs say that he can head down any time after lunch." Oh, he must've called the infirmary. That made sense.

"Okay so we'll have some lunch then head over, okay?" Mustang asked. Ed nodded. Food sounded good right now. Ayala agreed.

"When's lunch?" Ed asked, unabashed. Hey, when food's mentioned, his focus is solely on that.

"Well, how about we go to somewhere off base? I wouldn't trust the mess here with my life," Maes suggested. He'd been forced to live off mess food one lunch. He paled at the memory.

"That sounds like- wait,  _we_?" Mustang repeated. Maes grinned.

"Yup. I'm joining you for lunch!" Maes said enthusiastically. Mustang look the complete opposite to enthused. Ed grinned. He liked Maes and the fact that he seemed to get under Mustang's skin was a bonus in Ed's book. Mustang resigned himself to an extra hour in his best friends over-excited company. "I know a great place that does pizza!" That made Ed and Ayala even happier. It was rare that they got honest-to-goodness, greasy pizza. It was one of their favourite foods. Since Maes knew where it was, he led them through the command and to the restaurant.

* * *

While they had lunch – a meatlover's for Ed and Ayala – they talked more about Hughes and Central. Ed discovered Elysia was Maes' only daughter and that she was nearly three. Gracia and Maes had gotten married a couple years after the Ishvalen War and they'd been located in Central for basically they're entire married life. Mustang looked ready to fry anyone who kept bringing Hughes's family up but relented when he realised Ed was a lot more talkative when the subject wasn't him, which meant he revealed a bit more about himself. For example, they found out he and Elysia shared a birth month, that stew was his favourite food and that he preferred the country because he liked being able to see the stars at night.

Maes noticed the time and informed them he needed to head back to work. Mustang and Ed decided now was as good a time as any for Ed's physical so they accompanied Hughes and Leo Central Command before Roy and Ed headed in a different direction with promises to be at Hughes's place by 7:00pm. Mustang seemed rather happy to be getting a break from Maes.

* * *

Ed and Mustang walked in silence. Mustang was imagining the torture that awaited him when this was over. Maes hadn't shown him a single picture all day and while that was simply because Mustang had threatened him, it meant that he'd be in for an onslaught of pictures that night. He wondered if it were possible to encourage Edward to take his time with this physical. He doubted it. He'd seen the kids amused expression throughout lunch. He'd enjoyed Maes' special brand of torture on him. Brat.

"So this physical," said brat started asking and Mustang decided to pay attention. "It's just to test my fighting skills and to make sure I'm healthy, right?"

"Yes. They just need to make sure there's no medical reason you can't become an alchemist. Your automail will be fine, if that's what you're worried about." Mustang looked at him from the corner of his eye. Ed didn't look worried. He didn't even look nervous.

"So the skills part of the test, am I fighting an actual person or what?" He asked. He hoped it'd be a person. It made the fight more interesting. Although, he'd have to hold back his punches if it were a person since he didn't want to hurt anyone. Mustang shook his head.

"No, you won't be fighting anyone. You'll be taken down to the training area and you'll use gym equipment there." Ed nodded. That was good as it probably wouldn't help him if he sent his sparring partner to the hospital. Soon, they found themselves at the infirmary entrance.

"Ayala, you need to stay here, remember? Edward will need to come back out this way to head to the training area so you can join him then," Mustang said as Ayala moved to follow Ed through. She sulked but stayed where she was. Ed paused before he entered the infirmary.

"Don't worry, Aya. I'll be out soon." He smiled before disappearing through the door.

* * *

Ed was nearly blinded by the bright lights and white walls. Yup, it was definitely an infirmary. He shivered. He hated hospitals. He'd spent long enough in one when their mother had collapsed before Granny brought her back home. A nurse noticed him and headed over.

"Good afternoon. Am I correct in assuming you're Edward Elric? Lieutenant Colonel Hughes told us you'd be coming around." She sounded rather cheerful. Her black hair was pulled up neatly in a bun and she had a nice smile. Ed didn't trust her. Nurses gave you needles. He hated needles.

"Yeah. Where do you want me?" Ed shoved his needle-hatred down to the depths of his mind and looked at her for instructions.

"If you'll just sit up on that bed there, that'd be great. Doctor Roberts will be with you as soon as he can." She flashed her smile again before heading away, presumably to get Doctor Roberts. He sat on the bed she'd indicated and waited, swinging his legs back and forth out of boredom. He looked around but there wasn't anything of any real interest in the room. Luckily, Doctor Roberts wasn't too long. The nurse from before wasn't far behind.

"Hello, Edward. I'm Doctor Eric Roberts, I'll be the physician overseeing your physical test. You've already met Nurse Lyla." He indicated to the nurse behind him. Ed felt kinda bad. He hadn't asked her name. He gave her a guilty wave. She just smiled his silent apology off. "All your physical is just answering all questions honestly. I'll also be getting your height, weight and drawing some blood for analysis. The tests won't take long to run, two days at the most. Once they're in, your fate as a State Alchemist will be decided. Sound good?" Ed nodded. Doctor Roberts grabbed a clipboard from Nurse Lyla. "Okay, let's get started. State your full name, date of birth and birthplace."

"Edward Elric, May 3rd, 1899 and Resembool." Doctor Roberts wrote as he talked.

"So you're 13 next year, correct?"

"Yup."

"Any recent health concerns or injuries that may impact your abilities?"

"I've recently been fitted with two automail limbs. Other than that, the last time I was sick was when I was 10 and that was with a cold." Edward told them. Other than a slight eyebrow raise, neither adult lost their professional masks.

"Which limbs and how much of them were replaced with automail?"

"Entire right arm and half my left leg."

"How long ago did this happen and how did it happen?" Ed balked for a moment.

"About 14 months ago and it was a farming accident." Thankfully, the doctor didn't press for details on the 'accident'.

"Any medical conditions that run through your family?"

"Not that I know of." The questions continued and Ed made sure to answer carefully. He didn't want to accidentally let slip anything he didn't want the world to know.

"Okay, that's it for the questions. Let's measure your height and weight now. We'll save the bloods for last. Nurse Lyla will take your measurements while I set the blood kit up." He nodded to Nurse Lyla, who lead Ed through to a set of scales and measuring tape.

Once done, they went back. Doctor Roberts had set up the kit and was waiting for them. Ed sat back on the bed and removed his left arm from his jacket and offered it to Doctor Roberts, who grabbed it hold it steady and lined the needle up with a vein. A slight pinch later and Doctor Roberts had started filling different tubes up with Ed's blood. Ed didn't like needles when he was being injected by something but he wasn't fazed by them when they were used to take blood. He was weird like that. It didn't take long to fill the vials and soon he had a cotton ball and band-aid placed over the small wound to stop any bleeding and was tugging his jacket back on properly.

"Righto. We're all done here. Nurse Lyla will escort you to the training area for your combat skills test. It was nice meeting you, Edward. Good luck." Doctor Roberts smiled at him and Ed returned the sentiment and smile and followed the nurse back out to Ayala and the others. Ayala greeted him happily.

"Hey, Aya. Miss me did ya?" He grinned as Ayala bounded up to him.

 _"Not even slightly."_  She grinned at him, making him laugh.

"Colonel Mustang, Mister Elric, if you'll both please follow me?" Nurse Lyla smiled and gestured down the hallway. Mustang and Ed followed her, Ayala and Nala followed them. Something suddenly hit Ed. He jogged a couple steps to catch up to the nurse.

"Hey, Nurse Lyla? Can I ask you something?" He asked once he'd caught up.

"Of course." She smiled. Ed wondered if she knew how not to smile.

"Where is your Animal? I didn't see it in the infirmary." He had figured that maybe it wasn't allowed in there, like Ayala, but he was surprised it hadn't joined them outside.

"Oh she's in a special room that all the medical personnel leave their Animals in while they're working. No Animal is allowed in the infirmary, not even ours. It helps keep the room sterile and stops people complaining when we ask them to leave their Animals outside," she explained. That made sense.

"What type of Animal is it?" Ed asked curiously.

"Violet is an Indian Ringneck. That's a type of parrot," she added, noting Ed's confusion. Now Ed remembered seeing pictures of it. It was a medium sized bird that came in a variety of colours. Ed wondered what colour hers was. He didn't get the chance to ask though. They arrived at the training area and Ed noted that it wasn't too far from the infirmary which made sense since he guessed people got hurt a lot while using the training area so having it close by would be convenient. "You two can head through now. I've got to get back to the infirmary. Good luck, Edward." With a final smile, she left.

"Ready?" Mustang turned to ask him.

"Yup. You sure I'm not fighting anyone?" He asked.

"Fairly certain. It's rare this test is done as a proper fight," Mustang told him. Ed nodded and opened the door and was greeted with a large room.

It had all sorts of gym equipment and in the middle was a massive area that was obviously meant for sparring. Ed felt slightly nervous. He'd always battled against someone. Teacher, Al, Ayala. It was always against someone who could fight back. He'd never seen any of the equipment in this room, let alone used it. Two soldiers headed towards them. Ed assumed they'd be the ones assessing him. They saluted Mustang. Mustang waved their salutes off.

"I'm 1st Lieutenant James McNally and this is 2nd Lieutenant Karen Nara. We've been asked to assess Edward Elric," The man, Lieutenant McNally, informed them.

"Colonel Mustang. This is Edward Elric and his Animal, Ayala." Mustang made the introductions. Ed was happy with that since he was too busy looking around at all the equipment. Lieutenant Nara noticed.

"You have combat training, yes?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I've just never seen any of this stuff before," he admitted. He may hate admitting when he didn't know something but he wasn't stupid enough to risk Winry's wrath and wrench if he damaged his automail by using something incorrectly. He enjoyed his skull not being cracked open.

"How'd you learn to fight?" She asked curiously.

"I had a teacher. She taught me and my brother all sorts of things but mainly fighting and alchemy," he told her.

"So when you were training...?" She started but Ed knew where she was going with the question.

"I fought against my teacher and my brother. I've even fought against Ayala but never against that stuff." He gestured to all the equipment, looking at her. What was the point of fighting against something that couldn't fight back? It didn't make sense to him. She smiled at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry too much about it. We'll explain what we want you to do and if you have any questions about any of the equipment, you can ask us. You're not the first applicant who's only ever had experience fighting another person." Ed gave an inaudible sigh of relief. If they said that he could ask, he doubted it would count against him.

Feeling a lot better about this, Ed gave Lieutenant Nara a smile. McNally and Mustang seemed to have finished their conversation and soon Ed was getting a tour of the facility and equipment he'd be using. He was never more grateful for his excellent thirst for knowledge nor Ayala's unbelievable memory because he'd have been screwed trying to remember what each machine was supposed to be used for. After all that information had been processed, he was then informed all he'd be using is a punching bag. Ed looked at the heavy bag hanging suspended from a beam dubiously. How in Amestris did they deem that an appropriate tool for applicants to show off their combat skills? He assumed his question was written all over his face because McNally answered it.

"Did your Teacher ever give you solo exercises? Where you'd simply practise your moves instead of fighting?" Ed remembered that the second month they'd stayed with Teacher after escaping that island was spent going through solo drills because she'd been bedridden. So, he nodded in response to the Lieutenant's question. "Good. That's all we're asking you to do here. Except you'd be hitting the bag, not the air. Okay?" Ed nodded. He was still a firm believer in fighting someone who could fight back being the best way to show off your skills but whatever. At least he wouldn't be hurting anything living with his automail.

He made his way to the bag and looked at the Lieutenants and Mustang, waiting for his cue. McNally gave him a nod while Nara gave him an encouraging smile. Mustang kept his barely interested expression on his face. Ed looked at the bag and took a deep breath before starting his assessment. After what felt like no time at all, McNally was calling for him to stop. He wiped the sweat off his brow and faced them. The only one who didn't look shocked was Ayala. Even Mustang couldn't keep his facade up when he saw Ed start his 'fight'. Mustang felt a stab of pity for anyone who dared cross this kids path. He was obviously trained exceptionally well. Mustang knew he'd be hard-pressed beating the kid with just hand-to-hand.

"Well done, kid. I know people who've been training their whole lives who aren't as good as you." Ed grinned at the praise McNally gave. Nala and Ayala had both passed on their own praises already. "I don't even need to consider it. You're clearly an exceptional fighter, especially considering your age. You've passed this part of the test. Doc told us that your physical health was good so all you've gotta wait for is the bloods to come back. You can still do the practical part of this exam without the results though," he soothed Ed's non-existent worries. Ed knew he could do the last part because Mustang had already told him but he just smiled and thanked the Lieutenant.

* * *

Mustang and Ed left soon afterwards, Nara having given Ed a soft clap on the shoulder as she congratulated him and both Lieutenants wished him luck with the final hurdle. Once outside, Ed felt himself relax. He didn't have anything else he needed to worry about until tomorrow now. He followed Mustang, not really caring where they were going. It wasn't until they passed the café they'd eaten at earlier that morning that Ed clocked on to the fact they were heading for the hotel. Something else nagged him, something he'd been ignoring since after the written exam but with nothing to distract him, it was now more pronounced until he couldn't not ask.

"Hey, Mustang?" He asked, catching the black-haired man's attention. A hum from said man was all he needed to hear for him to continue. "How come you never told Maes about what I did? He's your best friend right?" From what he understood, best friends told each other everything. Al was his best friend, excluding Ayala, and his little brother was privy to secrets he'd never told their mum.

"Yes, Maes is my best friend and I normally tell him anything important he hasn't already figured out for himself," Mustang confirmed. "However, I never told him about the details of your 'accident' because it's not my place too. Plus, the less people who know, the less likely you're to be found out. I trust Maes, before you ask, however that information is for you to share with people you trust, not me," he told the blonde honestly. Hawkeye only knew because she'd seen the array and the boys immediately afterwards. Ed looked mildly shocked. Evidently, whatever answer he'd been expecting wasn't the one he'd been given.

"Oh, thanks," Ed said a little awkwardly. He didn't really know what else to say. Even Ayala was at a loss.

"Don't worry about it. I told you that Hawkeye and I wouldn't tell anyone else. Now, we've got about nearly four hours to kill before we need to be at Maes for dinner." It was clearly subject change but Ed didn't mind. "I need to get some more work done so I don't care what you do so long as you stay in the hotel." Mustang had found some more unsigned paperwork in his suitcase. He really wanted to know how Hawkeye even managed to get that in there. Ed nodded his understanding.

* * *

Shortly after that, they all found themselves in the hotel and riding the elevator up to their floor. After telling him to be ready to leave by 6:30, Mustang and Ed parted ways. Ed shut his door behind him before grabbing a book out of his suitcase and flopping back-first on his bed. Ayala joined him and curled up against him so she could read with him. They stayed like that until Ed and her had finished reading the book. Shutting the book, he glanced at the clock and saw he still had an hour and half before he needed to be ready. He wanted to nap except he had promised he'd contact Chester after the exams were over. So he reached for his connection and sent a message.

"Hey Chester. Just letting you know I'm doing good. I've finished the written and physical parts of the exam and I'll be taking the last part tomorrow. How's everything over there?" He didn't bother speaking telepathically. Ayala was the only one who could overhear him. He felt Chester receiving the message. He waited while Chester passed along the message and got Al's reply. It didn't take long.

 _"That's great. Al wants to know how you went on the written exam. He figures you kicked whoever's arse you were fighting."_  Ed let out a laugh at his brothers message.

"Well, I got 100% on that exam, which according to Mustang is supposed to be ridiculously hard and apparently nobody has ever gotten 100% before. Also, let Al know that I didn't fight against a person but that punching bag won't be picking any more fights." Ayala snorted next to Ed. That was her human, Edward Elric, the vanquisher of evil punching bags.

 _"Al said leave it to you to find the single toughest exam easy and to pass it with flying colours. He also said that he feels sorry for the punching bag. Hold on a sec."_  There was a pause as Al was obviously asking Chester something.  _"Al wants to know if you've been eating. He says Winry also asked him to remind you that you can't skip any meals."_  Ed rolled his eyes, not that Chester could see. Trust Al to turn into a mother hen while he was gone.

"I've been eating. Tell him not to worry. I'm actually going to someone's place for dinner tonight. Mustangs best friend, Maes Hughes, invited us over. Apparently, his wife makes a mean lasagne," Ed told him. Both Chester and Al knew Ed was a sucker for a home cooked meal.

 _"Al wants to know what Mustang told him,"_  Chester's voice turned serious. All of them, including the Rockbells, knew how important it was that what Ed and Al did was never found out by anyone. Mustang and Hawkeye were the obvious exceptions since Mustang had seen the array and Hawkeye was there when he found it.

"Tell Al it's okay. Mustang never told anyone. Not even Maes," he reassured them both. He felt Chester's sigh of relief.

 _"That's good. At least we know he can keep his mouth shut,"_  Chester said. Ed agreed with him there. So far, Mustang had given him no reason to believe he'd betray their agreement.  _"Al and I hope you have fun tonight and I'm apparently obligated to tell you to use your manners and be on your best behaviour tonight."_  Ed could feel Chester's eyeroll and smirked.

"I'm always on my best behaviour. Tell Al not to worry. I'm gonna go get ready. It's nearly time to head off anyways. I'll talk to you after the practical tomorrow." Chester bade his and Al's goodbyes and they disconnected. Ed glanced at the clock. He could nap for half an hour before he absolutely had to be up. After Ayala promised to wake him up, nap is exactly what he did.

* * *

6:30 saw him outside his hotel room door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and heading down to the lobby. Nala had contacted him shortly beforehand to inform him that's where they were so Ed didn't waste any time knocking on Mustangs door. 6:35 saw him heading towards the aforementioned lioness and her human, Ayala in tow. Mustang greeted him and they headed outside and started walking for the Hughes household. There wasn't much conversation between the two but neither seemed to mind. 6:55 saw them knocking on a door Mustang was obviously familiar with. Ed looked around while they were waiting to be invited inside.

The Hughes' lived in a nice enough neighbourhood. They'd passed a park and there were shops nearby. Their house was nice. It was a bit smaller than Ed's childhood home but it was still nice. Ed just didn't like the fact the neighbours were so close by. He didn't think he could have handled that. Ayala shared his sentiments. The door finally opened and both Animals and humans were invited inside by a very excited Maes. Ed could only describe the inside of the house as cosy. It wasn't too bright but everywhere was covered in photos and kids toys. It reminded him of how his house looked growing up, before their mum died. Mustang and Hughes were talking when Mustang was suddenly under attack by a blur that latched onto his legs.

"UNCLE ROY!" Ed assumed this was Elysia. He looked at the little brunette girl who was now firmly attached to Mustangs legs while talking to said man excitedly. Ed could see the family resemblance. Mustang never even got a word out before Elysia spotted the big cat sitting next to him. "NALA!" was the only warning she got before she found herself with little girl's arms wrapped around her neck. Mustang winced sympathetically as Elysia's death grip on his Animal's neck tightened. Before he could do anything though, Elysia finally spotted Ed and Ayala, both of whom were watching the scene unfold in mild amusement. Maes spotted where her attention was now aimed.

"Elysia, honey?" The little girl looked at him. "This is Ed and his wolf, Ayala. They're friends of Uncle Roy's." Ed guessed that was easier for her to understand rather than 'possible future subordinate'. He gave the small girl a smile, which she returned. They were distracted by an amused female voice calling from somewhere further in the house.

"Have you two trapped our guests in the hallway again?" Ed assumed that that was Gracia. Maes and Elysia shared a guilty smile before Maes called back.

"Of course not, dear. We're just making some introductions," he said as he beckoned for them to follow him through. Ed and Ayala made up the rear of the group, Maes having swept Elysia up and was now making her giggle wildly by scratching his stubbled cheek against hers.

Soon they were gathered in a nice sized dining room/kitchen area. There was no wall separating the kitchen and dining room, presumably so Gracia could keep an eye on Elysia while she was cooking. Ed finally spotted Gracia in the kitchen. He nearly gasped at how much she reminded him of his own mum. They didn't physically look alike - Trisha had had chestnut brown hair that fell mid-way down her back and dark green eyes, Gracia had short blonde hair and light green eyes - but the resemblance Ed saw was in their warm smiles, they both held themselves the same way when they cooked, their eyes had the same shine about them. When Gracia noticed him and smiled warmly in greeting, Ed felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn't met anyone who reminded him so strongly over his mother. Ayala nudged his flesh hand, an almost invisible way to break him from his train of thought. Ed must've blocked the others out because the next thing he heard was Gracia talking to him.

"Nice to meet you, Edward. Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you guys go sit at the table? Maes, Roy, take some things out with you, please," she asked the two men who were just about to leave empty handed. Elysia was already sitting in her spot and demanded that Ed and Roy sat on either side of her. Both men did as they were told. Ayala was curled up on Ed's left while Elysia was sitting to his right. Something caught Ayala's attention and she lifted her head up, ears perked forward. Ed didn't miss the sudden movement.

"What's wrong?" He asked, frowning in confusion. He couldn't sense anything wrong. Mustang and Maes stopped talking and paid attention to Ed.

 _"They have the same Animal,"_  was all Ayala replied with. Not specific but considering the only Animal he hadn't met was Gracia's, he made the connection easily enough.

"They do?" A nod from the wolf. Ed was still confused. "And why is that surprising?" Surely people with the same Animals met all the time. Mustang and Maes realised there wasn't a threat and relaxed. Elysia continued to regale them with whatever story she was telling them.

 _"It's just rare for two people with the exact same species of Animal to fall in love, that's all,"_  Ayala explained. Ed remembered reading something that suggested the same thing. He didn't really pay much attention to it. Moments later, Gracia came over with the lasagne and Ed finally saw her Animal which was indeed a Grey Fox, just like Maes'. After placing it on the table, she took her seat and everyone started digging in. Maes served Elysia hers. The Animals also got lasagne for dinner, something Ayala was very happy about. It only took a few bites for Ed to realise that Gracia's cooking was another thing that strongly reminded him of his mother. Everyone was too busy eating to talk. Hughes wasn't exaggerating when he said Gracia's lasagne was excellent. Gracia was the first to break the silence.

"So, Ed, Maes told me a little about you. How'd you and Roy meet?" Ed startled slightly at being spoken to but recovered quickly.

"Apparently he was in Resembool last year following rumours of a powerful alchemist living there. He'd apparently suspected the rumours were referring to an alchemist called Hohenheim but he soon realised they were talking about me," Ed explained. "My brother and I were recovering from a farming accident at my neighbours when he broke into my house and found evidence of some the alchemy I'd been working on while ransacking it. He found where I was staying and offered me the job. I decided to take him up on his offer." He hadn't missed Gracia shooting Mustang a dirty look at the mention of the break in nor did he miss Maes' amused expression or Roy's offended one. Elysia was the one who spoke next.

"You broke into Ed's home? That's naughty," she reprimanded Mustang, a cross look on her little face. Ed couldn't hide his grin. Elysia reminded him of Al when he was little. His little brother had a strong moral compass when he was her age as well. Mustang seemed to be lost for words. Maes and Gracia seemed proud of their daughter. Ayala and Nala were also amused at Mustang being lectured by a three-year-old. Gracia turned her attention back to Ed.

"Did your brother stay back in Resembool?" Ed nodded.

"Yeah, figured there was no point in dragging him and Chester down here. I couldn't put my little brother through having to put up with Mustang while I was in the exams." Gracia grinned but said nothing on the last remark.

"Chester?" She focused on the name instead.

"Yeah, my brothers Animal. He's a Sunda Clouded Leopard," he told her. Gracia frowned in thought for a moment.

"You and your brother both have your Animals?" Ed nodded. "When did you get them? You seem a little young to have already gotten your Animal, let alone your younger brother."

"Ayala turned up a couple of months before my tenth birthday. Chester appeared a couple of days after Al's tenth birthday." Gracia and Maes both looked surprised. Mustang already knew so he didn't. Elysia was busy chasing her veggies around the plate, too young to realise what Ed actually said.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever come across anyone who'd gotten their Animals so young." Maes certainly sounded impressed. Ed shrugged, getting a little uncomfortable with the attention. Gracia seemed to use her uncanny mother powers to tell and changed the topic.

"So you're an alchemist? Do you have specialty?" She figured he'd like talking about alchemy. She knew she was right when his eyes sparkled.

"Yeah but I don't have a specialty," he told her. "I've never seen the point of narrowing my learning to one particular alchemy style. I do really well at manipulating metal, earth, plants and lots of other stuff now. My brother is a lot better than I am with organic alchemy though. I can also manipulate water to a certain extent but I need more practice with it after taking a year off from alchemy." He missed the look Maes threw Roy when he mentioned his water alchemy. That meant he also missed the way Mustang blanched at the news. Elysia had finally finished her dinner, which she then announced loudly to the whole table. Maes and Gracia ushered Ed, Mustang and Elysia to the living room to wait while Gracia made cuppas for everyone. Elysia proclaimed she was bored and wanted to see some alchemy.

"No, not Uncle Roy's alchemy! It's boring! I wanna see big brother Ed's alchemy!" She exclaimed when Roy moved to snap his fingers to create a carefully controlled flame, a trick Elysia normally loved. Ed laughed at Mustangs expression and moved to sit next to Elysia.

"Okay, I think I know something you'll like but you need to go get me some things first. You listening?" She nodded enthusiastically and turned her undivided attention on Ed. "Good. I need lots of paper and some pens." Once Ed finished speaking, Elysia took off like a rocket to complete her mission. Hughes went looking for his camera while Roy simply accepted the cup of coffee Gracia handed him. Gracia sat next to the seat Maes had vacated.

"Looks like you're the new favourite, Ed." She winked at him.

"Nah, I'm just new. You watch; if Al ever meets her, she'd be demanding alchemic tricks from him instead," he told her. It was the same with them when they were little. They'd learn one array and suddenly it wasn't as impressive as the next.

"Al's your little brother?" Gracia asked.

"Yup," Ed replied, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. There was no milk in it, as per his request.

"What's the age difference, if you don't mind me asking?" Gracia asked curiously. She'd taken a liking to Ed.

"A year," Ed replied. They were interrupted by the simultaneous return of both Maes and Elysia, the latter carrying as many pieces of paper she could find and as many pens as she could fit in her chubby hands. Ed relieved her of her burden. "Good job! Now, I need to draw an array." He thought for a moment then picked a piece of paper up and sized it up. He seemed to realise it wasn't big enough so he got four pieces of paper and sketched the array carefully over all four of them, making sure the lines were perfect. Sitting on his heels, he nodded, satisfied with his worked. He carefully placed the rest of the paper plus the colourful textas Elysia had grabbed in the middle of the array. He had the undivided attention of everyone but he spoke to Elysia. "Okay, now you gotta stand back, okay?" He watched her take two steps back and watch the pile expectantly. Happy with the distance, he placed his hands on the array and watched the alchemic energy light up the living room. A few moments later, the light died down and Ed handed his creation and handed it to Elysia. The little girl squealed in happiness when she was handed the multi-coloured paper flowers Ed had made her and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, big brother!" She let go of him so she could go show her mother the flowers.

"Wow, Ed! These are beautiful!" Gracia complimented as she looked them over before giving them back to her daughter so she could show her father.

"Thanks. I'm glad the colours didn't bleed together." He smiled at her. Once Maes had declared the flowers perfect for his little angel, said angel headed to show Mustang, who took them and studied them.

"These are very good. You barely left a trace of alchemy on them," he said once he'd handed them back.

"I was able to take my time with the design and think it through." Ed shrugged. He knew if he'd rushed them, they wouldn't have turned out as well. The adults watched as Elysia went around to Nala and Ayala and showed them the flowers. Both Animals gave them a once over and deemed them good. Elysia seemed overjoyed with that. She finally sat down in front of Ayala and started introducing herself properly and proceeded to talk the wolf's ear off.

Ed sat back on the couch now that he was finished performing for the little girl. They spent the next hour talking about different things, mostly they were asking Ed about different things. Ed was happy to realise neither Maes nor Gracia were going to press for details about the 'farming accident' or ask about his injuries. They were definitely good people, in his opinion. Once Gracia noticed Elysia couldn't get through a sentence without yawning, she announced it was the little girls bedtime. After complaining for a minute, Elysia gave in and gave everyone in the room a good night hug, Ed included. Mustang and Ed took Elysia going to bed as their cue to head to hotel for the night. They bade Gracia good night and Maes walked them to the front door. They almost made it out when Ed realised there was one family member he hadn't been introduced too.

"Where's Gracia's fox?" He asked Maes. "I only saw it briefly tonight." He saw the man look surprised for a moment before answering.

"Gracia's fox has a peculiar habit of hiding when someone comes over for the first time. She'll have hidden in the room with us but stayed out of sight. Leo would've been with her," he explained. "If she likes the person, next time they come over, she'll introduce herself."

"Huh. Cool." Ed knew some Animals had odd habits. He hadn't noticed any Ayala had picked up but that didn't mean much. Mustang and Ed plus the Animals stepped outside onto the steps while Maes lingered in the doorway.

"Thanks for having us over for dinner, Maes. Gracia's cooking was wonderful as always," Mustang said.

"You're welcome. Good luck with your exam tomorrow, Ed. I'm sure you'll do great. Let me know when you're next in town. We'd love to have you and Ayala over again." Maes beamed at him.

"Thanks, Mr Hughes. I'll keep that in mind." He grinned back. Hughes waved a hand at him.

"Maes is fine. Of course, Roy, you're always welcome to come back too." He winked at his best friend, who rolled his eyes in response.

"Thanks,  _Maes_ ," Mustang emphasised his first name and Maes grin grew wider.

"Have a safe walk back, you lot." He waved as they all made it out onto the sidewalk. Roy and Ed both waved back and Maes finally went inside. They were silent for a few minutes before Mustang asked Ed a question.

"How'd you manage to make the flowers and dye them with the one array?" That question had been burning his curiousity ever since he saw the transmuted results.

"I combined two arrays," Ed answered like it was obvious.

"You combined two arrays?" Mustang sounded disbelieving. It was hard combining two arrays and getting a successful result on the first try.

"Well, I technically chose two arrays and picked the parts I needed and created the one array but yeah, I combined two arrays," Ed informed him.

"You created an array on the spot?" Mustang wondered if he'd ever figure out the kids genius level.

"Yeah. I've done it before so it's not a big deal." He looked at Ayala. He couldn't understand why Mustang sounded surprised. Mustang dropped the subject. Ed was glad. The rest of the walk was in silence. The next time they spoke was in the elevator, heading up for their level.

"We'll head to Central Command at 8:30am. We can get breakfast on the way again. That way, we can catch a train for East City at a decent time tomorrow and await your results there," Mustang told him. He could also luck out and avoid Maes' pictures until next time he was in Central. A State Alchemist can dream, right?

"Sounds good," Ed agreed. The quicker he finished, the sooner he'd get his results and the faster he'd get back to Al.

Ayala agreed with her human's thoughts. She could get back to the wide, open fields. She wasn't fond of the city. It was too busy, too cramped, too noisy and too many people and Animals for her tastes. Once outside their rooms, Mustang and Ed bade each other a good night and headed to get ready for bed. Ed showered and finally put his pyjama's on rather than falling asleep in his clothes again. Even though it was still relatively early, Ed was asleep within minutes. Ayala curled up next to her human and was soon asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are something I absolutely love seeing! Please let me know what you think?


	10. Chapter 10

When Ed awoke, courtesy of the Nala alarm, he felt better than he had in a long time. He hadn't had any dreams or nightmares and there was no sudden noise to wake him. That didn't mean he appreciated the lioness basically screaming inside his head to get him up. Muttering dark threats he had no inclination of fulfilling back to the lioness, he heard her chuckle before she disconnected now she was sure he was up. Ayala, the evil wolf, was rubbing in the fact that she didn't have to get ready by lying in the middle of the bed, watching him. Finally ready and willing to eat any café out of food, he and Ayala headed out to meet up with Mustang and Evil Incarnated, aka Nala. Judging by Mustangs smirk, Nala had told him a slightly altered version of how he'd been woken up. Thankfully Mustang seemed to read the subtle 'one word and I'll tear you apart' expression Ed was sporting because he never mentioned the wake-up call.

"Good morning. You prepared for the final part?" Was his greeting instead. Ed gave him the credit he was due. Alchemy was one of, like, three topics Ed could talk about before coffee without attacking someone.

"If by 'prepared' you mean 'am I ready to perform alchemy' and not 'do you know what array you'll use' than yes. If not, then nope," Ed answered as the four of them walked the route they'd taken the day before. Ed assumed they'd be dining at the same café as well. He was alright with that. Food was food and they served good food. Ayala mentally rolled her eyes at her human. Mustang raised a brow at him.

"You don't know what transmutation you'll perform?" Mustang asked disbelievingly. Ed shrugged a shoulder at him. What could he say?

"I don't plan things ahead of time. I usually just go with the flow," Ed told him. "It'll be fine," he added when he realised Mustang was looking like his whole future was about to go up in flames.

Ed wasn't stupid. He'd had a year to think about the offer and he realised that Mustang was looking to climb the military ladder. He was a colonel already and wasn't even 30 yet. Ed also knew that if he managed to become a State Alchemist, Mustang's reputation and military standing would be better than it is now. Ed was simply a tool for him to use to reach his goal. Any and all of his successes would reflect on Mustang. Granted, so would his failures and mistakes. Ed wasn't planning on making mistakes or failing and they both knew it. Ed knew Mustang was using him and he knew Mustang knew that Ed was planning on using him. They both had goals to reach and both needed the other in order to reach them. Mustang didn't look reassured by Ed's words. Ed almost laughed at the pained expression on his face. Ayala and Nala just shook their heads at their humans and continued to forge ahead for the café, eager for their own breakfasts.

* * *

The café was finally reached and none of them were upset about that. The waitress seemed happy to see them again and happily served them, not even blinking an eye at Ed's massive order. Mustang still couldn't believe Ed could eat that much but he didn't question it a second time. Once their bellies were full and brains working again, thanks to the coffee, they paid their bill and headed towards Central Command once again. They headed through the gates and Ed defaulted to following Mustang since he was the only one who actually knew where he was going. They stopped outside a door and Mustang turned to him.

"When we head in, Nala and I will be heading up some stairs to the viewing platform. You and Ayala will be expected to follow the four soldiers and follow their instructions. It'll just be me and a couple other high-ranking officials. Ayala will need to stay a few feet behind you when you perform the transmutation. Just do your best." Ed smirked at him.

"I always do." Mustang chose to just push the door open rather than respond. Four soldiers greeted them.

Ed and Ayala noted these soldiers had their Animals with them. There was a German Shepard, a duck, a deer of some sort, and a Tasmanian Devil, if Ed remembered correctly. Introductions were made, not that Ed was really listening, but after a couple minutes, Mustang and Nala were heading for the viewing platform and Ed and Ayala were being led to the middle of the room. The room was well lit and massive. Ed saw it wasn't really a viewing platform but a separate level that looked down onto this floor. Two soldiers, the ones with the German Shepard and Tasmanian Devil, positioned themselves next to Ed while the other two stood behind him. Ed wasn't sure if he was meant to start and was waiting for one of the soldiers to speak up when someone said something.

"We're just waiting for one more person. He insisted on being here and was informed when you arrived. He shouldn't be much longer," the soldier with the Shepard announced.

Ed chanced a glance at Mustang who appeared quizzical. Obviously, Mustang didn't know who it was. A door opened on the other side of the room and Ed saw three men enter the room. One of them was obviously important because the other two were constantly on guard. The man was tall, wore an eye-patch, had a moustache and black hair. He was equipped with one sword on his left hip. But what really grabbed Ed's attention was the fact that he didn't seem to have an Animal. Ayala seemed to realise the oddity and was just as confused. Ed was going to ask her opinion when the man spoke.

"Is that a steel prosthetic?" Ed looked down at his hands and realised that he'd forgotten to put his gloves on while he was getting ready. To be fair, he was hungry. He grabbed his metal wrist and looked at it while answering.

"Yeah. I got it during the Eastern conflict." The man made a small noise. Understanding? Pity? Ed wasn't sure.

"Yeah, we sure had a lot of trouble with Ishval," the man said. Ed looked at him before turning to the man on his right and whispered.

"Who is this guy?" The soldier looked shocked.

"Idiot! That's Fuhrer King Bradley!" Ed looked back at the man. He wasn't overly impressed with the man in front of him. Maybe it was just that he didn't look how Ed imagined the Fuhrer would look.

"Alright. Let the examination begin!" King Bradley announced. Mustang looked eager to see what Ed would do. It wasn't until that moment that Ed actually knew which transmutation he was going to perform. Ayala knew as well, since she was connected to him and she wasn't impressed with that last part.

 _"Don't you dare. Don't argue either. I'm not risking you going to jail for showing off. I will stop you if you do,"_  she warned him. He knew she wasn't bluffing either. He internally sighed.

"But it'd be so good! Knock him down a peg or two." He felt Ayala get ready to lecture. He didn't want to endure that. "Okay! Okay! Geez, if you're that against it, I won't do it!" The soldier who'd told him Bradley's name distracted them from their silent argument.

"Do you need something to draw a transmutation circle with?" Ed scoffed at him.

"I don't need anything," he informed him.

A look behind him ensured him that Ayala was a safe distance away as he raised his hands. A clap resonated around the room as Ed completed his circle. He dropped into a crouch and placed his hands on the floor in front of him. A blue light encircled him and energy crackled around him as he focused on forming his transmutation, not even letting the wind the transmutation created distract him as his jacket and hair whipped around. He wished he could see Mustangs face as he slowly stood, drawing the ground material with him as he moulded the material. He settled for the surprised sounding 'without a circle' he heard from Mustang.

As he finished straightening up, his end result was made clear. The spear balanced on its tip before Ed snatched it out of the air and moved into a fighting stance. The spear was artfully created, if he did say so himself. Its head was sharp and deadly and the whole thing was beautifully balanced. Ayala was preparing herself to tackle Ed to the ground if he went through with the second part of this show but he thankfully heeded her warning and simply slammed the spear butt-first into the ground. A slow clap sounded from in front of him and he focused his attention on Bradley.

"Nicely done. I don't think I've ever seen an alchemist manage alchemy without drawing the array first. I think you'll make a fine State Alchemist. Colonel Mustang did well finding you." Mustang barely stopped himself from startling at the praise. Ed didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to figure out why he was suspicious of a man he didn't even know. Ayala was too busy thanking whoever had Ed listen to her.

Ed was still put out that he never got to do what he wanted to do but he wasn't willing to risk his Animals wrath over something that trivial. Bradley and his escort walked out of the room and Mustang and Nala found their way back to Ed. The soldiers around him were talking about his unique ability. Ed chuckled. If this is how they reacted to him doing alchemy with no circle, how would they react if they ever found out about his other abilities? Mustang didn't say anything about his unique transmutation style. All he said was that they were leaving.

Ed figured interrogating him in with witnesses around was a bad idea considering he was pretty sure Mustang knew what his answer would be and having him mention that night in front of everyone would earn him a one-way trip to prison. Ayala and Nala trailed behind their respective humans, watching the soldiers as they stole glances at Ed. Nala knew and Ayala had a sneaking suspicion that everyone on base would know about Ed within a day. Mustang waited until they were back in the hallway before he spoke.

"So how long have you been able to do that little trick?" If Ed knew him better, he'd have been able to pick up the hint of annoyance at not being told about it. But Ed didn't know him that well so all he heard was the suspicion and curiousity.

"I've probably been able to do it for over a year but thanks to how long I took to recover, I only discovered the ability about a month ago," Ed said carefully after mulling his answer over in his head first. Mustang looked like his theory had been proven correct. After a couple moments of silence, Mustang answered.

"Okay, let's head over to Hughes. I need him to book us our tickets back to East City." He headed off in the direction of Investigations. Ed figured this conversation wasn't over. Ayala agreed with him.

* * *

A short while later, Mustang was knocking on Hughes's door before entering. Ed followed him with no hesitation. Maes greeting was just as enthusiastic as it was the day before. Ed wondered if his greeting would change if he saw Mustang all the time. He doubted it. Leo looked up in interest before deciding he'd rather sleep. Ed suddenly grinned. He hadn't tried talking to Leo yet. Reaching out like he'd done with Nala, he ignored the two adults and focused on the small grey fox.

"Hello, Leo. How are you?" The effect was instantaneous. Leo sat up like he'd zapped and stared at Ed.

 _"How the hell did you do that?"_  Leo's gaze didn't lose any of its intensity as he waited for Ed's response. Ed shrugged.

"I'm a person of many talents," was his reply. The answer did nothing to lessen Leo's curiousity and shock. Their conversation was interrupted by Maes.

"Can you really?" Ed's brows furrowed in confusion. He'd obviously missed the important part of that conversation. Whoops. Maes realised and elaborated. "Transmute without a circle?" A small ding went off in Ed's head as realised what Maes was on about.

"Well, that's not technically correct," Ed said. "I can transmute without having to draw the array out or have an array like Mustang's. No one can transmute without a circle. Mine's just internal," he couldn't help correcting. It was a habit he had.

"So you just think of the array and put your hands on whatever you want to transmute and that's it?" Maes tried to simplify. He almost got it.

"No, I need to clap. By doing that, I'm creating the circle with my body. But other than that, you're correct. I just think of the array, clap and transmute," Ed explained. If Maes had asked how placing his hands together completed the circle, Ed probably wouldn't have been able to answer. It was just something that he knew but he'd never be able to put it into words. Thankfully, Maes didn't seem to care about the technicalities of it. Instead, he seemed to realise something and asked about that.

"So if you can do that, why'd you draw out the array you used for Elysia?" Mustang looked interested in the answer as well. He hadn't made that connection.

"I didn't want anyone to know until I was ready. I wasn't even sure I was going to reveal that trick today until I was outside the room," Ed lied smoothly. In reality, he didn't want to be interrogated by Mustang last night when he could've been sleeping. Maes seemed to accept that as an answer. Mustang seemed satisfied by it as well. Maes and Mustang turned back to their own conversation. Ed listened long enough to hear 'train station' and 'East City' before turning back to the fox he'd so rudely ignored. Leo was not impressed.

 _"So how is it you can talk to me like you're my human?"_  Clearly, Leo was not one to let go of a subject when given a dissatisfying answer. Ed sighed.

"I can't tell you without telling you the whole story and I'm not telling you the whole story. No offense, but I can't risk it. All I'll say is I discovered this talent about a year ago and it came about after my accident." Ayala wasn't privy to the silent conversation but she could sense Ed's emotions and that was enough for her to get the basic picture. She really hoped the fox would listen to her Ed. She didn't want to start a fight with another Animal.

 _"Fine. I get it. What else can you do?"_  Leo was obviously not content with the answer but he knew better than most people what sort of horrors could lay in someone's past and he respected Ed's honesty about why he wouldn't tell him. There were things in his own humans past he'd never tell anyone, no matter who they were. But he had to admit he was dying with curiousity. Maybe the boy would tell him when he trusted him more. He also had a feeling that the array-less transmuting and hearing Animals weren't the only abilities of his. His eyes shone in victory when he saw Ed's face go slightly slack from surprise.

"Sight-share. How'd you know?" Leo startled at that. Of all the things Ed could've said, sight-sharing with an Animal that wasn't his wasn't one of the ones he expected. Granted, he never expected to hear any human except Maes in his head either. He gave a mental shrug.

 _"Dunno. Had a feeling. So you can hear us and sight-share with us. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"_  Ed shook his head. Leo was rather grateful for that. The idea of him and Maes no longer being the only ones in their bond was a little more than a lot unnerving. Apparently, Ed sensed this.

"Don't worry. Unless it's an emergency or I need to know something right away, I'm leaving it to the Animals who know about my abilities to establish the connection. So far, Nala, my brother's Animal and my Granny's Animal are the only ones who know, aside from you," Ed reassured him. He'd made that decision based on two things; he didn't want Ayala to feel like he didn't care about her and he didn't want to potentially interrupt something important of private with the other Animals. Leo was very happy to hear that. But that did lead him to another question.

 _"Why'd you tell me?"_  The kid hadn't even known him for two days and Leo could tell this kid wasn't one to blindly trust other people.

"Honestly? I trust you and Hughes." Leo looked surprised. "Trust me, I'm as surprised as you but you guys let me into your home with your family and never pushed me to answer questions I clearly didn't want too. Also, Hughes seems to really bug Mustang and that is a massive bonus in my books." Leo snorted in amusement. His human was certainly, well 'enthusiastic' seemed a bit weak but it did cover his personality well enough. Maes' attention was grabbed by his chuckling Animal when he saw a glint and took a second look.

"Ed?" He called, catching the young boys attention. "Is that automail?" He gestured to his right hand and Ed looked down. He cursed in his head. He'd totally forgotten, again, that he didn't have his gloves on. Sighing, he met the older man's gaze.

"Yeah. The whole right arm and most of my left leg. Lost them in the accident last year." Mustang was wearing a good poker face. He didn't betray that he knew Ed was lying in the slightest. Ed was also proud of the fact that Maes wouldn't be able to see past his mask either.

If Ed was being honest, he was the single worst liar on the planet. He'd always get caught and it wasn't until he was six that he'd learned to tell half-truths when he wanted to get away with something. So he wasn't technically lying when he said he was in an accident last year. That transmutation shouldn't have failed therefore: accident. Maes facial expression changed from pity to confusion rather quickly.

"Wait, you got the automail installed last year?" Ed nodded, realising where this was gonna go. "I thought it took at least three years to heal completely from the surgery?" Victory was Ed's. The answer to Maes' question wasn't.

"Apparently you just need an extraordinary amount of stubbornness to speed up recovery time." Mustang deadpanned. Ed glared. Maes' eyes twinkled with laughter.

"I'm not the one who sulked because a kid refused to answer your questions on the train so you could skip out on the paperwork Miss Riza gave you," Ed retaliated. Maes couldn't keep his laughter in and he was knowingly joined by both Leo and unknowingly by Nala, each Animal having various experience with Roy trying to avoid paperwork. Mustang looked like he couldn't believe Ed would go there. Ed: 1. Roy: 0.

"Did you book our tickets yet?" He asked Maes in a not so subtle attempt to change the subject. Hughes's eyes shone with amusement. Ed smirked at his victory.

"Yes. You two are booked on the 12:00pm train to East City. You've got copies of the paperwork Ed will need to fill out if he's accepted, right?" He asked his best friend, knowing his aversion to paperwork meant he sometimes 'forgot' ones that needed to be filled out, not just signed. Mustang recognised the question for what it was; a subtle jab.

"I'm sure Hawkeye has already organised it for him." He decided against taking the bait. His best friend could be an arse and he didn't need the kid to learn anything he could use as ammo from Maes. Unbeknownst to Mustang, Ed was no longer paying attention to their conversation.

 _"So does any other humans know about your abilities?"_  Leo asked.

"My brother, childhood best friend and my granny are the only ones. Mustang doesn't even know. Nala wants to wait for the perfect moment to tell him," Ed told him honestly. Leo thought for a moment.

 _"Okay. I'm willing to leave it up to you to tell Maes."_  Ed was slightly taken aback. He knew Nala wanted to keep that secret because she wanted to use it to prank Mustang but he hadn't expected Leo to keep it to himself too. Leo must've realised his shock.  _"It's not my place to tell him. I think you're a trustworthy kid who won't use these abilities without a reason. I also believe you should be the one to decide when you're willing to trust Maes enough with this information. I could tell you for hours on end about how he's one of the most loyal people in this country but it needs to be your decision."_  Ed mulled Leo's words over. It wasn't a matter of trust when it came to Maes. Ed just didn't want to burden him with his secrets. Honestly, he was grateful Leo had offered to keep this information to himself. He smiled at the fox.

"Thanks, Leo," he said. Leo grinned back. Ed and all three Animals lulled into small talk before Mustang stood, catching the blondes attention.

"Come on, kid. We better get to the hotel and grab our gear. We'll need to be at the train station soon anyway." Ed had a feeling that there would be a lengthy chat somewhere in between packing their stuff and heading to the station. Maes stood up just as Ed did and walked them to his office door, Ed barely managing to say goodbye to Leo before they were out the door.

"See ya, Roy. I'll make sure you get more pictures of my darling Elysia and wonderful Gracia as soon as possible." Completely ignoring Mustang's mutterings of 'don't bother' and 'I'll just burn them', he faced Ed. "When you're next in town, make sure you drop by to say hello and have dinner with us. Bring your brother and his Animal with you. We'd love to meet them." He smiled warmly at Edward.

"Thanks, Hughes. I'll tell Al. I'm sure we'll be passing through Central sooner or later." Ed grinned back at him.

With a final wave, the two alchemists headed for their hotel. Ed hoped he'd have some time in East City to do a bit of shopping. He still wanted to find that fabric for his jacket and he knew Granny and Winry would probably want some things. He'd have to ask Den to ask them. He internally grimaced at the thought of Winry's potential shopping list and decided he'd have to remind Den to remind the wrench maniac that he had limited spending money. Much to Ed's stomachs happiness, Mustang decided they should stop for lunch on the way since they wouldn't have the time otherwise.

* * *

Once fed, they made their way back to the hotel and Ed escaped into his room so he could gather all of his crap. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to spread his stuff so far since he'd only spent a few hours in the room awake. Ayala helped where she while also complimenting him on his ability to get his socks in the cabinet beneath the bathroom sink. Edward kindly asked her to shut it. A knock sounded just as he managed to smoosh the last of his stuff in the suitcase and alchemically sealed it shut. Ed headed for the door, leaving Ayala to do the last last-minute dash around the room for any overlooked items. Mustang and Nala greeted him. Granted he wasn't expecting anyone else but you never know. Before he could spin around and get his things, Mustang spoke.

"Can we come in? There's some things I'd like to discuss." Mustang looked and sounded very serious. Ed internally groaned. He'd forgotten that he'd predicated that Mustang would interrogate him about his alchemy technique.

 _"You're not in trouble, Ed. He's just curious,"_  Nala misinterpreted his hesitation as 'oh fuck I'm in trouble', not 'oh fuck I don't want to spend the next hour being questioned'. Ayala had glued herself to Ed's side as soon as she felt his emotions, something Nala and Mustang didn't fail to miss. Ed gestured for them to come inside. As much as he didn't want to have this conversation, he wanted to have it in an open hallway even less.

Mustang and Nala headed inside and stood near the bed, waiting while Ed shut the door and re-joined them. Crossing him arms as a defensive habit, Ed glared at Mustang, waiting for him to speak. Mustang was debating how to make this conversation as quick as possible whilst getting the most information out of Ed as possible. He knew the kid was only 12 but that didn't mean he wasn't going to spill his guts. Getting through automail rehab in only a year was definitive proof of his stubbornness. A realisation sparked. Mustang followed his instincts.

"That was a pretty neat trick in that exam. How'd you learn it?" Mustang praised the boy. Ed narrowed his eyes. It wasn't the praise that he was wary of but how he would answer. Teacher had always hinted at Truth whenever he or Al had asked her but he didn't get what she meant until after the failed transmutation. So he decided to answer Mustang with something Teacher always said before they gave up. If he could figure it out, Ed  _might_  answer him more truthfully.

"It's surprising; the things you learn from Truth," Ed said cryptically. Mustangs eyes were the ones to narrow. He knew the kid had answered him truthfully since he also knew the kid couldn't lie for shit.

There was an itch in the back of his mind telling him he knew what the boy meant but he just couldn't figure it out. He knew it would drive him mental until he did though. He knew it obviously had something to do with the night Ed activated that array. So that array plus something equalled Ed's alchemic genius and no circle trick. When Mustang didn't respond after a couple of minutes, Ed felt relief run through him. If Mustang knew about Truth it would mean he did a lot of research on human transmutation at some stage, more research than the Elric brothers did, and Ed didn't want to know why.

"Okay, so how is it done? I've never seen anyone do alchemy that way before." Mustang now wanted to know the mechanics behind it instead of how he knew it. Ed could work with that. He wouldn't pass an opportunity to one up any adult, especially Mustang.

"It's simple. I still use an array, it's just internal. I think about the array I want to use, visualise it and form the circle by connecting my hands," Ed explained as though it was simple as breathing. Which, granted, it was for him now. Mustang looked lost in his thoughts. That itch was still there but he still couldn't figure out what it meant.

"So anyone can do it?" Mustang asked. His alchemy was easy enough to activate. All he had to do was snap, so long as he was wearing his gloves. Ed mulled over his answer.

"I suppose so. You've just got to be willing to pay the price," Ed said after a moment. Ayala whined at him and Ed gave her a small smile. He glanced at the clock. "We should go. Our train will leave soon." This provided the perfect excuse to stop talking about his abilities. Ayala sympathised with Ed. He always hated talking about his private life to strangers. There were even subjects that people like Granny and Winry knew better than to bring up.

If Mustang kept prying into his life, he was going to cop an Edward explosion and that was never pretty to witness. Thankfully, Mustang seemed to get the underlying 'shut your face before I shut it for you' message Ed was passing along and simply gestured for Ed to grab his suitcase and follow him. Edward and Ayala both knew the questions would more than likely start again once they were in the privacy of the cabin Hughes had almost definitely booked for them but for now they relished the silence as they headed for the station.

* * *

All too quickly for Ed's liking, they had their tickets and were seated in one of the cabins and were steadily moving towards East City. Mustang and Nala were mostly silent for the trip however once their tickets had been collected Ed knew the silence would soon come to an end. Mustang and Nala were sitting on their bench, the former staring out the window at the scenery while the latter was lazily watching Ed and Ayala. Said pair were sprawled on their bench, Ed using Ayala as a pillow while Ed was slowly dying of boredom. Mustang hadn't asked anything which Ed hoped was a sign he wouldn't.

With a sudden burst of energy, Ed dived almost completely off the bench to try and grab his suitcase from underneath it. Ayala panicked slightly, thinking her human was about to fall off the bench, grabbed him by the back of his jacket to steady him before she realised what he was doing. Mustang and Nala had both comically started at Ed's sudden movement. Both of them looked at Ed with confusion once they realised Ayala had him by the jacket. Ed's small cry of triumph preceded him dragging his suitcase into view. A clap later had said suitcase alchemically unsealed and Ed rummaging through it for something.

"What are you doing?" Mustang asked exasperatedly. Ed didn't even look up at him when he answered.

"Getting a book." The rummaging quickly ceased as Ed brought the book up to check the title. Mustang was amazed the kid hadn't suffocated himself yet. He was balanced on the edge of his bench, braced on his gut. Ayala was the only thing between him staying balanced and introducing his face to the floor. Ed sighed as he read the title and put it aside before diving back into his hunt. Mustang assumed Ed had already that book. A few seconds later, Ed resurfaced with a thicker book in tow and a satisfied look. By now Mustang was stunned the kid didn't have all his blood rushing to his face. Ed moved to put the discarded book back in his suitcase before he hesitated and looked at Mustang.

"Do you wanna read it? It's basically just a broad overview of earth alchemy and what you can do with it," Ed said, offering him the book. Mustang was surprised. He never pegged Ed to be the type to loan his books out.

"Thanks but I'll pass. It's not about my specialty," Mustang declined. Ed looked confused. He'd seen Mustangs small collection in his office and had noted they were about fire alchemy but he'd figured that was simply to show his superiors how dedicated he was to his craft or whatever.

"So?" Mustang rolled his eyes. Here he was thinking the kid was bright.

"Why would I waste my time reading books about alchemy I don't perform?" Ed looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. By this time, Ayala had helped pull him up so he was sitting on the bench like a normal human. Suddenly, Ed started laughing. Mustang was perplexed. That was not the reaction he was expecting.

"Seriously?! That's so stupid!" Ed managed to get out. Mustang was not happy being ridiculed by a 12-year-old.

"I don't see what's so funny about it. If it doesn't pertain to my alchemic specialty than I don't read it." Mustang was annoyed. Ed calmed down a little bit so he could talk properly.

"That's a stupid reason. Even if you can't or won't perform the alchemy, you should still study it." Mustang was about to open his mouth when Ed continued. "If you don't know how it works, how do you expect to counter it effectively?"  _Well, fuck_. Mustang was stunned. He'd never thought about it like that. Like all alchemists, Mustang knew the basics of most alchemy. Also like most alchemists, once he'd discovered his specialty that's all he focused on. He noticed Ed wearing a smug expression and refused to let the kid get the upper hand.

"I've never had a problem before. Not much can beat fire." Ed raised a brow at that then understanding flashed across his face.

"So you're the type who throws his most powerful attack first before the opponent has a chance to strike so you either win straight out or you scare the poor bugger enough that they give up?" Mustang refused to squirm beneath that too-intelligent gaze.

"Yes. But even if they do fight back, I still win. Like I said, not much can beat fire." Mustang never let his confidence waver. Edward may be a genius but Mustang had years of experience on him and he refused to back down to a 12-year-old. Childish? Yes. Did he care? No.

"What about water? That's effective against fire. Or air? If you can manipulate the oxygen, you can starve a fire. Plus, I bet using your most powerful attack uses a lot of energy," Ed pointed out. Obviously the kid wasn't going to let this go anytime soon.

"That's true but no one's mastered water or air alchemy to the degree where my alchemy would be threatened. And while you may be right, like I pointed out before, most of my fights are over before they really begin." Ed scoffed.

"So, effectively, you're just lazy?" Mustang's offended look made him want to laugh. "Why would you use the most energy draining move, rendering you more vulnerable against a follow up attack when you could take a few hours and study up on different alchemy so you can find a small, less-energy-draining attack that would give you the same result minus the exhaustion? You don't even have to be an expert in the other alchemies. All you need is the solid understanding of how they work and a clever way to use your alchemy against it." Ed was making some seriously good points, in Nala's opinion. While they didn't happen often, there have been times when Roy used too much energy too quickly and was only saved from a surprise attack because of Nala and/or Hawkeye. Something she passed on to Mustang. Mustang silently told her to shut it.

"Okay. If that's true than how would you render my attack against you useless, were I to attack you right now?" Ayala growled a warning. She did not like people threatening her human, even hypothetically. Edward made a soothing gesture and studied Mustang for a moment.

"Simple. I'd get your gloves wet. Then you'd be forced to either get your spare pair, resort to your gun or fight hand-to-hand." Mustang was impressed. The kid was a lot more observant than he let on. Not many people knew that he couldn't perform his alchemy his normal way if his gloves were wet, even fewer knew he always carried a spare for that reason. While it wasn't mandatory for State Alchemists to carry a weapon like it was for normal soldiers, quite a few including Mustang opted too. Mustang felt the need to point out an apparent flaw in Ed's hypothetical plan.

"But there's no water in here. How would you get my gloves wet?" He was not expecting the small smirk on Ed's face. He and Ayala looked at each other and seen to come to an agreement. Ayala looked like she was going to enjoy this.

"Wanna see?" Ed's smirk had an underlying challenge to it. Mustang didn't hesitate. He was extremely curious now, if a bit wary, something he'd never admit to. Nala was beside him, switching between Ed and Mustang curiously.

"Let's see what you got." Mustangs trademark smirk was on his face. Ed was starting to hate that smirk.

Shifting so he was comfortable, he visualised the array he used the first night they got back to his and Al's home after returning from Dublith. He shut his eyes in concentration since this would be the first time he'd used it without drawing the array. Mustang watched intently as Ed focused before a clap resonated through the little cabin. Ed sat for a moment with his hands together before he slowly pulled them apart, alchemic energy dancing between his fingertips. Mustang wasn't sure what he was doing but refused to break the boy's concentration. Of course if this was a real fight, Mustang more than likely would've taken advantage of his intense concentration. Having said that, Ayala probably wouldn't let him within striking range.

After a few moments, Mustang finally saw what Ed was trying to achieve. It was small to start with but rapidly grew and soon enough, Ed had a sphere of water hovering above his hand and a slightly tired but pleased expression on his face. He was panting slightly but that was really the only sign Mustang had that indicated how tough that piece of alchemy was. Ed and Ayala glanced at each other before Ed got a gleam in his eyes that reminded Mustang too much of Maes when he was about to blackmail him. Quicker than Mustang thought possible, Ed had launched his weapon right at his face. Mustang reflexively threw his hands up to block the projectile, realising too late that that was exactly what Ed had hoped for. He lowered his now soaking gloves and glared at Edward who was cackling with laughter at his expression. Nala and Ayala had both joined in with his laughter and Nala laughed even harder at the expression of betrayal he threw her way.

"I guess I kind of asked for that," he relented. He changed gloves while Ed composed himself. He placed the wet ones next to him so they'd hopefully be dry before they pulled into East City. When Ed finally pulled himself together, Mustang spoke. "Although, if that were a real fight, I could've taken you down while you were transmuting," he pointed out.

"Yeah I'm not that great with water alchemy yet. I only started teaching myself a few months before," he paused for a moment before continuing, "then I had to wait a year for Granny to clear me so I could start practising again. That was the first time in nearly 18 months that I've actually tried water alchemy again," Ed admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Mustang was impressed. For 18 months between attempts, that was a good result. "I'll master it with a bit more practise." He shrugged but looked excited at the prospect. Ayala made a noise of encouragement and he grinned at her. Ed eyed his discarded gloves and sighed. Motioning to them, he spoke up. "Here, toss them over. I'll dry them for you," he added the last part when he spotted Mustangs 'why the fuck would I do that?' face. Reluctantly but seeing an opportunity to get Ed's trust, he threw his wet gloves to the blonde. Setting one glove on each leg, Ed clapped and placed a hand on each glove. A flare of alchemic energy from each hand and Mustang was thrown back a pair of steaming yet dry gloves.

"Nice work," he praised as he tucked them where the pair he was now wearing was hidden. Ed shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"It was nothing. Al and I used to get in trouble by mum every time we came home wet or muddy so I made up arrays that got rid of the mud and dried our clothes," he said dismissively. Mustangs brow quirked at that. He made up two arrays?

"How old were you when you made them?" Ed thought for a moment.

"Six. Al had just turned five and he was wearing his new clothes he'd gotten for his birthday when we fell into the creek playing. He was really upset and freaking out so I just came up with it," he explained. Mustang wondered if there was anything the kid couldn't think or fight his way out of. Ed gestured to the book that started this whole talk. "So do you want to read it?" Mustang thought through the pros and cons. It came down to him choosing between boredom and Eds possible smugness. He decided against boredom and took the offered book.

Ed simply sealed his suitcase back up and resumed laying on Ayala like he had been at the start of the trip. The only change was Ayala was now resting her head on his shoulder so she could read alongside him. The cabin was silent aside from the occasional page being turned and their breathing. It was during this peace that Ed realised he hadn't contacted Al since yesterday and mentally facepalmed before opening a line between him and Chester.

"Hey, tell Al I'm heading back to East City. I had my final exam this morning and I think I did good. Ayala wouldn't let me attack the Fuhrer though."

 _"Damn right I didn't. You could've been thrown in jail!"_ Ayala reminded him. Chester saved Ed from having to argue against that.

 _"Your brother says that it's great you did good and he's never been more grateful for Ayala than he is now and he hopes you know that the only reason he isn't lecturing you right now is because he knows Ayala would've already. He'd also like you to let me know when you've arrived in East City and where you're going to stay."_  Chester dutifully passed on. Both Animals smirked at Ed's less than flattering mumbles about his brother and Animal. However, something Chester said made Ed realise something. He had no clue where he was staying while he was in East City. Telling the leopard to wait a moment, he turned to Mustang.

"Hey, Mustang?" A grunt was all he got in response. "Where am I staying once we're in East City?" Mustang finally looked up from the book to answer him.

"There's a hotel in between the base and station that you'll be in. If you get accepted, the military will pay for your room. If, for some reason you don't, you have to pay for it." Ed nodded and went back to his reading and silent conversation while Mustang went back to his book. He'd never admit it to Ed but there were things in this book that he didn't know and could use against an Earth alchemist in the future. The kid did end up having a good point. Meanwhile, Ed had passed on what Mustang had told him to Chester.

 _"Okay. Just let us know when you get there, please? In the meantime, what have you been up too? And Al wants to know how you are?"_ Chester queried.

Ed, Chester, Al and Ayala chatted for nearly an hour about random things and Al lecturing Ed when he revealed exactly what he wanted to do to the Fuhrer had Ayala not been a joy-kill. Ayala and Chester were thoroughly amused by the lecture. Ed was decidedly less. Eventually, Chester and Al needed to stop the conversation. Al had apparently promised to help Winry with her orders. Ed was impressed not just by the fact that Al was willingly learning about automail but more the fact that Winry was letting him anywhere near her precious workstation and tools. Once they disconnected, Ed resumed his reading with Ayala.

* * *

Half an hour later saw Mustang and Nala snap their attention to Ed when he let out a small hiss of pain. They watched him shake his hand before sticking a finger in his mouth for a few moments then wipe his saliva off on his pants and inspect the wound.

"You okay?" Mustang obligately asked. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Papercut. I'll probably live." Ayala rolled her eyes before making Ed show her the cut. Sighing and mumbling about overprotective wolves, he showed her. Ayala snuffled and seemed to give him a clean bill of health. Mustang and Nala watched this exchange, highly amused. Ed watched his finger for a few moments before realising his audience was still watching him. "What? I swear, I won't bleed out from a papercut," he asked, amused at the attention.

"So why are you watching it if you won't bleed out?" Mustang asked, pointedly.

"I was seeing if it was still bleeding and if I needed to wrap it," Ed admitted. Mustang raised a brow.

"Why? It's just a papercut," he repeated Ed's words.

"Yeah but if it's gonna keep bleeding than I'll get blood on my book," Edward said like it was the most obvious reason.

"Seriously? You're worried about getting blood on the book?" Mustang asked incredulously. Ed looked at him like he didn't understand why that was so odd.

"Yeah. It's a good book. Plus it's my brother's." Ed didn't know why he was defending his response. If the book doesn't belong to you or if it's full of useful information, you do your best to keep it in as good condition as you can. Mustang didn't press the issue. He just shook his head and went back to his borrowed book. Ed looked at his finger and happily found it to be no longer bleeding so he also resumed his reading.

* * *

The rest of the train ride passed in relatively comfortable quiet. Ed and Ayala were both happy with the lack of questions that they were so sure Mustang wanted to ask back in Central. Neither bothered to question Mustang about the lack of questions. Soon enough, they were pulling into East City Station, Mustang passing Ed his book back a quick thank-you. Ed stuffed both books back in his suitcase and followed the black-haired alchemist and his lioness off the train and out of the station.

After experiencing Central, East City seemed a lot quieter, much more to Ed's liking than the bustle of Central. It still wasn't as good as Resembool or Dublith though, something Ayala wholeheartedly agreed with. It was fairly early when they arrived, nearly 6:30 at night so Mustang decided they'd grab some dinner before he helped Ed find the hotel. Not getting any arguments from the blonde or the wolf, not that he expected any, they ate at a nice restaurant and soon Ed was following him back out onto the busy street. Ed spotted a few shops that looked like they'd have the stuff he needed to buy before heading back to Resembool and mentally noted their names and where they were so he could find them later. Ayala was happily trotting next to him, taking in the different scents so she could help him find them later. Mustang was the first one to break the silence between them.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll be by at 8:00am to collect and escort you to the base. That way, you know how to get there from the hotel and you can reacquaint yourself with the team. I don't care what you do for the rest of the day so long as you stay in between the station and the base. That way, you'll be easier to find should your results come in tomorrow. Understood?" Ed rolled his eyes at Mustangs 'orders' but agreed.

 _"You realise you'll have to get used to that tone?"_  Nala pointed out to him. Ed shot her a questioning look.  _"That's the tone he'll use when he's giving you missions and orders."_  Edward got what she was talking about.  _"It's part of what you signed up for. You'll have to take orders, be respectful to your superiors and do all of it without grumbling,"_  she helpfully reminded him. Edward internally snorted.

"I wish Mustang luck trying to make me show him or anyone more respect than they deserve." Nala and Ayala weren't even slightly surprised by his answer. You didn't have to know Ed for long before you realised that he didn't conform to rules he didn't agree with and he treated people the way they treat him. Ayala and Nala also silently wished Mustang luck but more for dealing with Ed than having him give more respect than he thought was due.

Finally arriving at the motel, Ed followed Mustang to the front counter so he could arrange a room. Getting his key, he and Mustang said goodnight and Mustang reminded him he'd be by to get him in the morning. Ed rolled his eyes but he nodded and he watched Mustang and Nala leave before following the front desk lady's instructions. It wasn't overly late, barely 8:30 but Ed was tired. Apparently travelling by train exhausted him. Ayala was in the same boat and both wolf and human were grateful to find their room and collapse on the bed. Ed barely remembered to kick his boots off and shoot Chester a message and get the response before he fell asleep.

* * *

Edward was thankfully woken by Ayala with barely an hour to get himself ready before Mustang turned up to collect him. He showered, braided his hair and was dressed in record time. He even remembered his gloves this time. He contacted Chester to apologise for the lack of conversation and Chester assured him neither he nor Al were mad about it. Chester also send him some shopping requests from Winry and Ed told Chester to kindly tell Winry that unless she had a way to get him more money right away, she wasn't getting shit. Chester laughed and promised to pass the message along. Ed knew Chester would just word it nicer and he knew he'd be grateful for that later. There was a good reason most people don't get him up in the morning unless there was an emergency.

He headed for the inclusive breakfast the lady had mentioned when he checked in and was elated to find an excellent coffee machine waiting for him. Caffeinated and fed, he headed for the lobby so Mustang could find him. He was alerted to their arrival by Nala helpfully giving him a heads up. Ed and Ayala were sprawled comfortably on the waiting lounge in the lobby when Mustang found them. Torn between amusement at their lack of fucks to give and annoyance at how they treated things that didn't belong to them, he tapped Ed on his shoulder, dragging his attention away from the newspaper he was reading. Looking up and seeing Mustang, he nudged Ayala and both hopped off the couch.

"Are you ready to go?" Mustang asked while Ed stretched and Ayala shook herself to get themselves ready for the day.

"Yup. We've already eaten and whatnot. Lead the way," he said, pointedly looking between the door and Mustang. Mustang got the hint fairly quickly. Nala shared her amusement with Ed and Ayala.

"Do you remember everyone on the team?" Mustang asked Ed. He thought for a moment.

"Pretty sure I do. There's Hawkeye and Soren, Havoc and Mark, Fuery and Kara, Breda and Dubuffet and Falman and Rachel," he rattled off names and Mustang had to admit he wished he had the kids memory when it came to people and their Animals. He sometimes had to rely on Nala's memory.

"Yup, that's all of them. Have you figured out what you're gonna do today?" Mustang wanted to know purely so he knew where the kid was.

"Yeah, there's some shops I saw that I wanna check out. Might look through some bookstores to see what they've got," he said offhandedly while he focused on where they were going so he could find his way back. Mustang nodded his approval, not that Ed really cared, and they continued in silence, arriving at the base quicker than Ed thought they would.

Passing through the gates and the guards, Mustang led the way to his office. Ed was proud to say he almost remembered the way himself. All of Mustangs team was there and judging by their lack of surprise at the late-ish hour, this was a regular occurrence. Judging by Mustang's reaction, having the male team members surround someone they'd met once was not. Havoc, Breda and Fuery all came over and started chatting to Ed enthusiastically while Falman seemed happier to just for an opportunity to speak. Ed couldn't understand any of them, all of their voices were melding together. Ayala and Hawkeye appeared to have reached their limit at the same time. Ayala snapped and snarled loudly while Hawkeye cocked her gun. Both were noises that humans had evolved to be wary of. Ed laid a calming hand on Ayala's head while sending her a silent thank you and let Hawkeye talk.

"I'm sure you boys have plenty of work to be doing." Mustang barely hid an amused smile. Not good enough to avoid Hawkeye's gaze though. "I know for a fact there's plenty of paperwork waiting on your desk, Sir." Mustang's expression fell. Edward snickered. Mustang shot him a dirty look before Hawkeye's gun and stare made him head for the relative safety of his inner office, Nala trailing behind. Another pointed look at the remaining members of her team had the men moving back to their work. Ed headed for the spare seat he'd claimed in his previous visit and felt everyone stare at him. After a few minutes of this, Hawkeye sighed loudly and put her pen down. Soren ruffled his feathers, sensing her annoyance at the lack of work. Everyone looked at her in surprise, including the Animals.

"Edward, if you would be so kind as to tell us how you went, I'd appreciate it. It seems no work will be done until that happens." Edward obliged her request. He was just killing time until he was sure the shops would be open and he figured that they wouldn't get to work even if he left.

He started with the first exam, Havoc hi-fiving him for beating Mustangs record and Hawkeye giving Havoc a death glare for disrupting. He was met with looks of disbelief when he described his fighting and told them they were welcome to watch him and Al spar sometime. All the men immediately accepted the invite. It was Hawkeye and Falman who had the biggest reactions to him describing his alchemy test.

"You can perform alchemy without a physical circle?" Hawkeye asked disbelievingly. Havoc, Breda and Fuery who, up until that point didn't realise why Ed's talent was so unique, finally figured it out and looked gobsmacked.

"Yeah. I use an array still. It's just it's in my head. Gives me the edge in a fight. Takes less time and you don't know what I'm going to do," Ed explained, not liking the attention on his abilities. Fuery was the first to speak.

"That is so cool! Can you do any array like that or is it just a particular one, like the Colonel?" He asked, enthusiastically. Ed grinned at him.

"I can do all sorts of alchemy. I don't have a specialty like Mustang. If they're really complicated and I haven't used them before, I'll draw them out like normal alchemists though. The rebound would be less severe if something goes wrong that way," Ed divulged. All of them looked impressed, Hawkeye looked glad to hear that last part.

"Can you show us? Colonel Mustang and Major Armstrong are the only alchemists we've seen in action on a regular basis. If you're gonna be a member of our team, we should know your style." Havoc sounded like a child who was trying to rationalise being shown a trick. Ed looked at Hawkeye, who gave her silent permission, then looked around for something he could transmute. Spotting some metal pipes that were sitting the corner, he turned back to group.

"Whose pipes?" He gestured to said pipes. Fuery claimed them, saying they were for an experiment he was trying. "Can I borrow one?" Fuery gave his blessing.

Nudging Ayala away from him, he grabbed one and brought it back to the desk where everyone could see it. Once he had their attention, he clapped his hands. The sound resonated and he placed his hands on the pipe. Alchemic energy danced across the pipe before it melted and moulded itself into the shape Ed wanted. A blade as long as his forearm appeared. Gripping the handle, he held it so the blunt edge of the weapon ran parallel to his forearm and raised it to show everyone. Once everyone had seen it, it laid it back on the table and transmuted it back to original shape for Fuery.

"Holy crap." Surprisingly, this came from Falman. "If the military don't admit you into the program than they're beyond stupid." Everyone nodded their agreement, still shocked by what they saw. Hawkeye was the first one to recover. Ed couldn't say he was surprised by that.

"Thank you for showing us, Edward." She graced him with a small but honest smile. Ed returned it.

"No problems. Hey, Miss Riza? Do you know what time most of the shops and bookstores open around here?" He asked. Hawkeye thought for a moment.

"I believe the vast majority are open by 8:30 or 9." Ed flashed her a grin. It was already past 9.

"Thanks, Miss Riza. I'll see you guys later!" Ed called as he and Ayala headed for the door. Hawkeye's voice brought him to a halt.

"Are you okay finding your way out?" She asked, slightly concerned with him getting lost. The base was pretty big after all. Ed gave her a reassuring look.

"I'll be fine. I'm pretty good at remembering paths I've taken and Ayala can always follow familiar scents if we do get lost. See ya!" With that, he and his wolf were gone and the door was shut. Everyone looked sad at him leaving. He was a good reason to escape work for a while and everyone liked him already. A familiar click was heard and everyone got back to their work. Hawkeye smiled gratefully for the day getting back to normal before reengaging the safety on her gun and holstering it once more.

* * *

Ed, true to his word, had successfully made it out of the building and off the base. They went slower so Ayala could get a proper sense of their surroundings. Neither boy nor wold noticed Mustang looking out his window, watching them leave. Mustang would vehemently deny to anyone who asked but he was worried about a 12-year-old being let loose in a major city he's never been too without someone familiar with area with him. Once the pair were out of his sight, he went straight back to his desk and wondered how many papers he'd get away with burning or hiding. Nala was quick to remind what happened the last time he tried either method. Mustang was quick to tell her to keep it to herself.

Hawkeye then had the audacity to bring even more work in and remind him he needed to get all of it done by the end of the week. Mustang wondered if he could still use Ed as a means to escape the paperwork. Nala informed him that while that would work until Ed went home, Mustang would still have all of this work plus even more waiting for him. This time Mustang simply pretended not to hear her, opting to start the torture so he could finish as soon as possible. Nala chuckled at him before curling up in her favourite spot on one of his couches.

* * *

After exploring every shop that caught his eye and going for lunch when his stomach threatened to eat itself and Ayala threatened to eat him, Ed found a fabric shop that looked promising. He needed material that was thick but not too thick. Something that was flashy so he could be easily spotted if he and Al got separated or something he could use to signal Al but not too flashy. It also had to be easily to transmute so he could fix it if it got torn and it had to be made out of a material that was strong enough for everyday wear and tear but would tear if it got caught on something if he was attacked.

After searching for ages, he finally found something he approved of. Once Ayala gave him her blessing, he bought enough to make two. He also bought a small roll of black fabric to put his Teachers symbol on the back of it. That would make it stand out more and also hopefully lessen her wrath when she found out he'd joined the military. He still held onto the slim hope that he could find the Stone and discharge from the military before Teacher ever found out he joined in the first place. Happy with his purchase, he thanked the checkout lady and decided to head back to his room so he could make the final piece of his outfit.

He could check out bookstores afterwards. Lots of shop assistants had given him instructions to ones that were supposedly good. He smiled at the lady manning the check in desk and made his way up to his level. Fishing his key out, he let himself and Ayala into the room and shut the door behind him. Laying out his newly purchased material, he considered how he wanted it to look and clapped his hands once he made his decision. The energy flared and disappeared before he completed the second part of the design. Once that second lot of light dissipated, Ed stood back to admire his handiwork.

The blood red jacket came to his knees and covered his arms so that only his gloves showed. It didn't have a zip or buttons but he didn't want them in case he had to get out of it quickly. The fabric would keep him warm but was breathable so he wouldn't overheat in summer. The flamel Teacher wore was on the back and was big enough to take up the whole of his back. Ayala was pleased with design as well, even if the colour was very bright. Ed quickly made his spare one and left it on his bed. Pulling the final part of his outfit on, he headed out with Ayala to find the bookstores he'd been directed too.

* * *

Mustang, like always, was ecstatic when 6:00pm rolled around. He pulled his black military coat on and headed for the door with Nala on his heels. He was thankful to see his outer office empty. Everyone else cleared out by 5:30. Lucky bastards. Making his way out to the grounds and then freedom, he contemplated what he should do with Ed tomorrow. Should he have the boy accompany him in like this morning or leave him to his own devices until he hears from the higher ups? If Ed went in with him, he'd have a good reason for sleeping in like he did this morning. However, according to Hawkeye, nobody except her and Falman had been able to get their work completely done. Everyone else was too busy chatting about Edward. He still hadn't quite decided when he reached the hotel the eldest Elric was staying at. Unperturbed, he made his way to the front desk so he could get Ed's room number. He didn't memorise it the night before. Nala shook her head at him.

"Excuse me, Miss? Would you mind telling me what room number Edward Elric is staying?" He asked the lovely lady who was seated behind the desk. She smiled at him and checked the guest book.

"Mister Elric is staying in room 305. I'm not sure if he's in yet or not. He left after lunch today and I haven't noticed him come back yet," the clerk, Mandy, warned him. He thanked her and headed for Ed's assigned room. Knocking on the door and receiving no answer after a couple of minutes, he concluded that the lovely Mandy was correct in her assumption that the blonde hadn't gotten back. Heading back down, he was ready to leave a message for Ed with Mandy and possibly get her number when the aforementioned alchemist walked through the front doors, a takeout bag in one hand and some books under the other. He was chatting to Ayala when he noticed Mustang standing there.

 _"Nice jacket,"_  Nala said, grinning at him. He grinned back and sent a silent thanks.

"Oh hey, Mustang. We weren't supposed to meet up tonight, right?" He couldn't remember them discussing a meet up but that didn't mean much.

"No, I was just wanting to tell you that you don't need to come into the office tomorrow. Do whatever you want around town but stick to the same area as today. And what are you wearing?" The red coat had caught Mustangs eye (honestly, how could it not?) and he couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I needed a jacket so I found the right material and made one. It's cool, huh?" Ed grinned and Mustang caught the design on the back reflected in the glass doors of the hotel.

"What is that on the back?" Ed didn't miss the fact he never answered his question.

"Teacher's symbol. As her student, it's my right to wear it. Also I'm hoping that it will soothe her anger enough that she'll only hurt me instead of outright killing me when she finds out I've enlisted." Mustang was kinda concerned with Ed's attitude towards the whole prospect.

"You realise that colour is going to make you stick out?" He wanted to make that clear and to know the reason behind the choice. Ed looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Duh. That's the whole point," he said it like it was obvious. Mustang must've looked confused because he put him out of misery. "If Al and I get separated, I want him to be able to find me as easily as I can find him," he said before frowning at Mustang's stunned look. "What? You didn't realise a giant suit of armour would stick out as well?" He pointed out. It finally clicked for Mustang. Al was going to stick out no matter what so Edward wore the red so Al wouldn't be as out of place. Mustang also realised the red jacket would come in handy when he needed to find Edward for any reason. Not that he pointed this out to Ed.

"Fair enough. Hopefully, we'll have your results by tomorrow or the next morning at the latest. All we're really waiting for is your blood results to come in." Ed nodded. Hopefully he'd be home within the next couple of days. He couldn't wait to get back to his brother. He didn't like being separated from him for so long. Being able to talk directly to Chester helped but not enough. "Good night, Edward. Ayala," he bade them as he headed for the door.

"See ya, Mustang. Bye, Nala!" Edward said before he and Ayala headed back to their room and devouring their dinner before diving into the new books Ed had bought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be awesome, please!


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning came and went without any visits from the colonel or his lioness. Ayala and Edward took full advantage of their almost free reign over the city. Ed may have had limited funds but he soon found out quite a few store owners were willing to barter their goods for help in fixing things around their business. He even managed to get Winry some stuff she was after, something he sincerely hoped would make her far more accepting about the military thing. Though she wasn't sulking or angry anymore, Ed still knew that she was harbouring a secret hope he wouldn't be accepted. Ed was fairly certain the only reason she didn't hurt him outright when he announced his plans was because he was already so injured and after he got the automail it was because he was already pushing himself beyond any reasonable limits and Winry didn't want to be the cause of his limits breaking.

However, he knew Al was telling Winry about how he was going and that he felt like his chances were very good at being accepted. Even though she'd stopped trying to talk him out of his decision after her sixth or so attempt caused him to snap at her, reminding her that she was  _not_  his mother and had no say over how he lived his life, he knew she still had to bite her tongue whenever the topic was brought up. So he hoped that pairing the news that he'd been accepted into the State Alchemy program with the shiny new automail tools would be enough to stop her from yelling, crying or both. Though Ayala agreed this was the safest and least painful route to take, she still teased Ed about it. Ed refused to react to her teasing, depriving her of that satisfaction.

It was after lunch that Ed was stopped in the middle of the footpath by a random soldier. Well, in all honesty, it was Ayala who noticed the random soldier and immediately took up a protective stance in front her thoroughly confused human. The soldier, luckily for him, realised her intentions and stopped a good distance from the blonde boy wearing a red coat. Ed seemed to realise what the soldier was doing here and had Ayala stand down so the man could approach. She did but sent the man a snarl. It didn't hurt to remind for them to be wary of her. It made it clear her boy was not to be messed with. Ed rolled his eyes at her antics but was secretly touched by her protectiveness.

"Edward Elric?" Ed nodded so the soldier continued. "Colonel Mustang has requested that you go to his office immediately," the soldier passed along. Ed frowned. If Mustang was asking him to his office than it meant his results were in! Ayala made the same realisation at the same time and grinned at him.

"Thank you, er, sorry, what was your name?" Ed asked the soldier who, in turn, looked surprised at the question. A bird swooped down and landed on said soldier's shoulder. Ed made the educated guess that this was his Animal.

"Captain Aaron Wilson." The poor bloke sounded honestly surprised that Ed had bothered to ask his name. Ed locked his face and name into his brain for future uses.

"Well, thanks, Captain Wilson. Can you point me in the direction of the base? I kinda got turned around," he grinned sheepishly. Wilson looked more than happy to help, even offering to escort Ed back, something Ed was reluctant to accept until Wilson assured him he was headed back that way anyway. They walked in silence for a while before Wilson broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce my Animal. This is Bronwyn. She's a Grass Parrot." Bronwyn chirped in Ed's direction.

"Hi, Bronwyn! This is Ayala. She's an arctic wolf." Ayala nodded in their direction. "She is also sorry for trying to bail you up like that before." While Ed didn't like apologising for anything he did, much to his brother's amusement and chagrin, he did apologise on Ayala's behalf whenever required because he didn't like people thinking bad things about her. Wilson waved off the apology.

"There's no need for it. I didn't realise how I came across until Bron pointed it out. I should be the one apologising, Ayala. I'm sorry for making you think I was going to harm your human," Wilson solemnly said. Ayala huffed before giving Ed her response.

 _"I don't apologise, by the way. Also, tell him that he doesn't need to apologise either."_  Ed smirked at the first part but dutifully passed along the second part. Wilson smiled and they continued their walk in silence.

Ed was starting to recognise his surroundings now and knew they were close to the base. Once through the main gate and Ed had assured Wilson he knew his way, they parted with a shake of the hands and Ed and Ayala headed for the Colonel's office. They took their time. Ed would claim it was so he and Ayala were definitely sure of their surroundings and any smells there were. Ayala knew it was because Ed wanted to irk the Colonel, who'd undoubtedly been tipped off by Nala as soon as they'd arrived. That was the downside to being able to talk to all Animals, Ed had found. It was like the Animal received an alert or something in their brain when he was within range, so long as he had already talked to them. He and Ayala finally made it up to Mustang's office nearly half an hour after he came into Nala's range. He didn't bother knocking since he knew they were expecting him and he was proven correct when no one said anything aside from greetings. He wondered why it was so quiet and realised that Havoc and Breda as well as their Animals weren't in the room.

"Hello, Edward," Hawkeye greeted him. Soren gave a soft hoot as his own greeting. Ed smiled at them. He offered Fuery and Falman a wave and smile each but turned his attention back to Hawkeye.

"Hello, Miss Riza," Ed said back. Soren ruffled his feathers. "Hello, Soren. Where's Havoc and Breda?" He asked while Ayala seemed to engage Soren in a conversation. Either that or she was debating owl for lunch.

"Havoc and Breda have been sent to collect lunch since neither of them could focus on something other than throwing paper balls at each other." Hawkeye sounded exasperated and slightly amused. "So they got sent out of the office so we could get some work done with minimal distractions." Edward grinned at the mental image. "You're welcome to head into the Colonel's office. Don't mind him if he's in a testy mood though. I discovered his hiding spot for his paperwork and am making him do it." Edward had to admit that he admired Mustang's persistence to avoid his paperwork. He also suspected Mustang had a death wish of sorts if he was risking Hawkeye's wrath over avoiding paperwork. He may have only met the woman three times but he realised fairly quickly that she was really the one in charge around here.

"Thank you, Miss Riza." Him using manners may be as rare as Winry admitting alchemy was better than automail but he did use them with people he didn't want to ever see angry and Hawkeye was definitely someone he decided he didn't want to see angry after he first met her. He suspected angry Hawkeye would be on level with Teacher on a good day.

Using his left hand to give Ayala a nudge towards the door since she was too busy chatting to Soren to have been paying attention to either Hawkeye or Edward. Upon entering the inner office, Ed was immediately met with the sight of Mustang's desk covered in paperwork to the point where Ed only knew Mustang was still there because he could hear him muttering and swearing profusely. Ed was pretty sure he learnt a few new words he could use. Nala looked the definition of relaxed on the couch, sprawled so she was taking up as much space as possible. Ed really did try not to laugh but he couldn't stifle his chuckle quite quick enough. He heard Mustang's pen stop its furious scribbling and saw his black hair peek over the mound of paperwork.

"How's it going, Mustang? 'Sup, Nala?" Edward asked lightly, walking around so he was in front of the desk where he could actually see Mustang's face. He was wearing a scowl instead of his usual smirk and looked like he had a headache. At Ed's question, his left eye twitched but he didn't show any other sign of annoyance. Ed was kinda disappointed. Nala grinned. She may be Mustang's Animal but she liked seeing him riled up.

 _"Not much, Ed. How'd you enjoy your freedom this morning?"_  Nala asked while Mustang was trying to resist the urge to set the paperwork on fire.

"Yeah, it was great. Most of the shopkeepers I met were happy to barter some stuff in exchange for me fixing random things around their shops. I got some stuff that Granny and Winry need that I couldn't afford before." He didn't bother with the mental connection, choosing to answer her out loud. He'd heard enough of Mustang's bragging about how intelligent he was while in Central so he decided he wanted to see if Mustang could figure out his talent without him or Nala telling him. Ed, Nala and Ayala were all curious as to how long it would take Mustang to become suspicious and how long after that, he would confront Ed. Ayala and Nala were of the opinion it would be sooner rather than later. Ed thought it take Hawkeye noticing and then mentioning something or Al letting something slip before Mustang even noticed. Ed looked back at Mustang. "So, what's up?" He asked curiously. Mustang held out his hand in answer and Ed saw a glint of silver as he stepped forward to take it. It was a pocket watch with the Amestrian Military symbol on it.

"This silver watch serves as proof of your state certification. This envelope," he held said envelope up, "contains your certificate of appointment. Huh, it would seem our Fuhrer is not without a certain sense of irony," he said with a hint of amusement. Ed looked up from Ayala who had been closely examining his new watch.

"Why's that?" Ed asked, reaching for the envelope so he could read its contents himself.

"Nothing. Congratulations. You've officially become a dog of the military," Mustang said with minimum enthusiasm as he handed the envelope over. Ed snorted and read the contents.

"By order of King Fuhrer Bradley, this document certifies that Edward Elric has been appointed to the post of State Alchemist and that he is hereby granted the title of Fullmetal Alchemist," Ed read out loud, mainly for Ayala's benefit. "'Fullmetal'?" He asked, confused. Ayala didn't seem to know either.

"That's right," Mustang nodded. "Along with their commission, State Alchemists also receive a cover name. An official name you will be known as. The Fullmetal Alchemist," Mustang explained. Ed made a small noise of understanding.

"I like it. It's nice and intimidating. I think it'll suit me just fine. What do you think?" He asked Ayala. Ayala mulled the name over in her head before turning her golden eyes on Ed.

 _"Edward Elric: The Fullmetal Alchemist. I think it has a nice ring to it,"_  she told him. He gave her a rare, soft smile and ruffled the fur between her ears. Mustang watched the small scene with something like nostalgia in his eyes. He remembered telling Nala his state title. He wasn't sure what Ayala said, obviously, but he doubted it was something as dramatic as Nala's rant about the military and it's lack of originality. Locking eyes with Nala, he knew she was remembering that moment too.

"So, what now?" Ed asked, straightening up so he was eye level with Mustang now. Ayala was also waiting expectantly for Mustangs answer. Leaning back in his chair, Mustang considered Ed for a moment.

"You'll need to fill out paperwork to complete your enlistment. Hawkeye will have it and can help you with any questions. Once that's done, ask Hawkeye to get you a ticket back to Resembool. You'll have one week to deal with anything you need to before you come back here," Mustang said. "As a State Alchemist, you're automatically given the rank of 'Major' which means that the only people you have to obey are people ranked Lieutenant Colonel or above. As a member of the military, you'll be assigned a dorm here, so don't worry about finding a place. I'll make sure there are two beds. It'll be yours until you either discharge from the military or you get a permanent place here or wherever I'm appointed. As your commanding officer, you'll be staying in whatever city I'm posted. As a State Alchemist, you'll get any train tickets for free so long as the destination is mission related. You'll have access to alchemy sections in any library and you'll have access to the State Alchemists Library. I'll make sure Al gets the same benefits. You can eat in the mess for free or you can pay for your own food. You'll be given a bank account where your pay will be deposited. Your watch will act as I.D for almost everything. Any questions?" He asked. Ed thought but he couldn't think of anything. Ayala couldn't either.

"Nope, don't think so," Edward said after a few moments. Mustang nodded.

"Good. You can head out to do your paperwork now. Have Havoc drive you to the train station. He'll avoid being shot by Hawkeye that way. I'll see you in a week's time, Fullmetal." Ed smirked at him.

"See ya, Mustang. Bye, Nala." He smiled at the lioness.

 _"Bye, Edward. Congrats on your appointment. I'll see you in a week,"_  she said.

"Thanks, see you then." He waved at her as he disappeared at the door with a flash of red, Ayala quick to follow. Mustang's brow furrowed slightly. There was something off about that exchange but he couldn't afford to dwell on it. He still had masses of paperwork to get through and Edward only guaranteed him an hour of Hawkeye not having him trained in her crosshairs. He shuddered at the thought and picked his pen up with a sigh and quickly forgot all about the weird feeling he got. Nala smirked inwardly and curled up to have a nap.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ed had made it into the outer office to discover Havoc and Breda had returned from their lunch run. Both men made to get up to greet him but a quick glance at Hawkeye made them settle for simply waving at him from their desks. He approached Hawkeye while Ayala went to investigate the other Animals since she didn't have a chance to last time.

"Hey Miss Riza, Mustang said you had some paperwork for me to fill out?" He asked her. She nodded and gestured for him to take the seat next to her, which he did, before handing him a small stack of paper and a pen. Ed started leafing through it to see what he needed to do.

"Thanks. I apologise in advance for my handwriting." He grinned at her before picking up the pen and diving in. Hawkeye smiled at him and continued with her own work. The office was quiet aside from the sounds of pens on paper, paper being moved about and various Animals moving around. He was a quarter of the way through when he remembered the rest of Mustangs instructions. "Oh! Miss Riza, could you get me a ticket to Resembool please?"

"Of course. How long will you be gone for? I'll book your return ticket at the same time. Who's driving you?" Ed didn't really bother wondering how she knew he was being driven.

"Thanks. I'll be gone for a week. Mustang told me to ask Havoc to take me," Ed told her. She nodded and picked up the phone next to her. Ed turned back to his paperwork, tuning her out. A tap on his shoulders only a couple of minutes later nearly made him jump.

"You're booked in for this afternoons train. It'll leave here at 3:00pm so you'll need to hurry and finish. You'll get your return ticket at the Resembool station." Thanking her, he turned to his paperwork again.

It was rather boring and he could see why Mustang constantly tried to evade his. He couldn't imagine sitting behind a desk for hours on end signing endless forms and requests. He was glad he didn't have to. He only needed Hawkeye's help with a couple of things he didn't understand and by the time the clock read 1:30pm, he was finished. Hawkeye noticed and took the pen back and rifled through the papers, checking they were completed and in order. Satisfied, she plopped them down so she could deal with them later.

"Good job, Ed. Have a safe trip back to Resembool and we'll see you in a week's time." She offered him a smile, which he returned.

Sometime while he was working, she and Havoc must've spoken because Havoc was standing and waiting for Ed near the door. Ed wasn't surprised he missed the conversation. Al always said that he had a habit of focusing completely on the task in front of him, ignoring anything and everything that wasn't to do with said task. Giving everyone a small wave goodbye, he and Ayala followed Havoc and Mark out to where the car was. The trip to the hotel was quicker than Ed expected and he and Ayala packed all of their stuff in record time, ensuring nothing was left behind at all.

Havoc pointed out that there was still an hour to go until he had to catch the train and asked if he wanted to stop somewhere to get snacks or something to take with. Not ones to turn down any offer of food, Ed and Ayala raided the bakery Havoc drove them to with the assurance that they made the best apple turnovers in the country. Arms loaded with pastries, Havoc was left to carry Ed's suitcase for him to the ticket counter and onto the actual train. After stowing it away, Havoc turned to watch Ed unburden himself.

"You got everything?" He asked, making Ed snap his attention to him.

"Yup, pretty sure I do," he said after a moment of thinking.

"Good." Havoc nodded. "We'll see you in a week. Have a good trip." Ed grinned at him.

"I have plenty of books; I'll be fine. See you in a week." Havoc offered him a smile and a wave before he headed off the carriage and out into the crowd to rejoin Mark, who had wisely decided to stay in the car to avoid being trampled. Ed watched him leave before turning to Ayala.

"I should probably tell Al that I'm coming home, eh?" He asked casually as he made himself comfortable on the bench seat, waiting for the train to leave the station. Ayala looked at him with an expression that said something like 'no shit'. Ed took that as a 'yes'.

"Hey, Chester. Let Al know that Ayala and I are on our way back to Resembool now. We should be in the station in a few hours." He felt Chester receive the message and the happiness and excitement he felt at having them coming home. Ed let himself smile at that. It was nice knowing that he was as missed by his brother and Chester as he missed them.

 _"Al says that's great and that he and I'll meet you at the station. He also wants to know if this means you were accepted as a State Alchemist?"_  Chester sent back almost immediately.

"Yup. I'll tell you both all about it once we're at Granny's. I don't feel like telling the story 50 times over," Ed informed him, preventing any demands for details. He heard Chester grumble about it and laughed at him. "You'll find out soon enough so stop your muttering."

 _"Rude. Anyway, Al's just asked me if you'd killed Mustang before you left."_  Ayala and Ed snorted.

"Nah that would be like shooting myself in the foot," Ed said with a snort. "We agreed to help each other and he's told me that he'll be able to send me on missions that could help our goal so killing him is something I'd do if he really pissed me off." Chester could see the wisdom in that. Al was less impressed with the logic.

 _"Al has told me that you are not allowed to murder Mustang under any circumstances,"_  Chester dutifully passed along.

"Tell Al he's a killjoy." Chester did so and Al wasn't that fazed by the insult, much to Ed's chagrin. The conductor finally announced that they were ready to leave so Ed let Chester know and wrapped up their conversation so that Chester and Al could tell Granny and Winry. The train finally pulled away from East City station and Ayala and Ed prepared themselves for the trip back home to Al and Chester.

* * *

The hours blurred together in a sugar and knowledge filled haze. By the time the train pulled into Resembool station, Ed and Ayala were regretting buying out the bakery and had been finished reading every book Ed had in his suitcase. Even though he'd promised, Ed was still slightly surprised when he spotted his brother and Chester waiting patiently on one of the benches. Not even waiting for the train to come to a complete stop, Ed and Ayala jumped up, secured their suitcase and rubbish and headed for the door closest to Al and Chester. Once free from the carriage, Ed dumped the rubbish and beelined for his brother, Ayala just as eager. Al spotted them before Ed could call any sort of greeting.

"Brother!" He shouted as he rushed towards the older blonde and enveloped him in a hug, remembering at the last second to be gentle so he didn't squeeze the life out of him.

"It's good to see you too, Al," Ed laughed, patting Al on the back with his free hand. Al couldn't feel it but he heard the noise and knew what his brother was doing. Al finally pulled away from Ed so that the boy could breathe again. Ayala and Chester had just finished greeting each other when the boys stopped their hug. Ed ruffled the fur between Chester's ear affectionately. "Hey, Chester. It's good to see you too." Ed smiled at the big cat while Al mimicked his brother as best he could with Ayala.

"I hope you weren't forced to pull him back into line too often, Ayala," the young Elric half-joked. Ayala gave him a look that told him otherwise. "You'll have to tell Chester what Brother left out of his reports so he can tell me, okay?" Ed glared at them both. Ayala nodded and grinned in amusement at Ed's muttered 'traitor' while Al did his best not to chuckle. Ed decided a distraction was in order. He grabbed his suitcase and walked backwards towards the exit.

"How about we head back to Granny's? I'm sure those two have plenty of questions or lectures for me," he pointed out, implying that keeping the two Rockbell women waiting more than necessary wasn't a brilliant idea.

Al got the message and he and the Animals caught up to Ed as quickly as possible. Ed turned around with a grin. The walk back was mainly small talk with Al filling Ed in on every little thing that happened in the week he was gone. The Chases' had their third child and only son, the Pritchard's cattle were sick for some reason, three children gained their Animals. Ed listened, grateful to be back in his small hometown, relishing in the fact that, aside from Al's voice and his and the Animals breathing, all he could hear were crickets and the occasional animal. He was happy to be able to look up and see all the stars instead of streetlights and car lights. He knew that after this week, it would be a while before he got to see this again so he was gonna appreciate it while he could. Rockbell Automail finally came into view before long and Ed groaned internally at the sight of the lights on in the house. Even though he suspected they'd be awake, he'd really hoped he was wrong for once.

* * *

Ed walked through the front door using Al as a shield, even though he would deny that until he died, but it saved him from the onslaught of questions the two women immediately started asking him. Al was torn between saving his brother and laughing his arse off. Letting him endure it for a few moments longer, Al finally helped him out by pointing out the fact that Ed couldn't answer any questions if he couldn't understand them. Winry shot Al a dirty look but he shrugged it off. He did have a point. Having seniority and because she wanted to get straight to the point, Granny asked the first question.

"So?" In hindsight, Ed should've expected such a question from Granny. She wasn't a woman of many words and liked keeping questions as simple and broad as possible so she'd get more information out of her target. Ed sat at the table and the two youngest members of the household followed suit. Ayala and Chester curled up at their respective humans feet while Den was sprawled on his back with his feet in the air. He looked comfortable.

"Okay. I'm officially enlisted and everything. I have permission from Mustang for Al to accompany me on missions as I am technically his legal guardian and have sworn up and down that he can defend himself. It's up to him if he wants to stay here with you guys or go with me. The contract I signed has me enlisted until I'm 18. Once it's done I can either re-enlist or discharge. As a State Alchemist, Ayala and I get all sorts of benefits and the pay isn't bad either so I'll be able to pay you guys for my automail and any repairs or maintenance needed down the track. Mustang has agreed to send me on missions to places that have leads on the stone when he can. In exchange for that, I've promised to do missions that have nothing to do with the stone without complaint. Does that cover everything?" He barely even took a breath until now. Ayala was kinda impressed. Granny thought for a moment.

"When do you go back?" Ed was surprised he'd even forgotten to mention that little titbit during his mini speech.

"A week from now. Resembool station has my ticket. I'll need to pick it up so I know when exactly." Ed didn't miss the look that crossed the girls' faces. He'd known that him joining the military wouldn't change their views on it. He didn't like the military either and joining it hadn't changed his mind. It was the only option he had to right his wrongs though and he refused to let the slightly betrayed looks he knew he'd get change his mind. He was doing this for Al and they all knew it.

"Only a week?" Winry's small voice asked. From the look she was giving him, she obviously didn't think a week was long enough.

"Yup. I have a week to sort out any business I have here and then I report back to Mustang." Ed's voice told them that he didn't like it either but that he didn't want to hear any whinging from them. They sat in silence for a moment before Granny heaved herself to her feet.

"Right. That's enough chatter for one night. You lot need to sleep. We'll talk more about this in the morning. Ed, you're in your usual room." Her voice left no room for arguments so they didn't bother.

They trudged up the stairs and after bidding each good night, disappeared into their own rooms. Ed tossed his suitcase on the floor, intending on dealing with it tomorrow before he collapsed on his bed. Nothing felt remotely as good as his own mattress in that moment. Ayala joined him after a moment of waiting and Al waited for them to settle before switching off the light and sitting next to Chester's bed for the night. Ed curled up around Ayala and was ready to fall asleep at any moment when he heard Al's voice.

"I really missed you, Brother," he whispered in the darkness.

"I missed you too, Al. Wasn't the same without you," he whispered back truthfully. He heard Al shift a little before he spoke again.

"I don't want to be separated from you like that again. I'm going with you when you leave." He certainly sounded like he'd made his mind up.

Though Ed had told him before he left that he would make it so that Al and Chester were to be allowed with him on missions and he'd now gotten that permission, Ed still wasn't planning on taking Al everywhere with him unless his little brother wanted to go. He had no idea what kinds of missions he'd be going on but he knew he wouldn't want Al to see some of them. The military wasn't exactly known for its peace-keeping missions, after all.

There wasn't really any other reason Ed could use to try and convince Al and Chester to stay in East City while he was on missions. Al couldn't be physically hurt and though Chester could, he could be hurt anywhere so that argument wouldn't fly. Ed also knew he had a better chance of keeping the military from finding out about Al's condition if he was by his side at all times than he would by having Al stay in Resembool or East City. The only feasible reason Ed could think of to have Al not join him on missions was so he didn't have to face the bitter disappointment they would when they reached a town to investigate a lead only for it not to pan out.

Ed wasn't naïve. He knew that the chances of them finding a stone right away was non-existent. That would only happen if they were in a fairy tale and they definitely weren't. But he didn't think it was fair on Al to have to face that disappointment every time it happened. Ed also knew that Alphonse would miss Winry and Granny terribly. He'd only lasted so long under Teacher's tutelage because they knew they'd be allowed to leave her home once they were competent enough for Teacher to let them fend for themselves. The only reason they left before Teacher broached the subject was because Al had wanted to in Resembool for his 10th birthday. Ed was prepared to make any sacrifice for his brother for his brother but he wouldn't ask Al to do the same. His younger brother had already given far more than was fair, in Ed's opinion.

"I don't want to be separated from you either but wouldn't you be happier here? It's not going to be easy with all the travelling we'd have to do and things we'd be forced to see." That was something else he'd thought about while on the train ride home. He was prepared to actually forbid Al from coming with him but Ayala had talked him out of it, pointing out the fact that Al would not listen anyway and then telling him to let him make up his own mind. She'd also brought up the point that Al had probably thought about all this too.

"I know, Brother. I know that it might not be easy to endure and that I'd probably be happier here but I've thought about and talked about it with Chester. I don't want you to go through that sort of stuff alone and neither does Chester. We're going with you." Ed couldn't help but smile at the similarities between his and Granny's 'no argument' tones. He still felt like he shouldn't be letting him but he knew that he couldn't stop him, even if he wanted too.

 _"Edward, trust me when I say this, but we have talked about this at length. Both of us want to go with you and Ayala. We want to help you and be there with you so you don't have to go through any of it by yourselves. We know that we're putting ourselves in danger and what we could possibly face. Believe me when I say that Pinako and Den have given us a thorough description of the rumours of missions she's heard about military missions. We don't want you and Ayala to suffer through that with no one having your backs."_  Ed listened to Chester speak and realised that they had definitely thought this decision through. He couldn't have been any more relieved than he was right now.

"Okay," he spoke to both of them, "you win." Any reservations he had about them tagging along had disappeared after Chester had spoken.

"Good. Now get some sleep, brother. I'm sure Winry will be attacking you in the morning to make sure you didn't damage your automail." Al laughed at Ed's dramatic groan and unflattering descriptions of Winry that were muttered under his breath. It didn't take long for him to hear Ed's breathing even out, indicating that he was now fast asleep. Al shifted so he was seated more securely and settled to wait for his brother to wake up.

* * *

Al, much to Ed's disgust, was correct in the assumption he'd made the night before. Winry did indeed confront Ed the next morning during breakfast and demanded that he allow her to do a maintenance check on his automail. After much arguing about that fact that he was only gone for a few days and the only potentially damaging thing he'd done was the practical test where he showed off his fighting skills, he finally relented and let the obsessive mechanic look them over. Grinning happily at either the win or Ed's misery (Ed was sure it was both), she ran her tests. It only took an hour, which was half the time it took for him to let her run said tests, before he was set loose with a clean mechanical bill of health.

Mutterings about how Winry needed to loosen up and stop obsessing over automail and trusting him a bit more were met with a wrench, a sore head and a lot of cuss words. Al decided a trip to Resembool to pick up Ed's ticket to East City and purchase one of his own was in order before Winry or Ed ended up dead at the other's hands. The trip into town was more than long enough for Ed to get his temper in check. Al hoped it was the same for Winry. Two tickets later, they were headed back to Granny's when Ed said something that Al hadn't expected.

"We should go back to the house." Those seven words made Al, Chester and Ayala stop in their tracks. Ed stopped to but more in response to them than what he said.

"Why? We haven't been there except for when we really needed something," Al pointed out. It was like an unspoken agreement between the four of them. After what had happened, none of them were comfortable being in that house for long.

"I know. I went there before I applied to become a State Alchemist," Ed revealed before continuing over Al's surprised spluttering. "I'd been thinking about it since Mustang found and confronted us. Granny told us she'd cleaned the house the same night the rebound happened, yeah?" Ed asked and Al nodded, though Ed knew there would still be a comment made about him visiting the house by himself. "Well, how'd he know what we'd done if she'd gotten rid of all the evidence?" Ed asked and Al finally got what Ed was implying.

"If she'd gotten rid of all the evidence than Mustang shouldn't have been able to figure out exactly what we'd done. You went back to see what Granny had missed that had clued Mustang in on our actions," Al said and Ed nodded. Ed's theory made sense and judging from the look on his brother's face, Granny had missed something. "So, what did Mustang find?"

"Our notes were still scattered around and there was a faint outline of the array still etched on the floor," Ed said. "I think he knew that it had been activated and not just studied because my blood stained the floor and there was a lot of it." Ed had grown a little pale as he remembered what it felt like to look at the massive blood stains and realise they'd been made by him. Al shuddered as he recalled the memory of seeing all the blood before it had dried.

"What did you do?" Al asked, voice quiet and Ed shrugged.

"I erased the array so there's no sign of it now but I didn't touch anything else. We're going to have to do something about our notes," Ed said, not thrilled with the idea of going back into the basement. He just hoped that it wouldn't affect him as much now that he knew what to expect.

"Alright, Brother," Al said, clapping Ed lightly on the shoulder. "We can deal with the house later in the week. Why don't we head the cemetery before we go back to Granny's? You have to tell mum and Cleo about your inclusion to the State Alchemy program." Ed gave him a small smile.

"Sure, Al. We'll do that first."

* * *

They only made one stop on their way to the cemetery and that was so they could gather a bouquet of wildflowers each. Once they and their Animals were happy with how each bouquet looked, they continued on their journey. They walked into the cemetery and placed their flowers so they leant on the headstone before they took their seats in front of it. The second Ed had been able to after the failed transmutation, he and Ayala had booked it to the cemetery so that Ed could apologise profusely to his mother for what they'd tried to do and what they'd turned her into. That meeting had ended with Ed almost exhausted from his emotions and Ayala supporting his weight most of the way back to Granny's. He looked at the headstone in front of him and silently offered another apology for what they'd tried to do as they got themselves settled.

Al had talked first, catching their mum and Cleo up on everything that had happened since they'd last spoken to them before letting Ed take over when Al had finished telling them about watching the train with Ayala and Edward on it disappear as it headed to East City. Ed described the train journey in quick detail before moving on to describing Mustang and his team in much more detail. He told her about how overwhelming it was, being introduced to so many people and their Animals at one time before he told her about the deal he and Mustang had brokered before either of them would agree to Ed actually applying for the program.

Ed went on to describe what it was like waiting in the outer office while they waited until they could go to the train station then he described what happened on the actual train rife to Central and the consequential first meeting with Hughes. He told her a bit about the hotel he and Ayala camped in before he got into a detailed description of Central Command, including Ayala's comment, and the exams he took. He told her with no small amount of pride about the results he'd gotten for the written exam and the comments Nara and McNally had made about his practical exam.

He told her about meeting Gracia and Elysia Hughes for the first time and the dinner they'd had and promised her that he'd been on his best behaviour, ignoring Ayala, Chester and Alphonse's giggles. The next thing he told her about was his final exam, what he'd done for it and what Ayala had banned him from doing, which Al punched his shoulder for even thinking of doing. Ed had scowled and stuck his tongue out at his brother before telling Trisha and Cleo about the rest of his trip in Central and the return to East City. He wrapped his tale with his acceptance into the State Alchemy program, his new title and Chester and Al's decision to come along with him. They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes before the brothers promised to visit before they left for East City, said their goodbyes and headed back for the Rockbells.

* * *

Though the walk back wasn't as subdued as it normally was after a visit to their mum, it was just as quiet. Ayala and Chester took the opportunity presented to run rampant through the flower-filled fields, chasing each other and whatever poor critter they found. Chester cheated, in Ed and Ayala's opinions, when he chose to use trees to escape from Ayala. Alphonse and Chester didn't see the big deal but then Ed and Ayala chose not to see the big deal when Ayala sat on Chester and refused to let him up.

Winry met them when they walked through the front door, rant ready on her lips when she demanded to know where they'd been for the last few hours when Al told her they'd visited their mother. Winry's whole body deflated and she shifted a little wrongfooted as Al waved off her meek apology. Ed rolled his eyes at her behaviour while Granny just told Ed, Ayala and Chester to eat their lunch before she gave it to Den, thoroughly unfazed by the fact they'd taken so long. Once finished, Ed once again found himself being questioned. This time though, Al was also being interrogated.

"So have you two decided what's going to happen with everything?" Granny asked. Winry had sat herself down in her usual spot, watching Al closely. Ed indicated for Al to answer.

"Yes. Chester and I are going with Brother and Ayala when they leave." Winry's face fell once Al answered. Ed and Al couldn't help the pang of guilt they both felt.

They knew they were her closest friends just like she was theirs and Al had had a sneaking suspicion that she'd hoped he'd chose to stay behind so she wouldn't be by herself like she was when they were in Dublith. While Ed was in Central and East City, she'd divulged to him how lonely she'd been with only Granny and Den for company. She'd still been going to school but she never really fit in there since the kids made fun of her for her love of automail. Granny had made the decision to pull her out a year before they'd returned, claiming she didn't see the point in making her go when it was clear what her trade was going to be and she wouldn't learn anything about it in school.

"What about your house?" Granny asked, pointedly ignoring Winry's crestfallen face. She refused to coddle the child when she was upset about something like this. Ed and Al exchanged a glance and this time Ed answered.

"We're not sure. We're going to visit it tomorrow and decide then," he said truthfully.

Ed truly wasn't what they would do with their childhood home. Their options were pretty limited; they could sell it or they could hire Winry and Granny to act as housekeepers for it but Ed didn't really want to do either. He didn't want to visit Granny and Winry and see strangers in his childhood home, especially after what had happened in there, but he didn't want it to sit there empty and collecting dust. He didn't want to see it standing tall on the hill his father had built it on, reminding him he had somewhere to run back to if things got too hard. But he needed Al's opinion before he decided anything. Even though he inherited the house by default, since he was the oldest, it was their home and he wouldn't do anything to it without Al's say so. Ayala could sense his thoughts and pressed herself against his right leg, her warmth reminding him he wasn't alone in this and he scratched her between the ears gratefully.

Granny seemed to accept his answer and moved on. "You mentioned last night that you'd be getting enough money to pay us for the automail and any future repairs or maintenance." Ed nodded even though it wasn't a question. "We stand by our original deal. This set of automail won't cost you a cent. Your brother has been helping us with repairs around the place and there'll be plenty for you to help with before you leave. However, any repairs or maintenance will cost you money in the future. Agreed?" Ed liked the fact that Granny gave people the illusion of a choice. He knew better than to argue with her so he agreed.

Satisfied, Granny settled back in her chair and settled her pipe between her teeth now that she was finished asking questions for a while. Winry excused herself, claiming the need to work on some orders she'd received, and headed up to her workstation. Al knew she was really going up there to distract herself from his decision. Both Elric boys loved Winry like a sister but they knew she was a little closer to Al than to Ed and the fact that he was following Ed into a military life instead of staying here when he had the choice was a bit of a blow to her.

Soon after Winry left, the boys drifted into the living room where Ed told Al about the benefits and things he'd receive as a State Alchemist and what Al could take advantage of. It took an hour or so for Al to squeeze every bit of information he wanted out of Ed, who by that time looked ready to either sleep or alchemically shut his younger brother up. As an apology, Al handed Ed a couple of books he had bought while he was away and was happy to see his bribe work as Ed and Ayala curled up together so they could devour the books contents. In no time, Granny was calling them all down to dinner. Winry showed up and was still looking sullen but at least she wasn't avoiding them like she had when Ed announced his decision to enlist. After dinner, they retired to their own rooms and soon the house was quiet as nearly all its occupants fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the boys left the Rockbells home shortly after breakfast and started trekking up the engraved path to their own house, not wanting to waste any more time. Even though they wanted to get this visit over a done with, they were in no rush to actually to the house and the Animals didn't bother commenting on it. Both Ayala and Chester naturally knew why the boys weren't racing to the house but they'd agreed to let them do things their way. No words were exchanged between the four of them and far too quickly for their liking, their house came into view.

Ed unlocked the front door and pushed it open to reveal the inside of the house. Dust swirled up lightly from the air currents caused by the movement and they stepped inside. Ed didn't feel anything but the barest hint of nerves but he knew from the last time he stood in this house that they likely wouldn't start in earnest until he was near the basement. This time, instead of looking in on rooms as they headed for the basement, Ed and Ayala investigated the whole house for signs of where Mustang had looked. Alphonse and Chester joined them on their search, staying silent the whole time.

"You don't have to come down there with me, Al. I can do this by myself," Ed offered once they reached the basement door. He knew what to expect and he knew Al knew what to expect thanks to Ed telling him what he saw but that didn't mean it would make it any easier. Ed only had to deal with the less traumatic events from that night. He didn't want to force Al into that basement to face what he'd been through but Al shook his head.

"No, Brother, I can handle it. I don't want you going back down there alone," Al said, still upset that Ed had put himself through the trauma of coming back into this room by himself.

"Alright, Al, but if you, Chester or Ayala need to leave before we're finished, don't feel ashamed. Just head back upstairs, okay?" Ed said and received three nods in return. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Ed opened the door up and pushed it open, switching on the light as he led the way down into the dark room.

He walked down the few stairs, shivering as the cool, damp air wrapped itself around him and the almost earthy scent of the basement filled his nostrils. A scent he hadn't noticed in his panicked state last time also made its way into his nose and he almost gagged when he realised it was the bloodstains he'd left behind that created the clinging coppery scent. Ayala and Chester made abnormal noises in their throats and Ed realised they were smelling the same thing, only in far more detail thanks to their superior noses.

Ed had a momentary panic when he looked at where the centre of the array had been, thinking that  _thing_  they'd created was still there, rotting and decaying. He knew it was irrational since Granny had promised she'd dealt with it and Ed had seen with his own eyes not even two weeks ago that it wasn't there but that fear still pierced his heart momentarily. Once his heartbeat was down to a normal rhythm, Ed stepped off the last step and let the others join him in the basement properly.

There was no faint outline of the carefully drawn array, thanks to Ed dealing with it earlier, but the image of it sitting there was seared into their minds to the point where they could've redrawn it perfectly and in the exact same spot. Their notes and loose sheets of paper were still strewn about the place, as where Al's discarded clothing, with the exception of the shirt and jacket that had been utilised as bandages for Ed. Some planks of wood that created the floor and walls were torn up slightly and Ed could see slight cracks in the window, causing the sunlight permitted into the room to cause interesting patterns. He couldn't believe the window even survived the ordeal.

His eyes fell away from the window and were caught on the various bloodstains on the floor. He could see his movements from the time the array rebounded until the time Al woke up absorbed into the porous planks and almost gagged again. He tracked the bloodstains in an almost trance-like state, starting from the second largest stain caused by him losing his leg and following the streak marks along to where he checked on Chester after realising the leopard was still alive. He then followed the streak that left the small stain caused by him staying next to Chester for a few moments up to where he'd knocked the armour down to bind Al's soul to it. His eyes lingered on the largest bloodstain, the one created by his still bleeding leg and was added to by the wound on his shoulder once he'd collapsed after sacrificing his arm to bring Al back.

"Brother?" Al's voice caused him to tear his eyes away from that stain and up to the suit of armour looking down on him.

"Yeah, Al?" Ed asked, voice not as strong as he would've liked.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Al said and it was only then that Ed noticed that his brother's armour was trembling and his voice was shaking worse than Ed's. "I want to leave," Al said, pleading and Ed could feel both Animals agreeing with Al.

"So do I," Ed admitted. "Let's go back upstairs," he said and no sooner than he'd said the words did everyone hurry back up into the hallways and Ed shut the door behind them, like it would keep the memories at bay.

"I don't know about you, Brother, but I can't go back down there to clean up. I just can't," he said, almost apologetically.

"I don't think I could either. Not for long. Not even to pick up those papers," Ed said, ashamed of himself. Not only was he the older brother, able to do anything it took to keep Alphonse safe, but he'd already been in the basement before. It shouldn't have affected him so much the second time but he could feel his limbs trembling as he stood there in the hallway and he knew he'd never be able to work up the courage to go into that basement by himself. "Let's just head back to Granny's. we can figure something out along the way," Ed sighed, pushing himself off the wall and receiving murmurs of agreements from his companions.

"So what are we going to do?" Al asked, breaking the silence as they walked down their driveway. Ed sighed, not having a ready answer. He'd been thinking about it but short of the house disappearing, he didn't know what to do with it. They certainly couldn't leave it as is; not with all those papers and books they'd read for research lying around.

"We could ask Granny or Winry to clean it?" It wasn't even a real suggestion and both boys knew it but Al still answered anyway.

"No, it wouldn't be fair to them and Granny wouldn't be able to scrub out those bloodstains properly." Al was right, of course.

Even if Granny was physically able to do the vicious scrubbing it would require to get the blood even partially out of the grains of wood, they wouldn't have asked them. Ed certainly was never going to ask Winry to do it, refusing to consider the idea of putting someone he saw as his sister in that situation. Telling her what had happened that night had been more than Ed had wanted to do, knowing that Winry would likely have nightmares about it since she had nightmares sometimes about her parents' deaths.

Plus, there was the fact that those bloodstains wouldn't come out just by scrubbing them with bleach and water. Alchemy would be needed to remove them completely and neither Ed nor Al could go into the basement to perform the array. Ed told Al all of this and his younger brother agreed. Plus, there was the chance the women would miss something that could be used against them in the future and they didn't want to cause them to feel guilty if that happened.

So the four of them went back to thinking the problem over. Of course, Ed already had a solution in his mind but it was drastic and there would be no changing their minds once it was put into effect. However, after a few more minutes of silent walking and no one any closer to a feasible solution, Ed voiced his idea.

"We could burn it." Those four words hung in the air for a solid 10 seconds before anyone spoke again.

"But it's our home!" Al protested. Even Ayala and Chester were shocked by Ed's suggestion. "We can't burn our home to the ground!"

"I know it is but it's the only way we'd know for sure that every scrap of evidence would be gone for good," Ed pointed out. There was another reason he wanted it burnt to the ground but he wasn't gonna say it out loud. Al must've seen something cross his face because he soon asked.

"Is that the only reason, brother?" Ed's slightly guilty expression answered that question. "Don't lie to me, please." Ed sighed and hung his head slightly.

"I don't want it standing because I don't want to be tempted to come back if it gets too hard," Ed admitted. "I know that if it's still here, waiting for us to come home, it'll be harder for me to convince myself not to return. I don't want there to be any temptation for me to not stay and fight if things get really bad." He knew how it sounded. He knew that Al probably thought that Ed expected their search to not end how they want it too and he hated himself for that. He knew he'd fight tooth and nail to make sure that Al got his body back, that he got his chance to live a normal life again, just like he also knew that he needed to make sure there was absolutely no diversions from that path and the house standing here, ready for them to come back, was a diversion.

"I get it. Maybe burning it down would be for the best," Al said, causing Ed's head to shoot up in surprise as he watched his brother speak. "Neither of us can force ourselves to go in the basement and we won't ask the only people we trust completely to do it. It can't stand here in case someone gets too curious and can understand our notes. We could set up alchemy traps but there's always the chance someone could dodge or disarm them," Al pointed out rationally and Ed nodded along silently, having already thought of and dismissed the same ideas. "I'm on the same page as you. Even if no one broke in and investigated our notes, having it here reminding us of what our lives were like before is too much. I don't want to have you and I run ourselves into the ground, chasing down leads, knowing that we have a place we could run back too. I don't want that temptation to be there at all for either of us." Yet again, Ed could've thrown himself at his brother and given him a massive hug for the weight he'd just lifted off of Ed's shoulders. Knowing his brother felt the same way he did, understood Ed's reasons and didn't hate him for them was far more than Ed had dared to hope for.

 _"I think that you're both right. Maybe burning it down is for the best,"_  Chester piped up, speaking to both of them. _"Besides, neither of you could live in it happily again. Just being in there for that short amount of time before you went into the basement was wreaking havoc on your mind,"_  Chester pointed out.

 _"I completely agree with Chester. I don't ever want to sense that amount of turmoil going through your head ever again,"_ Ayala whispered to Edward. Ed felt something tug at his heart at those words. Sometimes he forgot that his Animal can sense his every emotion and Ed taken that into consideration when he'd entered the basement again the first time, let alone the second time.

"I think," Ed wet his lips before continuing, "I think we should get back to Granny's and think it over. If we can't think of a better solution, we'll burn it the night before we leave." That gave them four days left to figure something else out. Al hummed in agreement.

"What do we tell Granny and Winry when they ask?" Ed knew he really couldn't lie for shit and he knew that the girls knew it too.

"We tell them the truth. That we're not sure yet and that we need to think about it," he said simply. Al agreed and their walk back to the Rockbells continued on in silence.

* * *

The next four days passed quickly. Granny and Winry didn't push for a more definitive answer than the one Ed told Al to give them. It was like the women knew the boys had decided what to do but didn't want to know because they knew they wouldn't like the real answer. Every day, Ed and Al tried to think of another way but neither could. The Animals weren't able to think of anything either.

The day before Ed and Al were due to leave was filled with a heavy air for more reasons than one, even if the two women didn't fully understand the other reasons. Around mid-afternoon, Ed and Al left for their childhood home, accompanied only by Ayala and Chester. Al wanted to go back through the house, minus the basement, and see if there was anything he desperately wanted to keep. Ed had warned him that they could only take what would fit in their suitcase and Al had realised what Ed was saying. He could only grab things that were of the utmost importance to him.

Ed had stayed in the front doorway initially, not thinking of anything he wanted to save before he remembered a picture Granny had taken just before their mum had collapsed. He found it in its usual spot and carefully pulled it from its frame. He smiled a little as he recalled the memory. The Elric's and the Rockbell's had decided to go on a picnic on a rare day when Granny wasn't rushed off her feet and neither child had school. The boys had been off exploring when they found some flowers that were rare in the area but that's not why they had caught their attention. They were the exact shade of their mum's favourite colour. They'd grabbed a few each and raced each other back to the picnic site to be the first one to give them to her. They both got to her at the same time and collapsed on different sides of her, grinning wildly and presenting her with the pretty lilac wildflowers. Her eyes had widened in delight and her smile was nothing but pure happiness. That had been when Granny had snapped the photo.

Al had gathered a small collection of things before he made it back to his brother. Photo albums, his last birthday present from their mum, a toy that Winry and Granny had given him when he was born and a couple of other knick-knacks. Ed raised a brow at the collection but said nothing. He knew Al had realised that most of that stuff would need to stay at Granny's so he didn't bother commenting.

"Have you got everything you want to keep?" Ed asked quietly, though it sounded loud in the silent house.

"Yeah. You?" Al asked just as quietly.

"Yup." He lifted the box of matches. "You ready to do this?" Al caught the hidden warning. There was no going back once his brother lit the match. Al simply nodded, not trusting his voice.

Even though Al was completely on board with the decision, he still wished there could've been another solution. He watched as Ed went upstairs again and knew what his brother was going to do. The only way to ensure the house would burn full was for Ed to light multiple areas on fire. Al couldn't help but curse the fact that he couldn't cry as he and the Animals waited down near the front gate. He saw Ed head into the lounge room and watched as flames devoured the curtains their mother had lovingly sewn as Ed closed the front door and came to join him.

Ed and Al watched as the flames devoured their childhood home swiftly and both grieved for the memories they were destroying. They'd heard their mother telling them about all the hard work their father had put into building the perfect home for her and their future children and how proud he and Trisha had been when the last board had been nailed on. It had been the home they were always destined to inherit once their parents had passed, meant for one of them to use as their home to raise their own family in the future.

As they watched the flames reach extraordinary heights, embers glowing like red stars against the fading daylight left in the sky, they couldn't help but recall stories of their childhood. Al recalled the time Ed had tried running down the stairs, only to trip and break his arm while Ed recounted the time Al had pulled a prank on him and cracked his head open on the kitchen table as he tried to escape Ed's wrath. Neither voiced the memories only the house could remember, like when they took their first steps inside or when they first learned to transmute properly. Neither voiced the sadder memories, like the times Cleo had tried to play with them while their mother was on her death bed, nor watching Trisha and Cleo take their final breaths.

Both Animals felt a vicious joy from their humans when they thought of the basement being burned until it was rubble but neither commented on it. They watched as the place that had been their home only for a short while started collapsing in on itself as the weakened structure could no longer hold itself up. The four of them only moved when the heat got too much to bear and they only moved far enough away for it not to affect them anymore. The Animals felt the boys thinking the same thing, though neither said it out loud as they watched the flames dancing cheerfully as they turned the house into nothing but charred rubble. All four of them knew that that house had stopped being their home the moment they'd activated that array.


	12. Chapter 12

The four of them didn't leave the burned-out ruins of their childhood home until long after it had crumbled and the red-hot embers were only a faint glow, barely able to be seen amongst the charred remains of the structure. They waited only until they were sure the embers that remembered no longer proved to be a threat to the surrounding area before they turned their backs on the place, hopefully for the last time. They were a little surprised but ultimately grateful that none of their neighbours had seen the flames and come to investigate what was happening.

They knew it was late by the time the fire had burned itself out and they'd left the remains behind, around 1:00 or 2:00am at least. Alphonse felt a twinge of guilt for not thinking of letting Den know they'd be so late but they couldn't do anything except resign themselves to a lecture when they got back. Ed knew he'd probably get no sleep tonight, not with how early their train was but he figured he could just get some sleep while on the train. It'd be good practise for while they were on missions. Unbeknownst to him, Ayala and Chester were having the exact same thoughts.

The Rockbells' home finally came into view and the boys and Animals did their best to at least mentally prepare themselves for what they were about to walk into. Physically, there wasn't much Ed and Ayala could do to not look like they'd walked though the house as it burned to the ground. Ayala's normally glittering gold fur was darkened by smudged ash and Ed had, at some stage, rubbed a sooty hand over his face and accidentally left some of the ash behind. Chester's colouring meant any ash on him was camouflaged and the ash had merely blended into Al's armour.

Despite the front and hallway lights being on, the four snuck into the house as quietly as they could, just in case someone was sleeping at this hour. To their immense surprise, no one came out to greet them while Ed was kicking his boots off or as they made their way to the staircase, after they switched off the lights. Recognising the mercy they'd been shown when they made it all the way up to their room without someone yelling at them, Ed and the two Animals went into the bathroom to scrub the ash of themselves, much to Ayala and Chester's disgust. Al offered to help but Ed told him to get started on cleaning himself off since it was a bigger job.

Once they were freed from the bathroom and semi-dry, both Animals beelined for their beds and Ayala felt a vindictive pleasure knowing that Ed would have to sleep on a bed with a giant, wet patch that smelled like wet wolf. However, when he emerged from the bathroom himself, Ed just flopped down next to her and curled up, completely ignoring the wet patch. Al took pity on his older brother and offered to pack his suitcase for him and Ed groaned out a thank you. The older Elric had completely forgotten about the fact that he still needed to pack and felt a wash of gratitude flood over himself for the fact that his brother had remembered. Alphonse chuckled, knowing Ed had forgotten and told him to get some sleep before he woke him up so they could catch their train.

* * *

Ed tried to blink his gummy eyes open as he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. He was so tired from the lack of sleep and emotional toll the previous day had cost that he could barely sit up and keep his eyes open, constantly blinking to rid himself of the phantom feeling of sand grains in his eyes. Alphonse had to almost literally haul him into the bathroom with instructions to get in the shower and clean clothes for him to change into before leaving him to his own devices. Ed's brain woke up almost immediately when he'd stepped under the too-cold spray, cursing quietly as he cranked the heat up to make it bearable.

Getting dressed had a challenge in and of itself, taking Ed a little longer than usual when he tried to put on his pants before he realised he was actually holding his black jacket. Once all items of clothing were being worn where they were meant to be, Ed left the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen, following the alluring scent of freshly brewed coffee and cooked bacon. He made it into the room and found almost everyone else down there as well. Alphonse, according to Chester, was making certain they had everything they needed in their suitcase, finally joining the rest of them while Ed was draining his third cup of coffee.

"So what did you decide to do with your house?" She asked curiously, even though she could guess from the streaks of soot her shrewd eyes had picked up on Al's armour that had missed the cleaning. Ed and Al glanced at each other before Ed cleared his throat.

"We burnt it to the ground." Granny nodded, like she'd expected that answer. Winry's reaction was comical. She blinked a few times before the words made it through her still-sleepy mind before they widened in realisation.

"You did what?!" She wasn't full on shouting but she was certainly sounding like she was about too. It was still way too loud in the quiet kitchen for Ed's liking.

"We burned it to the ground. That way, we wouldn't have anywhere to run too if things get too hard down the track," Ed said, irked he was having to defend his actions about something she had absolutely no say over anyway. The decision on what to do about their house was solely Ed's, Al's and the Animals and if Winry didn't like it than she'd have to deal with it. There was literally no changing their minds now.

"How could you do that to your home? What about all your things? The memories that house held for you? How could you just burn it like it was nothing?! Your dad built it with his bare hands! And where will you go once you've done what you need to do?" Ed felt his eye twitch as he struggled to reel his temper in. Ayala was helping, sending soothing thoughts to him but it was still a massive effort considering his lack of sleep and the fact that this had absolutely nothing to do with Winry. Granny intervened before Ed could do anything.

"That's enough, Winry." Winry turned her glare to her grandmother. Pinako simply glared back, making Winry falter for a moment. "The boys have obviously thought this over for a while. It was their home and therefore, their decision to make. You have no right to question their choice. As for where they'll go once this is over, that's also up to them," she finished sternly.

"But-" Winry was obviously not giving up.

"No 'buts'," Granny snapped, causing Winry to flinch slightly. "Besides, Ed and Al told you what happened with that transmutation. Could you go into that house if you were them?" Ed and Al weren't shocked in the slightest to hear that Granny had figured that out herself, nor were they surprised that Granny was using it to force Winry to stop herself from saying something she might regret later.

Granny knew Winry had fond memories of her own of the house and its owners but she always knew that this decision had belonged to the boys and their Animals alone and she didn't think it gave her a good enough reason to sticking her nose in where it didn't belong. Her stopping Winry from speaking also had the added benefit of stopping an unnecessary yelling match between her and Edward and Pinako was not in the mood for that right now. Winry scowled as she slouched in her chair but she let the subject go, causing Al and Pinako to sigh internally with relief.

Having dealt with Winry and ensuring there'd be no arguing that morning, Granny turned back to the boys and gave them a pointed look. "The two of you had better be heading off soon if you don't want to miss that train," she told them.

"Dunno. Might piss Mustang off which could make my morning infinitely more entertaining." Ed smirked a little tiredly. Pinako hid her amusement well.

"Brother, no," Al sighed.

 _"Brother, yes,"_  Chester told Ed. Ed couldn't cover his snort of amusement.

The differences between Chester and Ayala weren't many, aside from the physical, but that was one way they differed immensely. Ayala was Ed's voice of reason and though that didn't mean she didn't enjoy pranking people or having a good time, she did pull him in line if she thought he was going overboard. Chester was basically Ed. He encouraged Al to get out of his comfort zone and pull pranks or go a bit crazy. Ayala, being privy to any Animal's conversation with her human unless Ed blocked it, gave Chester a look that told him encouraging Ed would not end well for the leopard. Al didn't even want to know what Chester had said to Ed. Even though he technically couldn't, he still leveled Ed with his best glare. Ed got the message.

"Granny, are you and Winry going to come to the station with us?" Al asked the old woman. She shook her head.

"No, Al. Winry wants to go with you but I think I'll stay here." Her back wasn't feeling great and she didn't need to go into town anyway. She knew there would be no persuading Winry to stay home when they left so she never bothered to try. Ed and Al nodded before Edward looked at the clock and sighed. They really had better be going if they wanted to catch the train. Even though it amused him to think of Mustang's reaction if he did miss it, Al wouldn't let him. He stood up and there was a sudden scrabble on either side of him as both Animals and Al followed suit. Winry wasn't too far behind but Granny stayed where she was.

"Thanks for looking after us, Granny. We'll send a message through to Den when we get to East City," Al told her. Ed said a quick thanks too and Granny nodded, telling she'd accepted their gratitude.

"Have a safe trip, boys. Al, Ayala, try keeping Ed out of trouble. Ed, drink your milk." Granny smirked slightly. Ed's reaction was worth the teasing.

"NO WAY I'M DRINKING THAT WHITE POISON, YOU OLD HAG!" Ed screeched at her as his brother wrapped an arm around his middle to stop him launching at Pinako. He continued his mini rant as Al literally carried him and his suitcase through the door with an apology and another thank you directed at Pinako.

Both Chester and Ayala followed behind Al while Winry followed behind the three of them, arguing with Ed about how milk wasn't poison and that he should drink it so he didn't stay a midget forever. Them were fighting words, in Ed's opinion and since he couldn't physically fight Winry thanks to his brother's hold on him, he settled for verbally fighting her. It took the joint efforts of Al and Ayala to calm Ed down and stop Winry from teasing him before Al even attempted setting his older brother down so he could walk by himself. He steadied himself with a huff as he straightened his red jacket and snatched his suitcase from Al before storming ahead, muttering about what Winry could do with her suggestions. Ayala trotted to catch up so she could continue calming him so he wasn't worked up when he got on the train.

* * *

There was a comfortable atmosphere around Winry and Al as they walked but Al soon found it being replaced with something sadder. "Are you sure about this, Al?" Winry asked, her voice small. Al looked at her and considered what he'd say. Of course he wasn't sure. A little over a year ago they had been normal children and now he was a suit of armour and Ed was missing half of his limbs and had joined the military. This shouldn't have even been their life. He didn't want to go traversing across the country, chasing down weak rumours about something that probably doesn't exist with half a hope that they actually find it while his brother was forced to do the military's bidding. He wasn't sure that this was the best thing they could be doing but he knew it was the only thing they could do and it would be a cold day in hell when he let his brother do it all by himself.

"No, I'm not. But I'm still going to do it," Al said honestly. Winry startled. Obviously she was expecting an 'of course I'm sure'.

"Then why? You could stay here with me and Granny! You and Chester would be safe and you can stay in contact with Ed thanks to his abilities. You wouldn't need to risk your blood seal and your life!" Winry argued. She felt guilty for suggesting he even consider leaving Ed and Ayala to do this by themselves but if she couldn't keep both sets of humans and Animals safe, she'd settle for trying to keep one pair safe. To her dismay, Al just shook his head.

"You know I can't," Al chided gently. "I won't let him be by himself with this. I know he has Ayala but he needs me as well, even if he won't admit it, and I need to be with him. You know what he's like when he's latched onto a subject. He'll hole himself up somewhere and tune everything else out. He won't sleep or eat for days on end because he thinks he's close to a breakthrough and that's with stuff that isn't as life changing as this stone is. Plus, he's completely reckless. He acts first and asks questions later. You know that. He needs someone who can physically restrain him if necessary. But the main reason I'm not staying here with you and Granny is because I need him. He's my brother, Winry, and he's going to kill himself trying to right our wrongs and I will not let him shoulder this burden by himself." He didn't sugar coat it. Winry may be their sister in all but blood but she didn't understand. Ed and Al couldn't abandon the other for any reason. No matter the danger, the Elric brothers and their Animals stuck together.

Winry silently accepted defeat. She knew the odds of convincing Al to stay were about as good as getting her grandmother to give up her smoking habit but she still had to try one last time but she knew when to admit defeat. She was disappointed and felt a little betrayed but she knew that was because of her own selfishness, because she just wanted Al to stay so she had a friend near her. Now all she could do was settle for infrequent phone calls or messages from Den and even more infrequent visits. She may not be completely informed about the military and how its run but she knew to expect that Ed and Al wouldn't be given many breaks and considering it took nearly half a day to get to Resembool via train, well, she knew that Ed would want to spend any day off not doing anything or in the library. She glanced at the red-shrouded figure and watched him and his golden wolf walk side by side. She knew that the next time she saw him, he wouldn't be the same person he is now.

* * *

Though Winry and Al didn't say much more to each other, the two of them did come to a silent agreement that they should probably catch up to the volatile blonde to make sure he'd calmed down enough so he wouldn't attack one of the townspeople. However, they didn't have to worry too much as Ayala had done an amazing job calming him down and it was too early for the townspeople to be awake and on the streets just yet, with the exception of those who worked in places like the bakery or train station. Winry glared at the train that was already sitting in the station as if she could make it not leave with her best friends on board. Al took one look at the expression on Winry's face and decided to head to the ticket booth to get his and Ed's tickets verified so he could avoid being dragged into whatever Winry had to say to Ed, convinced it would be something similar to what she'd said to him but he was wrong.

"You had better make sure you look after my automail. Oil it as often as you can and make sure you dry it completely if you get it wet. You'd better contact Den as soon as you get to East City so that we know you're all fine. Make sure you eat lots so you replace what you use with that automail. So help me if I hear about you mistreating my beautiful creations because you're too lazy to perform your daily and weekly checks on it," she snarled, pointing a threatening wrench –  _seriously why the hell does she always have a wrench with her?!_  – at him while he tried to keep himself out of harm's way.

Al sighed as he witnessed the scene before him. He knew this was Winry's way of saying she was worried and that she hoped they stayed safe but this was a bit much, even if Ed did sometimes need the fear of a wrench upside the head to make sure he did look after his automail properly. Al still decided to separate them before any physical damage could be inflicted on someone, likely an innocent bystander if Ed managed to dodge the flying wrench. He knew Ed wouldn't hesitate to drop Winry just because she's a girl. Mercifully, a voice announced that passengers bound for East City were welcome to start boarding.

Winry's good mood at threatening Ed dissolved as soon as she heard that voice. That voice meant the boys and their Animals were going to leave and who knows how long it'd be before she saw them next? This wasn't like when they left for Dublith. Even though she and Granny barely had any contact with them during those two years, they still knew they were safe and being looked after. This time around, all they knew was that Ed and Al would be facing all sorts of unimaginable things and they would only have each other and their Animals to rely completely on. Ed was saying something to Al, probably about needing to board the train, but she wasn't listening. Instead, she found herself latching onto Ed, wrapping her arms behind his neck and squeezing the life out of him. Ed flailed in surprise and awkwardly patted her on the back with his human hand.

"Stay safe, alchemy freak," she whisper-sobbed before she abruptly let him go and threw her arms around Al's middle as much as she could. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid and stay safe as well." Al gave her a small squeeze back; mindful he didn't hurt her in the process. She let go of him and crouched down so she could scratch both Ayala and Chester behind their ears. "Keep them alive, okay?" She would've given them a near-death hug as well but she knew they weren't close enough for that. Animals only accepted hugs from people they were extremely close too. She stood up and wiped the tears from her face. "Well? You better get on that train!" She ordered, glaring at them. Edward had given up trying to understand Winry years ago. There were just some things he didn't need to understand.

"See you next time we see you, Winry," Ed and Al said as they headed to their chosen carriage with a wave. Their Animals followed obediently behind them.

Winry watched them board and waved when Al raised his hand in her direction. Ed did the same thing after a not-so-subtle nudge. She stayed there until the train pulled out of the station and with a final wave, the boys soon disappeared from her sight. Making sure her face was clear of tears, she turned and headed back to her home. She had orders she needed to get working on and she had some ideas for improvements for Ed's automail she needed to get written down.

* * *

The train ride to East City was thoroughly uneventful. Ed napped on Ayala for most of the journey. He felt kinda bad for leaving Al to entertain himself but Al had insisted that he rest while he could so Mustang wouldn't be pissed because he fell asleep the official briefing of his duties and whatnot. Ed did as he was told while Al read the books they'd brought with them. They were originally not going to bring any books since they'd have tons of new material at any library they wanted to access but Winry, surprisingly, having been the one to point out that Al would have nothing to do on the train if Ed fell asleep. There was still roughly an hour of travel time before they were due to arrive when Ed woke up, looking slightly more rested than before. He spent that hour filling Al and Chester in on things he thought his younger brother and Animal should know, namely the team and their Animals. Suddenly, a thought hit Al.

"What happens when we arrive at East City, brother?" Ed turned his head so he was focused on his brother's armour instead of the passing scenery.

"Dunno." He shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "I'm assuming someone will pick us up. Miss Riza did mention something along those lines. Don't worry about it. Worse comes to worse, we'll storm Mustang's office." Ed looked a little too hopeful when he said that.

"Maybe you should contact Nala and see if she knows anything?" Al suggested, hoping to avoid the whole storming thing altogether. Ed muttered something about abusing his abilities but when that didn't seem to change his brother's mind, he gave in and contacted her.

"Hey, Nala? You busy?" He felt Nala's happiness at hearing his voice. She responded immediately.

 _"Of course not. Roy isn't even providing adequate entertainment today. He's actually doing his paperwork instead of trying to find new hiding places or setting it on fire,"_  she informed him sullenly. He chuckled at her plight.

"How dare he?" Ed said, faux offended and Nala laughed at him. "Anyway, do you know if someone is meeting us at the station? My  _brother_ ," Al rolled his eyes at the emphasis on the word, "would like to be sure there is someone meeting us."

 _"I believe you'll be forced to endure Havoc and Mark again. They left only a minute or so ago. I'm assuming you're due to arrive soon?"_  She sent back after a moment. She hadn't heard Mustang actually give the order. Then again, she hadn't really been paying attention to him since he made it past 10:00am without setting something on fire. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't a little out of spite. Ed hummed before speaking.

"Yeah, we're about 15 minutes out. Thanks for letting me know. I'm sure Al's mind will be put at ease now. I'll see you soon, 'kay?" Nala agreed and they both said their goodbyes.

Nala cracked an eye open to see if Roy had suspected anything abnormal happening but, as she hoped, he hadn't. She was rather disappointed but dismissed that feeling soon after. The longer it went without him figuring it out, the funnier it would be. She was almost embarrassed at how happy she was when she'd first heard Ed's voice after a week. She may have only known the boy for a few days but she felt just as protective and worried about him as she did Roy. It was almost like he was her human, only less intense. She couldn't sense his emotions 24/7 and she couldn't prevent him from getting into potentially dangerous situations by using her instincts but nearly everything else was the same; they could talk telepathically, sight share and she'd even be able to pinpoint his location within a certain radiance. She told herself that the uniqueness of Ed's situation was why she felt that way but she knew better. She'd gone and grown attached to the blonde and it didn't help that Roy felt the same way, even if he didn't know it yet.

* * *

Ed passed on Nala's message to Al and watched as Al seemed relax slightly, knowing there would definitely be someone waiting for them at the station and Ed felt guilty for forgetting, even momentarily, that Al was still an 11-year-old boy who only looked like a giant suit of armour. Of course he would've been a little nervous about being in a massive city with no adult to help show them around. But Ed squashed the self-guilt down before it could affect the others on the train and dampen the mood.

The conductor made the announcement that they'd be pulling into East City station momentarily and both boys started packing up their gear, double-checking they had all of Al's books back in Ed's suitcase as the train pulled into the station. Ayala and Chester led the way off the train car and started carving a path through the numerous humans and Animals waiting to board their own trains. Ayala's ears perked up as she heard something and a quick word to both Chester and Ed had them following her as she headed towards whatever she heard. Ed quickly found out that she was now leading them towards Havoc and Mark. Obviously, Nala had been right in her guess of who was picking them up.

Ed grinned as Havoc spotted him and waved enthusiastically at him and Ayala as they approached. Havoc's eyes widened slightly as he spotted Alphonse bringing up the rear of their little group before he smoothed out his expression into a big grin once more. Ed knew that the team had been told that Alphonse wore armour but obviously Mustang hadn't given them any actual description of it, including how tall he was.

"Hey, Havoc," Ed greeted once they were close enough to hear each other over the bustle of the train station. "Hey, Mark." The rooster puffed up slightly when he was greeted and bobbed his head at Ed.

"Good afternoon, Major Elric," Havoc greeted with the required salute and Ed scowled.

"Don't do that," Ed grumbled, causing Havoc to look a little startled. "I didn't join the military because I wanted to be called by a title or any of that stupid shit. Just call me Ed or Edward." Havoc grinned at him, a little relieved he wasn't really in trouble. "Anyway, this is my little brother and his Animal," Ed said, waving a hand at the two.

"Pleasure to meet the two of you," Havoc said, extending an arm to Al. "I'm 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc and this is Mark," he introduced himself before pointing to Mark.

"Alphonse Elric and this is my Sunda Clouded Leopard, Chester," Al said as he gripped Havoc's hand. "It's nice to meet the two of you as well."

"So what's the plan now?" Ed asked, attracting Havoc's attention.

"The bossman wants you two to come 'round to the office so that Alphonse can meet the team and so he can get all the official crap over and done with." Havoc may have changed the wording a bit. He started leading the brothers and Animals out to the waiting car.

"Sounds fun," Ed said sarcastically, causing Havoc laughed at his tone. Al just glared at him, unimpressed with his attitude.

Havoc took the lead and led them out of the train station, expertly weaving himself and them through the crowd without managing to annoy anyone else. They finally made it out onto the street and Havoc brought them over to a car identical to the one he had driven to pick up Ed and Ayala when he was applying to be a State Alchemist. After placing their suitcase in the boot, Ayala, Ed, Al and Chester soon all bundled themselves into the back of the car. It was a little bit tight but they managed to all squeeze in and Havoc pulled out of the station before they found themselves merging with the late-morning traffic.

"So, Alphonse, I hope you don't mind me asking but I'm curious. Why are you wearing a suit of armour?" Both Animals were immediately on alert while Ed's eyes widened in surprise.

Al found himself taken aback and in the uncomfortable situation of having no idea what to say as he and Ed had never even thought about a cover story. The people of Resembool generally kept themselves out of other's business unless it directly involved them so they'd never been asked about Al's armour before now. Ed wanted to facepalm at the idiocy they'd shown. He'd actually managed to forget that Mustang's team, with the only exception being Hawkeye, had no clue about what the brothers had done and therefore had no clue why Al was, for all intents and purposes, wearing a suit of armour. Luckily, Ed could think quickly on his feet and managed to come up with a plausible story.

"He wears it for his alchemy training," he said, tone light as he could make it, face telling Al to roll with it.

"Yeah," Al said, trying to keep his own voice nonchalant, "Teacher has ordered me to wear this until she sees fit," Al added on smoothly. The likelihood of anyone in the military meeting Teacher and being around conscious long enough for them to ask questions about the Elrics was slim to none so they felt safe using her as an excuse.

"Sounds harsh," Havoc commented. He wasn't an alchemist but he did know that different teachers had different methods. However he had never heard of training that entailed making their student wear a suit of armour 24/7.

Ed and Al shrugged; an action Havoc caught in the rear-view mirror. Neither boy commented any further on the subject so he let it drop. Both boys were just relieved when no further questions came forth and the Animals relaxed from their tense positions. The rest of the car ride was silent right up until Al and Chester laid eyes on East City base for the first time. They'd never seen a place so big and busy. Ed had only seen the place a few times but he was still a bit taken aback himself. Havoc, naturally, didn't spare it a second glance as he found the first parking spot he could and pulled in. Everyone climbed out and followed Havoc and Mark, the two Animals trying to take in all the scents they could and the two humans memorising their route like Teacher had trained them to do.

* * *

Ed was greeted with a lot of noise when he finally followed Havoc through the door into the main part of Mustang's office. He gathered from the other's reactions that they were excited to see him again, although he really couldn't fathom why. They'd met like three times previously. He finally put it down to him being the newest member. Hawkeye put a stop to all the noise just before everyone reacted the same way as Havoc when they finally noticed Al. Ed had never been more grateful for a bullet being fired in his presence than in that moment.

"Edward, it's lovely to see you again," Hawkeye greeted, lowering her weapon. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you in to see the colonel now." Hawkeye smiled at him while holstering her weapon. Ed hesitated for a moment. He didn't really want to abandon Al to a group of strangers who didn't know his situation. "The colonel would also like for Alphonse to go with you, if that's agreeable? You can introduce yourself to the team afterwards." Thank Truth for Hawkeye. He knew that Mustang probably hadn't said anything about Al going in with him and he silently thanked Hawkeye for realising the problem and offering a solution. Both boys joined her next to her desk as she turned around and spoke to the others. Ed watched Soren ruffle up his feathers to create some warmth for himself. Ed smirked. He had decided that he'd reveal his talents to the Animals on the team before he was sent on his first mission, whenever that was. Now seemed like a good time to get started.

"Hello, Soren." The poor owl nearly gave himself whiplash as he turned his head so he was looking at Ed instead of his human.

 _"You just spoke to me."_  His eyes were wider than Ed had ever seen on any Animal.

"Yup," Ed agreed. Soren just stared at him in disbelief.

 _"You just spoke to me the way my human would."_  Soren realised he wasn't doing a very good job at showing his species intelligence levels right now but he didn't really care. This human was speaking to him telepathically!

"I did," Ed assured him. Soren wanted to ask so many questions but Ed's attention was grabbed by Hawkeye motioning the Elrics to follow her. "If you have questions, ask Ayala. She can explain while I'm talking to Mustang," he said, not even bothering to look back as he followed Soren's human through the inner office door.

The Barn Owl sat on his makeshift perch in shock until Falman's Manta Ray asked him what was wrong. Without considering whether he should or not, Soren did what he did best; he gossiped. Soon all the other Animals in the office knew about Ed's ability and none of them believed it. Soren didn't take it to heart. No human in the history of ever had been able to speak telepathically to multiple Animals. Soren didn't bother trying to convince them. They'd find out soon enough.

"Hey Nala," Ed greeted the lioness happily. Nala made a happy noise in response. "Mustang," Ed said decidedly less happy.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said back in the same tone as Edward. His eyes flicked over to Alphonse. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Alphonse."

"Likewise, Colonel Mustang, and please just call me Al. This is my Animal, Chester." Al's tone was polite and genuine.

"Nice to finally put a name to the leopard," Mustang said, remembering the less than pleasant first meeting between the six of them. Both Al and Ed heard Chester snort at that. "I don't believe I ever formally introduced her but I'm sure Fullmetal has mentioned her name. This is Nala." He indicated to where Nala had been sitting only to find her sitting next to Ed and Ayala in front of his desk.

"Nice to meet you, Nala," Al greeted warmly. Chester and Nala also greeted each other and with that, everyone had formally met.

"Go have a seat on one of the couches. I'll join you momentarily," Mustang ordered, turning to speak to Hawkeye about something as Ed and Al did as they were told.

Chester took a shine to the back of the couch and decided it would be his spot for the time being, against Alphonse's protests. Once he realised his whispered pleas were useless, Al huffed in surrender and sat right in the corner, taking up nearly a third of the whole couch. Edward let Ayala hop up first so she could get comfortable before he sat himself next to her, effectively wedging her between him and Al.

To his surprise, Nala joined them on the couch, sitting on Ed's other side. It was a bit of a squeeze but they managed. They chatted amongst themselves quietly while waiting for Mustang to get his arse over to the other couch. Al felt a tad left out considering Ed could chat freely to all the Animals and he had to rely on Chester to pass on what was said but he felt that moment pass. Ed's attention was drawn to the sound of the office door closing and turned to face that direction, only to have his view obscured by a pretty spotted coat. He scowled at said coat but turned back to the conversation. Mustang came into his field of vision only a couple seconds later.

* * *

Mustang sat on the vacant couch so he was facing the brothers and their Animals and scowled slightly when he realised his Nala was curled up over with them. He'd known she'd taken a shine to the blonde boy but he couldn't help but feel a little betrayed right now. Nala rolled her eyes at his dramatics and heaved herself off the couch so she could go curl up next to Mustang. As much as she liked Edward, there was more room to stretch over there. Ed was grateful for the lioness moving. It meant he and Ayala could spread out a bit, which they did. Ayala sprawled on the couch so her head was in Ed's lap and her tail thumped lazily on Al's leg. Chester purred in Al's ear and draped his tail on Ed's shoulder.

Mustang watched them get comfortable with a scrutinising gaze. Most Animals didn't like touching other humans if they could help it. However, Chester and Ayala certainly didn't seem to mind the contact they had with their human's brother. He knew the boys were close, it was immediately evident even if you didn't know about Ed's sacrifice for Al, but that didn't mean that the Animals would be as close to the other's human. He'd saved Maes' life multiple times and Leo still didn't like to be as close to him as Chester was to Ed or Ayala to Al. Maybe it was because Ed and Al were actual brothers and had gotten their Animals at roughly the same age? He didn't know but he was still curious but he also knew that that curiousity would have to wait.

"As I promised," he started saying, his voice drawing the boys full attention, "Al will be allowed to accompany you on missions, Fullmetal." He decided to start with the conditions to Ed's most important request so he could get it out of the way. "Alphonse and Chester can accompany you on any mission they'd like unless the Fuhrer or I state otherwise. The only reason I can foresee that Al would be required to stay behind is if the mission requires complete stealth. While you could change your clothes and hair colour, Alphonse can't change his armour to something less conspicuous." Ed wanted to protest as soon as Mustang had mentioned there'd be times that Al couldn't go with him but a combination of Mustang's reasoning and his wolf telling him that starting an argument would be stupid stopped him. He hated that she was right.

"Fine," Ed grumbled. "If those sorts of assignments come up, Al can stay here and research or go back to Granny's while I'm gone." Ed glanced at Al while he spoke and he gave a slight nod of his metal head.

"Very well," Mustang said. "As you know, you have the rank of a Major and all the benefits that come with it, Fullmetal. That means that you'll have to follow any orders given by officers of a higher rank than you. As a State Alchemist though, you do get the option of refusing orders if you have a legitimate reason. However, I must caution you. Don't refuse orders just because you don't feel like following them. The military will investigate the reasons you give and I won't cover for you unless I have a good reason too," he warned and Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Mustang wouldn't cover for him if it didn't further his cause in some way so the little warning was unnecessary. Al, however, had some questions.

"Why would brother need to refuse orders? I thought soldiers had to follow every order given to them," Al asked, confused.

"Well, despite what your brother boasts, he probably can't perform every type of alchemy. Some officials won't look for an alchemist that has the specific alchemic specialty for what's required, they'll just order the nearest alchemist to do what they want," he answered Al while Ed scowled at the kind-of insult. He aimed the rest of his speech at Edward. "If you can't do the alchemy required, you can refuse the order. If you're about to head out on another mission that requires you to catch a train or complete it within a certain time frame, you can refuse an order. If you believe following the order would result in unnecessary damage or danger to the public or military and the higher-up won't be reasoned with, you can refuse the order. The only other reason for refusing an order would be that you've been given conflicting orders from another officer or your orders come from me or the Fuhrer. As your commanding officer, I get first say in where you go and what orders you follow. The only way my orders to any of my subordinates gets overridden is if the Fuhrer says so." Edward hadn't broken eye contact while Mustang was speaking. He was fully prepared to commit everything Mustang told him to memory. He needed to make sure he never slipped up. If he did, the military might get suspicious and he might get investigated and Al might get discovered. So, while he didn't like Mustang and he liked the military even less, he was going to make sure he never gave them a reason to investigate him or Al. Mustang's attention turned back to Al.

"However, Alphonse, as you are not an official member of the military, you are not required to follow any orders given to you. In fact, it would be best if you don't follow any orders someone gives you. You can shadow your brother and help him or whatever but don't follow any orders given directly to you. If people believe you to be the Fullmetal Alchemist, correct them. Don't take orders on behalf of Edward. Do you understand?" Mustang asked. Al was a bit confused but Edward had a feeling he knew what Mustang was saying in between the lines.

"One of us being forced to take orders from the military is bad enough, Al. Don't let them think they own both of us." He knocked his fist on Al's shoulder and gave him a small smile.

"Okay, brother," Al agreed. Mustang was happy with how smoothly this was going. So far, so good.

"Good. Glad we agree. Let's continue." The next couple of hours were going over all the things that Mustang and Ed had already discussed, mainly for Al's benefit but Mustang didn't think a refresher would hurt Ed. By the end of it, Mustang was fighting the urge to yawn. Edward wasn't even bothering.

"Is that everything?" Ed asked, a little cranky. He was really tired still.

"One last thing. You won't take on any missions or assignments until your first lot of research grants go into your account," Mustang told him. "We've had some issues because of your age but we're hoping it'll be sorted within a couple of days. The military has put you two in a dorm on the base, which I will gladly show you now if you'd like?" Mustang couldn't hide the faint hope in his voice.

"Anything to get out of paperwork huh?" Ed smirked at him. Mustang scowled as Nala laughed.

The Animals and Ed hoped off the couch and stretched their sore muscles out and headed for the door, Al following happily. Mustang and Nala followed Al after stretching out their own cramped muscles. Hawkeye leveled him with a knowing look when he made his appearance.

"Havoc, hand over your keys. I'm gonna go show the Elric's where they're set up," Mustang ordered, purposefully ignoring Hawkeye. Havoc handed them over without any protest. "And no smoking in the office, you know that." Havoc gave a guilty grin as he put the freshly lit smoke out.

"I'm sure you'll be back in a timely manner to finish your paperwork, Sir," Hawkeye said, tone clipped and disapproving. Ed really had to struggle to keep a straight face.

"Of course, Lieutenant," Mustang flippantly replied. Ed noticed Soren watching him.

"I'm sorry I can't stick around. I didn't expect Mustang to want to escort us to the dorms. I have a feeling he'll have me back again tomorrow so we can talk then, okay?" He asked the owl, using their brand-new connection.

 _"Don't worry. Riza and I knew what he planned to do. He thought he was being sneaky about it. We can talk later,"_  the owl replied, amused. Ed flashed him a grin as they left. He realised that Al hadn't had the chance to introduce himself to the team but he figured that would be part of the excuse Mustang would give to have them come back tomorrow.

* * *

They were halfway back to Havoc's car when all three Animals suddenly went on high alert. Nala must've told Mustang what was going on because he got this expression on his face like he'd suddenly prefer doing paperwork than face whatever was coming. Ayala and Chester couldn't give any insights, only telling their respective humans that someone unpleasant was approaching. Mustang never said anything, just continued walking like nothing had happened. The brothers simply exchanged looks and followed in his wake.

The problem soon made itself known in the form of a military soldier. The man looked to be around Mustang's age, with greasy looking hair and beady eyes. Ed studied Mustang's face and was surprised to see the look of disdain on it. From what he knew of Mustang in their brief time in Central, Mustang never let his true feelings for anyone show through his impassive mask. The soldier stopped in front of Mustang and offered a salute that Ed guessed would've only  _just_  passed regulations. He then glanced at Ed and Al before an amused expression flitted across his features.

"Ah Colonel Mustang. I didn't know you were in charge of showing school children around the base." The man's voice had an oily tone to it. Ed felt Nala hold back a growl. Ed would've been impressed with the thinly veiled insult had the dude not been giving off extreme creeper vibes.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Archer. I forgot you were still here in East City," Mustang drawled, seemingly unfazed by Archer's attitude. "You obviously haven't heard the news. This is my newest subordinate, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." He clapped a hand on Ed's automail shoulder.

Archer couldn't keep the surprise and recognition off his face. Archer looked over Ed with calculating eyes and Ed had to both repress a shudder and stop Ayala from trying to eat the guys intestines. He did not like being on the end of that look. He even felt the small portion of Mustang's hand on the remaining flesh part of his shoulder clench a little tighter.

"So you're the new State Alchemist all the bases seem to be talking about," Archer said, looking Ed up and down. "I knew you were young but I didn't realise Colonel Mustang would even consider recruiting a child. And this must be your wolf. I'd heard the Fullmetal Alchemist had a golden wolf but I figured the rumours were just that, rumours." He eyed Ayala up like he was considering if she'd make a good floor rug. Ayala let out a feral snarl, lip curled and teeth gnashing.

" _Easy, Aya,"_  Ed whispered to her, holding her back.

"You might want to train your Animal to have some better manners, especially towards superior officers like myself," Archer sneered and Ed was beyond tempted to let Ayala at him. Funnily enough, Archer didn't seem to notice the leopard with his hackles raised and back arched.

"Superior arse, maybe," Ed muttered to himself. He was obviously loud enough for Mustang to have heard him because he saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. Speaking loud enough for Archer to hear him, he spoke to Ayala. "Ayala, stop wasting your energy snarling at the lieutenant colonel." Normally Ed wasn't this rude to people he'd just met but there was just this seriously wrong feeling he got whenever Archer looked his way.

Said man narrowed his eyes at what he thought was an insult. He wasn't wrong. Archer flicked his gaze over to Al and took in the armour. He'd heard that the Fullmetal Alchemist would be around today, hence why he was hanging out in this corridor. He'd planned on introducing himself to the kid and offering him the chance to switch over to his command. He'd been prepared to manipulate the boy since it wasn't known how he felt about his current CO. If the boy was half as powerful and intelligent as the rumours said, Archer would be able to use him to beat Mustang to the top of the military ladder. He hadn't expected to see a walking suit of armour though. He was distracted by a large shape landing to perch on the open window ledge.

"Ah, Drew. You're just in time to meet the newest State Alchemist," he said to what was obviously his Animal. Ed peered around Mustang for a better look and recognised the general species of bird that was sitting on the sill, like it owned the place. Obviously, human and Animal were having a conversation which ended when the massive bird turned its head to scrutinise Edward.

"That's your Animal?" Ed couldn't stop himself from asking. Archer looked proud.

"Yes. This is Drew. He is a Griffon Vulture." He gave the bird's head a pat while he seemed to preen in Edwards surprised tone.

"Didn't know Animals could resemble their humans so closely." Mustang decided it was time to go. While he enjoyed watching Archer being on the receiving end of Ed's semi-veiled insults, the man was dangerous and he'd rather Edward stayed as far away from him as he could.

"As pleasant as this has been," Mustang's tone said the complete opposite, "we really must be going." Ed didn't even bother arguing. He wanted Al and himself to be as far away from that man as possible. Without offering a goodbye, Mustang pushed both boys forward slightly so they'd start walking forwards.

"It's been a pleasure, Edward. I look forward to talking to you again." Archer's voice called back to them. Ed didn't bother repressing the shudder that voice invoked. Talking to Archer was definitely not on his to-do list anywhere in the near future.

 _"Not fucking likely."_  Ed was surprised to hear his Animal swear. Normally she didn't.

Ayala was walking right against his left leg. Nala had situated herself on his right, though she was closer to Mustang than she was Ed. Chester's hackles had finally gone down and was walking on Al's right. They made it to the car in silence before Mustang removed the hand Ed had forgotten was on his shoulder. They clambered in the car since the dorms were a decent distance away and Archer had wasted enough of their time. At least, that's what Mustang said.

"Are you okay, brother?" Al asked, voice so quiet Ed almost didn't hear him.

"Course I am. Takes more than a creep with a vulture to rattle your older brother." Ed grinned at him.

He ignored how Mustang's eyes flicked in the rear-view mirror to watch him for a moment. Truth be told, he was freaked out. He hadn't even been in the military a fortnight and he already had to face someone as chilling as that. But it'd do no good for Al to worry about him. It was only half a minute later that they got their first glimpse of the military dorms. They didn't look like much but Ed supposed the military wasn't really forking out money for their soldiers to have a five-star experience here. Ed wasn't fussy where he slept, so long as he got to sleep. They all climbed out of the now parked car and once again, the Elrics followed Mustang. Mustang fished out two separate keys and handed one to Al and used the second key open the door to room 107 before handing it to Ed.

"Welcome to your new home," he said dryly as the door creaked open. Al and Ed headed in right away.

The room was slightly bigger than they'd expected but that was about all that was good about it. It had two king-sized beds on opposite sides of the walls with a large dog bed beside each bed, obviously for the occupants Animals. There was a little kitchen that had the bare necessities; a kettle, coffee, microwave, sink and small fridge. Ed saw a closed door and assumed it was the bathroom and toilet. That was literally it. Ed mentally shrugged, he doubted he'd be spending much time here anyway so he didn't care how minimal it was. Al went in to investigate the place further, taking Ed's suitcase with him. Ed went to follow when Mustang grabbed his flesh arm and led him to just beside the door frame.

"What gives?" Ed scowled. Mustang's grip was probably going to leave bruises.

"You need to make sure you steer clear of Archer," Mustang said, voice deadly serious. Ed pulled his arm from his grip.

"I planned on it." He frowned, rubbing his arm. Mustang felt a tiny twinge of guilt for grabbing him so roughly but he needed Ed to understand.

"Archer and I have never seen eye-to-eye. He is someone who relishes the idea of war. He enjoys the horrors that war brings and has this dream of becoming a war hero. To do this, he believes he needs an extremely powerful alchemist under his control. He will likely try to bring you under his command. He may not seem it but he is very dangerous. He is not afraid to hurt or kill people to achieve his goals. Do you understand what I'm saying?" The kid had barely joined the military and Archer had already marked him as a possible tool or threat to be eliminated. "I'd hoped you'd go through your entire military career without ever meeting him. He's never approached my team but I should've known he'd try something with you. You need to be careful. He's not known for taking 'no' for an answer. He's going back to his own base tomorrow morning so he won't be a problem for a while, hopefully." Mustang spoke as quickly and quietly as he could.

"I get it," Ed said. "Trust me, Ayala and I can tell he's extremely bad news. We aren't going near him if we have a choice, I can assure you of that," Ed told him.

"Good," Mustang breathed a sigh of relief. "Speaking of Ayala, though. You need to make sure neither of you ever act like that in front of someone who is a higher rank than you. Snarling at someone above Ed's rank is considered a threat and the officer can and will more than likely court-martial Edward for your behaviour," Mustang told Ayala before turning back to Ed. "Talking back to them or insulting them is considered insubordination. You could be court martialled for that and, trust me, that is the last thing you want to risk getting." Edward didn't bother looking ashamed of how he'd acted. Neither did Ayala. She got her point across.

"We'll keep that in mind," he promised and Ayala nodded her head in agreement. Mustang realised that was probably the best he'd get from either of them.

"Let's go back in the room before your brother thinks something's up," Mustang said.

Once Ed had sat on a bed, Mustang gave them directions to places he thought they'd need to know; the mess, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Before he left he told Ed that Fuery would be by in the morning to escort him to the office so that Alphonse could finally introduce himself. Ed nodded his acceptance and internally celebrated the fact that he was right about the excuse Mustang would use.

* * *

Now that they were left to their own devices, Ed gave himself a tour of their assigned room. Ayala took one look at the small mattress and refused to consider it proper bedding. Chester was excited since he'd either have the choice of the extra bed or the lounge to camp on, depending on where Al decided to set up his spot for the night. After a few minutes of rifling through the kitchen cupboards to see if there was anything to eat in there, Ed declared a shopping trip was in order. He'd found an electric frying pan and a toaster plus cutlery but no food. That would not do so after spending a couple of minutes to dig their remaining money out of Ed's suitcase, both boys and Animals left to follow Mustang's instructions to the nearest grocery store.

It took them a little longer than it should've since they made a couple of wrong turns but they finally reached their destination. Al may not need to eat but that didn't mean he was going to let his brother subside off of junk food for the entirety of his military career, making him buy healthy food as well as a few less healthy snacks. Ed grumbled but didn't protest since Al bargained the fresh food in exchange for not buying or forcing Ed to drink milk.

The trip back to their dorm was a lot quicker, even with them carrying their newly purchased food. Ed told Al and Chester what Mustang had told him and Ayala about Archer. He didn't want to since Al would just worry but he also didn't want Al to not know how dangerous Mustang believed the man to be. While Ed planned on avoid the man as much as humanly possible, there was the slight chance they'd come face to face with him again considering how much Ed and Al would be travelling in the near future and he didn't want Al to be unprepared for anything. Al and Chester were both shocked with what Ed told them and expressed their concerns.

"We can't worry about him, guys. I'm sure it'll be a long time before we run into him again. I have a feeling Mustang won't be sending me on any missions near him if he can help it. He doesn't want to lose his newest political tool, after all," Ed assured them. He knew Mustang would never risk him being poached by anyone and he knew that Mustang would never intentionally place him near someone who he knew to be a threat to his position in the military and showed an unnerving interest in Ed.

Al hummed, temporarily satisfied with Ed's logical outlook. Al didn't like his brother referring to himself as a tool though. Plus, Al had a sneaking suspicion that Mustang didn't think of Ed as simply a means to an end. Not with the way that Mustang had placed his hand on Ed's shoulder. It could've been seen as a simple possessive placement or even a way to hold Ed back from hitting the man or saying something that would end with him in hot water but Al and Chester secretly suspected there was a bit more to it than that. Although, Al mused, it might just be his imagination. After all, Ed and the Colonel had only really known each other for a couple of weeks.

* * *

They reached their dorm room at around 6:30, just as the sun had finally set, and were surprised to find Fuery and Kara waiting at their door. Ed grinned at the now second youngest member of Mustang's team and called out a greeting. He liked the bespectacled man. They'd spoken about different technical things the man was working on before Ed had returned to Resembool and Fuery had seemed grateful to talk to someone who understood what he was saying and Ed appreciated the fact that the slightly older man had been patient when he explained something Ed hadn't quite understood. Still, the black-haired man smiled nervously and lifted a hand in a half-hearted greeting while Kara called out a greeting.

"Hey, Fuery, Kara. What's up?" Ed asked as they reached their front door. Fuery's eyes flicked curiously at Al before he answered, nerves showing in his voice.

"Not much. I heard from the colonel you'll be staying near me and thought I'd come see how you were doing and if you needed anything." Kara gave him a soft peck, something Ed assumed was an affectionate gesture.

"Really? How far away are you? And we're good now that we've got some food." Ed grinned. No one except Al and Mustang were privy to just how much Ed loved his food. Fuery seemed to relax now that he knew he wasn't being blown off or anything.

"Four doors up. Room 111," Fuery said, pointing in the direction of his room. "And good choice going grocery shopping. The mess is only good if you're desperate and have absolutely no other choice," Fuery laughed. He wasn't kidding though. Last time he ate something there, he was crook for nearly four days. Ed suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! You two haven't met yet," Ed said. "Al, this is Sergeant Kain Fuery and his Animal, Kara. Fuery, this is my younger brother Alphonse and his Animal, Chester," he introduced them and Fuery automatically put his hand out for Al to shake, a gesture Al returned.

"It's nice to meet you, Alphonse, Chester." Fuery smiled at them. He didn't seem put off by the armour or the fact said armour was nearly 7 feet tall, which was something Ed was pleased to notice.

"You too, Sergeant Fuery, Kara. Ed told me about the stuff you guys talked about. It sounded really fascinating," Al replied, ever polite while Chester and Kara exchanged their own greetings.

Edward had opened up their door while Al was talking and gestured for Fuery to go in since he needed to put the groceries that were slowly cutting circulation in his left hand off down somewhere. Fuery accepted the invite with some hesitation but Ed's invite for him to sit on the couch while he put stuff away helped with that. His attention turned back to Al as the boy finished talking.

"You really think so? Most people aren't that interested in what I do so long as it gets done," Fuery remarked.

"We're not most people," Ed assured him, head stuck in the fridge as he put cold things away. Al remembered his manners.

"Would you like something to drink, Sergeant Fuery?" Al asked, stopping what he was doing and facing the young man.

"Please, just call me Fuery. And no, thank you. I should really be heading to my own dorm. Gotta start cooking our dinner." Fuery smiled, grateful for the offer and stood so he could leave. Ed finally finished in the fridge and looked at him.

"Okay but you and I have to talk sometime tomorrow. I wanna know how that project of yours turned out," he requested as he moved to the last of the grocery bags.

"No worries." Fuery smiled, happy Ed had remembered what he was working on and was curious about the results. "It was nice meeting you, Al and Chester. I'll see you guys in the morning. Mustang did say that I'd be the one showing you the way to the office if you walk, right?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Yup, he told us. We'll see you tomorrow," Ed assured him. Fuery nodded and headed out, closing the door behind him. The two brothers finished the unpacking in silence before Ed contemplated the most important choice he had to make today; what was for dinner. He decided on spaghetti Bolognese and started cooking as Al put away everything that was non-food items. Ayala and Chester were in the kitchen, ever hopeful Ed would drop some food.

"Sergeant Fuery seems nice," Al remarked as he sat at the small table near the kitchen.

"Yeah, he's a good bloke. He's good to have a chat too. You learn a lot of stuff about technology from him," Ed said as he moved about in the kitchen. "And call him Fuery, Al. You heard him." He pointed the wooden spoon at his little brother, making Al held up his hands in mock surrender. Ed turned back and put the pasta in the microwave, mentally cursing the fact that there was no oven or stove top to boil the pasta with like a normal fucking human.

Ten minutes later, he had a decent looking version of spaghetti Bolognese in front of him and the Animals and all three dug in with gusto. After dinner there was a brief argument over Al doing the dishes, which Al had won. He and Ed had always followed the rule 'you cook, you clean' but Al had decided that Ed wasn't allowed to clean after dinner since Al couldn't cook anyway. Without a sense of smell of taste, he couldn't tell if something was burning or had too much salt in it. So he forced Ed to accept the new rule and go for a shower.

While Ed didn't like cleaning up, he also didn't like breaking the few routines they still had from when they were kids. Fed and cleaned, Ed collapsed on his bed, suddenly feeling the exhaustion that comes with travelling and moving into a new place. Ayala laid down next to him and Al claimed the bed, forcing Chester to sleep on the couch, not that the big cat minded. Al flicked the lights off and after a barely coherent good night to his brother, Ed passed out.

* * *

Fuery collected them at 6:30am sharp. Ed grabbed an apple on his way out, even though he'd just eaten a huge breakfast, and all for occupants of dorm 107 followed the Sergeant through the dorm buildings. Once in the open, Kara took off from Fuery's shoulder and flew out of sight. From Fuery's lack of concern, this was a normal thing for the Pied Crow to do. The boys and Fuery chatted about how their first night in the dorm was.

Al mentioned how noisy East City was and Fuery could sympathise. He'd come from a quiet town as well and could remember his first night. After reassuring Al he'd get used to it in a few days, he asked Ed the same thing. Ed just said that he slept like a log which Fuery presumed was because he'd recently spent time in East and Central City so was a little more used to it than his brother. They reached Mustang's office at 7 and Ed noticed that everyone bar Mustang and Nala were present. Judging by the looks Hawkeye kept sending the clock, Mustang was running late. Speak of the devil and he shall appear though. Mustang waltzed through the door, Nala just behind him.

"You're late, sir." Hawkeye's clipped voice informed the man. The man didn't even have the decency to look apologetic.

"I got caught in some traffic, Hawkeye," he lied smoothly.

"Havoc managed to get here on time and he lives close to you." Hawkeye's words told him she didn't believe him for a second. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. Your paperwork's on your desk." The 'don't bother whining' tone was very effective since all Mustang did was pull a face but head to do it anyway. Ed looked disappointed with the lack of reaction. Havoc noticed.

"Don't worry. Most mornings he's late it's not that civil," the blonde smoker soothed the boy. Ed grinned at him.

Finally having a chance too, he introduced Al and Chester to everyone he hadn't met yet. Like Fuery, none of the other's mentioned Al's armour or asked why he wore it. Ed had a sneaking suspicion that Havoc had told them the bullshit excuse they'd given him the day before. He sat next to Fuery and listened to the man tell him about how his project had ended up and what he was working on next. Al was talking to Falman and the others were busy working. Once Fuery had gotten the warning glance from Hawkeye, Ed got the chance to speak to Soren again.

The barn owl had all sorts of questions that Ed happily answered, with the exception of one. Soren had been disappointed that Ed wouldn't tell him how he'd gotten the new abilities but he hadn't pushed. Pretty soon the other Animals realised something was going on and demanded Soren tell them. Ed decided to simply let all the Animal's know in one go what he could do and some of the reactions were hilarious. Apparently, they hadn't believed Soren when he'd told them about Ed's abilities the previous day. Their reactions to the news were severe enough that their humans had noticed something was up and looked at their Animals with concern.

Ed spent most of the morning conversing with each Animal separately at some point. Rachel, Falman's ray, had been the one who was the most chill about Ed's abilities. Dubuffet had been extremely disbelieving, even after Ed spoke to him but by the end of the morning, he was one of the chattiest Animals. Fairly soon, Mustang had shown himself again and announced he was taking his lunch break. Ed and Al followed him out with a wave goodbye to everyone.

"Is there something I can help you with, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked without even turning around to face them.

"Yeah. Where's the library?" Ed asked immediately. He hadn't been able to ask anyone else.

"The library isn't near where I want to go for lunch. I can't show you," Mustang told him. He did only have a certain amount of time for lunch and Hawkeye wouldn't be so nice to him if he came back late for the second time today.

"First off, rude. Secondly, I didn't ask you to show us," Ed scoffed. "Nala, have you been there before?" Nala nodded her head. Mustang interrupted his next question.

"She's not going with you," Mustang exclaimed. Ed ignored him.

"Do you remember how it smelled?" Another nod. "Can you describe it to Ayala and Chester, please?" Nala caught on and did as requested. Last question. "Which direction is the library in?"

"Head that way," Mustang said, even though Ed was talking to Nala, and pointed in the direction of the library, having figured out what Ed was doing. Since Mustang refused to escort the brothers, they were doing the next best thing. They were going to find it with the two bits of information they got from the colonel and lioness.

 _"Okay, she's told us everything,"_  Ayala told him.

"Sweet as," Ed said in response. "Come on, Al. We've got a library to get to. Thanks, Nala!" Ed exclaimed as he and Ayala raced each other.

"Brother, wait for me! Thank you, Colonel Mustang and Nala." He bowed slightly in their direction before he and Chester were chasing after the other two. Mustang was impressed with the lack of noise Al made when moving at faster speeds. Mustang almost felt sorry for the librarians.

"Come on, Nala. Let's go get some lunch before Hawkeye shoots me." The lioness huffed in laughter as she followed her human.

* * *

Meanwhile, Al had finally caught back up with his brother and wolf. They all slowed down to a walk so they could take in their surroundings so they could find their way back to the dorm, or at least Mustang's office, from there they could find the dorms easily enough.

"Did you have to be rude to the Colonel, Ed?" Al sounded exasperated.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ed denied. He wasn't rude to Mustang. He just wasn't as polite as he could've been.

"Brother," Al sighed.

"What? It wasn't like he was the picture of politeness either!" Ed exclaimed. Ed could feel the flat look Al would've given him but thankfully Al just dropped the subject. Ed didn't see the point in showing someone more respect than what they show you and Alphonse knew that. Al was worried that this attitude might get Ed into trouble in the future but he also held on to the hope that Ayala would pull him into line when needed.

Ayala and Chester finally caught a hold of the scent Nala had described to them and both brothers moved with more vigour. They soon found themselves in a building that was almost the size of their dorm building, only much grander looking. Both brothers stood in front of the building and stared at it in awe and excitement. They knew there'd be more books in that library than they'd ever read and seen in their lives. Ed was the first to move. He flashed the soldier guarding the entrance his pocket-watch and both boys and Animals got their first look at the closest thing to heaven was.

Books lined hundreds of shelves as far as the eye could see. There were two levels to the library and several tables scattered throughout, obviously for those who planned to spend the whole day researching. They must've been standing there for a little too long because a librarian approached them. She was a larger woman with a pleasant face and nice smile. Her brunette hair was tied back in a braid and she carried some books she was obviously about to place in their spots when she spotted the two boys. Her name tag said her name was Allysha.

"May I help you two?" She adjusted her hold on the books and a squawk on her shoulder drew their attention to a medium sized bird that was a pretty mix of blue and purple. "Sorry, Bruce," she apologised to the bird. She turned her attention back to the blonde and the suit of armour.

"Ah, yes. Can you show us the section that would have information on the Philosopher's Stone please?" Ed asked, still looking at the mountains of books in front of him. Allysha frowned in thought.

"I'm not sure we have any books that discuss that topic but if we did, they'd be this way. Please follow me," she asked and spun on her heel and headed for the staircase leading to the second level. The boys and Animals followed dutifully behind her. They heard the blue and purple bird make a lot of noise; whistles, clicks, rings and other such noises.

"You're getting so good at those noises, Brucey!" Allysha said excitedly. Bruce fluffed himself up with pride.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Al got her attention. The librarian turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.

"Yes?" She asked as Bruce evidently decided her other shoulder was better spot and used her braid as a rope to achieve his goal.

"What type of bird is your Animal, if you don't mind me asking?" She smiled at him.

"I don't mind," she assured them. "He's a Princess Parrot," she said. Al looked a tad confused.

"We've never heard of them." She looked understanding.

"Yeah they're not written in every bird book for some reason." She sounded resigned.

"Why was he mimicking noises? I don't think I've met any type of bird who's tried mimicking any noise," Al asked curiously.

"Neither have I," Ed admitted. He was curious to know as well.

"He likes the noises and since there's not much of interest to a bird in the library, he does it to keep himself amused," she explained, coming to a stop in front of some really old looking books. "Here we are. If there's any information on the Philosopher's Stone, it'd be on these shelves. Please come find me if you need any more help." She smiled and turned to resume what she was doing before.

"Just one question, Miss," Ed said before she left. She looked at him for him to continue. "What time does the library close?"

"We don't," she said before explaining. "The libraries State Alchemists use throughout the country are kept open 24/7 since some alchemists might need information straight away at night. And please, call me Allysha. Was that all?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you. I'm Edward, or the Fullmetal Alchemist. This is my brother, Alphonse, my wolf, Ayala, and his leopard, Chester," Ed introduced them all. Allysha didn't react to him calling himself the Fullmetal Alchemist and Ed presumed that was because she'd heard the rumours that a kid had joined the military. She also didn't question or look twice at Al's armour, simply smiled at him.

"It's lovely to meet all of you. Please come and find me or have one of your Animals contact Bruce if you need any help." With that, she headed back down the staircase and the boys turned their attention to vast amounts of books in front of them. Both brothers took a moment to stand in front of the books and take in the sight before they started pulling books that looked promising and piling them on the nearest table.

A couple hours later, Allysha walked past them to return some books to their rightful places and found them pouring over some books, hidden behind two piles of books. She had a feeling that this might be a common sight and left them to it. When she finished her shift a few more hours later, the boys were still nose deep in their books. She figured they'd leave soon enough and headed home, Bruce taking the opportunity to stretch his wings.

* * *

When she came back in for her shift the next day, she was a little concerned to find both boys in the same spot as they were yesterday when she'd left. She just hoped they'd gone home and come back for an early start. They were the only people, aside from employees, in the library but that was a normal day for the librarians. The library was predominately for State Alchemists and there weren't a lot of them stationed in East City.

Around 10 in the morning she answered a phone call from Colonel Mustang's office asking after the Elric brother's. Considering Edward had introduced Al as his brother yesterday and they were the only ones in the library, Allysha informed the lady on the other end of the line that they were still here. The lady thanked her and hung up.

20 minutes later, a red-headed, stocky man turned up. He wasn't a State Alchemist, judging from the lack of pocket-watch so Allysha was curious as to why he was here. "Can I help you?" She approached the man, who stopped his searching look to give her his attention.

"Yes. Can you show me where the Elric brothers are please? I have orders from Colonel Mustang for them." She gestured for him to follow her and lead him to the table the boys had claimed as their own. They found them exactly how she'd seen them when she started this morning. The one wearing the armour had been the one to spot the soldier first.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Breda," Al greeted the man who grinned at him. Ed didn't show any sign of hearing the exchange. Ayala turned her golden eyes on the man and watched him, which unnerved him slightly.

"Good morning, Alphonse. Colonel Mustang has asked that Fullmetal accompany me back to his office," Breda informed him and Al nodded.

"Ed," he said, poking his brother's flesh shoulder. No reaction. "Edward." Still nothing except for the blonde turning the page. "Edward Elric!" Al's voice was raised slightly. Ed did nothing. Al sighed. "A little help, Ayala. I think he's gone deep this time," he asked.

Allysha was staring at the group in amusement and amazement. She'd never seen someone so effectively tune out the world when they read. She wondered if Ed could give her tips. Ayala huffed in amusement and turned her gaze from the Lieutenant to her human and stared at him. Breda wasn't sure what the wolf did but it caused Ed to startle and look up.

"Oh, hey Breda. When'd you get here?" Said man grinned at him.

"About five minutes ago. Mustang wants you in his office. Says he has something important to tell you," the man explained. Ed frowned a little.

"Wouldn't it have been more efficient for him to ask Nala to ask Ayala to tell me rather than send you out here?" It sounded a lot easier to Ed. Breda shrugged a shoulder.

"Probably but I'm not complaining. Gets me out of work for a bit." He flashed a good-natured grin at Ed who returned it and stood to start packing up his things. Allysha stepped forward.

"Don't worry about packing your books away. I'm assuming you plan on heading back here after this meeting?" Two nods confirmed her suspicion. "Then leave your books where they are. No one will disturb them while you're gone and it'll save you getting them back out," she promised.

"Thank you, Miss Allysha," both boys said gratefully.

"It's no problem," she assured them. "I assume you remember the way out?" Breda nodded and they headed off while she placed a note on the table so the other librarians wouldn't move their books.

* * *

The walk back to the office was a little longer than both boys remembered but then again they had ran most of the way to the library the previous day. They'd re-joined Breda's Animal, Du, at the bottom of the libraries staircase. Evidently, the little pig had decided to wait there rather than struggle up the stairs. They suspected Breda was going as slow as possible to draw out his freedom as much as he could.

They eventually made it back to the office though and as soon as both boys were through the door, Hawkeye was ushering them into Mustang's inner office before they had time to say a proper hello to everyone else. Mustang barely looked up from his paperwork, just gave them an order to sit on the couch and wait. Ed and Al had a sneaking suspicion that Mustang was behind on his paperwork considering how fast he was getting through and the warning look on Hawkeye's face before she left the office. At least Nala was happy to see them both.

 _"Hey, guys. How'd you find the library?"_  She asked, heading over to their couch to take up her spot next to the blonde.

"We found it easily. Thanks for telling Ayala and Chester what to look for," Ed told her.

 _"It was no problem. Is there any helpful information there?"_  She asked curiously. Ed looked a little unhappy at the question though.

"Not really. What we've found is mainly just rumours or theories that wouldn't work or things we already knew from that arsehole's journals. But we're not giving up. Even if East City doesn't hold the answers, Central or another library might." Edward may be the pessimistic brother but he refused to be anything but optimistic about finding a way to Al his body back. Nala could admire that.

 _"That's the spirit. I'm sure you'll find the answers,"_  she said encouragingly. Ed smiled at her in thanks just as Mustang signed the last of his papers for now with a flourish.

"Finally done. I'll be back in a moment." He gathered up the papers and headed out of the office, presumably to give them to Hawkeye. He was back within twenty seconds. He sat down on the opposite couch. "First things, were you in the library all night?"

"Yeah. So? There's no rule against it and Miss Allysha told us the library didn't close," Ed was immediately on the defensive.

"I'm assuming this will probably become a habit?" Mustang asked, ignoring Ed's defensive tone.

"More than likely," Al admitted when Ed didn't say anything.

"I can't really stop you from pulling all-nighters at the library. Well, I could technically order the librarians not to let you in but I won't because that would negate our deal. All I ask is that Ayala or Chester tells Nala so she can inform me so that I'm not sending men on a wild goose chase to hunt you down." Mustang had this fascinating way of making a request sound like an order.

"Fine, whatever. Is that all you wanted to talk to us about? If so, we've got research to get back too," Ed said, half-rising from his seat.

"No, that's not all." Ed sat back down with an irritated sigh. "Your bank accounts been finalised," he told him. Ed looked at Al and they both were fairly certain they knew what that meant.

"So that means...?" Ed left the question unfinished, needing Mustang to confirm their suspicions.

"You can now officially go on missions. I've already been sent several requests from other officers but I think I've found one you'll be happy with. There's been rumours of a red stone in the town over from where you'll be heading," Mustang said as he collected the file from his desk.

"So where are you sending us?" Ed asked, golden eyes alight with determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The double-postings will be happening for the foreseeable future as I'd like to have chapter 25 of this posted the same time I finish 'Welcome to Amestris, Agents'. That way, both this site and FF.net will be on the same chapter for this story. Kudos and comments would be awesome please :)


	13. Chapter 13

As the outer office flew open with a bang to permit entrance to a completely enraged Edward, Havoc took the time to reflect momentarily on the difference 15 months made to a person. He watched as Edward stormed his way into the office, numerous sheets of papers crumpled tightly in his fist. The teenager was covered in blood, dust and grime and his hair was a complete mess, with his braid practically undone. His golden eyes were blazing with fury and everyone flinched as his gaze narrowed in on them. His brother and their Animals were behind him, Ayala and Chester covered in varying degrees of dirt and blood – Ayala more so than Chester – and Alphonse, surprisingly enough, wasn't doing much to curb his brother's ire.

The only communication between them and Edward had been the blonde's snarled query about whether or not Mustang was in his office. Breda had been the only one brave enough to answer and even then his answer had been a mere nod. Edward had given him a very curt nod, ignoring Al's whispered reminders that murdering his commanding officer was illegal as he stomped towards Mustang's inner office. Ayala and Chester followed them dutifully, barely looking at the team as they passed them. Hawkeye didn't even get up from her seat to try and intervene. She knew that Edward respected her far more than he respected most people but that wouldn't stop him most times when she tried to get between him and Mustang if he was this angry about something. Alphonse closed the inner office door his brother had kicked open but it did nothing to stop them from hearing the raised voices coming from inside. Hawkeye's pointed look and twitchy trigger finger made sure the men outside the office didn't neglect their work in favour of hearing the argument inside.

To say Edward was pissed off would be a gross understatement. As of this moment, Ed wasn't sure he'd be able to string together the words needed to describe how angry he was and he would be honestly surprised if he managed to find the stone before he strangled his commanding officer. He'd completely ignored Al's suggestions that they head back to their dorm room and get themselves cleaned up. He had a bone to pick with Mustang and he refused to leave it any longer than strictly necessary. To add to his annoyance, Mustang didn't even flinch when he kicked the door open and he didn't flinch when he met the infuriated gaze of his youngest subordinate.

"Good morning, Fullmetal. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Mustang admitted it was rather childish but he did so enjoy riling Ed up even more than he normally was when he came into his office. Ed threw the abused papers clutched in his fist onto Mustangs desk. Mustang smoothed the rumpled and slightly bloody papers out as much as possible and realised it was Ed's report. He'd recognise that chicken scratch anywhere.

"YOU'RE A RIGHT BASTARD, YOU KNOW THAT?! I DON'T GIVE TWO FLYING FUCKS WHAT KINDS OF DANGER YOU SENT ME INTO UNPREPARED BUT IF YOU EVER HOLD BACK INFORMATION LIKE THIS AGAIN, I WILL SKIN YOU!" Ed's fury rolled off him in thick waves. Al was trying to get his brother to calm down but Ed was clearly not interested in listening. Nala, who had been napping peacefully only to be awoken by Ed abusing the door, glared at Mustang for whatever he'd done to make Ed so angry thus causing her nap to be interrupted. Mustang would've found this amusing but he was slightly confused by what the blonde had yelled at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Fullmetal. I didn't withhold any information from you about your last mission." Ed snorted in disbelief and crossed his arms as he just looked at Mustang with an expression that screamed 'bullshit'.

"Seriously?" Ed scoffed. "You expect me to believe that you had no idea that the lunatic you sent me after was an alchemist?" Mustang had been about to interrupt but Ed bulldozed over him. "Not only that, but do you really expect me to believe that you weren't informed that he was a rogue alchemist who  _specifically targeted Spirit Animals_?" Ed snarled and Mustang felt his mask slip for as long as it took him to take in Ayala's bloody appearance and figure it out.

"You both survived so I don't really see the point of this tantrum," Mustang told him coolly. He'd honestly not known about the facts that he was an alchemist or that he targeted Animals. He would've told Ed if he had but the kid didn't need to know that. He'd be having a talk with Investigations though. Ed's anger only intensified at his seemingly uncaring demeanor.

"My point is," Ed snarled, "that psycho had more information about us than we had about him! Not only was he prepared for someone coming after him, he was prepared for our Animals specifically!" Ed snapped. "I almost lost Ayala because we walked into a fucking trap we didn't even have the slightest indication might exist because the information we received from  _you_  was incomplete! The  _only_ reason I still have my Animal alive and in one piece is because Chester was close enough to knock her aside enough that her wound was non-fatal," Ed growled and Mustang only just managed not to twitch at the emotions in Ed's voice. "Not only could I not get to her to heal her because I was dealing with the rogue alchemist, Al couldn't help me get him down quicker because he had to protect the Animals and keep Ayala from losing too much blood." Ed took a deep breath, calming himself so he was no longer yelling.

"Ayala almost died because I almost got taken down because I didn't have the pertinent information needed to make sure it didn't happen in the first place," Ed said, voice calmer but no less angry. "I don't give two shits whether it was your fault or someone else's but it had better not happen again." Nala, though she could understand why, was still a little shocked at the venom in Ed's voice and she could tell through her bond that Mustang was as well but all her human did was lean back in his chair and sigh.

"Look, Fullmetal, I didn't know that he used his alchemy like that," Mustang said before holding his hand up to stop the question he knew he was about to be asked. "I had assumed you'd find out that he was an alchemist during your search for him so I didn't think I would need to tell you about that fact." Mustang straightened in his chair. "Obviously, I will be talking to the people who had requested an alchemist for that case. That kind of information should've been included in the report and made available to every person involved in the capture of the alchemist, especially the person in charge of actually apprehending the rogue. Had I known about what he used his alchemy for, I assure you I would've made you fully aware of it. Even I'm not that much of a bastard." Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Even though his gut, Ayala, Chester and Alphonse were all telling him that Mustang had intentionally kept that information to himself and was in fact as clueless about what that rogue had been capable off as Ed was himself, the blonde was too angry about what had happened to believe any of them. As of this moment, Ed was on the fence about whether he should still be pissed at Mustang so he asked the only person who he knew would tell him the absolute truth.

"Nala?" He looked at the lioness, not even needing to ask the question.

 _"He's telling the truth, Ed. And even if he wasn't, I would've told you myself but neither of us knew,"_  she spoke softly and truthfully.

Ed visibly relaxed at her assurance, knowing full well that Nala liked him and Ayala enough to not keep something like that to herself. Mustang watched the whole exchange with interest. There was something odd about Ed and Nala's relationship and Mustang was dying to figure it out. He wasn't sure when he first noticed but when he'd asked Nala all he got was a thoroughly amused feeling from her. When Ed relaxed, the whole room seemed to relax with him. Now, instead of looking excessively angry and close to murder, he just looked exhausted.

A pang of worry ran through the older alchemist, though he was careful not to let it show, as he took in the young blonde's condition now that he wasn't on a rampage. Blood was matted in his hair and he was favouring his left side, indicating a bruised ribcage at the very least. His red jacket was darker in some spots where blood and dirt had dried, staining it. His clothing was torn in places and Mustang was sure that almost every tear would have an underlying scratch or cut to accompany it. He was sure there were more injuries he couldn't see, considering the blonde's past record of keeping injuries from himself and his brother, if at all possible.

"You said you were almost taken down. What are your injuries?" Mustang asked, eyes trying to decipher his subordinates report. He was sure Ed wrote like this on purpose.

"They're in the report." Meaning the injuries Al and Mustang could see or – in Al's case – had witnessed were in the report. "Just make sure vital information isn't left out of my mission summaries. Come on, Al. We gotta get cleaned up and to the library. Miss Allysha has found some new books for us," Ed said as he headed towards the door.

"Fullmetal," Mustang called out, making the boy stop and turn around. "This isn't an acceptable report. I expect a clean copy by the end of tomorrow," he said as he held up the filthy original. Ed snarled and left the room. Mustang sighed. Maybe the kid would be a bit more open once he'd gotten some sleep. At the very least, he might not be able to hide all his injuries and would be forced to answer Mustang truthfully when he pressed the issue.

"I am sorry for his behaviour, colonel," Al apologised, pausing before he followed his brother, both Animals having gone ahead. Both alchemists could hear Ed reassuring the others that he was perfectly fine and answer any questions they had about why he was yelling.

"Don't worry about it. I'm giving him a pass this time. I think my reaction would've been similar if our places had been traded. How badly hurt is he?" Mustang asked the armoured boy. Al hesitated, weighing up the pros and cons of answering.

"I don't know for sure," Al admitted. "Like Brother told you, I was busy guarding the Animals and trying to disarm the traps that were around us before Chester got caught in one while he was fighting. I know Ed was thrown into a wall at one point. That's how he got the head injury," Al told him, gesturing to the back of his helmet. "By the time I'd disabled the traps, Ed was done with him. I didn't get to ask him anything until after he'd healed Ayala and Chester and by that time, he claimed he was just tired from healing them both," he sighed.

"Wait, he healed Ayala  _and_  Chester?" Mustang was dumbfounded. He certainly hadn't expected that. Al shifted guiltily.

"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that ever." Mustang was extremely curious now. He was about to ask when Ed popped his head back through the door.

"Al, what're you waiting for? Let's go!" With a quiet thank you for Ed's excellent accidental diversion and a quick goodbye to Mustang, Ed and Al headed for their dorms.

* * *

While Ed had been all for heading to the library as soon as he was done yelling at Mustang, Al pointed out that he might not be allowed in considering how filthy he was. Not to mention the fact that the blood might cause some people to panic a little. Ed had relented and they'd headed for the dorms to clean up a little.

Once they made it to the dorms, Al handed Ed the first aid kit they'd ended up putting together the third time Ed had gotten himself injured and refused to go see a doctor about it. Al had been very argumentative about it but Ed placated him by agreeing to read all the medical books they could find, preparing several first aid kits and agreeing that if he ever lost consciousness, broke a bone or the injury was beyond either of their capabilities, Ed would go to a hospital with no complaining.

Once he'd shut the bathroom door, he stripped and took a good look at his injuries in the mirror. The alchemist they'd gone up against had only been armed with a common boning knife but he was rather efficient at using it. Ed had a downward gash running from the middle of his rib cage down to just below his belly button on his right side. The jackets had done a good job at hiding that injury. He also knew he was going to be some pretty colours tomorrow once the bruising set in properly. Aside from the gash, the cut on his head from it connecting forcibly with a brick wall and some cracked ribs, he only had minor scrapes.

He quickly showered, shampooed the blood out of his hair, cleaned and patched his wounds before changing clothes and letting Ayala and Chester in so they could get a bath. Once clean and finished assuring Al he was completely fine, Ed was finally on his way to the library. Ayala accompanied him but Al and Chester had decided they all needed food so they went to find some lunch.

Al entered the library only half an hour later, carrying four bags of food. He always bought food for himself to avoid Miss Allysha or the other librarians asking questions. There was only so many times someone could say they'd already eaten or weren't hungry before people got suspicious of never seeing them with food. He found Edward at their usual table with more books than what they'd left before. The librarians had decided to save the boys trouble and reserved the table for them so it was always available to them considering they spent every spare moment in the library. This also meant they could leave their books out and know they'd still be there when they got back. Ed was happy to see his brother and the food. According to Ed, train food really wasn't that good.

Once they'd all eaten and the rubbish had been disposed of, they dug into their research. A few hours into it, Al interrupted Ed and made him re-write his report, like Mustang had instructed. Ed did so with immense complaining but Al tuned it out. He'd had a lot of practise at doing that this past year. His brother had been required to rewrite his report more often than not and Al was convinced he was doing it to annoy Mustang on purpose. Ed scrawled out a new report and turned his attention back to the book sitting in front of him.

Over a year of access to one of the biggest and best libraries in Amestris and they'd only learned trivial things about the stone. Nothing about how to find or make one for themselves and Ed would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. He hadn't expected to find an answer straight away or even within a year but he had hoped they'd have made more process than this. The frustration at the lack of readily available information and the rumours that always amounted to nothing had resulted in a few bouts of doubt but Al, Chester and Ayala had always brought his hopes back up.

They weren't disturbed by any librarians until the next day when Miss Allysha had interrupted them with a message from Colonel Mustang's office, reminding Ed that he needed to hand his report in before the end of the workday. Ed asked Nala to pass along a message telling Mustang to go fuck himself, something Nala did even if she did change the wording to something a little nicer. She sent back an image of him smirking and Ed growled. It was a dream of his to punch that smirk off of Mustang's face. Maybe he'd do that after the headache that had been getting steadily worse since yesterday disappeared.

* * *

A half hour before Mustang usually knocked off for the day, Ed and Ayala started making their way to the office, Ed's new report tucked into one of his coat pockets so it wouldn't get damaged and he wouldn't be forced to write another one. Al had wanted to come with him, citing that Ed would likely to do something that would cause Mustang to set him on fire without Al there, but Ed told him to stay behind and keep studying. Besides, as Ed pointed out, the benefit of going to the office so late meant the chances of Mustang drawing this meeting out instead of getting rid of Ed quickly so he could go home for the night were slim to none.

When he and Ayala walked into the office, this time treating the door a little nicer than he had yesterday, only Havoc, Hawkeye and their Animals were still in the office. A glance at the clock told Ed that there was still 10 minutes until the workday officially ended so he definitely wasn't late. He said a quick hello to those still in the office before heading into the inner office after Hawkeye inclined her head in permission when he gave her a questioning look, hand hovering over the doorknob. Mustang looked up at his entrance, as did Nala.

"Cutting it rather short there, aren't you, Fullmetal?" Mustang drawled. Nala shot him a flat look, something Ed mimicked. While he ordinarily would've blown up at the not-so-subtle short joke, right now his head hurt far too much to do so. Instead, he put his report on Mustang's desk and sprawled himself out on the unoccupied couch.

"How long did it take you to think of that one? Maybe I should tell Miss Riza you've got time on your hands," Ed quipped back, effectively causing Mustang to scowl.

Nala laughed as she made her way over to her favourite blonde's side. Ayala, knowing exactly where her human hurt, which was pretty much everywhere, decided to curl up above his head since he was resting his feet on the armrest, something he knew irked Mustang to no end. Nala settled for sitting next to his head and taking careful inventory of his behaviour. He distracted her momentarily by scratching her behind her ear where she liked it best.

 _"That bruise looks nasty,"_  she pointed out when he placed his hand a little carefully on his gut. He glanced at her, amusement causing his eyes to twinkle.

"Which one?" He half-joked. Neither Animal was amused. Mustang was used to hearing these one-side conversations and continued perusing the report in front of him.

 _"The one that's surrounding that cut on your head,"_  Nala deadpanned. Ed snorted.

"That's what happens when a nutbag throws you into a wall instead of cooperating," Ed stated curtly, causing Nala to wince.

 _"How bad?"_  Nala asked. Ed cracked an eye open to look at her and she decided to elaborate.  _"How badly were you all hurt?"_

"Ah. Well, Al got out of it fine, obviously. Chester got his shoulder sliced open but it was relatively shallow. Ayala copped the worst," Ed sighed, reaching back to ruffle Ayala's ears, ignoring the painful pull on his ribs. "She got impaled through the shoulder. It took forever for it to heal. We got lucky no arteries got hit. I just got the head injury and a couple cracked ribs." She rolled her eyes. He coulda been talking about the weather instead of injuries he suffered.

 _"So how are you feeling? You must have spent a fair amount of energy healing them both,"_  she asked, ignoring the obvious downplay of his injuries. Ed frowned at her.

"Both of them?" He didn't remember telling her that he had to heal Chester whenever he got injured instead of Al.

 _"Whoops. Al accidentally let it slip yesterday that you healed both of them,"_  she told him and he groaned.

"So Mustang knows?" Said man lifted his head up when he heard his name. He'd been following the conversation, at least the part he could hear, as well as reading the report, which he was now done with. Nala must've confirmed he knew. "Fuck. Does he know why or how yet?"

 _"No. I think he was going to ask but you interrupted."_  She left out the part where Mustang planned to corner the younger Elric and demand answers.

"Thank fuck. I've gotta talk to Al before he makes that mistake again. I can't have anything like that becoming public knowledge." He rubbed his flesh hand over his face and sighed, wincing when he accidentally touched the sensitive bruise. Ayala whined in sympathy and licked his cheek, something he grumbled at but didn't actually mind. He knew it was basically her mothering instincts at work.

 _"Back to my original question; how are your energy levels?"_  She asked. This was important to know. If he was too exhausted from healing Chester and Ayala, Mustang couldn't send him on missions. It'd be way too dangerous.

"I'm fine," Ed nearly whined. "Like I said, Chester's injury wasn't that big and I have an abnormally large amount of Ayala's energy stored in me for some reason. Healing that wound barely made a dent." He was being 100% truthful but Nala still looked at Ayala for confirmation, which she got. Mustang and Nala both sighed in relief. Mustang was about to speak for the first time since he greeted Ed but a knock at his door diverted his attention.

"Enter." Hawkeye and Havoc both stepped through the door and saluted the Colonel. Ed couldn't actually see this from where he was laying on the couch but he knew the routine by now. "Leaving, Lieutenants?"

"Yes, sir. Do you need anything before we go?" Hawkeye was the one to answer but Ed could hear a set of footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes to see Havoc peering at him from over the back of the couch.

"How's it going, Chief?" Ed grinned up at the nickname. He still wasn't sure why the guys called him that and they refused to explain when he asked.

"Not much. Waiting for Colonel Bastard to be finished with my report so I can go back to the library and Al," Ed said loud enough for Mustang to hear.

"Maybe if it didn't look like it was written by a three-year-old, I would've been done sooner," Mustang shot back, unable to resist.

"I could've typed that shit up and you'd still be taking forever to read it. Anything to get out of paperwork, isn't that right?" Ed knew he won by the way Havoc was laughing. If his head didn't hurt, he would've sat up to look at both Hawkeye and Mustang's faces. He settled for silently fist-bumping Havoc, slightly wincing at the pull on his ribs. Havoc noticed.

"You okay, chief? Do you want me to take a look at your head?" Ed raised a brow in a silent question. "I've got medical training," Havoc answered the unspoken question.

Ed looked impressed, debated for a few moments before eventually nodded. If anything, it'd get Al off his back when he tells him Havoc had a look and is qualified to do so. Said blonde moved around to the front of the couch, prompting Nala to move out of the way, and crouched so he was eye level with Ed, who proceeded to carefully sit himself up. He pulled his small medic kit out of his pocket and grabbed out the little penlight in it. Both blondes didn't notice Mustang and Hawkeye stop their argument, which Mustang was losing, so they could see what Havoc had to say.

"Have you got a headache?" Nod. "Do you feel dizzy?" Shake. "Nauseous?" Another shake. "Have you cleaned it out properly?" Nod. "Have you eaten today?" Nod. "Any other injuries you want me to look at?" Ed smirked at him. Points for trying.

"Nope. I'm fine." Ed smiled at Havoc, who didn't look convinced but didn't push the issue.

"Okay. You didn't lose consciousness with the head injury?" He asked.

"No. I was a bit dizzy but I was fine after we stopped the guy," Ed said honestly.

"Okay. You don't have a concussion, which is good. Take some painkillers for that headache and keep the wound clean but open so it heals properly," Havoc instructed. "And make sure you bind those ribs properly," he added, making Ed look a tad stunned. "I noticed the way you held them when you sat up." He grinned, which Ed returned somewhat sheepishly.

"Thanks Havoc." Havoc ruffled his hair, carefully avoiding the cut, and causing Ed to glare at him and Havoc to laugh at the reaction. Both Hawkeye and Havoc soon left, Ed having called out goodbyes and Mustang quietly thanking Havoc and getting threats from Hawkeye about the paperwork still on his desk. Nala took up a new spot on the other side of Ed now that he was sitting up.

"Are you done yet?" Ed couldn't quite keep the whine out of his voice. He knew Mustang did this on purpose because he never seemed to take this long with his reports when Al was with him.

"Well even though this has to be one of your shorter reports, it still took a while to decipher your handwriting. But yes, I am done." Mustang was nice enough to not mention the childish tone Ed had used.

"Fantastic. Let's go, Aya," he said as he stood up. A little too quickly it seemed when he stumbled a bit from the head spin he got. "I'm good," he said in response to Ayala's whine.

"I didn't say you could go," Mustang pointed out. Ed shot him a look that said 'are you fucking serious?' and groaned when he realised that Mustang was.

"What's the problem now?" He asked exasperatedly, crossing his arms defiantly and winced when his automail accidentally pressed up against the gash on his side. And, just because his luck was that good, Mustang noticed.

"For starters, you've left information out of your report. No mention of how you managed to get the upper hand in that fight. Also, you're hiding injuries. Don't bother denying it." He saw Ed open his mouth to deny he was. "So you're not leaving until you tell me the truth."

"There's nothing to tell! That's why it's not in the report!" Ed complained.

"I'm sure I've said this before but you can't pick and choose what goes in your report. Everything has to be in the report. So, what happened?" Mustang asked as he propped his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his folded hands, watching his youngest subordinate with eagle eyes. Said subordinate sighed and sat back down. "As much as I'd like to go home, Fullmetal, I will sit here until you decide to tell me what I want to know. I'm sure Al would like you back sooner rather than later as well." Ed really hated the fact that Mustang had no problem using Al against him. Another reason 'Colonel Bastard' was such an accurate nickname for the Flame Alchemist. He sighed before turning to Ayala.

"Tell Chester what's going on so Al doesn't panic. We've already been here forever. I'm surprised Chester already hasn't contacted us." Ed rubbed her behind the ears before turning his attention to his CO. "What do you wanna know?" He glared at Mustang, ya know, just to make sure the arsehole knew he wasn't happy.

"How you managed to turn the fight to your favour and arrest him. You mentioned before that you were almost taken down. That's pretty much written in your report but then it simply goes on to say that you managed to knock him down and alchemically bind his hands with something that you obviously wrote in code." Mustang relaxed into his chair and waited.

"Get some glasses or some shit, old man. I clearly wrote that I alchemised some of the flooring over his wrists," Ed snarked. Mustang didn't rise to the jab about his age and gestured for him to continue. Ed was kind of disappointed at the lack of response but continued. "I was already hurt. I was trying to defend myself and stop him attacking the Animals at the same time. Al was too busy trying to disarm the surrounding traps so Chester and Ayala didn't suffer any more injuries than they already had and he couldn't do that and stop oncoming attacks," Ed told him. "That's how the alchemist had been fighting since Ayala got injured at the start so I was caught off guard when he aimed an actual attack at me. It threw me into a wall and I was disorientated for a few moments. He managed to get the knife against my throat. Ayala was going crazy and I think he looked away from me to make sure she couldn't do anything to protect me. I grabbed the wrist of the arm that was holding the knife with my automail arm and squeezed. When I broke his wrist, he automatically dropped his knife and I managed to land a punch. I knocked him out and secured him," Ed finished his telling of events and leaned back into the couch.

"Why didn't you just put that in your report?" Mustang had though he'd done something illegal or something for it to not be in the report.

"Because that meant extra writing. I figured what I'd put would be good enough. Shoulda known better." Ed sighed before his attention was captured by something only he could hear. "Nah I'll get dinner once Mustang realises he still has a tower of paperwork he promised to finish and lets me go so he can get it done asap." Mustang was about to say something back but Ed frowned a little before talking again. "Well what would you like for dinner and I'll get that." Suddenly, the way Ed worded that seemed to spark an idea in Mustang's head. He was going to have to talk to Nala once they got home to confirm his suspicions. He pulled himself out of that train of thought to catch the last of Ed's question. "Any other questions?"

"Yes. The full extent of your injuries, Fullmetal." He used his 'this isn't a debate' voice. Ed groaned for the umpteenth time this afternoon.

"Why? I'm not going to drop dead from them," Ed argued. "It's not like you care anyway," he muttered. Mustang kept his mask in check. He did care. He really did. He just couldn't show it and he knew Ed would never believe him if he did tell him.

"I need to know what injuries you've suffered so I don't send you on a mission that could get you killed because you couldn't defend yourself properly. You aren't worth the paperwork I'd get if you died and I'm sure reaching your goal would become infinitely harder if you are dead." Another thing Ed hated about Mustang? His ability to point out things Ed couldn't argue against.

"Ugh, fine. A fair amount of bruising, some minor cuts, the head injury, two or three cracked ribs and I've got a decent cut on my arm." Mustang looked at him for a moment.

"What side are your cracked ribs on?" Ed was happy that Mustang hadn't realised he'd only told him most of his injuries so he answered without a fuss.

"Left." Mustang nodded and Ed had though that'd be the end of it before...

"So what injury are you hiding on your right side?" Fuck.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ed denied as he stood up to once again try and leave. Mustang stood to block his escape.

"Really? So why'd you flinch when your automail put pressure on that side when you crossed your arms before?" Mustang hadn't forgotten. Ed knew he wouldn't be fooled but Ed was no quitter.

"I did mention bruises," Ed snarked. "I just forgot about them." Mustang's eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Except you never reported any injuries on that side. And," he pressed his hand on Ed's right side suddenly. His thumb hit the gash on Ed's gut, causing Ed to hiss in pain and stumble back a couple steps to escape Mustang, stopping halfway along the couch.

Mustang was also forced to take a couple of quick steps back when Ayala launched herself from where'd she'd been sitting, across the couch, snarling and snapping, making herself eye level with the older man by standing with her front paws on the arm rest. Mustang would never admit it out lout but being on the receiving end of the golden wolf's feral and protective expression again was not something he'd actively seek out. Even Nala was surprised by the intensity of the wolf's protectiveness, although Nala also didn't expect her human to do what he did.

"Easy, Aya. I'm alright," Ed ground out as he pressed his flesh hand against the reopened wound. Mustang had reopened only a small part of the wound but Ed's reflexive retreat had worsened the situation and made the injury reopen a little more. It took a moment but he eventually got his pained breathing under control and straightened up. He pulled away the hand clamped over the wound and check the white glove for the amount of blood. He silently thanked his past self for bandaging the wound as well as he did because he only had the slightest amount of blood on the glove. Although, the fact he'd bled through the bandage at all was not a good sign. Ayala had stopped outright snarling and had even leapt down from the couch so she could fuss over him. That didn't stop the wolf from growling when Mustang or Nala tried to approach her human. Her growling did remind Ed why he was bleeding. "What the actual fuck, Mustang?!" He did a pretty good job at mimicking Ayala's snarl.

"Just bruising, huh?" Mustang wasn't impressed. He may have regretted causing the teenager more pain but he wasn't happy with the fact the blonde had tried to hide an injury as serious as that one seemed even after Mustang having pointed out why it was important he knew all injuries the blonde suffered. Ed at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"I said it was nothing major," the blonde said angrily. Mustang sighed, annoyed.

"That reaction tells me different. The fact that it caused you to pull away like that, Ayala's reaction and the fact that you're bleeding through the bandage tells me it's a serious injury you should've had Havoc, if not a proper doctor, look at it." Mustang wasn't accepting any of the usual crap Ed would normally pull. He was too angry at his subordinate. Yes, the short-tempered alchemist already had an impressive medical record built up from his year and a bit in the military but he always tried everything to get out of even going. Being unconscious or Al and/or Ayala begging him to go were the only ways he stepped foot inside the building. If the injury could be hidden easily or no one had noticed him getting it, he'd do his absolute best to pretend it was nothing and Mustang was sick of it. He was going to get himself killed because he underestimated the severity of an injury one of these days. Ed was refusing to meet his eyes. Mustang rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Show me." That got Ed's attention back on him.

"Wh-what?" Even Ayala looked stunned, though not enough to override her pissed off look.

"Let me take a look at it," Mustang said slowly, as though speaking to a child. Ed didn't appreciate the attitude.

"Gee, let me think about that. No." He looked at Mustang like he was crazy for even asking.

"Do not make me make it an order, Fullmetal. Let me look at that injury." Ed faltered at the threat. If Mustang made it an order, he could get court-martialled for disobeying it and that wouldn't end well. Ed stayed defiant though.

"Why should I?" It was a good question since, as far as Ed was concerned, someone he didn't like, who'd already reopened the wound and had no medical training was asking him to let him near it. Mustang almost growled at the stubbornness he continued to show.

"Because someone other than you needs to look at it and make sure it's okay. I may not have as much medical training as Havoc but I do still have training." The main reason he wanted to this though was simply to show the blonde teenager that he could trust him.

Trust was not something the Elric brothers gave freely or easily. He knew the brothers trusted everyone on the team, including himself, to some degree but not a single person outside of each other, their Animals or the Rockbell women earned their complete trust. Ed looked at Nala for something. The lioness must've said something to remove any doubt because the blonde relented.

"Fine. Ayala, you'll need to move out of his way." His eyes locked with those of his wolf and Mustang could see the reluctance she felt but she did as she was asked, even though she did send him a warning glare. Mustang realised he'd have to apologise to her as well. Ed carefully removed his two jackets and placed them on the armrest before Mustang finished approaching him.

"Lift up your shirt," the colonel instructed and Ed did so. Carefully, Mustang removed the blood-soaked bandage and winced in sympathy as he got a good look at it. "Nala, can you go grab the first aid kit?" As she padded out of the room to do so, Mustang manoeuvred the two of them so the light actually shone on the wound. Nala soon returned and, with a thank you, Mustang relieved her of her burden. Rifling through it, he produced some alcohol swabs and proper bandages. Opening the alcohol swabs up, he turned to the waiting blonde. "I need to clean it out before I put new bandages on it. You're lucky it doesn't need stitches and it never got infected."

"Whatever. Just do it." Edward was really not in the mood to be lectured.

He was still annoyed at himself for even agreeing to let Mustang do this. Damned persuasive lionesses. He twitched when the first alcohol swab contacted the exposed muscle but he didn't show any other signs of discomfort. Mustang knew how much pain the kid was actually in but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be thorough. 20 swabs later, he was finally ready to bandage it back up. He placed two lots of gauze over it before wrapping it up and letting Ed pull his shirt back down and pull his jackets back on.

"Next time you get an injury like that, tell me or Havoc. That's an order," he said sternly. "Here's some painkillers for that headache you told Havoc about." He watched the blonde accept the pills and dry swallow them. "That's all, Fullmetal. You're dismissed." The way Ed's shoulders slumped told Roy just how tense he'd been. He wondered if the boy had been expecting a lecture or something. The blonde wasted no time in rushing to the door, saying goodbye to Nala as he went, Ayala close by him. Mustang busied himself with cleaning up the used medical supplies when he noticed Ed stop just before he went through the door.

"Thanks, Mustang," was all Roy heard before the blonde was gone and he heard slightly mis-matched footsteps racing through the empty halls. Well, thanks from Fullmetal? Maybe staying after hours wasn't so bad after all. He finished cleaning up and headed back to his desk with renewed vigour. Nala curled up at his side and that's when he remembered something.

"Say, Nala?" His lioness lifted her eyes to look at him. "How long have you and Fullmetal been able to talk to one another?" Her expression and the mix of surprise, disbelief and general 'busted' feelings he got from her were all the confirmation he needed.

* * *

After a side trip to grab dinner, Ed and Ayala made it back to the library in one piece. They greeted the librarian on duty, a lovely woman named Cassie who had a beautiful Palomino Quarter horse named Tonka as her Animal and found his brother and leopard at their usual table. Once he'd fed everyone, eaten his own dinner and expertly dodged Al's questions, he threw himself back into their research and tuned everything and everyone, excluding the Animals, out.

He devoured page after page, book after book until he was brought back to the present by the delicious smell that was wafting from somewhere nearby. His stomach growled in anger at the lack of food being in it and he looked up to find his brother approaching with breakfast, if the clock on the wall behind Al was accurate.

"This is why you're my favourite brother," Ed drooled as Al handed him his and Ayala's share. Ayala whole heartedly supported that statement.

"I'm your only brother, Ed," Al said, amused at his brother's lack of manners as he dug through the food Al bought him. Alphonse shifted nervously as he prepared himself to ask his brother something he'd been thinking about for a while. Ed noticed.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked, after swallowing the mouthful of food he was chewing through.

"Um, there's something I want to ask you. A favour, really," Al said, still nervous. Ed frowned.

"Okay. Spit it out than." Ed paused in his eating to look at his brother curiously. He didn't understand why his brother seemed so nervous.

"Well, I was wondering if we could go back to Resembool and see Granny and Winry? We haven't seen them in forever and I know they want to see us. Winry sounded really excited about something when I spoke to her last but she didn't want to tell me over the phone." Al was nearly stumbling over his words in his rush to get them out.

"Al, if you want to go visit Granny and Winry, you can go anytime you want. You know that." Ed was confused.

They'd had this argument already, nearly a month after they completed their first mission and were halfway through their third, when Al complained about missing Resembool. Ed had pointed out that since he wasn't a member of the military he could go back to Resembool whenever he wanted. Al had argued that he didn't want to without Ed and Ed argued back that unless he had a problem with his automail or they had a mission near Resembool, he couldn't go back whenever he wanted. He told Al he didn't mind if he went back and visited in between missions but Al had said it wouldn't be right if Ed wasn't with him and he'd be too busy worrying if his older brother actually ate and slept if he left him alone for a couple of days or more. Ed hadn't been impressed with that argument, no matter how much Ayala assured him it was true.

"I know but I don't want to leave you by yourself while you're injured," Al started saying.

"I'm fine!" Ed interrupted.

"Sure you are. And Winry sounded really excited about whatever she wouldn't tell me. Like,  _really_  excited," Al said, leaving his brother to connect the dots. It took him a moment but understanding lit in Ed's eyes.

"You think her Animal's appeared?" Ed asked, not overly convinced.

If Winry's Animal had appeared, they would've heard her excited screams all the way from Resembool. She'd been exceedingly excited about getting her Animal as soon as she'd met Ayala. When she didn't get her Animal but saw Al had after his 10th birthday, she had gotten rather upset though she did a valiant job hiding it. Ed knew she was getting frustrated that she was nearly 14 and she still hadn't had her Dream. She never said anything but Ed would've had to have been blind to have missed the envious and sad looks she shot Ayala and Chester anytime she thought nobody could see her. Al was shaking his head.

"No, I don't think she'd have been able to keep it to herself if it had actually appeared," Al said, voicing Ed's thoughts. "No, I think she'd started having her Dream. I spoke to her last night, while you were still with Mustang. She'd mentioned that she'd been sleeping longer than usual and you and I both know that she'll only sleep as long as she needs too. She's too busy with her automail orders now that people know the People's Alchemist has automail made by her." Ed rolled his eyes at his little brother's teasing. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that nickname he'd been given by the Amestrian citizens. The nickname meant that he was the only State Alchemist that everyday citizens were normally happy to cooperate with but it's also put several targets on his back. Al continued. "You and I both know that sometimes the Dream can cause people to sleep longer than normal if their normal sleeping habits aren't long enough. You and I both got just enough sleep that we weren't affected by it but she's been so busy that she's living off of four hours a night and cat naps during the day. Now she's getting a solid eight hours a night and she's super excited about it? I think something's up and it doesn't take a genius like us to put two and two together," Al finished explaining and Ed had to admit that his brother made a lot of sense. He'd honestly forgotten about that dream fact.

"I'll talk to Mustang. I'll see if we can go for a visit when I'm assigned my next mission. I'll say I need to go for maintenance or something like that after we complete the mission. It's been a few months so it'll be legit," Ed assured him when Al made a worried noise. "Plus, even Mustang would have to think twice about denying me the leave. He'd be risking my automail possibly malfunctioning during a mission and then having to listen to me bitch about it." Ed smirked as he imagined that scene. He wondered...

 _"No,"_  Ayala said, not even looking up from her post-breakfast nap.

"Spoilsport," Ed sent back, pouting slightly. Ayala just chuckled at him. Al didn't comment.

"Really, brother? You promise?" Al had expected Ed to say he'd think about it or that their research was more important at the moment. He knew his brother wanted to go back to Resembool as much he did but he also knew that their research and goal had to come first. It was why he was so hesitant to ask in the first place. He didn't want Ed to have to say that he couldn't go because he knew Ed would feel guilty when Al refused to go with him.

"Of course I do, Al. I'll talk to him when he calls me in for my next briefing," Ed promised. "Besides, I'll probably end up needing maintenance after my next mission. With the amount of beatings I've gotten since my last check-up, I'm surprised Winry hasn't sensed the damage and yelled at me." He swore that woman had some sort of magic ability to figure out when his automail was badly damaged. It was uncanny the way he'd get a phone call from the wrench-wielding nutbag whenever his automail got noticeable damage.

"By the way, brother. When is your next mission? Did the Colonel give you any indication?" Al asked after laughing at his brother's expression.

"Nah, you know that lazy bastard. He probably hasn't found the file he's meant to give me with all that paperwork on his desk," Ed said dismissively. "Best use what little time off we get wisely." Ed pointedly went back to the books. Al sighed and followed his lead.

* * *

A few hours later saw Ed being harassed by both Animals and Alphonse as the three complained of immense boredom.

"Come on, brother! Let's go for a walk! We could do with the fresh air," Al begged when Ed had said he'd hang back and keep studying. It took the added pressure of Chester and Ayala asking and Ayala using puppy-dog eyes for him to finally agree to go.

They left their gear and headed for the park so Chester and Ayala could take advantage of the wide-open space without fear of being hit by a car. Ed had to admit; it was nice just sitting on the grass, watching his wolf frolic like a puppy with Chester while Al laughed at their antics. He was lying on the ground, happy to just relax and watch the sky and listen to the various noises around him when his sight was blocked by a pig. Startled by the unexpected sight, Ed sat up too quickly and jostled his ribs and bruises, causing him to gasp in pain and clutch his side reflexively.

 _"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"_  The pig, who he'd now identified as Breda's Animal, squealed in his head. Ayala had already started her race back to Ed's side when he'd startled and was already there, looking perplexed.

"I'm okay, Ayala and, Du, it's okay. I should've heard you. It's all good." He smiled down at the stricken pig, who was also eyeing Ayala a tad warily. All the Animals and most of the humans on Mustang's team knew how protective Ayala was over Ed. She was protective of Al and Chester too and she was even protective of them to a certain degree but she was downright terrifying when something happened to Ed. They'd never seen this side of her but they'd heard stories from Chester and that was scary enough. Ed distracted him from his thoughts. "Where's Breda?" He asked, looking around for the slightly chubby, red haired man.

 _"He's coming now. He didn't see me leave, actually,"_  the pig added, sheepishly. Ed quirked a brow.

"So, for all he knows, you've run away?" Ed really did try to keep the amusement out of his voice, he really did.

 _"Well, not exactly,"_  Dubuffet said. _"See, we stopped over there and I saw you, well I saw Ayala and knew you were nearby 'cuz I could sense you, so I kinda just shouted your name at him before I took off so I think he knows what's happened but I'm not too sure,"_  the spotted pig guiltily explained. Ed couldn't stop himself from laughing and neither could Ayala as they imagined the look on Breda's face when his pig suddenly took off after shouting Ed's name at full volume. Chester and Al had finally decided they were curious enough to find out what was going on but their approach was beaten by a puffing Breda.

"DUBUFFET! Don't ever take off like that again!" He lectured the pig when he could breathe easily again. Dubuffet looked the epitome of ashamed and Ed could tell he was apologising to his worried human. Ed took the time to stand up and the movement caught Breda's eye. He looked at the golden-haired boy in surprise. Even though Du had shouted Ed's name and he'd even seen Ed for himself, he had honestly not registered that the boy was even there until just now. "Chief! What a surprise to see you out and about! I thought you'd be holed up in the library for as long as possible," Breda remarked. Ed scratched the back of his neck and grinned.

"Yeah, you'd have been right but these three convinced me fresh air might actually do me some good so here we are," he admitted. "What are you doing here anyway? I didn't realise you two liked the park."

"Ah well, you see, that cart over there," he indicated in the general direction, "serves the best ice-cream in this city so we always go there when we're in this area," Breda explained. It was no secret that Breda loved his ice-cream and his Animal was the exact same way. Ed and Al chuckled as Breda grinned, a little embarrassed. "How have you guys been going with your research? Your head's looking better too," he remarked as he looked at the healing cut on Ed's forehead. The bruising there was going down slowly as well.

"Brother's been researching since we got back. He hasn't even slept yet, which isn't doing his injuries any favours," Al answered before Ed could. Ed just rolled his eyes at his brother's mother-henning.

"Al, you know I'll sleep when I need it. And my injuries are healing perfectly fine," Ed pointed out, trying to stop this argument before his brother got worked up again. Honestly, you'd think after a year of this, he'd give it a rest. He turned to Breda with a sudden idea. "Where'd you say that ice-cream vendor was? I could really go for some." If Al could've, he would've bristled at Ed using Breda as a way to avoid this  _perfectly legitimate and needed_  argument. Breda and Du both agreed they'd rather Al's wrath than Ed's.

"It's up over there. I can show you if you'd like?" Breda offered; a tad cautious. Ed's grateful grin was almost worth the righteous anger coming from the suit of armour. All three Animals had decided this was something they didn't need to be involved in. Ed gestured for him to lead the way and Du and him did just that. Soon they were laughing at Ed and Al's reactions at seeing all of the ice-cream varieties available. Ed decided to go with Breda's favourite; rocky road.

"What're you going to get, Al?" Breda asked kindly, not expecting the sudden stiff postures of the Elric brothers he got in response. There was an almost nervous panic that zipped through the air before Ed responded.

"He's lactose-intolerant," he blurted out. Breda looked at him, concerned by his reaction.

"You okay, chief?" He asked and Du did the same thing, sensing Ed's discomfort.

"Yup! Totally fine!" Ed said, a little too enthusiastically as he paid for his ice-cream and gave it a try. "Wow, Breda! You were right! This is great!" Ed praised, hoping it would also make the man forget his odd behaviour just now. It seemed to work.

"I'm glad. Anyway, I would love to hang with you guys more but I'm due back in the office soon and Hawkeye was not in a happy mood when I left." He winced as he remembered the sharpshooter's stormy behaviour.

"Lemme guess? Colonel Lazy tried hiding his paperwork again?" Ed asked around his ice-cream.

"You got it. I'll see you guys later," Breda chuckled.

 _"See you, Ed!"_  Du said at the same time. Ed and Al called out their own goodbyes as they watched the pair head back towards the Base. Ed kinda felt sorry for whoever decided to annoy Hawkeye next. Once he finished his ice-cream, all of them decided to mimic Breda and head back to work, or in their case, the library. Ed was granted the small mercy of not having his brother have a go at him for his sleeping habits or lack thereof.

* * *

It was nearly a week after his last visit with Mustang that he was summoned back to the office. Al was excited since it meant Ed was forced to go outside of the library for more than an hour, something he hadn't done since the park. Truthfully, Ed was almost grateful for the break as well. They'd been studying every book they or the librarians could get their hands on that evenly loosely pertained to the Stone. They weren't any closer to answers now than they were six months ago and Ed was starting to get a tad frustrated at that fact. He really hoped the bastard had another lead for them. Al and Chester decided to tag along this time.

They entered Mustang's outer office and were noisily greeted, as usual. Ed had it a little louder thanks to the Animals but he didn't mind. They spent a few minutes with the men, catching up and trying to be sympathetic when they learnt Havoc had been dumped again. Ed and Al helped Fuery with a problem he hadn't been able to solve. They honestly didn't even suggest anything, just listened and somehow Fuery had figured out the solution himself as he rambled. Breda wasn't there, which explained why it was a tad quieter than normal. Falman was quiet as always, asking about their research and how it was progressing. He must've sensed the slightly pessimistic tone behind Ed's look because he gave him an encouraging clap on the shoulder before going back to work just before Hawkeye started shooting threatening glares.

They knew that that look would soon be followed by a bullet and no one wanted to patch the newest bullet hole up. Ed had been showcasing his talent at being able to speak to both human and Animal at the same time with the human being none the wiser. He was sure that no one on the team, with the exception of maybe Hawkeye, knew about his other abilities but if she knew, she was doing an amazing job of keeping it a secret, something he was grateful for. Said woman had just finished whatever she was working on and had beckoned them over to her.

"Hello, Miss Riza, Soren. How're you guys?" Ed asked as he came to a stop in front of the blonde and owl. She gave Ed and Ayala a small smile. Al had apparently decided to chat with Fuery for a moment and hadn't caught up yet.

"We're good, thank you. How are your injuries?" She asked, a little concern showing in her voice. "Including the one on your side, the one you didn't tell Havoc or myself about." She didn't look impressed he hadn't either. Ed was only a little surprised she knew.

"I'm fine," Ed said and she raised her brow slightly. "My head's healed up nicely, the gash is healing at a good speed and my ribs only hurt a little now," he told her. It was true. His head injury was almost healed and the gash was healing at a really good pace. His ribs still caned like a bitch though but he could handle that pain anyway. Hawkeye looked a tad placated by his answer. That's when Al finally joined up to them, Chester a few steps behind.

"I'm glad to hear you're recovering well, sir. Please follow me and I'll show you through to Colonel Mustang." Ed winced at the formal address. He'd tried banning them all from calling him anything other than 'Ed', 'Edward' or 'Fullmetal'. It didn't really work as well as he'd hoped. Hawkeye knocked and entered once Mustang permitted it. "The Fullmetal Alchemist here at your request, sir," she announced as Ed, Al and the two Animals walked through the door and passed Hawkeye.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Mustang dismissed her and she left, shutting the door with a soft click behind her.

"Hey, Nala! How are you going?" Ed greeted the lioness who was lounging on the couch, ignoring Mustang. The lioness grinned up at him as he reached her and scratched behind one of her ears. Only Ed could get away with the lack of respect or courtesy he shows Mustang. Well, he could get away with it if not for his brother.

"Brother! That's rude!" Al scolded him. Mustang almost grinned but managed to keep a straight face, his amusement only being shown by his eyes.

"What? He's got enough people kissing his arse. I'm sure he'll live if I don't." Ed shrugged as he sat next to Nala, Ayala jumping up to settle on his other side. She lay her head in his lap and glared at Mustang. She still hadn't forgiven him for hurting Ed last time they were here, even if he did help patch him up. Petty? Yes. Did she care? No.

"Nice to see that blow to your head didn't knock some manners into you," Mustang quipped. Al decided to just sit on the other couch and hope for the best.

"Haha, Mustang. Real hilarious. Why'd you drag us down here?" Ed snapped.

 _"He figured out what you can do,"_  Nala said quietly. Ed and Ayala barely hid their surprise at the statement.

"Are you sure?" Ed asked telepathically, while looking at Mustang like he was still waiting for an answer. Now that Nala mentioned it, Ed could see Mustang scrutinising his every move.

 _"Yeah but he won't confront you about it until he catches you in the act. He tried that with me and though I denied it, I don't think he fully believes me,"_  Nala explained. They'd both known it'd be a matter of time but Ed had suspected Mustang to be confrontational when he did figure it out.

"How are your injuries?" Mustang asked after a moment. Ed quirked a brow.

"Careful, Mustang. People might think you actually care," he snarked. Al mentally face-palmed. Sometimes his brother was a completely oblivious idiot. He was the only person on Mustang's team who thought Mustang hated him. The other's had seen through that facade ages ago. Mustang simply stared at him, clearly waiting for an answer. Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. My injuries are practically healed."

"Glad to hear it. I've got a mission for you." Mustang didn't believe him, considering he knew first hand ribs healed slowly but he didn't argue. Instead he held out a folder. Ed crossed over to his desk to grab it. "I'm sending you to Liore. There have been rumours of a priest performing miracles. They say these miracles occur in a flash of red energy." Ed grinned as he gave the file a quick once over before handing it over to Al, who'd joined him as soon as he heard what the rumours said.

"When do we leave?" Ed asked, the fire in his eyes brighter thanks to the fresh lead. Mustang was glad to see that. He'd been concerned when he saw the blondes golden gaze damper than it normally is.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye has procured tickets for the both of you. I believe your train leaves in two days. It'll take you a couple of days to get there," Mustang told them. Ed nodded absentmindedly as he paid more attention to the file in his brother's hands. The information looked promising. The priest was apparently claiming his ability was a gift from some god neither boy had ever heard of. Some of the stuff the information claimed he'd done seemed impossible.

"Maybe this will get us closer to the answers we need, brother," Al said excitedly. Ed looked back up at him and smiled softly.

"Hopefully it will, Al," he answered softly. Hopefully this will be the piece of the puzzle they needed. Mustang hoped so as well. Even if it wasn't the answer to their problems, he really hoped this would lead them in the right direction. He hated seeing how dull Ed's eyes got when he'd all but given up.

"That'll be all, Fullmetal. I suggest you gather the needed information off of the Lieutenant and get some rest," Mustang dismissed him. Al hadn't been the only one to notice the lack of insults this visit and was quick to drag his brother out of the office before that could change. Ed barely had time to call out a goodbye to Nala before he was suddenly back out with the team. Ed was going to ask what Al was doing when he was distracted by Hawkeye.

"Here you go, boys. There are train tickets in there for both of you. You'll leave the day after tomorrow at 8:00am. You'll be stopping in New Optain for a couple of hours before continuing through to Posterim. Once there, you'll need to swap trains. You should arrive in Liore by midnight. I've arranged a hotel room for you both. The name and information are in with the tickets. Have a safe trip," she explained as she handed them an envelope.

"Thanks, Miss Riza. We'll see you when we get back." Ed smiled at her before they said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door and back to the library. Once there, Ed asked for any newspaper articles or information they had on Liore from the last two years. While he was sure Mustang had given the people who gathered information for missions a piece of his mind, Ed didn't trust them, not after the fuck up that was the last mission. So he planned to study every article he could get his hands on, just to make sure no important information was missing.

* * *

The night before they left, Al, Chester and Ayala ganged up on him and they spent the night in their dorm room. Ed was finally getting the sleep he needed, something they were all grateful for. Ed had gotten a grand total of 24 hours sleep in the last week, including cat naps, and the three of them were concerned. It wasn't unusual for him to go long periods with not much sleep but that didn't mean they didn't worry. Al spent the night packing the things his brother would need in his suitcase and reading something that didn't pertain to alchemy or the stone.

Ed was still tired when Ayala woke him the next morning so they could catch the train on time. He grumbled through breakfast and was only slightly less grumpy when Al said he could sleep on the train. They made it to the station with a quarter of an hour to spare and Ed claimed the first empty bench he could see. Al sat opposite him and Chester sat next to Al. Ayala claimed her usual spot, stretched out next to Ed with her head resting on his chest. Ed didn't end up falling back asleep until an hour into the trip when the other passengers had settled down and there was only a low hum of chatter in the cabin.

He woke up when they stopped over in New Optain so they could get something to eat that wasn't train food and soon they were back on the train, heading towards Posterim. Ed had gotten enough sleep so they passed the time playing cards until Al discovered his brother was cheating. That's when Ed decided that reading would probably be the best way to spend the rest of their time. Al muttered something about getting him back. They reached Posterim after a few hours and were pleased to find they only had to wait 45 minutes to get their connecting train to Liore. Ed had taken to watching out the window, even though the sun had long since set. The twinkling lights of the town they were approaching caught his attention and he watched them grow steadily closer.

"Hey, Al?" He kept his flesh hand busy, stroking Ayala's fur.

"Yeah, brother?" Al looked up to see what Ed wanted. Ed's eyes locked with what passed as his own.

"I've got a good feeling about this place." Ed smiled.

"Me too, brother," Al grinned, optimism shining in his voice. Ayala and Chester both hummed their agreement as Ed turned back to watch the approaching lights.


	14. Chapter 14

As optimistic the feeling Ed had in his gut, it didn't stop him from feeling tired, stiff and sore from the train ride when they  _finally_  arrived in Liore. Either Al's sixth sense was working overtime or Ayala had told Chester who'd told Al that Ed wasn't in the best of moods because his younger brother had taken it on himself to talk to the first train station employee they'd come across for instructions to the hotel they were booked into. Directions were given promptly and the woman thanked and the Elric brothers and their Animals soon found themselves in front of the correct building.

While it didn't look impressive, it certainly wasn't the worst they'd seen however they soon found themselves pleasantly surprised by the inside of the building. The atmosphere was quiet and almost too warm but that may have been a combination of the big fireplaces and the fact that it was nearly 2 in the morning. Ed was a lot friendlier towards other people now that he was so close to a bed. Their room was basically the standard room the military always booked them. Two beds, a small kitchenette, a small bathroom and smaller dining room, if a table and two chairs counted as such. They did get another pleasant surprise when they saw the beds were two doubles as opposed to the regular king-singles they got. This meant both humans and Animals had more room to spread out, something Ed took immediate advantage of. He kicked his boots off, took off his leather pants (having discovered how uncomfortable they were to sleep in) and removed his two jackets and collapsed onto the closest bed.

Al, far too used to this behaviour, simply gathered his brothers discarded items and placed them next to his suitcase. Ayala thanked Al in her own way, rubbing up against the armour equivalent of his knee and lower thigh, before she joined Ed on the bed and curling up on him. Al gathered his reading material from the suitcase and carefully placed it on his bedside table before he turned to his brother. Ed had curled onto his left side; Ayala resting her massive head on his flesh arm and had tucked herself up underneath his automail arm.

Al carefully watched his brother's face to make sure he was well and truly asleep and, once satisfied he was, carefully tucked both wolf and boy into the bed properly. Ayala barely cracked a golden eye open at Al's slight manipulation of her and Ed's bodies, far too used to the manhandling. Once he'd tucked his brother in and had checked the locks, he sat next to the only light source in the room and settled in for a night of reading. Chester had already claimed his side of the bed and Al rested one of his massive gloves on the leopards ribcage, pretending he could feel the rise and fall of every breath.

* * *

Ed awoke slowly and comfortably, if a little overheated thanks to Ayala's thick fur coat pressing on half his body. As comfortable and content as he was, he really needed to use the bathroom. Disentangling himself, he headed for the small bathroom. It was only when he emerged that his brother spoke to him for the first time since they checked in.

"Good morning, Ed. Did you sleep well?" Al asked, chipper as usual. Ed blinked the last of the sleep out of eyes.

"Yeah, actually. The beds are pretty comfy. If this was a normal, boring military mission, I'd be tempted to drag it out a few more days than needed," Ed half-joked. The dorm beds he rarely slept on weren't exactly great. Ed almost preferred the times they'd had to camp outside when motels had been booked out or they'd been in the middle of nowhere. Ed scratched the back of his head and stretched. "What time is it?" He asked, stifling a yawn with his flesh hand.

"Uh, a little past 10:00am. I asked one of the employees as they made their morning rounds. There's a little coffee shop not far from here that serves a good breakfast. We can go once everyone's up," he said, glancing pointedly at the sleeping forms of Ayala and Chester. Ed was surprised to realise that neither Animal was awake now that both humans were. Normally, Ed was the last of the four of the to wake up, on the nights he actually went to sleep.

Edward took the opportunity to have the shower he'd foregone for the sake of sleep the night before. Clean and now wide awake, Ed was greeted by both Animals when he came out of the bathroom. Once they'd gathered the items they thought they'd need for today, considering they only planned to do recon work, they headed for the coffee shop Al had been recommended. It was a rather warm day so a lot of the citizens had their windows and doors open in hopes of coaxing a breeze into their homes.

* * *

They were roughly halfway to their destination when Ed realised the radios the townspeople were listening too were all broadcasting the same person. From the snippets Ed heard as they maneuvered around people, it seemed to be a religious channel. Ed couldn't stop an eye roll. He and Al hadn't been raised on any religious beliefs. They'd believed in science and alchemy for as long they could remember and never put any stock into any belief that spoke of an invisible being or beings who created and/pr controlled the world or destiny or anything like that.

Fortunately, they hadn't come across many people who tried shoving their religion down their throats. Those who did left them alone after Ed made his views very clear, usually rather vocally and sometimes, when they were a tad more insistent than normal, violently. They made it to the coffee shop and were greeted and served by an older gentleman. The radio in the joint was tuned to the same channel as every other radio in town was. Ed ordered drinks and food for himself and the Animals and both brothers and Animals took the time to people-watch.

"God's children who live upon this land. Pray in faith and thee shall be saved. Those who've lost their way, the Sun God Leto shall shine..." the voice on the radio droned as their order was placed in front of them.

"So what are you guys? Street performers or something?" The waiter asked them as he filled Ed's glass up. Ed stared at him incredulously.

"Seriously? Do we look like street performers to you?" Ed asked, kinda miffed he hadn't been recognised immediately like he normally was.

"Well, yeah," the older man said, sounding a little apprehensive. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Al. Let's go look around," Ed said as he hoped off the stool he was seated on. Ayala and Chester stood and stretched off the post-breakfast laziness they'd gotten thanks to the over-sized meal. As Al stood though, his head hit the bottom the shelf the little cafe had their radio sitting on. It fell and hit the ground with enough force to smash it into dozens of pieces. Ed didn't really think the lack of preaching voice wasn't a loss but from the looks of his face, the waiter disagreed.

"Hey, easy! What's your problem?!" He exclaimed, looking mournfully at his broken radio.

"Sorry, it was an accident. We'll fix it," Ed said placatingly. The man looked at him like he'd grown an extra head.

"How'd you expect to do that? It's smashed in a million pieces!" He exclaimed. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Watch and learn, gramps," Ed tactfully said. He turned to his younger brother. "You wanna give it a shot?" Al nodded enthusiastically. Arming himself with a piece of chalk Ed had handed hum, Al drew out the appropriate transmutation array. With a glance to and an encouraging nod from Ed, Al placed the radio pieces inside the array and stood, hands placed directly above the array and activated it.

"Okay, here goes!" A few seconds later, the crackle of alchemic energy cleared, revealing the radio restored in better the new condition. Al was pleased with himself and Ed thought the look on the old man's face was worth having that voice speaking again. Ed could tell that Chester was praising Al for the successful transmutation.

"There, see? How's that?" Ed preened. The shopkeeper stared as Al placed the mended radio back in its spot.

"It's a miracle! You've been touched by the Sun God! Just like Father Cornello!" He exclaimed in awe.

"Been touched by who what now?" Ed gaped.

"It's not a miracle, it's alchemy," Al explained. Understanding crossed the old man's face.

"Oh, you two are alchemists. I've heard of them." He sounded less enthusiastic than he had when he thought they'd been blessed by some god.

"Then perhaps you've heard of us? We're the Elric brothers!" Ed exclaimed a bit smugly. The crowd that had gathered when Al activated the array suddenly started commenting to each other.

"The Elric brothers, huh?" The coffee shop worker mulled over the information.

"I've heard of them!" A random towns-person called out. Others soon joined him.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric right?"

"Wow!"

"So you're the young prodigy we hear so many stories about?"

"I see his wolf! Wow, her fur is beautiful!" Ayala puffed up at the compliment. Ed wasn't as pleased as her considering, like always, the crowd had gathered around a flustered Alphonse and amused Chester. Ed felt his eye twitch in annoyance. Alphonse held his big, metal hands up in a half-apology.

"No... It's not me!" He looked at his rather angry looking brother. Chester still found this sort of situation hilarious, no matter how many times it had happened. At least Ayala was the voice of calm and non-violence thoughts in these moments. The citizens turned to face the irked blonde.

"What?"

"You mean Fullmetal is the little guy?" One of the braver or stupider men asked. Alphonse restrained Edward before he could do anything that would be frowned upon. Something like planting his automail fist in the man's face. Something Ed  _totally_  hadn't planned on doing.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING LITTLE?! COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!" Ed thrashed pointlessly in his brother's iron grip as Al apologised and bodily hauled him so he wasn't in arm's length of the unfortunate towns-person. It took several apologies from the man and Al and Ayala's joint efforts to calm Ed down so he was back in a civil mood. Once Alphonse was convinced Ed wouldn't hurt anyone, he let his brother go. Straightening his jackets, Ed shot one last nasty glare at the crowd and turned back to the half-terrified, half-amused coffee shop employee.

"So what's the deal with this guy on the radio?" Now that he'd had a moment to cool down, Ed realised that this preacher may very well be the one the rumours were talking about.

"Th-that's our leader, Father Cornello." The old man was obviously still wary of the volatile blonde. The citizens also had to put their two-cents in.

"We were lost until he came to town and taught us the divine ways of the Sun God, Leto."

"He grants eternal life to the souls of the faithful!"

"He can even resurrect the dead!"

"His miracles are proof that what he says is true!" Ed and Al exchanged glances at the comment about resurrection.

"So this guy claims he can bring the dead back to life, huh? That's something I've gotta see," Ed commented casually. Al nodded in agreement. Their server had evidently decided Ed wasn't going to get violent again and had turned to clean up the mess left from other patrons.

"Well, if you'd like to see proof of his miracles, you'll need to wait until tomorrow. Every day at 9:00am, Father Cornello performs a miracle for us, to show us proof of the Sun God's blessings," he told them.

"Really? Where do these miracles take place?" Ed's mind was already planning their next moves. The first thing they needed was an idea of what they were dealing with. That meant seeing the Father in action.

"He demonstrates his miracles in front of the Sun God's temple. If you'd like, you're welcome to meet me here tomorrow at 8:30 and I'll show you the way there?" The older man offered. The boys seemed genuinely interested and he wasn't one to deny such young ones an easier path to witness Father Cornello's miracles.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you so much for the offer, Mr...?" Al accepted before Ed could tell him to shove it. A ginger cat, darker than normal thanks to the red sand, suddenly leapt down to sit on the bench people ate their meals from. The man looked at it, an exasperated expression on his face. Ed and Al assumed the cat was not allowed up there.

"You can call me Dave. This here is Mick. He's my Animal who apparently has selective memory loss because he knows  _he's not allowed on the bench_." The last words were emphasised and aimed at said Animal. The cat appeared to not care, instead focusing his attention on the two new Animals below him.

"Well, thank you for the offer, Dave. We'll see you tomorrow morning," Al thanked him and once the Animals had finished their secret conversation, the Elric group moved off to explore the town. It was bigger than Resembool but not by much. They found a couple of shops, a bookstore and a couple of promising restaurants. Al was excited about the bookstore and Ed was pretty keen to try the restaurants. Both managed to fulfil their wishes by the end of the day. Al walked out of the bookstore with five new books and Ed had grabbed a couple he'd never read. They grabbed food on their way back to the hotel and ate in the room. They passed the rest of the time reading and discussing theory. Al had tried getting Ed to get some sleep but the blonde had gotten more sleep in the last 48 hours than what he usually got so he wasn't tired. Al gave up after a while and Ed did end up nodding off for a couple of hours so he counted it as a small win.

* * *

They went through their normal morning routine and headed out early so they could meet up with Dave. Ed had made the decision to grab all of their stuff from the room just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. It wouldn't be the first time they'd had to take off quickly after a mission was completed.

They met up with Dave and Mick as discussed and followed the two of them through the streets, moving towards the busier town centre until they came to a stop at the back of what appeared to be every towns-person and visitor in Liore. Even with the mass of people, Ed and Al had no trouble seeing the unbelievably huge temple. Ed reckoned the Fuhrer's mansion was smaller than this temple. Dave and Mick had wandered off to get closer to the stage area after checking if Ed and Al wanted to join them but both boys assured him they'd be fine. Ed used his suitcase as a stool and stood on it so he could get a clearer view of these so-called miracles.

It wasn't long before a figure came to stand at the front of the platform, having at least two other people behind him. From what Ed could see, the central figure was the man supposedly blessed by this god. Father Cornello was a large man with little to no hair and squinty eyes. He wore black robes and a white sash and the only piece of jewelry Ed could see was a ring that glinted in the sun. He used a walking stick but didn't seem to need it as he stood tall in front of his followers. Neither Ed nor Al could see his Animal on stage with him so they were left to assume it was either small or was back inside the temple. Cornello held up a hand to quell the noise the crowd was making and held up a simple flower. Ed watched him carefully and with no movement he could see, the flower was encased in a crackling red light and Cornello was left holding a small version of the statues that were scattered throughout the town. Ed narrowed his eyes as the crowd went wild around him.

"So, that's it, huh? What do you think?" He asked his brother. Al crossed his arms over his chest plate.

"There's no question. That's alchemy. No doubt about it," Al said.

 _"It may be alchemy but there's something wrong about it,"_  Ayala said quietly. Neither she nor Chester had actually seen the transmutation what with all of the legs in the way but they certainly sensed it and neither liked it.

 _"It felt like the night you two attempted that array only not as intense,"_  Chester added, speaking to both Ed and Al. Both boys let that sink in.

"The problem is, this guy is completely ignoring the law of equivalent exchange. He should've only been able to transmute that flower into something of equal mass. Even we had to obey that law," Ed pointed out.

"And he's changing organic matter into inorganic matter. He shouldn't be able to do that. Unless..." Al trailed off, looking at his brother, who was grinning.

"Yeah. There's just one way. Bingo."

* * *

They didn't have to wait long for the crowd to disperse so they could even approach the church. They made their way forward and entered the church barely half an hour after the demonstration and sermon had ended. They took their time, checking every room they saw before they came to the main room. There were dozens of pews set up and a shrine for their god Leto at the front. Next to it was a podium and behind the podium was a magnificent statue of Leto as well as a beautifully crafted stained-glass window. It wasn't until they were halfway down the aisle that they noticed there was someone else in the chapel with them. She was dressed in a simple, white dress and sandals and was currently praying.

"Oh merciful god, please hear me. Hear my prayer, I beg of you. Please bring him back to me." She startled and spun around when she heard a scoff behind her. She faced a short, golden haired boy with a red jacket and piercing gold eyes, a wolf with golden fur and eyes that matched the boy, a seven-foot-tall suit of armour with glowing red eyes and a beautifully dappled leopard. She could honestly say she'd never thought she'd see such an odd group in the church. The blonde boy was staring distastefully at the statue of the great god Leto.

"Hah. So this is the almighty Leto?" He looked at the woman, taking her pretty features and brunette hair with the pink fringe.

"Welcome." She smiled warmly at them. "Are you interested in Letoism?" She looked so hopeful and innocent when she asked.

"Nope, can't say I am. Not really the religious type." Ed watched the woman carefully for anything suspicious. She looked genuinely crestfallen at his answer.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. To know God... It's to know hope. If we believe in divine grace than through him, all things are possible. If you believed, I'm sure Leto would bless you and make you grow taller!" Chester's laughter rang in both Al's and Ed's heads.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Ed screeched at her, causing her to flinch back in confusion. A small, white and grey bird fluttered onto her shoulder, sensing the brunette's fright. Al grabbed the back of Ed's red jacket.

"Easy, brother! She was only trying to help!" He implored Ed to calm down. Ed sat on a wooden pew with a huff and glare. Ayala joined him and offered him her comfort, even if she did find the whole scene rather amusing.

"What about bringing the dead back to life? Do you believe that's possible too?" He asked the woman. She seemed hesitant to answer.

"Yes..."

Ed pulled out his journal from an inner pocket and flipped it to a certain page before leaning back and reading it out loud. "Water; thirty five litres, carbon; twenty kilograms, ammonia; four litres, lime; one point five kilograms, phosphorus; eight hundred grams, salt; two hundred and fifty grams, saltpetre; one hundred grams, and various other trace elements..." He didn't really need the book. That recipe had been burned permanently into his memory ever since that night. The mood was somber as he read the list out. The woman was the only one confused.

"Huh?" She asked, weakly.

"That list represents the complete chemical make-up of the human body for an average adult. It's been calculated to the last microgram and yet there has never been a single reported case of successfully creating a human life. And you're telling me something modern science can't do; you can do with prayer?" The scepticism couldn't be mistaken. The woman looked offended.

"Lift thy voice to god! And the prayers of the faithful shall be answered!" She said, an effort to combat what Ed had said.

"Did I mention; all those ingredients I read off? A kid could go down to his local market and buy every one of them with the spare change in his pocket. Turns out, humans are pretty cheap," Ed spoke like he was talking about something mundane. The brunette shook her head in horror.

"No! That's blasphemy! People are... We're all children of god! We're created in his image!" Al was starting to feel sorry for the woman. Ed was rather tactless when it came to dealing with religious people.

"You have to understand. Alchemists are scientists. We don't believe in unprovable concepts like gods or creators. We observe the physical laws that govern this world in order to learn the truth. It's ironic, really. That through the application of science we have, in many ways, been given the power to play gods ourselves," Ed mused out loud. The brunette now looked scandalised.

"So you're putting yourself on the same level as god? That's... that's sheer arrogance!" Ed mentally granted her that point.

"Ya' know, there's this old myth about a hero who flew on wings made of wax. He thought he could touch the sun but when he got to close, his wings melted and he crashed back down to earth. Isn't that right, Al?" He glanced at his brother.

"Brother..." Al said in a way that told Ed to stop teasing the woman just because of her beliefs and to carry on with the mission. Ed turned his golden eyes back to the woman and saw that she looked devastated. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Miss. This is difficult for me to ask but do you think your Father Cornello could save even an arrogant scientist like me?" He lied through his teeth but she never realised. Instead, she lit up like he'd given her the best gift she'd ever received.

"Of course! If anyone can lead you to our creator, Father Cornello can!" After a moment of debate, she indicated that they should follow her. After shrugging his shoulders at the others, Ed did as she asked and the others followed him. Her little white and grey bird perched on her shoulder and was watching the four of them out of the corner of its eye. "Oh! How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Rose and this is Molly." She'd come to a sudden stop in a hallway and turned to face them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose, Molly. I'm Alphonse and this is my older brother, Edward, his wolf, Ayala and my leopard, Chester," Al, forever polite, introduced them before Ed had a chance to speak. Just as Rose was about to respond, a man in a black uniform of some description entered the hallway and started when he realised he wasn't alone. Ed saw the flash of suspicion and slight paranoia cross the man's features before they smoothed out into a pleasant and slightly questioning look.

"Rose, what a surprise to see you away from the chapel. Who are these two strangers?" The man sounded mild mannered and curious but Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester could see the assessing look he gave them all.

"Brother Cray! These are..." Ed interrupted her before she could go any further.

"We're the Elric brothers. We're here to see Father Cornello." Rose looked annoyed at the interruption but didn't say anything.

"They're here to ask Father Cornello about Letoism," she added brightly. Brother Cray raised a brow slightly at that but didn't question her.

"I'll go talk to Father Cornello and see if he can spare a few moments for two young souls such as yourselves. Please wait here." He spun on his heel and marched down the hallway, turned the corner and disappeared out of sight. Al and Rose made small talk but Ed was dissecting the man's movements and words.

"Did you sense his Animal with him? It must've been small or well-hidden if it was on his person." Ayala hummed at the question.

 _"I believe it was a gecko of some description. I can't be sure the species, not without seeing it."_  Ed thanked her. If Father Cornello's Animal was also something small, Ed might not have to worry about it. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Cray's Animal.

"Can you sense the other Animals in this building?" He asked, looking at her. She closed her eyes in concentration.

 _"From what I can tell, most of the Animals around here are small. There's a few large breeds of dogs and an antelope but it's mainly reptiles, amphibians or birds here,"_  she told him after a minute or so. Ed nodded in acknowledgement before turning his attention to Rose and Al's chatter. A few minutes later, Cray made a reappearance.

"If you'll please follow me, I'll escort you to Father Cornello." He smiled politely and led the way. Ed knew something was up. The man was tense, like he was forcing himself to turn his back to the group as he led them through hallways and down some stairs. "As you can imagine, Father Cornello is a very busy man but he has decided to spare a few minutes for you two." Cray opened a door and stood aside to let them go through first. Rose looked confused, like she'd never seen this place or like it wasn't wear Cornello usually hung out. Ed took in his surroundings quickly. It was a large room, lit only by a few torches with massive pillars holding the roof up. There were a couple of doors, including the ones behind him and there were two sets of staircases that lead up to a balcony and, Ed assumed, out another door.

"Yeah, thanks! Like we said, we'll only be few minutes," Ed said as he heard the doors shut behind him. Spinning around, he was faced with Cray and two other men dressed similarly, only their uniforms were white. Rose gasped as she saw the weapons.

"Good. We'll make this quick," he sneered, the three men hefting their weapons.

"Brother Cray! What is this?! What are you doing?!" She asked, words muffled slightly by the hand she'd thrown over mouth. Cray turned his attention to her.

"They're heathens, Rose! They're here solely to discredit and ensnare the Father! This is God's will!" He spat.

"Brother Cray..." Rose whispered. Ed's grin turned slightly feral even as the two men moved to quickly stop Ed with staffs crossed in front of his chest as Cray pulled a gun out of his waistband and aimed it at Al.

"Like you said... Let's make this quick!" Ed exclaimed as he knocked the spears away from him, landing an automail elbow on one guy's ribcage, hearing a satisfying crack and pained gasp before they even knew what was happening. Before he could react, Ed grabbed the second by one arm and threw him over his shoulder, wrenching the arm back and hearing a loud crunching pop as the man's shoulder dislocated. Before Cray could pull the trigger, Alphonse punched him square on the nose, knocking him out instantly and the gun clattered to the floor near Rose's feet.

 _"The first guy!"_  Ayala cried out as the injured man tried to make a run for it only to trip over the staff Ed aimed at his legs and knock himself out cold on the paved floors.

"Oh yeah! Strike!" Ed exclaimed proudly as Ayala shook her head at his antics. A foreign voice drew their attention to the balcony and Ed's gaze grew hard as he spotted the old man who they were here to see.

"What's all this commotion?" Father Cornello asked, as though it were merely a group of children running amok. His eyes landed on Ed. "Ah! The Fullmetal Alchemist. Welcome to our sacred order." Ed scoffed at what would've been a pleasant welcome were it not for the three unconscious men at their feet.

"Father Cornello!" Rose looked at the man like he could tell her something that would make all of this make sense.

"I must apologise for my disciples' behaviour. It appears they've been misguided." Cornello didn't sound overly apologetic.

"Sure. Let's say I believe you weren't the one guiding them. What next?" He certainly sounded like he didn't believe him. Ayala and Chester had taken up their customary protective stances in front of their humans. Rose stood off to the side, closer to Al. Ed spotted a large brown lumpy thing sitting on Cornello's shoulder and, thanks to Ayala's keen eyesight, identified it as a cane toad. Presumably, this was Cornello's Animal. Rather fitting.

"Are you here to learn the ways of Leto?" Cornello inquired.

"Well, there are a few things I'm curious about," Ed admitted. "For example, how you've been deceiving your followers with second rate alchemy." Cornello actually looked offended. Rose gasped and looked at Ed.

"My dear boy! You're mistaken. What you undoubtedly see as alchemy is really the miraculous power of the Sun God Leto." He placed his hands together and a red glow could be seen between his fingers. As he pulled them apart, a small version of the Leto statue materialised out of nowhere. "Look again. Could mere alchemy create something out of nothing in this way?" Ed eyed the statue.

"Yeah, that's what I didn't get at first. How can you perform transmutations that ignore the law of equivalent exchange?" Ed asked as he rubbed the side of his head. Cornello grinned, like he'd won.

"As I said! It isn't alchemy!" He slammed the small statue on the wooden rail to prove a point.

"Then, I started thinking," Ed continued as though Cornello has said nothing, "what if you somehow acquired a certain object to amplify your alchemy? One that's said to make the impossible possible. That would explain everything." Ed met Cornello's eyes as he glared knowingly at him.

"What?" Cornello looked a tad nervous. Ayala knew they were about to catch him out.

"I'm talking about the Philosopher's Stone!" Ed's eyes zeroed in on the red ring Cornello wore. "Your ring! That's it, isn't it?" Cornello's expression flickered and they knew they were right. "I've been looking for that." Ed started walking towards the old man.

"The ring is just a ring! I am god's humble servant and it's from him alone that I derive my powers!" Cornello said confidently. Ed snorted.

"Still trying to sell that line, huh? If that's the way you wanna play it, I guess I'll have to come up there and beat the truth outta you!" Ayala trotted next to Ed, determined to protect her human. Chester, Al, Molly and Rose stayed where they were. Cornello didn't look phased by the approaching blonde or wolf.

"My, you really are the incorrigible heathen, aren't you?" He sneered before addressing the only woman in the room. "Rose, dear?" She startled slightly.

"Yes, Father?" She asked nervously. Ed paused in his approach.

"That gun there beside you? Pick it up," Cornello ordered the woman. She looked stunned.

"Uh, okay." She scooped it up carefully. Molly twittered frantically but Cornello looked pleased.

"Now, child, I want you to shoot the Fullmetal Alchemist." Ed spun to face Rose as Al did the same. She was the bigger threat at the moment. Ayala prepared herself to intervene if necessary.

"No... Father, I can't do that!" Rose looked absolutely horrified he'd even asked.

"I am the Sun God's chosen emissary! My word is the word of Leto himself! Shoot him, Rose! Why hesitate? It's god's will! When you lost your fiancé due to that tragic accident last year, who was it that saved you from the very depth of despair? Have you forgotten?" Cornello ranted. Rose cradled the gun to her chest as she started crying.

"It was you, Father." A couple of tears slowly ran down her cheeks. Cornello grinned.

"That's right! It was I who took your hand and led you into god's light! And you recall what it was I promised you then?" He continued his manipulation of the fragile woman.

"You said if I had faith, you'd bring him back to life!" She shouted, aiming the gun at Alphonse. Ed felt a tiny twinge of annoyance as once again his brother was mistaken for him. Chester arched his back at the threat to his human, letting a continuous warning growl sound as he readied himself to act.

"Wait, it's not me! I'm his..." Al started saying, hands up defensively.

"LISTEN! I'M THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST! YOU GOT THAT?" Ed yelled at her.

"Him?!" Cornello was honestly shocked. "The short one?" Before Ed could yell at him for that comment, Rose aimed the gun at Ed.

"I'm sorry but... I have to do this. I don't have any choice," she pleaded for Ed to understand.

"He's lying to you, Rose." Ed pitied her. He knew what the ploy was here. Cornello had taken advantage of a grieving woman and turned her into someone willing to do anything for him in return for the impossible. Rose closed her eyes as she clung to her faith.

"No! You're wrong! I've seen his miracles! Father Cornello will bring him back to life! I have faith!" She yelled. Molly was making frantic noises. Ed levelled her with a cool look.

"Fine. Then shoot." Ayala looked at him almost comically but Ed was focused on Rose. She'd pulled the gun back to her chest and was shaking worse than a leaf in a windstorm. She was very nearly in full tears as she closed her eyes to pull the trigger. She couldn't watch herself do it. Her shaking had ruined her aim though so when she squeezed the trigger, the bullet hit Alphonse's helmet instead. The armoured boy let out a surprised grunt as his helmet flew off and he hit the ground.

"AL!" Three voices called out even if only one could be heard by the others. Rose trembled and dropped the gun as she shrieked, Molly screeching on her shoulder. Chester, Ayala and Ed all headed towards the boy. Cornello grinned at the turn of events.

"Good. God Leto is pleased. You have done well, my child. Now, pick up the gun and shoot the other one," he ordered the near-catatonic woman.

"Haven't you made her do enough already?" Al's voice asked. Cornello and Rose's jaws both dropped in disbelief.

"How?" Cornello gaped.

"But your head... I thought I had..." Rose stumbled through the words. Ed picked up and dusted off his brother's helmet while Chester made sure Al was okay and Ayala stood guard. Al stood up, standing slightly to the side and behind his brother, facing Rose.

"Don't worry about it," Ed said as he knocked a fist on Al's armour, making a hollow banging noise. "He's pretty solid."

"Yeah, see? I'm not harmed at all." Al bent down so Rose had a full view of the blood seal and hollow armour. Al took his helmet from his brother's arms and put it back on. Rose looked ready to faint.

"An empty suit of armour that walks and speaks? Do you still doubt it, Rose? This unholy thing is an abomination! Evil of this kind must be purged!" Cornello retreated a couple of steps and reached for something behind him and pulled down. Everyone below him instinctively turned to face the door that was opening. A chimera walked out from the darkness. It looked to be a mix of lion and two other things Ed couldn't identify. "And I believe my chimera ought to up to the task." Cornello grinned evilly. Ed barely gave the chimera a second glance.

"So this is the sort of thing you do with the Philosopher's Stone? That's just twisted," Ed said, disgusted. Rose backed away from the creature in shock. Ayala and Chester both prepared themselves for a fight. "Anyway, looks like I'll need a weapon," Ed sighed as he brought his hands together. The clap rang out in the stone room and he placed his hands on the paved floor before drawing his hand up as he stood.

Blue energy crackled across the area he was using as a spear followed his hand up, materialising from the ground. Once the spear head was finished being created, Ed snatched the weapon before it could fall. He admired the  _extremely tasteful_  dragon that had its tail wrapped around the base of the head and wings extended to make the hilt of the weapon. Satisfied, Ed held the weapon and himself in a defensive stance, Ayala protecting the side the spear wasn't covering, his back.

"No transmutation circle? So your State Alchemist title isn't for show! You truly are gifted." Despite himself, Cornello was impressed. "However, your little spear is no match for a chimera whose claws can tear through iron!" He crowed as the chimera dashed forward and swiped at Ed, forcing him to defend with the spear. Its claws ripped the spear head off, turning it into a staff and useless, before its second swipe connected with his left leg. Ayala came to his aid, throwing herself bodily at the creature so it was forced away from Ed, giving him some space before she retreated back to his side. Rose had gasped in concern but soon her face turned to confusion as she noticed the lack of blood.

"Aw you ripped my pants," Ed whined before grinning. "Guess those claws are useless against steel!" He called as he used his automail leg to land a kick at the charging chimera's face. It whined in pain as it was thrown backwards and was soon shaking its head to rid itself of the double vision it undoubtedly had. Cornello was furious.

"Attack him, you stupid beast!" He screamed at the chimera.

The beast shook its head once more but it was too late. Ed and Ayala rushed it, using the teamwork Teacher and Koda had taught them. Ayala was careful to dodge any attacks, though one claw connected with her right front leg. Ed made sure to use his automail to block any blows he couldn't dodge. The chimera managed to tear his right sleeves before Ed managed to knock the creature out for good. That's when he noticed Ayala's injury. Since it was on the corresponding limb as his automail arm, he never felt the sympathy pain.

"Damn, Ayala. How bad?" He asked as he approached her. She walked over to him, barely limping.

 _"Barely a scratch,"_  she told him. Ed nodded. It wouldn't need his help to heal than. Facing their enemy once again, Ed ripped his jackets off so he wouldn't be burdened by them should he have to fight some more. The automail caught Cornello's eyes and they widened in understanding.

"Your arm. A brother trapped in armour. I see! It's all becoming clear now!" He gloated at his own genius at figuring it out. "You did it, didn't you? The one thing even the most novice alchemist knows is strictly forbidden!" Ed's face screwed up at the insult.

"Why don't you come down here and try me?! I'll show you real quick who the novice is!" He challenged the elder man. Ayala and Al honestly wondered why Ed felt the need to challenge everyone who insulted them. Cornello's face turned gleeful as he realised what an opportunity this gave him.

"You see, Rose?" He said smugly. "These fools attempted human transmutation and this was the price for their sins! That transmutation is the greatest taboo for any alchemist! In their arrogance, they tried to bring someone dead back to life!" Rose barely heard him. She was too busy staring at Edward's arm and the mass of scars that adorned his shoulder and chest. She gasped as she realised the true meaning behind the story he'd told back in the chapel. Tears welled in her eyes as she realised the true meaning behind what Father Cornello had just said.

"Oh no..." She whispered, letting a tear slip down her cheek. Ed glanced at her before looking back at his right arm and flexing it at the elbow. Ayala looked at him sadly.

"This is what happens when you try to play god or whatever you want to call it. Took a good look, Rose. Is this what you want?" Edward's voice grew quiet and completely serious. A huff of laughter drew his attention away from his metal arm and back to Cornello.

"So, this is the great Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric! Not even half a man! Hell, not even half a boy!" He sneered. Ed narrowed his eyes.

"And what're you?! You're just a phony alchemist who can't do anything without the stone!" Ed shot back.

"Father, we just want you to hand the stone over before you get hurt," Al's quiet and polite voice sounded as he stretched his hand out for Cornello to place the ring in. Cornello laughed at him.

"Don't be absurd! Why? So you can use it for yourself?" He raised his cane and placed the other end in his hand. "Please. If you fools are really so eager to play god, perhaps I should send you to meet him instead!" His ring flashed red as he activated the stone, turning the simple wooden cane into a multi-barrelled machine gun before their very eyes. He fired the gun at them, turning the pavers into dust as dozens of bullets pulverised them. A flash of blue alchemy caught his eye and he stopped in surprise. Once the dust cleared, he found himself facing a hastily constructed wall hiding his targets.

"Nah, me and god? We don't get along too well," Ed's voice called out from behind the wall. "Even if I went, he'd probably just send me right back here." Cornello scowled. Al saw his opportunity and took it. Picking Rose up and telling Chester to follow, he raced from Cornello. The Father saw this and took aim at Al's broad metal back and fired, the bullets pinging off the metal. Rose curled in on herself as much as she could and screamed as the bullets flew by.

"This way!" Ed shouted as he clapped his hands together and alchemised a new door a dozen metres away from the original and threw it open in time for Al, Rose and the Animals to race through before he followed them. Molly had taken to the air at Rose's order as soon as Father Cornello had started firing. She led the way for them to escape. They could hear Cornello shouting orders at the men who were waiting outside the original door. They turned a corner and faced a wall of men, blocking their way.

"That's far enough," one man said as they approached.

"What are you gonna do, boy? You're outnumbered and unarmed," another pointed out. Ed flashed a feral grin as he slowed his sprint to a run and let Chester and Ayala overtake him. At his telepathic request, both large Animals tackled the men and cleared a path through the remaining men, still following Molly.

"You don't wanna mess with angry wolf or big cat!" Ed threw over his shoulder as he sprinted away. They turned down a few more hallways before Ed called for them all to stop. Al allowed Rose to escape from his arms. Her eyes were wide and she was still reeling from the shock of what had just transpired.

"What's wrong, brother? Were you hurt?" Al asked worriedly. Ed waved off his concerns.

"Couple of scratches. I'm fine. But we need to come up with a plan," Ed said. "We can't let him keep getting away with using these people like this or that stone!"

"I agree, Ed. What do you have in mind?" Al asked, knowing his brother had undoubtedly planned the moment Cornello unleashed that chimera. Ed's answering grin confirmed that.

"I need you to get a few things and I need to know how to get from here to wherever Cornello has been giving his sermons over the radio." He looked pointedly at Rose for this but she was still in shock. Sighing but not really blaming her, he looked at the bird who had perched herself back on her human's shoulder.

"Molly? I need you to tell me how to get from here to Cornello's radio station," he asked as nicely as he could at that moment. The little bird cocked her head to the side and Ed cursed as he realised he'd asked out loud instead of telepathically. Before he could, Ayala spoke.

 _"She said she can't tell us but she can show us if you'd like."_  Ed was a little surprised Molly was willing to leave Rose after such a major ordeal. The first time someone fired a gun in Ed's general direction, Ayala had damn near torn their throat out and refused to budge from his side for a week. Ed was glad the shooter hadn't been Hawkeye.

"You sure?" Ed asked. A chirp and Molly headed down a hallway, circling until Ed took the hint. Rattling off some things he needed from Al and the plan, Ed and Ayala took off. After she showed them to the room, she took off again, undoubtedly heading back for her human. Ed broke in using alchemy and set the room up how he needed it. Once done, he waited on the desk for Al's confirmation and Cornello to show his ugly face.

* * *

Al was dragging Rose along behind him. She never put up a fight but Al didn't want to leave her alone after the trauma she just went through and the fact that Cornello had fired, knowing she was in the way. Molly had re-joined them and was softly chirping as she tried to soothe Rose and bring her back to reality. Al set about gathering what they needed, the last being the big brass bell hanging in the church's tower.

"What do you think of Cornello now, Rose? He just opened fire. He didn't care that you were in the way," he said, almost sadly. He wished she hadn't been in that situation. She was too innocent and good-hearted for that.

"But... that's because..." She faltered, not being able to find a way to rationalise Cornello's actions with the kind priest she knew so she changed the subject. "What he said back was true, wasn't it?" She felt Al's mood turn sad.

"We are not evil," he said. "All we wanted was to see our mum smile again. But our transmutation failed. What we brought back... it wasn't even human. We learned our mistake the hard way. People don't come back from the dead. Not ever." He sounded like he was going to cry only she realised, he couldn't.

"That's not true! I mean..." She again faltered. Father Cornello had  _promised_  her he'd bring her love back but Al and Ed openly admitted what they'd done and they'd failed and this was their price? She didn't know what to think. She felt like her whole world had been turned upside down.

"Alchemy is based on 'the Law of Equivalent Exchange'. The price of even a failed human transmutation was enormous. It cost my brother his left leg and it cost me my whole body." He placed the bell on the ground and removed his helmet, bending down to show her his blood seal. "Do you see it? My brother drew that with his own blood. His leg had been taken. He was bleeding. I can't imagine the pain he was in..." He trailed off but pulled himself together.

"But through all that, he still gave up his right arm to transmute my soul and bonded me to this suit of armour. And now? I just want to help him get his body back to the way it was. He wants to find a way to get me back to normal too. It won't be easy. We might even get killed along the way. But that's the path we chose and all we can do is keep moving forward." While he was speaking, Al was also drawing out the array his brother had suggested they use.

"But... Father Cornello said... he said he could do it, he promised me! Just because you and your brother failed, it doesn't mean he will!" Her voice rose shrilly with every word as she clung to the last of her faith. Al sighed and asked Chester to send Ed the message they were ready. All he had to do now was wait for Ayala to tell them to activate the array.

* * *

Ed was seriously considering taking a nap. Fucking hell, he was fairly certain he'd seen Mustang do paperwork faster than it took the Father to find him and Ayala. At last, Ayala's ears perked up as she heard fast paced footsteps approaching the room they were waiting in. A few seconds later, Ed straightened up as he heard them too. A chubby, black blur ran past the open doorway before skidding to a stop and backtracking. Father Cornello's triumphant grin was ruined slightly by his red face and panting breaths.

"There you are, you infernal brat!" He shouted. Ed sighed at the dramatics. He noticed the brown lump of a toad had moved shoulders at some point during the confrontation.

"Nice toad. Anyway, let's cut the crap here. All I want are some straight answers and I'll be out of your hair, or lack thereof, or we could get the military involved..." He let himself trail off, the threat being obvious. Cornello took all of a second to think it through.

"Urgh. Fine. Asks your questions," he grumbled, the pudgy toad moving a bit to make itself comfortable.

"You can do anything with the Philosopher's Stone, right? So why waste all of the power performing phony 'miracles'?" Ed swung his leg down so he was now sitting on the desk like one would on a wall and watched the Father carefully.

"Because with each miracle, I attract more new believers. Believers who would lay their lives down for me. I'm slowly building an army! A legion of holy warriors, unafraid to die! In a few more years, I'll be ready to unleash this mindless horde on the world! And I'll use the Philosopher's Stone to tear this country apart! Who knows? I might even carve a slice out for you!" He cackled evilly only to stop when Ed started laughing hysterically. Even Ayala couldn't hide her toothy grin from him. "Wait, why are you laughing?" He was so confused, which made Ed laugh even harder.

"You really are a novice, aren't you?" Ed cackled as he tried to get his breath back. Father Cornello looked absolutely perplexed until Ed lifted up the switch that activated his daily live broadcast. It was in the 'on' position. His eyes followed the lead all the way down to the microphone at his feet. It took another couple of seconds for his mind to make the connection. His jaw dropped in shock before he lunged for the irritating blonde boy.

"Turn that off!" He yelled; voice higher than he would've liked. "Why you little... How long has that been on?!"

"Pretty much the entire time. The second you ran past the door; Ayala here sent a message to my brother's leopard. He then activated the array we came up with. Every single person has just heard your plans. All of your believers," Ed gloated. Cornello let that sink in.

"How could you?! You'll pay dearly for this!" He shouted as Ed looked thoroughly unimpressed with the threat. Lifting his cane, Cornello once again started transmuting it into his weapon but Ed wasn't about to let that happen. Racing forward, he clapped his hands and placed one over his automail, turning it into his blade and sliced clean through the Father's gun, rendering it useless.

"Not today, I won't. Just face it, you're outmatched," Ed said as he came to stop, Ayala moving to take her spot next to him. Cornello was absolutely furious and humiliated. He couldn't let this  _child_ beat him. Hefting the half of the weapon he still had hold of, he activated his ring again.

"I am without rival!" He shouted as the red energy crackled around him. Ed launched into a backwards flip, putting as much distance between them as he could. Ayala moved next to him and they both watched as the light faded to reveal what the Father had done. Except, none of them were expecting what they saw. Cornello gasped in horror as he saw what his entire arm and hand once was melded with the weapon he was trying to make. Ed looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I-it's a rebound." He sounded kinda shocked. Ayala was too. Everything they'd heard and read about the stone said it was a perfect material. It shouldn't cause a rebound.

"No! I won't be disgraced like this!" Cornello placed the ring over his ruined arm and activated it once again. The red energy glowed before mutating it's wielder. Cornello's eyes glowed red and his body expanded so fast, his clothes were torn to shreds. His Animal let out a high-pitched shriek of terror as it was ensconced in the wayward alchemy. "Now, boy! Behold! The chosen emissary of the Sun God Leto!" Cornello's voice grew deeper and Ed wasn't ashamed to admit he was scared by what he saw. He'd never seen such a harsh rebound. Even Ayala was cowering a bit from the monstrosity that was in front of them.

Ed didn't stand a chance as one of Cornello's arms hit him and Ayala, sending them both straight threw the wall to their left. Ed managed to get a hold of Ayala around her waist and flipped, ensuring they landed relatively safely in what Ed identified as the chapel. They had Teacher to thank for that move. Cornello aimed a punch as soon as he got his footing, forcing Ed and Ayala to separate lest they be hit. Ed was relieved to find Cornello's glowing eyes were focused on him and not his wolf. He could defend himself against this but Ayala would be hard-pressed doing the same. Cornello's other fist tried to hit him but he blocked it with his automail arm.

"My word is the divine word of god himself! My fist is the almighty fist of judgement!" Cornello's demonic voice rang out. Ed was straining to keep Cornello's fist at bay and Ayala was whining, wanting to do something but unable. She could tell that she'd never be able to break Cornello's skin with her teeth or claws and she doubted he'd notice if she tried to body tackle him like she did that chimera. She was powerless to save her human and she hated it. Ed could already feel the bruises forming when he got inspiration from Cornello's words.

"Oh yeah? Fist of god huh?" He grunted as he shoved Cornello's hand away from him and fell sideways. Before he hit the ground, he'd righted himself and rushed straight past Ayala. "If that's what you want, you got it!" He shouted as he clapped and threw his hands on the statue of the Sun God himself. Ayala dove out of the way as she realised what he was planning.

The energy of his transmutation crackled and ran up the length of the statue. Cornello tracked the energy and only realised what Ed had done a second before the giant stone fist of the Leto statue slammed into him, driving him mercilessly into the stone ground. Ayala and Ed ran around to the other side of the fist to confront him. Cornello had shrunk down to his normal size but his toad was nowhere to be seen and his arm was still affected by the original rebound. Ayala placed her paws on his chest and snapped her teeth at his bared neck, ensuring she had his undivided attention. Ed approached them and Cornello opened his mouth, probably to demand he get his wolf away from him.

"Just shut up. Give me the Philosopher's Stone," he demanded, even as he reached down to forcibly remove the ring himself. Just before his fingers touched it, the bright red stone suddenly darkened and fell out of its setting. Ed and Ayala's eyes followed the stone as it bounced and came to a rest and then disintegrated before their very eyes. Ed's mind couldn't comprehend what he knew about the stone and what he just saw.

"What the fuck? The stone... it's supposed to be the perfect material! How the fuck did it just break like that?!" He demanded, not even making a move against the priest but his glare still had the old man flinching away from him.

"I-I don't know! I don't know anything about it! P-please spare me! I-I was wrong! Please, I beg you!" Cornello cried actual tears. His toad finally showed itself, unable to resist it's human's strong emotions. "Donald! I thought you were dead!" Cornello exclaimed, temporarily forgetting he was still at the mercy of very irate alchemist. Ed sat back on his butt, Ayala shifted closer to him, looking extremely worried as his face went slack.

"You mean we went through all of this... for nothing? We risked our lives for this one chance and the stone is a fucking fake?!" Ed's voice shook with anger and disbelief. Cornello was reminded of the danger he was still in.

"So, uh, what about me?" Cornello chuckled nervously. Ed turned angry gold eyes on him and Cornello was only slightly more unnerved when the wolf turned identical eyes on him.

"I don't give a fuck. Get out of my sight," Ed growled out. Ayala just growled. Cornello did as he was told. Scrabbling up and making sure Donald was still with him, he took off out of the volatile blondes sight. Ed didn't even watch the disgraced priest flee.

 _"Edward,"_  Ayala said sadly. She was literally the only being who knew exactly what he was feeling. The hope he had allowed himself to feel when they saw that first 'miracle' had only grown in size the more Cornello had used that ring and demonstrated its power and now all of the hope had literally been ripped away and torn to shreds. Chester had felt Ed's emotional turmoil and had sent a question through their link but all Ed could do was send him a message back not to worry. Chester was obviously not soothed by that message but elected to just wait for Ed and Ayala to reappear. Once Ed had collected himself, he and Ayala headed for the front entrance. Al and Chester were waiting for them there.

* * *

"Brother!" Al called as soon as he spotted the short blonde trudging over to them. Ed looked worse for wear but he wasn't in the worst shape his brother had seen. A few minor cuts and scrapes were all Al could see and Ed wasn't limping so that ruled out leg injuries. He wasn't cradling either arm or rib cage so not arm injuries or busted ribs. There was no blood staining Ed's gold hair so no obvious head injuries. Ed gave Alphonse a tired smile.

"Hey, Al. Good job with that array. The plan worked perfectly." Al glowed at Ed's praise but didn't let it distract him.

"Are you hurt?" Al asked, hands reaching forward to grab Ed and look him over but Ed twisted out of his reach.

"I'm fine Al, just the usual bruises and cuts." He was being honest this time. Surprisingly, he had no major injuries. The cuts he had would literally only need cleaning and that was it.

"That's good. What happened with the stone?" Al asked, looking for the elusive red stone. Ed grimaced.

"It was a fake, just like him," Ed sighed, looking straight at Al. "I'm so sorry, little brother. For a moment there, I really felt like we'd found what we were looking for."

"It's okay, Ed. At least this trip gave us some really useful information that will help us in the future," Al said, forever the optimist. Ed had never been more grateful for that particular trait.

"Yeah. You're right." He gave Al a small smile even though he still felt like shit. The sound of a gun being cocked had them turning around and finding Rose holding the gun from the original fight in trembling hands.

"Give me the Philosopher's Stone!" She demanded; the effect was ruined by her trembling hands but the threat was still taken seriously.

"Rose," Al said pleadingly.

"Like I was just saying, the stone was a fake. It's gone," Ed said dispassionately. He was far too tired to give a shit right now.

"You're lying! You kept it for yourself, didn't you?! So you can use it on your bodies! That's right... and so you can try and bring your mother back!" She sounded like she was trying to convince herself that she was in the right.

"You shut up!" Ed yelled at her, shocking her into silence. The intense anger on his face sent a shiver of fear down her spine. "People don't come back from the dead, Rose. Not ever! Not ever," he added the last part quietly, like he was reaffirming that point for himself.

She knew without a doubt that he wasn't lying about anything. She'd been played by Father Cornello the whole time. She dropped the gun and sank to her knees, sobbing as she realised there was no way and had never been a way for the love of her life to come back to her. Molly landed on the ground in front of her, trying to comfort her as best she could.

"But he promised me! He said if I prayed enough, it would happen. A miracle, that's what he said. That was all the hope I had left!" She sobbed into her hands. "What am I supposed to believe in now?! Please! Tell me!" She looked up at Ed, tears staining her pretty face, eyes swollen and red and desperate. Ed turned his back and walked away, talking as he left.

"I can't tell you that. You need to figure that out for yourself. Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs so get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your own path so do it." Rose stopped crying as she let the words of the boy who'd seen and been through way too much wash over her. She watched the armour, wolf and leopard follow him down the stairs of the church. Molly felt the small flame relight in her human's soul and hoped she had the strength to keep it lit.

* * *

Ed had been ready to head straight for the train station and put this town behind him as soon as they recovered the suitcase but Al had talked him into waiting until the next day when there was actually a train to catch. So Ed allowed himself to be shepherded to their hotel room and was shoved into the bathroom with strict instructions to wash all the grot off himself. Once he wasn't covered in an inch-thick layer of dust and grime, he had a look at his injuries as best as he could. Like he'd thought, there were no major injuries. It was all shallow cuts, bruises or scrapes. He had a massive headache he hadn't noticed that he was sure was from being thrown through that wall. His automail arm hurt at the port from struggling to hold monster-Cornello's fist from flattening him but it was nothing a couple of days of not using it wouldn't fix. Grabbing the fresh clothes Al had shoved in his arms before he'd been shoved in the bathroom, he dressed and emerged to find it was nearly dark outside.

"Brother. I asked the hotel clerk to ring the train station and we're booked to leave tomorrow at 9:00am. Do you want to call the colonel now or before we leave?" Ed groaned. He'd almost managed to forget that he was required to check in with Mustang when he'd completed his missions at the earliest opportunity.

"Fuck. I'll call him in the morning. The last thing I want right now is to hear his stupid voice," Ed moaned as he laid down on his bed.

"Okay, brother. Do you want me to go get dinner?" Al offered as a peace treaty. Ed thought about it for a moment. The walk back had revealed that the townspeople were torn between disbelief their hero had been lying to them the whole time, despising the two Elric's for exposing him or being grateful they'd done so. It was kinda hit-and-miss with the confusion in the town. While Al could handle himself better than Ed could and he would have Chester with him, Ed wasn't totally sold on the idea of him going out by himself just for food. "Brother, you need to eat, especially after using so much energy and alchemy." Ed hated it when Al used logic.

"Okay, Al. Stay safe though," Ed caved. The idea of food and knowledge that Al could kick anyone's arse winning him over.

"I will, brother. We'll be back soon," Al said as he grabbed some money and left with Chester. Ayala climbed up on the bed with her human. Ed took one look at her dusty fur and groaned.

 _"What's wrong?"_  Ayala asked, concerned. Ed scrubbed his face with his flesh hand.

"You're absolutely filthy. You've still got blood on you. Go into the bathroom and I'll give you a bath." It was Ayala's turn to groan. She wasn't fond of baths but she didn't argue. Ed had literally forced her to get in a bath with his alchemy before and it wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat.

Ed washed her fur out and toweled her dry before inspecting the scratch she'd gotten from the chimera. It was nothing to worry about, like they'd first thought, and he left it alone, simply cleaning the blood away and disinfecting the wound. Both collapsed back on their bed and waited for the arrival of food. They were waiting for a lot longer than they thought necessary and were considering contacting Chester when the aforementioned leopard and Al walked in through the door.

"What took you so long?" Ed asked concerned. Al unburdened himself and Ed zoomed straight for the delicious smelling food. He dished himself, Ayala and Chester dinner and waited for Al to answer.

"Oh, I decided to duck by the train station and grab our tickets so we weren't in as big a rush in the morning," Al said, producing said tickets.

"Oh, good idea," Ed praised around a mouthful of food.

Al mentally frowned at the lack of manners but Ed didn't notice the suspicion. Al was right about him needing the food though. While not the biggest fight he'd been in, he'd still performed a decent amount of alchemy, not to mention fought a chimera and an oversized and angry Cornello. All that amounted to a lot of used energy and what would be an irritable Edward if he didn't replenish as much energy as he could. So that meant eating as much food as he could shove in his mouth and sleeping as much as he could. It was one of the few times he'd sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time without complaint. Once he'd eaten, he grabbed one of their new books and made himself comfortable as he started reading. It was only a couple of hours later that Al was placing the book on the bedside table and tucking his sleeping brother into bed. Ayala placed her head on his chest and let his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

* * *

Ed woke up before dawn the next morning because why not? Al didn't complain because he knew it would be pointless. Once Ed woke up, he was up until he decided to crash again. They used the time to have a proper breakfast and Ed had a shower before they finally packed all of their belongings and made their way down the train station. They weaved through the Liore citizens who were up and about. Their skin crawled with the pent-up tension that permeated the town. Ed didn't know what happened with Cornello after he ran away after Ed discovered the stone was a fake and he wasn't sticking around to find out what the townsfolk would do now that they were coming out of their collective shock.

Neither human nor Animal saw the overly fat man or the sinfully beautiful woman watching them carefully from the shade provided by a nearby building. Ayala and Chester could feel the same wrongness Ayala had sensed in Central when Ed was taking the State Alchemist exam, though this time it felt slightly different. Chester could sense it and a quick confirmation from Ayala told him this was what she'd described over a year and a half ago. Both Animals scanned their immediate surroundings but they were too late. The woman and man had moved on. Neither Elric brother had noticed anything unusual about the pairs behaviour.

They made it to the station with no one stopping them for any reason. Edward figured the town had more important things to deal with than the two strangers who'd uncovered the plot leaving. The train station employee checked their tickets and let them board the waiting train, even though there was still half an hour to go before they were scheduled to leave. They spent the time playing cards until the train conductor announced their imminent departure. No one else had boarded the carriage they were in, something they were kind of grateful about. They watched as the train slowly pulled away from the station and soon enough the town was behind them.

"I wish we could've said goodbye to Rose and checked to see how she was coping," Al said quietly. "We kinda put her through a lot yesterday."

"I know but we can't change that now. You know it was better for those people to realise what was going on," Ed said, not looking up from his book.

"I know, brother. We did the right thing. I just wish she hadn't been as involved as she was." Al felt guilty. Every other citizen had had the news broken to them over a radio station but Rose had actually had to witness the entire ordeal and her priest turn on her.

"Maybe it was for the best that she did. She was a firm believer. Maybe even Cornello's strongest believer. I doubt she would've been convinced by that broadcast alone. Not after what he'd promised her." This time, Ed locked his eyes with his brother's glowing ones. "There's no point in worrying about what's been done, anyway." It was something they told each other when a mission didn't go as smoothly as it could have or they'd done something they wished they could've done differently.

"You're probably right, brother. You also didn't call Mustang this morning." Al's swift subject change told Ed he'd come to accept the events soon. Ed flashed him a not-so-guilty smile.

"Whoops." Al mentally rolled his eyes.

"You need to find a payphone when we stop so you can call him," Al told him. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Sure, Al. Whatever you reckon," he said, pointedly going back to his reading as Ayala and Chester laughed at him. Al resolved to simply nag him until he did.

* * *

The trip back to Posterim seemed faster than it had been from Posterim to Liore. Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester deboarded when it was safe to do so and went to speak with the ticket seller about a train back to East City. Ed was annoyed that the connecting train wouldn't be leaving for another two hours but Al thanked the lady and paid for their tickets before he could complain.

"It's not the lady's fault the train isn't leaving sooner," Al scolded as they went to get some food from a nearby vendor, neither willing to leave the station. Ed scowled but didn't say anything. "Look brother, a payphone. You can contact Colonel Mustang now."

"Subtle, Al. Let me eat first. It's been forever since breakfast," Ed complained as he started unpacking his less-than-stellar lunch. Handing Ayala and Chester theirs, they all dug in as Al spent the time people watching.

The town was a lot busier than Liore was but not in East City's league so Al had fun watching the different Animals and their humans wander past. He saw a duck, wolverine, panther, rat, gazelle, black bear and even a giraffe. He almost missed Ed finishing his lunch and sneaking his book back out to avoid calling Mustang.

"Go call the office, Edward," Al's no-argument tone ordered. Ayala and Chester sniggered.

"Fine. Maybe he'll give me an excuse to see if I can injure him over a phone line," he said, somewhat wistfully as he stomped over to the payphone. Placing the phone against his ear, he rifled for some change but frowned when he came up empty. He thought he always had some in his pocket. "Oi, Al! You got any loose change?" Al managed to scrounge up enough money, much to Ed's disappointment, and Ed fed the phone and dialled the number for Mustang's office.

"Colonel Mustang's office," a familiar voice said smoothly.

"Hey, Miss Riza. It's Ed." Al was hovering nearby in case he actually had to stop Ed from following through with his semi-threat.

"Hello, Edward. I'm assuming you're done with your mission?" She said.

"Yup. I'm in Posterim at the moment. Gonna catch my connection in about an hour so I'll be East City tonight," Ed told her.

"Glad to hear it. Colonel Mustang is busy with a meeting at the moment. Would you like me to pass along the message?" Thank fuck. He dodged a bullet there.

"If you could, please," Ed said gratefully.

"Of course. I'll let him know. Have a safe trip, Edward." Ed could hear the slight amusement in her tone at his evident happiness at avoiding Mustang for a bit longer.

"Thanks, Miss Riza. I'll do my best," he said before they both hung up.

"Well, there was no screaming or swearing so I'm assuming you never spoke to Mustang," Al said dryly.

"He was in a meeting. Hawkeye's gonna pass along the message," Ed said happily. Al shook his head at his brother's oddities. He honestly didn't understand his brother's continued hatred for the man. Especially since he knew Ed actually respected Mustang and, to a certain degree, cared about him.

"You know you still have to write up a report for him." Ed groaned as he placed his head on the open book in his hands. Al chuckled at him. "You know, if you just did it before the Colonel had to ask, you wouldn't get into trouble."

"You have an excellent point, Al," Ed conceded as he lifted his head from the book and turned back to reading. Ayala decided to join him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're not going to write that report until he's ordered you too, are you?" Al sighed, already resigned.

"Yup. It's the principle of the matter," Ed said stubbornly. It wasn't that he hated doing the reports. He just found them irritating, unnecessary and he didn't like giving Mustang the satisfaction of him doing something military ordered without any arguments. Al didn't bother pushing the matter. Chester curled up next to his armoured thighs and napped as much as possible until, forty minutes later, they were asked to board the train bound for East City with the rest of the passengers. Securing two benches, the four of them settled in for the long haul back to the base.

* * *

The train ride was uneventful, something they all were happy about. It wouldn't be the first time after a difficult mission that they had to stop some dumbass from trying to hijack the train they were on. It was nearly midnight when they came to a stop in East City station. They trudged through the streets, following the familiar route that took them to their dorm room. Dumping their gear, Ed went for a quick shower before they all headed for the library. Ed wanted to see if there were any books on fake Philosopher Stones. He argued that he'd gotten plenty of sleep in Liore and on the train ride home when Al told him he should get some sleep first.

Ed didn't budge and eventually told Al he could stay in the dorm if he wanted but Ed was going to the library. Resisting the urge to alchemise his brother to his bed, Al followed him, muttering curses about his stupidity. Ed ignored him. A librarian they'd only met a couple of times, Ed thought his name was Tom, greeted them but left them in peace once they reached their table. It looked exactly the same as they'd left it. This time, when they took up their books and pens, they were looking for clues about false stones as well as real ones.

At 8:00am, Havoc found them hunched over their research. Funnily enough, Ed was the first to spot him.

"Havoc? What's up?" He asked curious. Havoc didn't go to libraries all that often. He wasn't a fan of reading.

"Bossman sent me. He says you're to turn in your report by the end of the business day," Havoc dutifully reported.

Ed rolled his eyes. No matter how many times he suggested it to them, the members of Mustang's team refused to just let their Animal's pass along the message and spend the time they were supposed to be finding him doing something else. Ed didn't understand it until Fuery had finally told him it was simply because they liked spending time with him, even if was only a couple of minutes. Ed had been stunned by the admission and couldn't say anything other than a simple 'oh' in response.

"What's his paperwork pile like today?" Ed asked, brow raising in question. Havoc's grin turned amused when he understood what Ed was really asking.

"Considering the Lieutenant found his newest hiding place? Extremely tall. He'll probably be there long after the rest of us," Havoc informed him. Ed snorted.

"Where'd he try hiding them this time?" Ed had though he'd have learnt his lesson last time the Lieutenant had discovered his hiding spot. He hadn't been there but from the stories he'd been told, he almost wished he had been.

"Under his couch cushions." Havoc almost sounded impressed. Ed laughed. It was a pretty clever spot, if he was being truthful.

"Solid choice," he sniggered and Havoc joined him. Al was more amused by their behaviour than he was with Mustang's antics. "So Hawkeye has strongly recommended he stay behind and finish all of paperwork?" Ed asked, laughing still.

"You know it," Havoc confirmed. Ed nodded. That meant he had plenty of time. To dawdle, that is.

"Thanks for letting me know. Tell him I got the message." Ed smirked. Havoc returned the smirk, knowing full well Ed wouldn't turn up until late that night. With a salute they both knew Havoc only gave because he was in public, he left and headed back for the office. Al and he resumed their research before Al obviously couldn't help but make an observation.

"You're not going to turn that report in until late, are you?" Al asked, already certain of the answer.

"Hey, Havoc said at the end of the workday. It's not my fault Mustang didn't specifically say 'the end of the normal workday'," Ed pointed out.

"Brother..." Al sighed.

"Alphonse..." Ed mimicked his tone. "I'll contact Nala and make sure Mustang plans on staying late," he offered as an olive branch.

"Only if you promise that you'll go by the end of the normal working day if he doesn't stay late," Al compromised.

"Fine. I promise. And you'll be coming with me. I still need to ask for that trip back to Resembool," Ed told him. Al accepted the deal and Ed contacted the lioness. "Hey, Nala. Is Mustang gonna hang back late today?" He asked, straight to the point.

 _"Hey, yourself. Yes. Hawkeye was very_ persuasive _in her argument that he gets all his paperwork done before he goes home."_  Nala sounded much more amused than Havoc had. Hawkeye's tactic must've been very entertaining.

"Excellent. Let me know if he considers making a break for it before he's done so I can turn the stupid report in," Ed requested, a little reluctantly.

 _"I will. How are you, anyway? I sensed something was wrong two days ago."_  Ed flinched when he realised she was talking about the emotional bundle he'd felt when he'd discovered the stone wasn't real.

"I'm okay. I'm sure I'll had to verbally give a report as well, considering my real mission, so you'll find out then. I just don't want to talk about it twice on the same day. I'll see you tonight." Nala hummed, concerned but agreed to wait for answers. Their connection was broken.

"So? What'd she say?" Al asked nosily.

"Mustang will be staying back rather late tonight. She'll let me know if that changes." Ed shortened the story. Al accepted the plan. Ayala nosed his flesh hand, concerned he was upset again but Ed gave her a reassuring smile. Chester yawned from the top of the bookshelf he'd adopted as a bed and offered an encouraging feeling that Ed appreciated.

* * *

The day passed with only a couple of disruptions. Namely, Allysha and Bruce came by to say hello when their shift started and they were informed the brothers were there. There was also a break for lunch, which Al forced Ed to go get so he got some fresh air. Ed grumbled but did as he was told, both Chester and Ayala joined him, the need to stretch their legs too great. They stopped at the first place they knew sold decent food and grabbed some sandwiches and drinks before heading back.

When the time most military members went home approached, Nala contacted Ed informing him that Mustang was getting cranky. Ed laughed and made sure he was still planning on finishing his paperwork lest he be shot by his First Lieutenant. Nala promised him he was. Ed took the hour before he planned on leaving to write out his stupid report, purposefully leaving out a few details and Rose's involvement. Al was happy to see him doing as he was supposed to until he realised his brother had decided a purple texta had been an appropriate writing utensil. He didn't know who he felt sorrier for, Ed for Mustang's lecture regarding the pen and lateness or Mustang for Ed's usual behaviour added to any resulting grumpiness from having to leave the library.

When Nala contacted Ed to tell him Mustang was in a really foul mood, Ed decided to leave. He'd just finished the report so he didn't really have an excuse not to go, other than his usual 'I don't want too'. The walk to the office took barely any time and they were there by 7:00pm, only an hour and a half after Hawkeye usually left. Since Ed couldn't sense any Animals, aside from theirs and Nala, he knew everyone else had gone home and he didn't bother knocking. Kicking in Mustang's inner office door resulted in the colonel shooting Ed an exceptionally irritated look.

"What part of 'by the end of the workday' did you not understand, Fullmetal?" He ground out.

"Hey, Nala. Also, you're still working so therefore your working day has not ended so I'm not late," Ed retorted. Mustang's left eye twitched in annoyance.

"You knew exactly what I meant." He wasn't amused. Nala was though and he shot his lioness a dirty look.

"I did. That's why I got here before you left for the night," Ed argued back. Al groaned.

"Brother, please don't irritate the colonel," he pleaded. Ed sighed.

"Fine. Here's your stupid report," he said as he tossed the paper at Mustang, who caught it out of reflex. Spotting the purple ink, he quirked a brow.

"Ran out of black pens, did you?" He asked sarcastically.

"Nope," Ed said simply. Mustang refused to argue. The little shit was intentionally trying to get a rise out of him. Taking a deep breath, Mustang forced himself to use his calm, professional persona.

"Good job in Liore, boys. I appreciate you resolving this matter." Ed rolled his eyes as he sat next to Nala.

"Whatever. We didn't do it for you," Ed dismissed the thanks.

"Right. The Philosopher's Stone. I'm assuming from your lack of excitement or changes; it was another false lead," Mustang observed. A crestfallen expression flickered across Ed's face before he could fully stop it.

"Yup. After all that shit, the stone was a fake. Though the power was real enough. That Cornello prick was able to transmute a chimera right in front of us." Al silently agreed. The power of a fake stone was almost phenomenal. He wondered what a real stone would be like.

"I'm still curious as to how he did that. I'm not familiar enough with bio-alchemy to make any theories," Al wondered out loud. Ed nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I was curious about that as well. Might be worth adding to our research list. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something that could help us reach our goal," Ed added. He wasn't sure what answers he thought bio-alchemy could hold but he refused to leave any stone unturned.

"I think it's a good idea," Al agreed. Ed hoped East City Library had some informative books on this alchemy.

"It might be helpful if you consulted a specialist in that area," Mustang suddenly said. Both boys turned to face him.

"What?" They echoed each other.

"The Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker. He's commonly referred to as the expert on chimeras. He lives in East City. I'll introduce you to him." Mustang didn't know where this offer came from, only that he didn't want Ed or Al to be overloaded more than they absolutely needed to be.

"You'd do that for us?" Al asked like he couldn't believe Mustang would offer to something as simple as introducing them to someone who could help. Ed, naturally, didn't believe him.

"What's the catch? You want something, don't you?" He immediately accused, ignoring Al calling his name as he turned so he could see Mustang.

"There's no catch! I'm just trying to repay you for your work on the Liore case! Doing you a favour is better than being indebted to you," he said the first thing that came to his mind that sounded believable enough. Judging by the look on Ed's face, it worked. Sighing, Mustang turned to sit back at his desk, having wandered to the window while Ed and Al were talking. "If you swing by before work, I'll take you guys over to meet him. He's not too far from the dorms, if my memory serves me right." Ed let the obvious 'old man' comment slide since Mustang was helping them.

"Oh! Alphonse, do you still want me to ask?" He whispered to his brother. The whispering caught Mustang's attention.

"Yeah. How long do you think?" Al asked back. Ed considered the question.

"Let's say a week at Tucker's, if he's willing to let us look at his research. Then how long there?" Al nodded in agreement. Mustang was very curious now.

"The same? Is that enough time for everything?" Al wasn't sure. Ed nodded.

"Should be. It normally doesn't take more than a couple of days if there's nothing major to deal with," Ed said after contemplating for a moment. He finally turned to Mustang and found the man looking slightly amused at the conversation.

"Is there something you'd like to ask me?" Mustang asked as though he wasn't already aware they did.

"Yes. We need a week to go back to Resembool. I need to get my automail looked at and Winry can make sure Al's armour is in good nick." Ed didn't bother with politeness. Mustang wouldn't buy it anyway.

"And I'm assuming you'd like to head off in a week's time?" Mustang gathered this from the whispered conversation.

"Yup," Ed confirmed.

"Is your automail damaged?" Mustang asked, a bit of concern showing in his voice. Nala echoed the concern but to a deeper degree.

"No, but it's been months since I've had them checked. Wouldn't want them to fail in the middle of a mission. My mechanic is far scarier than you and I'm not above blaming you for me not being able to get them checked," Ed threatened. Mustang had been privy to the many stories of Miss Rockbell's wrath and the threat was more effective than he would've cared to admit.

"As long as there are no extenuating circumstances, you may take your leave starting a week from tomorrow." Ed grinned at Al and could feel the joy rolling off the younger boy.

"Thank you, Colonel Mustang," Al said gratefully.

"What he said," he grouched after Al elbowed him in the side. Mustang smirked.

"You're welcome. I'll see you boys tomorrow morning at 7:00am sharp. Dismissed." Mustang waited for them to leave, Ed calling out a goodbye to his lioness, before sighing and looking at the still mountainous stack of paperwork he had left to get through. He doubted he'd be home before midnight. Picking up his pen and groaning at the thought of dealing with Edward on little sleep, he got back to work before his Lieutenant decided to follow through with her threat of giving Edward a pair of his gloves.

* * *

Ed didn't bother heading back to the dorms. They'd been in the middle of an interesting theory when Nala had contacted him and he was determined to get back to it. Al debated whether it would be worth wasting his breath trying to get Ed to go get some sleep and decided against it. Ed had an irritating habit of putting off sleep or eating if it meant he'd find some small piece of information that could potentially help them. Al had long since given up trying to break him of that habit.

Aside from a detour to grab some dinner, something that took both Chester and Ayala reminding Ed he needed to eat before he agreed, the trip back to the library was as uneventful as always. Ed scoured the library and even roped Allysha into helping in his search for anything written by Shou Tucker. They didn't find much so Ed settled for some books that covered the broader aspects of bio-alchemy. The night passed without much talking between any of them, with Ayala and Chester sleeping for most of the night.

Al was the first one to notice the time and, for once, Ed was glad he had since they barely had enough time to get to the office to meet Mustang on time. They ran most of the way there, only slowing to a walk once they were close to the base. They spotted Mustang waiting near where the car park was and headed over. Mustang made a show at looking at Ed then his watch and looking surprised. Level ten eyeroll activated. Al laughed at him, the traitor. A car pulled to a stop in front of them all and the window rolled down to reveal Havoc.

"On chauffeur duty again?" Ed asked as he gave Havoc a smirk in lieu of an actual greeting.

"You know me, chief. Anything to prolong exposure to Hawkeye's sour mood when she realises the bossman won't be in on time." He grinned back and Ed laughed as he climbed in the backseat next to Al and the three larger Animals. Mustang claimed the front seat and shot Havoc an unamused look. Havoc cleared his throat in an effort to avoid laughing at Ed who was struggling to keep a straight face.

"We're heading to the Tucker residence." Havoc nodded at the instructions and headed presumably in the direction of Shou Tucker's home.

Ed and Al passed the time looking out the window and, in Edward's case, chatting to Nala and Mark about anything interesting (i.e. embarrassing) that had happened in the office or to any team member. He was kinda disappointed nothing, aside from Havoc epically failing to pick up some woman, happened. He'd already been told about the discovery of paperwork under the couch cushions, which Mark was upset about because he wanted to tell him. He shot his human a dirty glare that Havoc couldn't figure out the reason for. Nala was happy to keep passing on stories of Mustang's childhood from when she arrived, which Ed was kinda pissed he could never use against him. Nala had told him she'd been questioned again about whether she and Ed could actually talk to each other and that she'd once again denied it but they both knew Mustang still suspected them.

* * *

They finally pulled up just outside of the biggest house Ed and Al had seen yet. It had a huge sprawling yard and wrought iron fence. The walkway lead to two massive doors Ed was certain could rival the East City Library doors. Havoc stayed with the car with instructions to wait for Mustang to come back out. Mustang lead them all up the path, Ed followed him and Al followed Ed. The Animals generally stuck with their humans but Nala did kinda bounce between Ed and Mustang.

"Two years ago," Mustang started talking, capturing Ed and Al's attention as they approached the door. "Tucker transmuted a chimera who could understand human speech. That's what earned him his certification as a State Alchemist."

"By 'understand human speech' you mean... wait you mean it talks? A chimera?" Ed asked. If he was right in interpreting Mustang, it was no wonder Tucker had gotten certified as a State Alchemist. Mustang nodded.

"That's right. Supposedly, anyway. It said only one thing. 'I want to die'. After that, it refused to eat until it got its wish," Mustang told them. Ed frowned out that. Why would a chimera want to die? Maybe he'd find out after he looked at the research of its creator.

Ed suddenly found himself looking up at the sky as Ayala stood just beside him, snarling at something. Getting over his slight shock, Ed sat up and spotted the formidable enemy Ayala was challenging. A massive, white, fluffball of a dog that looked ridiculously happy considering an Arctic wolf was currently threatening to tear it's throat out. Before Ed could reprimand Ayala for overreacting  _again_  or tell the bastard colonel to shut his laughing face, one of the massive doors swung open to reveal a small girl looking at them curiously.

"Daddy! There are people out here! Look!" She yelled over her shoulder, twin red-brown braids swinging with her head movements.

Ed figured she couldn't be any more than 5 or 6 years old so the massive white mutt was obviously not her Spirit Animal, if it were one at all. Ayala quickly told him that it wasn't, rather it was just a regular dog. A man with glasses and a weary expression approached the door and gently placed a hand on the little girls shoulder. He had the biggest spider Ed had ever seen on his shoulder and he looked completely okay with it, which is something Ed didn't understand. Chester was the one who informed him that the spider was the man's Animal and Ed shuddered. He wasn't the biggest fan of spiders.

"Nina, this is why I told you to keep the dog tied up. He's too big to be jumping on people. One of these men could've been hurt," he lectured the little girl, who looked horrified at the idea.

"Alexander wouldn't hurt anyone, daddy!" She insisted and the fluffball boofed in agreement. Nina's big blue eyes crinkled with the size of her smile. "See?" She said, as though that made her win the argument.

"I apologise, Colonel Mustang. I hope Alexander didn't cause any problems for you or your group," Tucker said with a slight bow.

"He didn't bother us," Mustang dismissed the apology. Tucker visibly relaxed and the spider shifted. Ed couldn't help but stare it down. Whenever there was a spider near him, it garnered his undivided attention until someone made it go away.

"I'm glad to hear that. Would you like to come in?" Tucker asked, stepping out of the way and creating a welcoming gesture with his arm.

"Thank you," Mustang said as he accepted the invite and walked through the door.

Ed followed but he made sure he was as far away as humanely possible from Tucker and his spider. Al sighed, knowing why Ed was behaving that way, and brought up the rear. Ayala was torn between amusement and sympathy regarding her humans behaviour. Chester didn't have that problem. He laughed at Ed, who promptly shot the leopard a glare that would render a normal foe quaking. Chester just continued his snickering. Mustang had also noticed Edward's behaviour and quietly slowed down so he was level with Alphonse.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Mustang whispered, keeping an eye on Ed in case the blonde heard him. Al panicked.

"I can't tell you. Brother would kill me!" He whispered back. He wasn't lying either. Edward hated people knowing about his weaknesses and he considered his arachnophobia embarrassing. Mustang sighed.

"Alphonse, what is it?" He asked nicely but Al shook his head.

"I'm sorry, colonel. It's up to Ed if he wants people to know. I promise it's nothing that'll majorly affect his missions," Al reassured the black-haired man, which just made said man all the more curious. Tucker finally finished leading them to a dining room of sorts and indicated they should all sit down. Ed sat where he had the best view of the spider. Al sat on one side and Ayala on his other as two sources of comfort. Mustang remained standing.

"I believe some introductions are in order. These two are the Elric brothers. This is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist," he indicated to Ed, who barely managed to incline his head, "Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal's younger brother," Al raised a massive hand and waved, "Fullmetal's wolf, Ayala and Alphonse's leopard, Chester." Tucker acknowledged each introduction with a small smile. Nina was busy staring at Ayala, Chester and Nala in obvious awe as she sat with Alexander. Mustang took the seat next to Ayala.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I apologise for the mess. Ever since my wife ran out, the place has been a wreck. I'm afraid I'm not much of a housekeeper. Now that we're all settled in, please let me say that it's a pleasure to meet you, Edward. I'm sure Colonel Mustang has already told you but I'm Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist," he said, a bit quietly and Ed wasn't sure if he was trying to keep Nina from hearing or if he was always that soft-spoken.

"Fullmetal is interested in the field of biological alchemy. He would like to have a look at your research, if possible," Mustang explained. Tucker looked a little surprised and Ed thought he saw a flash of something else but it was gone before he could identify it. Before he answered, he turned to Nina and told her to take Alexander outside and play, which she did with some whining. He faced the group of alchemists again.

"Oh, yes, certainly. I don't mind. However, if you want to me to show you the tricks I've got up my sleeve, it's only fair that you show me the tricks you've got up yours as well. It's the code we alchemist's live by. Equivalent exchange. Now, why do you want to know about biological alchemy?" Tucker hid his mouth behind his folded hands and watched Ed carefully. Ed and Al were both impressed with Tucker's forwardness. Most people would've tried to sugar coat what they wanted with Ed. Mustang was the only one who had an obvious reaction.

"Oh, um... Ed... Well, you see he's-" he stuttered and stopped when Ed held a hand up.

"It's okay, colonel." Ed's eyes were on Tucker. Mustang was almost surprised to realise Ed hadn't followed his rank with an insult. Ed steeled his eyes and gave Tucker the shortened and heavily censored version of what had happened and why he wanted access to Tucker's research. He showed Tucker his automail arm which seemed to be the only proof he needed of his story.

"You transmuted your mother... as an eleven-year-old child? I see. So your automail inspired your State Alchemist title? You've had a rough time of it for someone so young. I can't say if it's going to be of any use to you or not, but why don't you go ahead and take a look at my laboratory?" He offered. Ed and A looked at one another.

"Are you two cool with that?" Ed asked their two Animals, just in case they wanted to hang back. The Chimera in Liore had unsettled them all and he wouldn't force them to see more of the creatures but both said they'd go with them.

"We would appreciate the opportunity," Al accepted before Ed could. Tucker stood from the table and, once he ensured Nina was still outdoors with Alexander by looking out the massive windows, he led the way down to his lab. Ed and the others were overtaken by the various noises coming from the darkened lab when Tucker opened the door.

"It's kind of embarrassing but I'm widely regarded as an authority on chimeras. The truth is it hasn't been going that well," Tucker said sheepishly and sadly. Ed could sympathise. After a quick scan of his notes, Ed realised he needed to know more about the actual alchemy than just the part that focused on chimeras. This was something he relayed to Tucker who nodded in understanding. He led them to another room and once Ed saw what was inside, he almost forgot about the massive spider still perched on Tucker's shoulder. It was a massive room of books.

"Wow! Amazing!" He exclaimed at the same time as Ayala let out an appreciative noise.

"This is my library. Feel free to look around." He barely finished the offer before Ed and Al were already moving towards the first shelf.

"Alright, then I'll start with this shelf!" Ed called out to Al. Ayala knocked books down and created a pile for Ed to read.

"Okay, I'll start over here!" Al called out; somewhere behind Ed. Mustang watched all of this with a bemused expression. His eyes lingered on Ed for a moment. He'd been worried Ed hadn't been getting enough sleep but right now he looked as alert and awake as ever.

"I'm going to head back to work now. I'll send someone by later to pick you up," Mustang told them. He couldn't linger anymore or he'd be killed by a certain blonde-haired lieutenant. He also knew what the brothers were like when they got too deep into their reading, hence why he said he'd organise a pickup for them. To his and Tucker's amusement, neither Elric nor Animal acknowledged what he'd just said.

"They've got some ability to focus. I'm not sure they even know we're here anymore," Tucker observed. "Quite a catch, these two. A couple of prodigies," he said, a little quieter as he watched Ed absorb the book he was reading.

Ed and Al never noticed Mustang, Nala and Tucker leaving them to their own devices. They devoured book after book, trying to learn as much as they could in the time they had. Ayala and Chester watched them carefully. Neither Animal could shake this slightly wrong feeling they had whenever Tucker was nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, comments and speculation are always welcomed and appreciated!


	15. Chapter 15

Edward and Alphonse were busy getting lost in all the knowledge they'd been given access too, thanks to Shou Tucker. Ed had made himself comfortable next to the pile of books Ayala had put together for him and was helping Ayala with reading her books. It was system they'd perfected during all the hours spent in the library. He'd be focused on his book with his flesh hand resting just on Ayala's and once she was finished with the pages she was reading; he'd flip the page for her. It minimised the tears she'd sometime put in books when she tried it herself. All she had to do was nudge his fingers to let him know. Sometimes she had to do something more if he was too far into a book and that had caused a couple of ruined gloves and startled swear words when she'd accidentally drawn blood. It meant that they got twice as much information in the same time frame.

Al had never been able to focus on his books as well as his brother did. He just couldn't tune out the world as effectively as Ed seemed to be able too. While Chester was busy exploring the shelves to find the best napping spot, Al was dutifully reading. He wanted to get through as many books as Ed did in the week they had. That's what he was doing when Chester's ears flicked and he was suddenly watching a certain shelf with new alertness. Al followed his leopard's lead and watched the shelf carefully to try and see what had caught his Animal's attention. He didn't have to wait long. A little while later, a red-brown braid and big, blue eye came into view. Nina was barely peeking around the corner when she'd realised Al and Chester were watching her and she'd quickly withdrawn, much to Al's amusement. Carefully marking his page and closing his book, Al waited for her to make another appearance.

"Hello." His voice was all smile when he caught her gaze. She didn't hide now that she'd definitely been discovered. Instead, she shyly walked around the shelf so she was fully in view. "My name's Alphonse, but you can call me Al. This is Chester," he introduced them and she grinned when she realised she wasn't going to be scolded for being in the library or disturbing the strangers.

"My name's Nina!" She said excitedly as she approached the two of them. A quick glance had told Al that Ed and Ayala weren't in sight. She set her sights on Chester. "Chester is so pretty!" She gushed. Al felt his leopard almost glow with the compliment.

"Chester says 'thank you'. He thinks your braids are pretty as well," Al told her. While Chester hadn't said that, he didn't argue and the little girl's grin grew brighter. "What're you doing in your dad's library?" Al asked because, aside from him and Ed, he hadn't known or seen many kids in a library, especially one alchemy based.

"Me and Alexander wanted to explore and see what you were doing," she told him. Al had almost forgotten about the massive dog that had been outside with her. He looked around but couldn't see it.

"Where is Alexander?" He asked her curiously. If she'd been older, Al would've sworn the fluffball was her Animal with how close they seemed to be.

"I dunno. Looking somewhere else, I think." She shrugged, not overly concerned her playmate wasn't nearby. Not now that she had two potential playmates. "Do you wanna play?" She asked, blue eyes full of hope and Al had to wonder if Ed had somehow given this kid lessons in 'puppy-dog eyes'. Aside from the colouring, they were almost identical. Deciding that taking a break for a couple of hours couldn't hurt, he nodded and Nina jumped up and down in excitement.

"What do you wanna play?" He asked the young girl. She stopped her excitable antics and pulled an almost comical thinking face, finger tapping her chin and brows furrowed in concentration. Suddenly, she lit up when she finally settled on an idea and Al couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

Chester was glad that Al wasn't focusing solely on the books like his brother. He wanted Al to remember that he was still just a child, no matter the fact that they worked for the military or what they'd done. That didn't, however, mean he was going to let himself be roped into whatever games they came up with easily. So he leapt up to the top of a bookshelf, easily out of their reach and proceeded to watch Nina beg Al to get him to come back down. Al's efforts were valiant but he barely twitched. He had experience with small children, thanks to their travels. He and his tail weren't going through all that again. It took a few minutes but Nina eventually relented in her missions of getting Chester to come down and she and Al started playing together while Chester watched through a barely open eye.

* * *

Ed twitched slightly. He could've sworn he'd heard something again. He quickly dismissed it again when no further sound was forthcoming. Ayala hadn't reacted to anything either so he'd honestly thought he was just imagining hearing something in the quiet library. Just as he was about to go back to his book, he heard it again and this time he realised what he'd been hearing. Giggling. Specifically, Al's laughter and a little girl's giggles. Standing up and stretching, both he and Ayala followed the sounds to their source. They finally came across Al a few massive bookshelves over, playing with Nina while Chester watched from his spot. Al was holding Nina up and placing her up on his shoulder so she could grab one of his massive shoulder spikes, only for her to slide down his back.

"Woo-hoo! Way up high!" He laughed as she squealed in delight when he repeated the same moves as before, lifting her high in the air.

"Al, what're you doing? You're supposed to be reading!" Ed reminded his brother, a little more harshly than he meant. Al paused in his movements and Nina was placed back on the ground. She looked a little worried, thinking she would be in trouble as well.

"Nina wanted to play, brother," Al told him. Ed frowned.

"Well in case you've forgotten, we're not here to play around!" Ed scolded. They only had a week here, even less if Tucker decided he didn't want them in his house anymore. They didn't have time to waste mucking around with anything.

Ayala and Chester both picked up a new sound coming towards them and they almost immediately recognised who was approaching and their intentions. Ayala debated for a moment about what she should do and decided against doing anything. Hopefully this would work out how she hoped it would. Barely a second later, Ed was suddenly on the ground with a massive, white mass on his back. His attacker barked at Nina and Al, who were laughing at his predicament.

"Alexander says he wants to play too," Nina giggled as Ed wriggled his way free from under said dog. Shooting Ayala a dirty look, he turned back to the dog.

"So that's what you want, huh? You realise that I'm forced to take your attack as an act of war?" He challenged the dog who was currently bouncing away from him, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Ayala grinned when she felt Ed give in to his childish tendencies and jokingly threaten Alexander. Nina and Al seemed to pick up on this too as they laughed at Ed's dramatics. The dog barked at the golden-haired child and took off, heading for outside. Ed and Ayala were hot on his heels and Al had grabbed Nina so they could follow. Chester decided the possibility of seeing Edward lose to a massive mutt was far more enticing than the nap he'd thought about taking.

Ed paused in his chase momentarily to adjust to the brightness outside before he continued chasing after Alexander. Ayala was happy, running alongside her human. This was what she'd been hoping for when she'd decided against knocking Edward out of the way of Alexander's tackle. Her human was doing something child-like instead of working himself to exhaustion. Edward had to admit that he was having fun. It was a nice change to be chasing after something or someone who's main goal wasn't trying to kill him or hurt someone else. Nina soon joined in on the chase though she teamed up with Alexander, using him as a horse.

* * *

Once Ed finally managed to catch them both, with a little help from Ayala, they spent the rest of the afternoon playing less energetic games. Ed showed Nina how to make a flower crown, though his wasn't nearly as good as Al's. He also entertained her with small alchemy feats. Al joined in with him and they spent a good hour making different figurines at her request. She never seemed to run out of animals or objects she wanted made. Ed didn't mind since the energy used making them was minimal and he honestly enjoyed making her happy.

Alexander soon barked another challenge at Edward and they were back to chasing each other around though this time they were joined by Chester, who had joined Ed's team, making it three on two until Al decided to even the score. Al played dirty, even against his own leopard, something Chester took as a personal challenge. Soon almost all of the challengers were fighting dirty, alchemy against alchemy, Animal against animal. Alphonse almost won when he managed to trap Ayala and Chester together, much to Nina's delight, but Ed evaded the trap meant for him and freed the two Animals and the chase was on again.

In the end, they'd all ended up collapsed on the ground in exhaustion (though Al could've kept going for forever since he couldn't get tired) and they came to a temporary truce. Nina was happily giving them her opinion on what trick she'd liked best when a few clicking noises sounded and a familiar face suddenly loomed over them.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" Ed was confused as he sat up. He hadn't heard anything about the man coming to East City, not that he'd expected Mustang to pass along that sort of information, but he did think that Hawkeye or someone else from the team would've mentioned it. "What're you doing here?" He and Al stood up to face him and Nina was watching Hughes while standing right next to Alexander.

"Hey, Ed! Long time, no see! Wait until you see the new photos of my darling wife and daughter-!" Ed cut him off.

"Hughes, I'll look at them later. What are you doing here?" He emphasised the last word. Hughes gave Ed a hurt look but moved his hand away from his breast pocket. Leo came into view at that moment. "Hey, Leo!" Ed called once he spotted the fox.

 _"Hello, Edward. I'm sorry I didn't tell you we were in town. Maes wanted to surprise you,"_  Leo explained.

The fox had pointed out that telling the boy they were coming would ensure he was still in town when they arrived but Hughes was having none of it, especially after he had talked to Roy and his best friend had told him where the young alchemist was. Hughes wasn't sure if he should be insulted or not by the fact that Mustang had sounded more excited giving him that information than he was about accepting Hughes's invite to dinner that night.

"I'm in town on an Investigations matter and thought I should say hello to my favourite blonde alchemist." He grinned at Edward. The bit about him being here for work caught Ed's attention. He knew Maes rarely left Central for work related reasons. It must be pretty big if one of the most prominent investigator's was here. "Hello, Alphonse! It's good to see you again." Hughes didn't give Ed the chance to ask about the work that brought him here and Ed knew it was on purpose.

 _"He'll explain later, I promise. This isn't something to talk about in front of a little kid."_  Leo looked pointedly at Nina, who was busy introducing herself and Alexander to Hughes. Nina was thankfully spared the threat of photos. She was busy telling Hughes everything they'd done that afternoon and showing off her newest toys the boys had made her. He was a very willing audience, showing off the skills he'd learnt with Elysia. Once Nina ran out things to talk about, Hughes turned his attention back to the boys.

"Since I'm in town, how about you two join me for dinner? My treat?" He offered casually. Ed and Al both knew this was a way for him to talk about why he was here without it being discussed in front of Nina.

"Sure." Ed shrugged nonchalantly. "I missed lunch anyway." Nina watched the conversation with sad eyes.

"You're leaving?" She asked, bottom lip trembling. Al was the quickest to stop the impending tears.

"We'll be back tomorrow to play some more though, okay?" He said soothingly. Her face brightened immediately.

"Okay! I'll see you tomorrow, big brothers!" She almost shouted in her excitement at their promise.

"We gotta make sure it's okay with your dad first though. How about we go say goodbye and ask?" Ed suggested. Nina nodded and took off, Alexander bounding after her, to find her father. Hughes, the brothers and the Animals followed at a more sedated pace. Maes was busy gushing about his family when they finally joined up with Nina and her father.

"Would it be okay for us to visit again tomorrow and read some more?" Ed asked almost immediately.

"Of course. You're welcome to visit my library as much as you'd like. And thank you for keeping Nina entertained today as well. She's been telling me about your adventures this afternoon." Ivana shuffled in her spot as Tucker spoke. Ed felt himself almost shudder. He'd never get used to that spider.

"It was our pleasure." Al took over the goodbye since he had a feeling his older brother wouldn't be as eloquent as he should be. "Thank you for letting us use your library and for letting us visit again. We'll see you tomorrow." Ed knew enough to at least offer a small bow in gratitude without Al having to elbow him. With a final wave goodbye and assurance they'd be back, Hughes led them towards the car he'd borrowed.

"So what'd you want to tell us?" Ed asked almost before Hughes had even started the car. Al and Maes shook their heads at his impatience. Ed ignored them and kept his eyes focused on Hughes.

"There's a serial killer in East City," Maes finally gave in. Ed and Al looked at each other with confusion. They knew they weren't exactly in the loop considering they were rarely in the city and they also didn't exactly care when they were. They were always too busy at the library and they only ever heard about something if one of the librarians said something to them. Having said that, they figured a serial killer in East City would be big news.

"We haven't heard anything," Ed finally admitted. Maybe the killer was a soldier or ex-military member and the military was keeping it under wraps to save themselves from the embarrassment?

"No, you probably wouldn't have," Hughes admitted. "I should've been clearer. A serial killer who has been active all over Amestris is now in East City." That made a bit more sense.

"So you're here trying to find him?" Al asked. Hughes nodded in confirmation.

"Yes," Hughes confirmed. "I only took over the case a week or so ago. This killer is extremely dangerous and he's very intelligent. He's killed ten people so far and he hasn't been sighted until recently," Hughes told them. Leo gave him an odd look but he ignored him. He was still debating if he was going to tell either boy that the killer was targeting State Alchemist's. It did mean giving Ed some warning but didn't want to scare him or Al and they had their Animals to help them. Leo kept staring at him. He wasn't saying anything but Hughes didn't need him too. He sighed before giving in to his Animal. "He's targeting State Alchemists." There were a few moments of silence until...

"Seriously? He's going after and successfully killing State Alchemists?" Edward asked incredulously. While no State Alchemist was on his level, they were still State Alchemists which meant they weren't stupid or powerless. For someone to have killed ten of them and not been seen until recently meant this person was either exceptionally lucky or had some extremely formidable training.

"Yes," Hughes said before giving Ed a significant look. "I'm not telling you this so that you'll go after him, Edward. I know you. I'm only telling you so you'll be careful. Don't go anywhere if you absolutely don't have too. Leave this for me to take care of," he implored the young blonde. Ed looked like he wanted to argue that he could help or at least point out that he could look after himself.

"We'll be careful. I swear. We won't go looking for him," he finally gave in. Not that it was really a big fight. He may be impulsive and ready to take on anything to prove he isn't some kid who needed to be protected but he wasn't called a genius for nothing. Someone who could take on ten State Alchemists single-handedly and come away without a scratch wasn't someone Ed wanted to go up against. Not while he still had promises to keep. Maes gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Now let's get some dinner so I can show you the most adorable photos of my beautiful little girl and wonderful wife!" Hughes gushed and Ed rolled his eyes at Al, who giggled in response.

They loved Hughes's enthusiasm about his family and they actually enjoyed the hundreds of photos he constantly showed them. Neither Elric could figure out why Mustang hated them so much but they both got pleasure out of watching him suffer, Ed more so than Al. They pulled up at a restaurant Ed had only walked past and spotted a familiar figure and Animal waiting the door.

"Did you forget to mention something, Hughes?" Ed asked bitingly. Hughes gave a nervous chuckle as they clambered out of the car.

"Did I forget to say that Roy would be joining us?" Ed narrowed his eyes at the non-alchemist. He'd sooner believe Truth was friendly than Hughes forgetting something like that.

"Please be nice, brother. The lieutenant colonel is being nice and he's buying you dinner," Alphonse pleaded with Ed. Ed was about to say something when Maes realised something off with what Al said.

"I'm buying you both dinner, Alphonse," he said, confused. Al flinched as he realised his slip up.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I had a massive lunch at the Tucker's and I'm honestly not hungry. I'll grab something later," Al lied.

Edward looked away from his brother. He'd forgotten that Al couldn't eat when he'd accepted the invite. He hated that he could forget something like that. Maes flicked his eyes between the two brothers and thought, not for the first time, that something was going on. Mustang had evidently gotten impatient with them and walked over, Nala trailing behind before she sped up to get to Ed first. She greeted him much more warmly than her human did.

"Hughes, you never mentioned you were inviting the Elrics when you invited me out." Nala rolled her eyes at him. She knew he'd suspected Hughes would do something like this.

"That may be because you kicked me out of your office before I could," Maes retorted and Ed couldn't suppress his snort. Typical Mustang. Said man glared at Ed who simply rolled his eyes, much to the amusement and, in Al's case, semi-horror of everyone else. Ed gave Nala a scratch behind her ears.

"If Mustang doesn't think he can handle spending a single dinner in my company, I'm happy to head back to the library. I've still got research there to get through," Ed offered even though his offer was total challenge to Mustang. Something Mustang wasn't going to take lying down.

"I'm surprised you haven't read every book in the library yet," Mustang smirked. "I'm sure Hughes has a reason for gathering us all together. And since he's paying for all of us, I suggest we run his tab up." Ed had never agreed with Mustang more than he did in that moment.

"Hey, let's just remember that I've got to have enough money left to buy presents for my precious girls!" Hughes said gleefully as Mustang rolled his eyes.

"Let's just go eat," Mustang said as he led them into the restaurant. Ed was kinda annoyed at the fact that he expected them to dutifully follow and he kinda hated the fact that he did so anyway. Though he found some solace in the fact that Nala was happily walking next to him and Ayala.

 _"How are you liking the Tucker's library?"_  Nala asked as they waited to be seated.

"Yeah it's really good. There are so many books in there and we barely made a dent today. I didn't think bio-alchemy would be so fascinating. Tucker is a good host. He left us alone the entire day. I guess he had studying of his own to do or something. Nina was a force to be reckoned with. She ended up roping me and Al into playing with her for a good three hours this afternoon," he told her.

 _"That's great. Do you think knowing about bio-alchemy will help in the long run?"_  She asked. Ed shook his head.

"I'm not sure. It very well could or we may end up having spent however long we keep getting access simply studying an alchemy we'll never end up using." He shrugged. He really needed more information on both the stone and bio-alchemy before he knew if it helped. The waitress found them a table and led them over to it so they could peruse the menu and order. She left once they placed their drinks order.

"So, Hughes. Why did you gather us together and neglect to tell everyone?" Mustang asked straight to the point.

"I just didn't want to spend the last few hours listening to someone whinging about it and I figured Ed might've protested as well," Maes said, completely straight-faced, though he did give Ed a shadow of a wink as they waited for Mustang to really process what Maes had just said.

"Hey!" Mustang protested as the penny dropped and Ed couldn't stifle his snicker quick enough. Thankfully, Hughes's laughter covered his own so Mustang's attention was quickly grabbed by his best friend and not his youngest subordinate. Even though Al had no facial expressions, Ed could sense the 'stop being a shit' expression he was aiming at him. The waitress timed her return perfectly. The glaring contest was called off in favour of ordering food before Mustang grumbled under his breath. "At least answer my question." Maes decided he probably should.

"I already told Ed and I'm sure you've already been informed but there is a serial killer loose in East City who's been targeting State Alchemists. He has already killed ten. His last victim was old man Grand." Hughes locked eyes with Mustang who looked beyond shocked.

"The Major General? But he was an expert in weapons transmutations!" Mustang exclaimed. Ed and Al exchanged looks. They had no idea who Grand was but he was a Major General and a State Alchemist which meant he would've been tough to take down. "Who do you have helping you with this?" Mustang asked.

"My entire team and Major Armstrong are here with me. The Fuhrer has been very clear that this takes persistent over any other matter Investigations is tasked dealing with. I'm just warning the two of you of the dangers." He indicated to the two State certified alchemists dining with him. "Both of you need to be careful. Even though I say he's in this city, I could be wrong and he might be somewhere else but I doubt it," he admitted.

"Why do you think he's in East City in the first place?" Mustang asked. In all the time he'd known the irritating man, he'd never been wrong about a hunch.

"Well, he was seen in the Central Train Station near the train bound for East City but there aren't any confirming reports that he boarded the train. I think he did though and the Fuhrer obviously agreed with me since he permitted me taking my team and Armstrong here to investigate," Hughes explained. Mustang nodded. It was as he expected. "Now, let's stop talking about work and talk about more enjoyable things! Roy, you haven't seen my newest photos of my gorgeous girls!" Edward was beyond amused with Mustang's resigned expression and didn't bother hiding it when the black-haired alchemist looked at him. Mustang got an idea.

"Why don't you show Fullmetal? You haven't given him new ones since last time you two saw each other," he said, a shit-eating grin slowly unfurling only for it to disappear when he realised Ed didn't look angry about the threat of photo-overload.

"Oh, he's already seen these ones! He and Alphonse both adored them!" Mustang's hopes were crushed right in front of him. Edward was the one now sporting a shit-eating grin as he watched Mustang being subjected to the ultimate form of torture; photos of a little girl and his best friends enthusiastic and lengthy retelling of every story behind every photo.

The only salvation, though brief, was the waitresses return with their food. Hughes seemed to inhale his faster than Edward himself so that he could return to regaling Mustang with his adorable stories. Ed and Al were left to their own devices for the most part, neither of whom really minded as they took this as an opportunity to discuss the literature they'd read that day. Ayala and Chester gave their inputs, Ayala discussing what she'd read and Chester merely reminding Al of points he'd forgotten. Nala and Leo listened through Ed and offered their own inputs when they could.

* * *

After Mustang had finished his dinner and Hughes had run out of photos to show (torture) him with, they finally left the restaurant. The Elrics and Mustang hung outside while they waited for Hughes to settle the bill. Ed and Al were having a semi-quiet argument about where they were going after they'd said goodnight to the two older men. Chester and Ayala were keeping out of it, if the slightly bored looks on their faces were any indication. Mustang had enough.

"What are you two bickering about?" Ed shot him a glare.

"None of your business, nosy bastard," Ed snapped. Al sighed, even though he couldn't actually sigh.

"Brother wants to go back to the Alchemist library tonight instead of the dorms. I think Ed is being an idiot because there's a killer on the loose and the library  _solely used by State Alchemists_  would be the first place he'd look." Al shot Ed a dirty look when the elder brother rolled his eyes at his little brother's worries.

"And, aside from base, there is nowhere else safer. You need a State Alchemists watch to get through the doors," Ed pointed out. Al groaned at his stubbornness.

"You won't get any sleep if we're at the library!" Ed growled at this argument. The fact that his brother was still pressing this issue when he could and the fact that he was doing it in front of Mustang was just an added insult.

"Leave it alone, Alphonse. I'm not tired and I won't sleep even if we're at the dorms," Ed ground out. Mustang wished he was more surprised at learning his youngest subordinate was still keeping an irregular sleeping schedule.

"Alphonse, while I'm sure you have your brother's best interests at heart, you and I both know that if your brother was any more stubborn, Ayala would've been a mule." Both Ayala and Ed growled at him but Mustang ignored them. "He also has a point. The East City Library is a very secure building, much more so than the dorms. Why don't you both go there and I'll send Havoc by in the morning to take you back to Tucker's?" He offered, looking back in the restaurant to see what was taking Hughes so long. He was showing the waitress photos of his family. Mustang wondered if his best friend was actually insane.

"Fine. We'll see Havoc in the morning than," Ed said after pointedly staring at Alphonse who gave in. "Tell Hughes thanks for dinner. Come on, Al," Ed said huffily as moved past Mustang and Nala. Mustang's arm shot out to grab his flesh one. "What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" He snarled, trying to wrench his arm out of Mustang's grip. Mustang didn't let go.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, a tad angry. Edward stared at him like he was nuts. Al was fidgeting where he stood as though he couldn't decide to help his brother or leave the two alchemists alone. Ayala wasn't sensing any ill-will from Mustang but that didn't mean she appreciated him treating her human so roughly nor did she appreciate Nala blocking her from helping Ed.

"Didn't think you were so old you had memory problems, Colonel Bastard. We literally just said we were going to the library so let me go!" Ed snapped, still trying to get his arm free. Mustang's grip was almost like automail. Ed figured he'd probably have bruises. Even Ayala was starting to notice the pressure.

"Evidently, you're the one with the memory problems. Did you forget about the serial killer targeting State Alchemists that's currently in this city?" He asked sarcastically. Ed glared at him as he stopped struggling. Hughes had finally given up torturing the poor waitress and joined them outside. He wasn't as surprised as he should be to see Mustang and Edward in a fight.

"Of course I didn't forget. The library is ten minutes away and most of that walk is in a busy neighbourhood! We'll be fine!" Ed protested. Hughes arched an eyebrow.

"You're going to the library?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Not until Mustang lets go of my arm. Something he has three seconds to do before I break his wrist," he threatened. Mustang, while not intimidated, did let go of the blonde's arm. Ed rubbed the area he'd been holding to get rid of the ache. Ayala moved to sit at Ed's feet while she took up the job of glaring at the black-haired man. Al moved next to Ed, hovering worriedly.

"Are you okay, brother? Chester said he was gripping really tightly," Al asked, keeping his voice low so the two talking adults couldn't hear him. Ed rolled his eyes.

"I'm fi- How did he know?" Ed started reassuring Al but then his brother's words actually sunk in. The only Animal who should've been able to tell exactly how tight Mustang was holding his arm was Ayala. Al suddenly went completely still and Ed knew he'd let something slip he wasn't supposed too. Judging from Chester's face, it was something big. "Alphonse Elric. What haven't you told me?" His voice was low and forcibly calm. Al noticed Mustang and Hughes's attentions being brought back to them.

"Uh maybe we should talk about it in private?" He twitched his helmet pointedly at the other two. Ed glared at them for a moment and jerkily nodded his head at his little brother.

"We will be talking about this later," he ground out, causing his brother to nod his head quickly in agreeance and a promise. Turning back to the original source of his annoyance, he faced Mustang. "Wanna spit out your reason for grabbing me or can we go?" He snapped. Mustang raised a brow at the surprising level of venom in his question but he let it slide. It wasn't anything unusual in respects to how the kid normally spoke to him.

"You're not walking to the library by yourselves. Hughes and I will drop you off. I will make it an order if necessary, Fullmetal." He added the threat before the blonde could rant his protests. Ed muttered under his breath but ultimately didn't argue.

"Fucking whatever. Can we go?" Ed absolutely did  _not_ sulk.

"Of course, Ed. I'll drop you two off first then drop Roy home." Hughes smiled as he led the way to his car. Ed just nodded in agreeance as they all clambered into the car and Hughes headed for the library. The short car ride was not exactly pleasant. Almost as soon as Hughes pulled up in front of the massive building, Ed was out of the car, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Al and the two Animals to catch up.

"Thanks for dinner, Hughes. Bye Nala, Leo," Ed said as he headed up the stairs, Ayala at his heels. Al and Chester remained behind for a moment.

"Thank you for dinner, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. I'm sorry brother is in a mood tonight. Have a good night, sirs." He bowed slightly before chasing his older brother down. Mustang and Hughes watched until they saw both Elrics disappear into the library before Hughes pulled away and headed for Roy's house.

"I wonder what was so important that Al couldn't tell Ed in front of us?" Hughes mused. Mustang sighed.

"Who knows with those boys? They have more secrets than the military," Mustang said straight-faced. Nala could feel the curiosity and overwhelming worry rolling in her human. He was just as worried about them and she was. She just hoped this secret wasn't as bad as Al thought it was.

* * *

Ed managed to make it to their table, greeting the librarian who had the night shift, before he spun and faced his brother, arms crossed and an expectant expression adorning his features. Al was suddenly reminded why most criminals confessed their crimes when Ed looked at them. Even Chester was nervous. The leopard was sitting at Al's feet, looking everywhere except at Ed. Said boy was now tapping one finger against the opposite arm as he waited.

"Please don't get angry, brother. We were going to tell you but there's never been a good time." Al sounded so much like the child he was. Edward never said anything, just stood there and waited. Al took a mental deep breath. "Chester could tell Mustang was gripping your arm too tightly because he could feel it." Al kept his voice as steady as possible and waited quietly once he'd finished talking. The silence was deafening as they waited for the words to sink in and the yelling to start. He felt Chester prepare himself for the verbal onslaught as well.

Only, the yelling never came. Al glanced at his brother to find him looking dumbfounded. That expression morphed into shock then realisation and the heart-wrenching mix of guilt and horror. After a moment, Ed sat heavily on his usual chair and buried his face in his hands. Ayala was right there, nosing at his hands and whining worriedly.

"I'm sorry," Ed's voice cracked as he whispered the two words out loud. "I'm so sorry, Chester."

 _"Why are you apologising?"_  Chester asked, voice unusually soft. He'd opened up his conversation to both brothers so Al could hear what he was saying as well.

"You don't need to apologise, Ed. We should be the ones saying sorry for keeping this from you!" Al offered his own apology. Ed shook his head.

"It's been bad enough knowing that every time I got hurt from whatever stupid decision I made, Ayala was sharing that pain. The fact that she's my Animal and that I share her pain from her stupid, injury-inducing decisions is the only reason I've been able to cope with it. But knowing that Chester has to share my pain too? He's not my Animal! He shouldn't be subjected to that!" Ed wasn't crying when he looked up but his eyes were bright with unshed tears. The moment he'd lifted his head, Ayala was there, nuzzling the underside of his jaw.

 _"That's why we didn't tell you. We both knew you'd feel this way and neither of us wanted that. I don't share your pain to the same degree Ayala does. All I feel is the dulled down version of it. Kinda like how you'd feel when you're pumped full of painkillers only without the loopiness that comes with them,"_  Chester explained, hoping this information was lessen the boy's guilt. That did make it a little easier to bear, if Ed was being honest with himself.

"How is it possible? I don't share your pain and I know Nala and the others don't feel my pain. They would've told me," Ed asked, for once not being able to come up with a decent answer himself.

"Well, we don't know for certain but we think it has something to do with your theory about our souls being connected after that night, remember?" Ed nodded as Al talked. "We think you do feel Chester's injuries but they're dulled down enough that you don't realise you've felt them. Plus, Chester hasn't been majorly injured yet so you've only ever felt dulled minor wounds. If we're correct about this than it means that Animal's feel our pain and we feel theirs thanks to their energy stored inside of us. Since Chester's isn't in me, you cop his pain. We think that the reason you two feel dulled down versions of each other's pain is because Chester isn't your Animal."

Edward had to admit that that made a lot of sense. If they were right and the shared pain was connected thanks to the Animals energy, it would explain why Nala or Soren or any other Animal didn't feel his pain. No one would've known about this fact either unless they'd somehow become the vessel for two different Animal energies like Ed had. He looked at Chester.

"I'm still sorry for all the pain I've put you threw. The automail surgery alone would've still been painful as fuck," Ed grimaced. Even if that surgery could've been done with painkillers, it still would've been more painful than almost anything.

 _"Well, that's the funny thing,"_  Chester said. _"I never felt the automail surgery. I felt your pain about seven months into your rehabilitation with Granny. I'm not sure why I couldn't but I'm glad I didn't have to go through it. Watching Ayala experience it was painful enough,"_ Chester admitted as the memory of the wolf's howls and thrashing filled his mind.

"That's weird," Ed admitted as he sat up straight and Al snorted.

"What part of our lives isn't?" He half-joked as Ed cracked a small grin.

"Good point," he said. He went silent for a moment before locking eyes with the leopard. "I know that it can't be helped or stopped until we've completed our goal so I'm just gonna say it now. I'm sorry you've gotta share my pain."

 _"Don't beat yourself up about it. I know you'd change it if you could. I'm willing to endure your pain so long as it means we reach our goal,"_  Chester said solemnly. Ed nodded in agreeance.

"Then I suggest we get back to the books so we can do that." Ed smirked, grabbing the nearest book and opening it. Al visibly relaxed and mimicked his brother while Ayala and Chester took up their usual places. Al and Chester were both glad to have gotten that secret off of their chests. Al was about to get lost in the knowledge in front of him when Ed's voice broke the comfortable silence. "You ever keep a secret like that from me again and I will turn both your armour and your fur hot pink for a week." Al and Chester snorted as they agreed to his demand and they were all soon entranced in their reading.

* * *

Ed ended up napping for a couple of hours that night, much to Al's happiness, but he was wide awake when Havoc turned up to pick them up. After the usual greeting of a salute that would barely pass regs, they headed out, making small talk as Havoc drove them to Tucker's. He walked them up the drive and Ed managed to get the whole way up the walkway without Alexander trying to attack him. A minute or so after they knocked, Tucker answered the door. Ed couldn't see Ivana and that made him a lot more nervous than when he could.

"Ah, good morning. I assume you're here to continue your studies?" Tucker smiled at them.

"Yes, sir. As long as it's still okay?" Al asked. Ed was still looking for Ivana.

"Of course. Nina is currently having breakfast and I'll see she doesn't disturb you until lunchtime. Do you remember the way?" Tucker asked as he ushered the two boys and big Animals inside. They nodded. "Excellent. You're welcome to go on ahead," he offered and they took off with a goodbye shouted to Havoc from over Ed's shoulder.

"Please let them know I'll be the one coming back to get them this afternoon," Havoc requested as he turned to leave before remembering something. "Oh. Colonel Mustang wanted me to pass along a message. He said, 'don't forget, assessment day's coming up'." He noticed Tucker's smile become more forced.

"Yes, I know." His voice lost most of its pleasant tone even though his lips were still pulled upwards in a smile.

"Right. I'll be back this afternoon for the boys," Havoc reminded him as he headed back for his car. Tucker watched him go and was startled when a little voice sounded just behind him.

"Hey, Daddy? What does 'assessment day' mean?" Nina asked curiously. Evidently she'd finished her breakfast and in her search for her two big brothers, she'd overheard her father talking to Havoc.

"State Alchemists have to report on their research once a year to keep their certification. You see, your dad didn't get a very good evaluation last year, Nina. Unless I do something very impressive this year, I won't be a State Alchemist anymore," he explained to his daughter, dread at the prospect of going back to how they were before pooling in his gut.

"Huh? No! You'll do just fine, Daddy! I know you will! You're always studying so much!" Nina insisted as much as a five-year-old could. Tucker laughed as he placed a hand on her head and smiled softly down at her.

"You're right, Nina. I have to try hard." The alternative was too hard to imagine. He couldn't go back to being poor. Not after experiencing life like this.

He watched as Nina flashed him a bright smile and went to hunt down Alexander so they could play. Ivana found her way over to him and clambered up to her usual spot on his shoulder. He sighed as he shut the doors and headed down to his lab. He needed as much time as he could get to try and come up with something that could save them from becoming poor again.

* * *

While Ed and Al were studying dutifully in Tucker's library, Hughes was in his commandeered office, going over every scrap of information he had available to him. He was determined to catch this killer. His team and Armstrong were working around the clock as well, all hoping to catch this man before he killed again. Hughes dreaded that prospect. As far as he knew, Roy, Armstrong and Ed were the only notable State Alchemists in the area and he'd be damned if he let one of them die because he couldn't do his job.

"What I want to know is why this guy is targeting State Alchemists and no one else. If it's the military he's going after, he could just go after normal soldiers. Surely soldiers would be easier to kill than highly skilled alchemists. Especially those who've been state certified," Hughes wondered out loud. Major Armstrong thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe the certification is the reason why. State Alchemists are given high pay and special privilege. There must be any number of people who envy them for that or," he thought for a moment before continuing, "perhaps they feel as though they haven't upheld their creed. 'Alchemists, be thou for the people'. Alchemists, who are supposed to be pillars of science and truth, are turned into the military's walking weapons as soon as they receive their certification. There are plenty of people, I'm sure, who've not forgotten the role alchemists played in the Ishvalen Civil War," Armstrong finished his theory. Hughes pondered it over as the door opened to reveal one of Armstrong's team members enter the office. The woman, Ross if Hughes's memory served him right, had short black hair and was followed closely by her Animal, a sweet dalmatian called Kaia. She saluted both officers and, once she was released from the salute, faced Hughes.

"Sir, we've received confirmation that a man matching the descriptions given by witnesses was seen boarding a train bound for here. More witnesses say the man has a large scar on his face and was seen leaving East City Station two days ago," she relayed to him. Hughes sighed as he thanked her for the information. At least they had a slightly better description of him.

"Sometimes, I hate it when I'm right," Hughes muttered. "Armstrong organise as many of your men and other soldiers not on assignment to start a canvas of the station and surrounding area. Let's see if we can pick up his trail. We don't know his habits but let's hope he watches or at least reads up on his targets for a bit before he attacks. Let's use that time to try and catch up with him," Hughes ordered. Armstrong and Ross both saluted as they left to follow their orders. Hughes thought about calling Roy to pass on the information but he was soon distracted by some more soldiers coming in with updates of their own. He decided the update could wait until after work.

* * *

Ed and Al had been reading all morning. True to his word, Tucker kept Nina away from the library up until when he sent her to get them for lunch. Ed and Al were grateful for the break and the fact that Tucker was feeding them and the Animals instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. Once they'd finished their sandwiches, Ed having swiped Al's when neither Tucker nor Nina was watching, they headed back to the library to pick up where they left off only this time, Nina and Alexander joined them. Nina was happy enough to simply colour while she chattered to both of them, forcing Ed to keep one ear open to the outside world so he didn't accidentally ignore the little girl.

"So your mum left two years ago?" Al asked Nina while she drew a photo of her family, mum included.

"Yeah. Daddy said she went back to live with her parents," she said sadly, her scribbling slowing slightly.

"It must get kinda lonely living in this big house with just you and your dad, huh?" Nina shrugged.

"Not really. Daddy's so nice plus I have Alexander to play with too!" The big dog boofed in agreement. "But lately Daddy's been studying in his lab all the time so I guess it has been a bit lonely." She finished sadly. Ed could sympathise with the little girl. Before their useless excuse of a father had abandoned them, Ed could remember trying to show him something or play with him only for him to turn him away and shut himself up in his study. He hated hearing the small amounts of hurt in her voice. Standing up from his spot, he rolled his shoulders back to try and loosen them up.

"Ugh, my shoulders are killing me," he complained as he stretched.

"Maybe you should try moving around, brother?" Al suggested. Ed nodded as he yawned.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Hey, you mangy mutt!" He pointed at Alexander as Ayala stood up as she realised what Ed was about to do. Alexander barked in response. "You look like you could use some exercise!" He decided as Alexander started bounding away playfully. Nina and Al laughed as they watched Ed and Ayala chased Alexander through the library.

"Let's go too, Nina!" Nina squealed in delight as her little big brother picked her up and swung her onto his metal shoulder. They ran out after their big brother and were quickly overtaken by Chester who was determined to take his revenge for the previous day's draw.

They were all soon caught up in a game similar to yesterday's and this time, Ed's team was determined to take no prisoners. Edward and Nina's laughter soon rang out as they chased each other around, Ed using his automail to his advantage. Al soon joined in with the laughter as he watched Ed running away from the massive white fluffball and his little sister. Ayala and Chester were racing around them, helping Ed where they could to win the game. After a couple of hours, the amount of time it took for Nina to wear herself and Alexander out, they headed back to the relative cool of the library to relax and get back to their study/colouring. Nina was seemingly determined to draw as many pictures for her big brothers as she could before they had to leave.

* * *

Tucker came down at half past five to feed Nina her dinner and ended up inviting the boys to dine with them since Havoc hadn't turned up yet. They took him up on the offer since homecooked meals were a rarity unless they were in the dorms or the Hughes' if they passed through Central on a mission. Tucker wasn't the best cook in the world but they didn't complain. Once Nina had finished her dinner, she didn't go far. She settled on the floor with Alexander and the Animals and played while the other humans talked.

"Nina told us that her mum left two years ago. We're sorry to hear that," Al said as Ed finished up his dinner. Tucker's face fell as he watched Nina play.

"Before I got my State Alchemist certification, our life was terrible. We were so poor in those days. My wife couldn't stand living like that and she left us. I can't afford to fail this assessment. I don't ever want to go back to those days again. I don't think I could," he admitted.

"Don't worry, Daddy! If those people do tell you no, me and Alexander will growl at them until they do say yes!" She told him as Alexander barked in agreement. Ed and Al watched her affectionately.

"You tell them, Nina!" Al laughed at her complete determination. Something crossed Tucker's features, something neither Elric caught.

"Hey, Nina. I've got an idea. How about you and I pay together tomorrow?" Nina's face lit up with excitement at the idea of playing with her dad.

"Really?" She sounded so excited and happy. Ayala and Chester had bad feelings though. They'd never gotten rid of the aversion they had to Tucker but they'd never mentioned anything to their boys since he hadn't done anything bad to their knowledge. But they couldn't get rid of the bad feeling that was growing in their guts.

"Yeah," he told her and she hugged Alexander around the neck.

"Woohoo! Alexander, Daddy says he's gonna play with us tomorrow!" She exclaimed excitedly. Alexander barked at her excitement and the two brothers laughed at them. They finished up their dinner and helped Tucker clean up.

They were about to go back to the library to wait for Havoc when there was a knock on the door and Nina ran to get the door. A familiar voice greeted the girl a little hesitantly and Edward smirked as he and Alphonse headed for the door, Tucker trailing behind them. Havoc was doing a good job hiding his nervousness of being confronted with an unknown child. Ed smirked at his dilemma and Havoc shot him a dirty look when he noticed.

"What's wrong, Havoc? She won't bite. Can't say the same about the mutt though." Havoc looked at Alexander a little worriedly until Nina turned an offended look at Edward.

"Alexander wouldn't hurt anyone!" She sounded scandalised. Havoc visibly relaxed and Al laughed at the look Nina was pinning Ed with. She watched them gather their things and her face fell as she realised what that meant. "You're leaving?" She asked, crestfallen.

"We'll be back tomorrow, kiddo," Ed knelt down in front of her and placed his flesh hand on top of her head.

"Promise?" She asked and Ed nodded. That seemed to be enough for her as her face brightened and she threw her arms around Ed's neck. His shock lasted a moment as he hugged her back. "We'll play lots tomorrow, big brother." She squeezed as much as she could before promptly unlatching herself from him and latching as best she could onto Al. He hugged her back as carefully as he could, making sure he didn't hurt her. After she gave Chester and Ayala a hug goodbye, she disappeared back into the house while Ed watched her go while Al thanked Tucker again for his hospitality and getting permission for them to come back the next day. They said their goodbyes to him and followed Havoc to the waiting car.

"What's wrong with you?" Ed asked Ayala through their connection. He'd felt Ayala's uneasiness around Tucker the whole time they'd been around him and he'd felt that uneasiness grow exponentially during dinner and as they left. Since he and Chester didn't have the same bond as he and Ayala, he could only feel the leopards feelings when their connection was active and it currently wasn't. He never thought to ask either.

 _"I have a bad feeling about Tucker,"_  Ayala admitted. Ed shot her a confused look.

"Why? He hasn't done anything except feed us and let us go through his library." He hadn't picked up any bad vibes from the man and he prided himself on being able to tell whether someone was bad news. He was almost always right.

 _"I can't explain it. I just... I don't know how to put it into words. I just have this horrible feeling he's done something unspeakable and that feeling got worse when he was talking about what their life used to be like,"_  she explained as best she could. She was worried about Ed returning back to that house in the morning.  _"I don't want you or Al to go back tomorrow. Please don't go back to that house,"_  she begged as they stopped near the car.

"What are you talking about? We need to go back! There's all those books to get through and we promised Nina." Ed looked at her like she was insane.

 _"I know that Ed but please don't go back. There's something wrong with that man! He's gonna do something horrible!"_  She pleaded but Ed was shaking his head as he got in the back of the car.

"He's just anxious about his certification. That's all you sensed." He dismissed her concerns. "Havoc, can you just drop us at the library?" The older blonde nodded his head and Al didn't protest since he knew Ed would throw last night's points back at him.

 _"Edward, please listen to me. We shouldn't go back-"_  she started but Ed cut her off.

"Ayala, enough. Tucker may be creepy. Anyone with a spider as their Animal has to be but he's not dangerous. He's just stressed about his certification. That's all it is. We'll turn up tomorrow and you'll realise you overreacted." The tone of his voice told Ayala this conversation was done. She was beyond frustrated with her human. Al noticed the atmosphere between the two of them.

"is everything okay, brother?" He asked quietly. Havoc had felt the change in mood behind him and kept an ear on the conversation. Mustang had asked him to make sure they were okay. Apparently something had happened the night previous and Mustang was concerned

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Al." Ed flashed him a smile and the car ride fell silent once again. Al wasn't happy with the lack of an answer but he left it alone.

Havoc could tell something was up but if the kid wouldn't tell his brother, he figured there'd be no way he'd talk to him so he wouldn't ask. They made it to the library with no problems and hopped out of the car once Havoc told them he'd be back in the morning to pick them up. Havoc watched them until they disappeared into the library before he finally headed back for his own place for the night.

Ayala and Ed weren't acting how they normally did and Al would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned. Chester had picked up on the change almost as soon as they'd finished their conversation in the car but he didn't know what it was over nor had he asked. He wanted to know, he really did, but he didn't want to get in between the two of them. This was a problem they needed to work through and he told Al as much. That didn't mean they had to like it.

Ed could feel Ayala sulking. Sulking wasn't really the best word to describe it but it was close enough. He knew she was mad that he wasn't taking her pleading seriously and he knew she was worried because of this feeling she had. She'd tried to describe it but it was hard and the fact that Ed wasn't getting the same vibe from Tucker made things even more complicated. They'd always been in sync when it came to what their guts told them about strangers. Ayala didn't want her feelings about Tucker to be right but the main feeling she got from the man was that he had done something in his life that was unspeakably evil. The fact that his Animal hadn't done more than engage in small talk with either herself or Chester made her even more sure he was hiding something.

Ed really didn't know how to feel. Teacher had always taught him to trust his gut, especially if Ayala's agreed with him but she'd never taught him what to do if Ayala got a feeling that so intensely different to his. He could feel the bitter disappointment mixed in with the other feelings swirling through their bond and he had to admit that that hurt. It was almost like knowing your mum was immensely disappointed in you. Ayala wasn't even helping them study, choosing to nap beside him instead but he could still feel how hurt she was. He buried himself in his books to try and drown himself in the knowledge they offered instead of focusing on the emotions coming through his bond.

* * *

Havoc picked them up at the same time as he had the day before. The tension between Ayala and Ed was still there but there was an almost nervous energy between them now. Ed knew that once they got back to that house, either he or Ayala would be proven wrong. He was absolutely certain of that. The day was dreary and Ed felt his ports aching more than they normally did. It was going to rain sometime today. They pulled up to the now familiar gates of the Tucker estate and Havoc watched them walk up the pathway instead of accompanying them like he'd done the day previous. Once they'd knocked on the door, he drove away.

The boys knocked on the door and heard Havoc leaving. Ayala and Chester were shifting nervously, sensing a dangerous feeling in the air. It was like there was something unthinkable waiting for them inside. Ayala and Chester didn't want the boys going inside that house. It felt too similar to that night they'd committed the taboo. Not quite as evil but nearly. Al knocked on the door again and when they got no answer, Ed and Al checked the door, found it unlocked and entered the house anyway.

"Thanks for having us again today, Mr Tucker!" Al called out into the dimly light house. Silence was all that answered him. Ed frowned in confusion as they started moving through the house, trying to find their host. "Hello? Mr Tucker?"

"Nina? Alexander?" Ed called as they cleared the kitchen and dining rooms, heading for the laboratory and library.

They made sure to check every room they passed, just to be sure the enthusiastic five-year-old and her mongrel or her father weren't inside and simply hadn't heard them. They finally reached the laboratory and both Animals were beyond fidgety. Neither boy noticed, too intent on finding any of the house's occupant, as they swung the door open and let the low light illuminate the inside of the dark room, revealing Shou Tucker with Ivana on his shoulder, crouching in front of a mostly white creature that had long, shaggy red-brown hair. Both inhabitants turned to face the brothers.

"There you are, Mr Tucker. We thought you weren't home," Al said, relieved to have found their host. Ayala and Chester both went completely stiff with horror as they realised what they were looking at but neither of their humans had noticed the change in their behaviour. They were too busy looking at the odd creature in front of them.

"Yes." Tucker turned to face them, a strange and unidentifiable look on his face. "I did it, boys. I finally did it. A chimera that understands human speech. Here, let me show you." Edward watched as he approached the chimera, who was totally focused on its creator. Tucker pointed to Edward as he spoke to the creature slowly. "Listen to me. That person over there, that's Edward." The dog-like creature turned its big head slowly and locked almost familiar brown eyes with Ed.

"That person... Ed... Ward." Its voice was deep, slow and unsure. Ed gasped in amazement and Al couldn't believe what he'd witnessed.

"That's amazing! It really can talk!" He placed a hand on the red-brown hair that felt a little familiar but Ed didn't take much notice as he looked at the creature in awe.

"Now I don't have to worry about losing my certification." Tucker laughed nervously, something Al had noticed and was confused over. Ed wasn't paying attention to the older alchemist as he was too busy examining the chimera.

"That person... Ed-ward. That person... Ed-ward. That person... Ed-ward. Big brother Ed." With those three words, numerous things happened. Ayala and Chester snapped out of their complete shock. Ayala moved over to Edward and Chester went next to Al. Tucker moved a few feet away though he looked like he hadn't noticed what the chimera said and Edward felt the bottom of his stomach drop out.

As those three words bounded around in his skull, he felt disgust and bile crawl up his throat. His pupils narrowed as he realised his hand was still on the chimera and he stared into those heartbreakingly familiar brown eyes. He wanted to cry and scream and murder and curl up into a ball and throw up all at once but he stayed frozen in the kneeling position he'd assumed when he'd approached the creature. He felt shame and disgust at himself as he realised he'd been  _excited_  when it had spoken. The creature nudged its head up under his hand and he only just managed to not pull his hand away as it sought his comforting touch. "Big brother Ed." He almost cried, choking on the sob that threatened to sound as he tried to keep it together for the moment. Instead, he forced the tears away and focused on the white-hot fury he felt towards Tucker.

"Mr Tucker?" His voice was tight with anger and forced calm. Al was surprised at his brother's tone but Tucker didn't seem to have noticed. "When exactly did you get your certification?" Edward wasn't facing the man. He needed answers so that he could be absolutely certain before he acted and he knew if he looked at the man's face, he'd kill him.

"Hmm, let's see. It was two years ago," Tucker answered; voice still slightly giddy with what he'd done.

"And when did your wife leave you?" Al was really confused. He tried asking Chester if he knew why his brother was interrogating Tucker but the leopard wasn't answering him. He was watching the chimera Ed was in front of with utter heartbreak on his face.

"That was two years ago too." Tucker sounded less excited and more wary of the questions. Edward gave the chimera a final apologetic look as he stood, still not facing Tucker.

"I have just one more question for you. Nina and Alexander," he swung around to face the man now. The chimera perked slightly at the mention of those names and Al almost stepped back at the sheer hate and anger radiating from Edward, "where are they?!" Tucker looked like a man who couldn't believe he'd been caught. Al put two and two together and gasped in horror as he realised what Ed had figured out and accused Tucker of.

"Damned brat. Figured it out so quickly." Tucker had a crazed expression as he faced Ed full on. Edward didn't let him say anything before Tucker found himself shoved against the wall of his own laboratory, the anger blonde's fists bunched in his collar, holding him against the wall. The ferocity of Ed's attack had knocked Ivana to the floor and she scurried to hide until it was safe.

"Oh yeah, I figured it out! You did it again, you sick bastard! Two years ago, it was your wife! This time you used your own daughter and her dog to transmute a talking chimera! You can only do so much with just animals after all, can't you?" Ed sneered. "It's much easier when you start with a human, isn't that right, you disgusting fuck?!" Ed's voice shook with all his anger and hate.

"I don't see what you're so upset about," Tucker said, truly confused and Ed shook with his anger. "This is, after all, how we make progress. Human experimentation is necessary. I would think a scientist would understand." He smiled at Ed like he was some little kid who wasn't grasping a simple concept. Ed pulled him from the wall before slamming him back up against it.

"SHUT UP!" He roared. "Do you really think you could get away with messing with someone's life like this? With using your own fucking daughter?" Tucker laughed.

"Someone's life, you say? You would know all about that, wouldn't you? Look at you, the Fullmetal Alchemist." He laughed as his eyes raked up and down Ed's body. "Look at your arm, your leg, your brother! Those things are the result of messing around with someone's life, aren't they?" Ed's expression told the insane man he hit the nail on the head and he laughed as the blonde's features twisted into an expression of guilt and anger.

"SHUT UP!" He slammed his automail fist into the side of Tucker's jaw as he laughed.

"We're the same! We're the same! You're just like me!" He cackled, blood dripping from his busted nose. Ed threw another punch, splitting his lip.

"No, we're not!" He slammed his fist into Tucker's face again as the man continued his laughing.

"But we are! We both saw the opportunity right in front of us and we took it! We had to, even though we knew it was against the rules!" Tucker's words were slightly mispronounced thanks to the facial injuries Ed had bestowed upon him.

"No we're not! Alchemists don't do that!" He emphasised his words with his fists, blood flying off his hands as it flowed down Tucker's face. Ed didn't stop, he couldn't stop. All he could see was Nina and Alexander as they were just last night. Ayala ended up springing into action as she realised what was happening to Ed.

 _"Stop, Ed! You'll kill him!"_  She grabbed him by his flesh arm and pulled him off the other man. Even though Ayala would love to tear Tucker's throat out where he sat slumped against the wall, she wouldn't let Ed kill him. Her teeth never broke his skin and he stood there, stunned as he realised he very nearly bashed a man to death with his own fists in front of his brother and Animal. The chimera approached him and stood between him and Tucker.

"Ed-ward, no. Don't hurt daddy," It spoke, it's voice tore at Ed's heart. Even though it had to be in so much pain and was so confused, it still wanted to protect its creator, it's father. Ed felt himself fall to his knees and hot tears streamed down his face as Al gently spoke to the creature.

"I'm sorry. Even with all our power and knowledge, we can't change you back. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Al sobbed even though he couldn't cry like his brother. Ayala had tucked herself under Ed's chin and felt her fur grow damp as his tears dripped onto it. Chester comforted his human as best he could but it wasn't as effective as it would have been if Al could've felt it.

"Can we play now? Can we play?" The chimera's voice hitched and paused between words as it spoke. It was heart-wrenching. Tucker was sitting against the wall, blood pouring from his various injuries and looking at his State Alchemist watch like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"I made it just in time." Ed looked up at the man as he spoke. "I get to remain a State Alchemist," he spoke with such awe, like he couldn't believe his good fortune and Ed's stomach twisted violently. Standing up suddenly, he stomped over to Tucker and ripped the watch out of his hands.

"Like fuck you're staying a State Alchemist," he spat in disgust as he used his automail hand to crush the watch into pieces. He dropped it on the ground and watched in horrified amazement as the former State Alchemist simply picked the remains up and cradled them to his chest like they were the most precious things in the world.

"Can we play now?" Ed felt fresh tears roll down his face as listened to the chimera ask something so innocent even after everything that had happened to it. He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. Why the fuck didn't he listen to Ayala yesterday?! This had to be what Ayala had sensed was going to happen and he could have stopped it if he'd just listened!

"Alphonse?" His brother turned his attention to him and so did the chimera. Ed couldn't look at it. "Please find the phone and call Lieutenant Hawkeye. Have her organise a team to come out here to arrest Tucker and deal with his research. I'll stay with them." Al hesitated but complied with Ed's request. He knew why his brother didn't want to do it himself. Ed stood in between the chimera and Tucker. Tucker didn't pay any attention to him and Ed couldn't look at the chimera. Ayala was flush against his flesh leg, pressing herself as close to him as she could. For the first time in her existence, she wished with all her soul she had been wrong about what she sensed.

Al returned after a few minutes, Chester following him closely. Neither Animal wanted to be apart from their human, not after this. Not after what they'd just seen. He watched as Ed simply stood where he'd left him. The chimera was watching Ed closely and Tucker was staring at what remained of his pocket watch.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye and Colonel Mustang are coming out with a team. They'll be here in a few minutes," he said softly. Ed faced him.

"What did you tell them?" He asked. He needed to know what he had to say to them.

"I only told them to get over here with a team to go through his research and to arrest him. I couldn't," he paused for a moment, trying to steady his voice. "I couldn't say what he'd done. I'm sorry, brother." Ed shook his head.

"'S'not your fault. Don't apologise. I'll tell them," Ed muttered, wiping his face so there weren't any tears left. His eyes were still red and slightly swollen but neither boy could bring themselves to care.

No one moved in that room. They didn't know how long they stood there in complete silence until they heard the first car pull up, followed quickly by more and the front door bursting open. Hurried footsteps approached them and Ayala found herself standing in front of Ed as though she could guard him from what he had to say.

* * *

Mustang and Hawkeye were the first ones to find them. Utilising years of training, they took in the room quickly. Tucker was still slouched against the wall, the broken remains of his watch in his hands, blood sluggishly leaving the various wounds. Edward and Ayala were standing off to the side. Ed was splattered with blood, revealing him to be cause of Tucker's injuries. Al and Chester stood just behind them. The last thing they noticed was a large, white dog-shaped creature with a shaggy red-brown mane and brown eyes looking at them. A chimera, Mustang immediately identified. He was about to ask why they had bothered calling them down so urgently when Nala, who had caught up with them, had let out a strangled noise when she spotted her favourite blonde and saw the chimera. Hawkeye was the one to approach the boys first, though Mustang was on her heels.

"Edward?" Hawkeye kept her voice calm, recognising the look in the blonde's eyes. "What happened? Why did Alphonse call us?" Ed looked at them, eyes flicking between the two adults and Mustang realised why she was using the tone of voice she was. Ed looked like some of the younger soldiers they'd seen in Ishval, the ones who had just seen something more horrific than what they'd been prepared for.

"Two years ago, Tucker got certified because he created a chimera who understood human speech," Ed told her, having chosen to focus on Hawkeye rather than Mustang. Both adults frowned. "Two years ago, Tucker's wife disappeared. He said she'd gone back to her parents."

"We know this. Why did you drag us down here?" Mustang snapped, demanding answers, ignoring both Nala and Hawkeye as they glared at him. A familiar spark of anger flamed in Ed's eyes as he stared at Mustang before the chimera caught his attention and the spark was gone and despair replaced it. Mustang did not like the lack of fire in Ed's eyes.

"Two years ago, Tucker transmuted his wife and an animal, probably her Animal, and created a chimera who knew human speech," Ed's voice cracked slightly but he continued. "He did the same thing today." Both Hawkeye and Mustang's faces showed horror as they realised what Ed was saying.

"Are you telling us..." Mustang stared at the chimera and then at Tucker before focusing on Ed again. He saw the boy's face crumple slightly before he managed to put his mask back up.

"He transmuted a chimera who could understand human speech using his daughter and her pet dog," Ed spat viciously. "He combined Nina and Alexander together so that he could keep his state certification." Disgust and hate had slowly started crawling back into Ed's voice as he spoke. "I had Al call you so that you could deal with this." He glared at Mustang but it wasn't as strong as his usual one. For once, Mustang didn't complain about the extra work. He knew that even if Edward knew how to deal with this sort of situation, he probably wouldn't let him. He'd seen some unbelievably horrible things, been the cause of many of them but Mustang struggled to think of a situation as inhumane as this. Hawkeye ended up solving Mustang's dilemma about what to do with the Elrics.

"Go wait outside, please. I'll be out in a few minutes to take your statements," she requested. Ed and Al didn't argue, they just obeyed and headed for the front door.

Mustang and Hawkeye didn't miss the broken and apologetic look Ed shot the chimera with nor did they miss the way the chimera looked upset they were leaving. It even took a step forward to follow them before being stopped by Nala, giving his lioness a confused look when it wasn't allowed to move. Mustang and Hawkeye looked at each other before Mustang's professional mask was put in place as he turned towards Tucker. The man hadn't moved since they'd entered the room. He was just staring at the remains of his watch. He never looked at them or at the creature he created. His Animal had joined him now that she was sure Tucker wasn't going to be attacked again.

"Shou Tucker, former Major and State Alchemist of the Amestris Military, you're under arrest for two counts of human experimentation in your transmutations. You have the right to remain silent as anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be appointed to you. If you are found innocent of the crimes you've been accused of, you will be awarded your military rank back," he droned as he lifted the man off the ground and turned him so he was facing the wall, forcing his hands behind his back and cuffing him. Tucker didn't protest or struggle as Mustang marched him out of the laboratory and into the nearest room that was empty. He caught the attention of two random soldiers who'd accompanied them and beckoned them over.

"One of you stand guard in the room. Make sure he doesn't do anything. The other stand guard outside the door. No one except me or Lieutenant Hawkeye is allowed in there until further notice. Understood?" Two nods and he left them with it as he went back into the laboratory. Hawkeye was talking to the chimera but straightened as her boss entered the room.

"What do you want done with her?" Hawkeye asked. Mustang knew what he had to do but he really didn't want too. He also knew Hawkeye knew what needed to happen as well. He sighed.

"Take it to the room its creator's in. While it's a chimera, it is made from his daughter and was made by him so he technically owns it until he's in jail," Mustang said. "After that, I imagine it'll go to the laboratory that deals with chimeras." Hawkeye nodded at his orders and lead the chimera to the room her father was in. She returned to the laboratory with a couple more soldiers in tow to help them go through the laboratory. Once they had their orders, Mustang and Hawkeye left them to it and headed back outside.

"If there was ever an example of the Devil's work in this world, this case would definitely be it," Hawkeye said as they paused in the doorway and watched the rain fall steadily.

They could see both Elric boys sitting on the front steps getting thoroughly soaked but neither human nor Animal seemed to notice. Ayala was sitting in front of Edward, her forehead resting on his as he dug his fingers into her fur just behind her ears. He was staining her fur with blood but Mustang didn't think she really cared. He could see Edward's lips moving as he spoke to her but he was so quiet and the rain was loud, Mustang couldn't hear what he was saying. Ayala was licking his cheeks, wiping away the tears Mustang couldn't see. The sight broke his heart even as he saw Alphonse place one big hand on Ed's back and one hand on Chester's head.

"The Devil, huh? A State Alchemist must be willing to take another's life when ordered without question. In some ways, Tucker's actions and our own may not be all that far apart when it comes to interfering with other people's lives. We choose our own path, knowing full well what we're doing. That's the way it is. Isn't that right, Fullmetal? Are you going to break down like this every time something bad happens? Because the likelihood of you coming across cases like this in the future and you very well may have to get your hands dirty," Mustang had to tell him. He needed the kid to realise that this sort of thing would keep happening and that he needed to find a way to deal with it other than how he was. Mustang didn't want people seeing the kid like this. He was already a target for kidnappings, or attempted kidnappings since they'd only be successful a couple of times thanks to Ayala, and if they saw him showing any weaknesses like this, it would get even worse.

"We may be called dogs of the military or cursed as devils but Al and I know we're not. I will get our bodies back. We know the truth! We are just human. We're only human. And because of that, because I ignored my Animal, despite all my genius, I destroyed a little girl's life because I was too focused on our goal. So tell me, Mustang, how exactly do I deal with that?" Ed had stood when he started talking and was now staring Mustang down. The black-haired alchemist almost took a step back from the magnitude of hate, anger and self-loathing in those gold eyes that were staring him down. They simultaneously begged for an answer and told Mustang to keep his mouth shut. He felt Nala's internal struggle and sympathised with her need to comfort the blonde but knowing it wouldn't be received well. Mustang couldn't answer him. Ed scoffed as Mustang stayed silent. "That's what I thought. Come on, Al. Let's get out of here." Ed left, his brother and the Animals following him, and Mustang let him. He watched them disappear beyond the gates and out of sight.

"Sir, is it wise to let them go off by themselves? They're clearly upset and that serial killer is still on the loose," Hawkeye pointed out, still professional except for the worry gleaming in her eyes.

"It's not our job to babysit them. Fullmetal knows about the threat. We've got a job to do." The corner of Hawkeye's mouth dipped slightly, the only sign of her displeasure but she didn't argue.

"Sir," she said as she snapped a salute and turned around to continue directing the team of soldiers working the case.

* * *

Mustang watched the gate Ed and Al had disappeared through for a few moments more before he spun on his heel and followed his First Lieutenant back into the Tucker estate. A few hours later and they'd finished going through Tucker's research, confiscating the illegal research they found and documenting everything else. Tucker and the chimera were to be kept in the house under constant guard, with soldiers stationed in and around the house to prevent Tucker escaping before he could be moved to a cell and the chimera could be taken to a laboratory for examination. Once they were finished with what they needed to do, both Hawkeye and Mustang headed back for the office and continue their normal day to day work.

Mustang didn't greet his team as he headed straight for his inner office. Everyone watched him go, followed quickly by Nala, and flinched when his door slammed shut with a bit more force than normal. Hawkeye watched the closed door for a moment before she headed over to her desk, prompting the rest of the team to get back to work. The others knew what had happened. Everyone except Havoc had been in the office when Al had called them. They'd heard the conversation thanks to Hawkeye having left the inner office door open when she transferred the call to Mustang's phone and he'd put it on speaker so she could hear.

When they'd been told to get to the Tuckers, they'd done so confused, passing Havoc in the hallway. It didn't take long for Falman to hear what had happened and he'd told the others. They couldn't believe what they heard and they were worried about their two favourite teenagers, especially Havoc. He was the last to see them before this tragedy had unfolded. He couldn't take the silence much longer.

"Where's the chief?" Havoc broke the silence and all heads turned to Hawkeye as one. She paused her work but didn't look up straight away. After a moment though, she sighed and looked up.

"We don't know. I'm hoping he's at the dorms or the library. He was rather... upset when he left." 'Upset' was underselling it. "He and Alphonse just need some time to themselves. Now get back to work. This fiasco has cost us enough time and given us even more work." The threat of her gun wasn't needed this time. Everyone nodded and turned back to their various tasks. Aside from the noises made from their work, the office was quiet. They knew what had happened would do to the boys, they've all had one major example of how depraved humanity could be, and they knew how strong the two Elrics were. They just hoped they were strong enough to get through this.

* * *

The sun had long set on East City. Both Elrics were in their dorm with their Animals. Neither had spoken if they hadn't needed too. They just sat on their beds, each human and Animal taking up one bed. Al had offered to go and get them some food but nobody wanted anything, not even the Animals felt up to eating. When Al had suggested that Ed go for a shower and get the blood from Tucker off of him, he wasn't met with resistance, just an apology and compliance. He knew Ed blamed himself.

Ayala had told Chester who had told him that Ayala had warned Ed something was wrong with Tucker and that Ed had ignored her and was now beating himself up because of it. Al had tried to talk to Ed about it but he just cut him off every time. Ed eventually fell asleep and Ayala had curled up on his chest. All Al could do was watch as his brother slept and listen to Chester talk in his head, assuring him that they weren't to blame, that there was nothing they could do to save her. Tonight was one of the few nights where Alphonse really wished he could sleep.

* * *

While Edward slept, the soldiers guarding the Tucker house were wishing they could. No one there wanted to be anywhere near the place where alchemy was used so horrifically nor did they want to be near the person who had committed the acts. Tucker hadn't left the room Mustang had put him in and neither had the chimera. All it did was sit in front of its creator and watch him with sad, brown eyes. It had asked for Edward and Alphonse a few times but Tucker never answered it.

None of the soldiers outside the house saw or heard the man with the massive scar on his head approach before they found a hand on their face, effectively muffling any sound they managed to make before bits of their brains and skulls decorated the pavement and fence as their bodies thudded to the ground. The same fate met the soldiers guarding the inside. The storm outside had worsened slightly, lightning and thunder flashed throughout the house. The man stood in the open door and looked at his target as he held the head of the chimera in his hands.

"I wonder why nobody understands me, Nina," Tucker bemoaned to what was supposed to be his greatest creation. He couldn't understand the looks of disgust he got, like he was the scum of the earth. The chimera whined in answer.

"You're Shou Tucker, correct?" The sudden and unfamiliar voice made Tucker jump and quickly turn in that direction. He frowned as he saw the dark-skinned man standing in the doorway.

"Who are you? You're not military. How did you get in here? There were military police out front!" Tucker demanded as the man approached him. When he looked passed him, he saw the body of the soldier who was guarding his door.

"Foolish alchemists who turn their backs on the way of God shall be punished!" The man raised his hand and before Tucker or Ivana could do anything, the hand was placed over his face. The last thing Tucker saw was the blue flash of alchemic energy blind him before the slightest flash of unbearable pain ripped through him and Ivana. The scarred man released his hold on what was left of Tuckers face and dropped him to the ground unceremoniously. The carcass of his Animal rolled a few inches away from his body.

"Daddy's hurting. Daddy hurts. No, Daddy." The deep, slow voice of the chimera reminded the man that it was there. He knelt in front of it and placed a hand on its head before looking it in the eyes. It showed no fear, just pain and sadness.

"You poor creature. Once you have been given this form, there is no way to separate you." The man felt pity for the chimera in front of him. "At least your passing will be in peace." The chimera never blinked as he spoke and he felt hatred towards those who wielded alchemy like this more than he ever had.

A flash of blue later, he lowered the chimera's limp body to the ground gently before leaving. As he left, he prayed to his god so that the souls he'd just given back to Him could be accepted and offered peace. Nobody saw him leave the place. By the time someone noticed the first body, the scarred man had once again disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would absolutely adore reading comments telling me what you thought to this chapter :)


	16. Chapter 16

_Edward honestly couldn't remember the last time he was this happy and that was before as he spotted the familiar lavender dress and chestnut brown hair standing at the clothesline, hanging out some washing. His mum had her back to him as he raced towards her as fast as his little legs could take him. He had this feeling in his gut that something was off but he was too excited seeing his mum right there in front of him. He had no idea where Ayala, Alphonse or Chester were but that was okay because his mum was right there, smiling, happy and healthy and that was all that mattered in that moment. He held his chubby hands out to show her what he was holding._

_"Mum, mum, look what I've got!" He called, excited and proud. She turned from the washing she was hanging out and smiled the smile she always saved just for him._

_"What do you have there, Ed?" She asked, gentle amusement in her voice when she saw how proud her son was standing._

_"It's a present! I transmuted it!" He told her, his chest puffing out just a little more at the way she looked at him, like she believed he really could do the impossible. She knelt in front of him, tucking her chestnut brown hair behind her ear as she inspected the proffered gift. Ed almost questioned the fact he couldn't see Cleo nearby but the way his mum's eyes lit up as she looked at the transmuted gift, like they so rarely did after his bastard of a father left, distracted him again. He'd never felt so relaxed and safe._

_"You did? You're your father's son alright!" Ed almost bristled at the mention of him but Trisha's loving praise continued, wiping away any annoyance Ed felt. "Thank you very much! That's an amazing thing you did. Creating something as neat as this takes talent." The honesty and love in her voice made him swell with pride and happiness._

_Suddenly the skies darkened and a strong gust of wind almost knocked little Edward off his feet. He looked around, confused at the sudden turn in the weather and his mum straightened, face turning completely expressionless. Ed didn't understand what was happening. When he saw his mother, his bad feeling grew into terrified one as he took a couple quick steps back from the horror unfolding in front of him._

_"But if you could do that, why couldn't you make mummy better?" The Trisha Ed knew, his beautiful and kind mum, melted and transformed into that thing they'd created. Ed felt his right arm and left leg grow heavy and he glanced at them to see his automail shining back at him. That thing, that bastardised version of his mother stepped towards him and Ed wanted to throw up as it's arm fell off, just like it had done that night. Acidic bile crawled up his throat and hot tears pricked his eyes as he watched clumps of almost-black, coagulated blood spatter onto the ground from the torn flesh. Just before the nightmare could reach for him with its one remaining arm, Ed found himself older and in front of Nina and Alexander._

_"Big brother!" She called like she always did when they turned up at her place, child-like excitement and like she was the luckiest girl in the world because they came back. He felt himself calming instantly at the sight of her big blue eyes and Alexander's tongue lolling out of his mouth in his doggy version of a grin. He smiled softly back at her; his nightmare almost forgotten when a new one started unfolding in front of him as Nina and Alexander merged into the chimera Tucker created. "Let's play!" The chimera's slow, deep voice sent chills running down Ed's spine as it moved towards him._

* * *

Golden eyes flew open as Ed woke with a startled gasp. He sat himself up and was greeted with the dull pre-dawn light flooding the small dorm room. Ayala was sitting up with him, nosing his neck and cheek, making sure he was okay. He absentmindedly stroked her head as he shut his eyes tight before opening them again, trying to rid himself of the nightmare he just had.

"Brother? Are you alright?" Al's soft, tinny voice called from across the room, forcing Ed to pay attention to him rather than what he'd just dreamed. "You were dreaming." Al didn't sound like he believed it was a happy dream. Ed sighed and rested his head on his flesh knee, Ayala tucked her head under his arm.

"I'm okay, Al. It was just a dream." Ed wished he sounded as dismissive as he wanted. Al, bless him, realised pushing him wasn't for the best right now and let him be.

After a few minutes where no one, not even the Animals, spoke, Ed headed for the shower in a bid to make himself wake up a bit more. When he emerged, he was slightly more awake which unfortunately meant his brain caught up with the previous day's events and the fate of Nina and Alexander. He felt his heart tighten as he thought about everything that had led to what had happened and how he could've stopped that bastard from doing what he'd done and he kept coming back to one factor; he could've listened to Ayala. His Animal had been extremely adamant that Tucker was dangerous, that he was evil and Ed had refused to listen to her. Hell, he didn't even tell Al what she'd said! Maybe if he had, Al could've talked him into heeding her warning and gone to investigate or something. Nina and Alexander might still be here if he had. If only...

 _"Stop,"_  Ayala's soft but stern voice broke through his musings. He was still in the bathroom but she was obviously reading his feelings and thoughts.  _"Stop torturing yourself. I couldn't have told you for sure what would've happened and even if you had said something, who's to say he wouldn't have still done what he did or worse? It's not your fault so please,_ please,  _stop beating yourself up,"_ she begged him. Ed's eyes grew hot and prickly as he felt the tears he'd yet to shed away from the Tucker estate threaten to fall. He couldn't let them. He needed to be strong right now and it wasn't fair. Al couldn't cry so what gave him the right too?

"I'm sorry, Aya. I'm so sorry," he whispered to his wolf. She knew he wouldn't stop falsely blaming himself and she knew who the second apology was really aimed at but she accepted it.

All she, Chester and her human's brother could do was make sure he didn't dwell on this too much and hope he realised what they knew. None of them could have saved Nina or Alexander without Tucker having been far more obvious about what he'd done to his wife or what he intended with Nina. Ed had evidently pulled himself together because he soon exited the bathroom and grabbed his trademark red jacket.

"Where are we going, brother?" Al asked, already hopping off his bed so he could go with him. Chester and Ayala had joined the blonde where he was standing.

"To see Hawkeye or Mustang. I need to know what's going to happen with Tucker and Nina." No one mentioned the slight hitch in his voice when he said her name and he was grateful for it. Al simply nodded and led the way out of the dorm room. He never even fussed about Ed skipping breakfast. He didn't think he'd be in the mood to eat after what they'd just witnessed either.

* * *

The walk to the office was dreary. It was actually a little later than Ed had thought when he'd woken. The pre-dawn light he'd thought was shining through his window has actually the early morning sunlight fighting its way through the dark, heavy clouds in the sky. It wasn't raining just yet but from the feel of his automail ports, Ed knew the rain wasn't far off. No one spoke much. The mood was too somber. They made it through the base's gates without much more than a greeting from the soldiers on duty. By now, everyone had heard about what Tucker had done and who had found him and his experiments. A few minutes later and they almost literally ran into Hawkeye and Soren. Hawkeye was forced to take a quick step back to avoid the two teens and Soren flapped his wings to keep his balance at the unexpected change in direction.

"What's the matter, you two? You're up awfully early," she asked, a little confused. She'd thought that after yesterday, they wouldn't see the Elrics until the colonel summoned them for a mission.

"We need to know. What's going to happen to Tucker and Nina?" Ed asked and Hawkeye almost wished they'd run into someone else.

 _"I'm so sorry, Ed."_  Ed's eyes snapped to Soren but Hawkeye spoke before he could ask why the owl was sorry.

"Mr Tucker was scheduled to be stripped of his certification and stand trial for what he did to Nina. However, they, along with most of the soldiers guarding the estate, were found dead this morning." She looked apologetic but Ed barely registered her expression. His heart stopped. Dead? They couldn't be dead.  _Nina_  couldn't be dead.

"Dead?!" Al echoed Ed's thought.

"You'll find out anyways so I may as well be the one to tell you. They've been murdered." Hawkeye didn't sugar coat it. She didn't see the need. Soren ruffled his feathers a little but didn't question the almost cold way she told them.

"They... How? By who?" Hawkeye shook her head in response to Ed's questions.

"We don't know. I'm heading over to the scene now," she told them as she moved to walk past the two of them. Al and Ed were quick to follow.

"We're coming with you," Al told her when she shot them a questioning look. That made her stop dead in her tracks and spin to face them. Soren glared at her for the second upset in directions.

"No," she told them sternly. There was no way she was going to let those two boys see what she'd have too. She absolutely refused to let them see Nina's remains. Not after the way she saw her being turned into a chimera had affected them yesterday.

"Why not?" Ed demanded to know. He felt himself growing slightly angry because he assumed she didn't want them there because she thought they would be in the way or that they were children who needed protecting and he hated it.

"You don't need to see this," she told them simply and Ed felt his misplaced anger disappear. There was something in her eyes and voice that told him that he should be thanking her for stopping them. That she wasn't stopping them because she thought they couldn't handle it but because she didn't want them to see Nina like that. Ed nodded and he thought he saw her shoulders relax a little when she realised he wasn't going to fight her on this. "I'll see you two later." This time when she walked away, they didn't follow her.

* * *

Mustang was already waiting for his First Lieutenant on the steps of the Tucker estate, keeping himself away from the rain. Nala was sitting next to him. She'd been in a sullen mood since yesterday. Ed hadn't spoken to her and she was itching to find out how he was. She perked up though when she spotted a familiar face heading up the stairs and Mustang was quick to notice as well.

Hughes and Armstrong were heading for the room Tucker and Nina had been murdered in. Mustang decided to join them and wasn't overly surprised when Hughes didn't do anything more than nod his head in greeting. Hughes was a completely different person when he was working. Armstrong offered a salute but was just as serious as Hughes. Neither man had their Animal with them. They came to a stop in front of the room that contained the corpses of the house's previous residents. Hughes knelt in front of the larger blanket-covered form and looked under the blanket before sighing.

"He's always one step ahead of us. I'd hoped me figuring out he was here before it was confirmed would help," he said as he dropped the blanket back in place. Armstrong came to stand next to him.

"We'd better catch up with him quickly. His usual pattern says that he won't move on until all State Alchemists in the area are killed," Armstrong reminded him and Hughes sighed. As big as East City was, there weren't that many State Alchemists in the area. They knew it wouldn't be long before someone else was targeted and chances were that the next target would be someone Hughes knew extremely well.

"I'm assuming this is the same serial killer you warned me about. I want every single detail. Now," Mustang demanded from his place in the doorway. Hughes and Armstrong looked at each other. They weren't technically allowed to share details of an ongoing investigation with people who weren't a part of it but they both decided to ignore that particular rule.

"Okay. We're taking the bodies to the morgue. Follow us and we'll fill you in while waiting for the autopsy results." Mustang nodded his compliance. The coroner and his assistants filed into the room shortly after and loaded the bodies up for transport. Mustang, Nala, Hughes and Armstrong followed them out, Hawkeye and Soren joining them as they watched the bodies being placed in the coroner van. They took two vehicles and followed the van and sat outside the autopsy room to await the coroner's report.

"So fill me in," Mustang demanded once more after a few minutes of silence. Hawkeye shifted slightly. Mustang had told his team about the threat.

"We call him 'Scar' because of the large x-shaped scar on his face. He's elusive, intelligent and extremely well trained in whatever fighting style he uses. As you know, he took down Major General Basque Grand a few days ago." Mustang nodded. He knew most of this information already.

"Our target is both elusive and unidentified. We don't have a lot of information on him. Aside from the way he kills, his scar and his target, we don't know anything else for certain," Armstrong inputted. Mustang frowned. Considering how many bodies this guy left in his wake, that wasn't exactly case-breaking information.

"Look," Mustang found himself looking at his best friend, "the fact that we've got next to nothing on this guy proves how dangerous he is. I think you should increase your escort and lay low for a while. No one would blame you. Please, I'm asking as your friend." Mustang nodded. Maybe he should do as Hughes suggested.

"You and Tucker are the only State Alchemists of note in the area aside from myself, right?" Armstrong asked and both Hughes and Mustang felt their stomachs drop as they looked at each other and came to the same realisation.

"Edward," Mustang said before turning to his Lieutenant. "Get some soldiers together, find the Elric brothers."

* * *

Ed, Al and their Animals had been wandering around near the base for a while. It had started raining only a few minutes after Hawkeye had left and Ed thought it was appropriate for the mood the four were in. They soon found themselves sitting on the edge of a fountain, simply watching the rain fall. Ayala and Chester were laying at their feet as both Animals too big to lay on the edge comfortably. Ed didn't know what he was feeling anymore. It was almost like the emotional part of his brain had just shut down and refused to work. He just felt numb.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time." Al looked over as his brother started speaking. "We put all our trust in alchemy, but in the end, what is it?" Ed questioned. "'Alchemy is the science of understanding the flow of matter and its laws...the process of comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. The world flows too. It must also follow laws. Everything circulates and death is a part of that circulation. You must accept the flow.' Teacher sure drummed that into our heads, didn't she?" Both humans and Ayala flinched as they remembered how literal that drumming sometimes got. "And I thought I understood it but I must be stupider than I thought. You'd think I would've learnt after mum but here I am, desperately thinking about doing the impossible again. I'm so fucking stupid," Ed sighed as he tilted his head so the rain hit his face. "I'd hoped this rain would help wash away some of this gloom but it just makes everything more depressing." Ayala pressed herself into her humans side as best she could. Al mimicked his brother's position.

"Without a body, I can't even feel the rain hitting my face. That's something I miss." Al turned to face his brother though Ed didn't look away from the sky. "I want to get my body back, brother. I just want to be human again soon. Even if that means going against the flow of the world and attempting the impossible." Ed turned to face his brother but Ayala and Chester grabbed his attention. They'd leapt to their feet, both standing in front of Ed and Al, watching a man who had somehow approached them without either boy or Animal noticing him beforehand. Ed stared blankly at the man. He took in the beige jacket and sunglasses covering an 'x' shaped scar before the man spoke.

"You, boy, you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, correct?" The man's voice didn't sound curious, excited, awed, angry, ready-to-kill or hateful, things Ed was used to hearing in people's voices when they spoke to him.

Ed's eyes followed the man's right hand as he pulled it back and suddenly he was slammed into the ground as the two Animals pulled him off the fountains edge. He watched as the man's hand missed him and slammed into the place he had just been sitting. As Al leant down to help his brother up while the Animals took defensive positions, the place the scarred man touched exploded, sending debris everywhere. Ed's eyes widened as he realised the section of fountain hadn't  _exploded_ , the material had been  _deconstructed_. Ed clapped and threw up a wall between them and the man.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ed hadn't realised he'd said that out loud before he was pulled to his feet by his brother and the wall he'd put up had a hole blown through it, revealing the man, only he looked a tad angrier now.

 _"This is bad. This is seriously bad. Ed, we need to get out of here! He wants to kill you!"_  Ayala's voice shook as she spoke.

"Al, Chester, we need to run! NOW!" Ed shouted as he shoved his brother to the side so they could run.

"No you don't," the man growled as he chased after them.

The four of them had managed to get halfway down the closest stairway and escape route when it exploded out from under their feet, sending them falling several metres onto the concrete staircase below. As he hadn't been physically hurt in the fall, Al was the first to his feet and helped Ed up quickly as Ayala and Chester shook the dust from their coats. A thud sounded from behind them and they looked to see the scarred man standing amongst the debris.

A shove from Al had Ed and the Animals running again only for them to watch as alchemic energy raced after then ahead of them along the wall next to them. Moments later, the wall blew apart, sending them all over the staircase. When the dust had cleared, Ed and Al had managed to grab a hold of a still secure railing with one hand and an Animal with the other; Al having grabbed Ayala while Edward had Chester. Before they could figure out what their next move was, Ed heard footsteps slowly approaching them and they sent Ed's brain into high gear.

"Don't argue, Al, just listen. Drop to the ground," Ed ordered, speaking quickly. "You'll be fine and so will Ayala so long as you don't let her go. Once you're down there, I'll drop Chester for you to catch then myself. Just do it." He used his big brother voice and Al did as he was told. Ed heard him hit the ground and waited.

 _"Now,"_  Chester said and Ed let him go. The footsteps had almost reached him when Ayala and Chester both shouted for him to let go and he did. A heartbeat later and he felt himself being caught by his brother, jostling the bruises and cuts he'd gained in the previous fall. He looked up once Al had placed him on his own feet and saw the scarred man ready himself to follow them over.

"For fucks sake, we gotta move," Ed said as the man launched himself over the railing and they took off, racing down the near empty street.

None of the group bothered to try and fight back against the scarred man chasing them, preferring to put their energy towards putting distance between them and the scarred man. Ed suddenly recognised their surroundings and knew they were heading for the city centre and heavy foot traffic so he changed the direction they were heading so they could get to Central Command without risking so many civilians lives. Even though he was relatively certain this was the serial killer Hughes had warned him and Mustang about and Hughes had said the man  _only_  targeted State Alchemists, Ed wasn't taking the chance that this man wouldn't take out innocent civilians just to get to him. Just as they ducked into another alleyway, they were forced to stop when alchemic energy raced past them and caused the wall to explode, cutting off their escape and forcing them to face the scarred man.

"Who are you anyway?! Why are you after us?!" Ed yelled, using the small chance to catch his breath and try to think of way to get them out of this. The man approached them at a leisurely pace, seemingly confident they couldn't get past him.

"As long as there are 'creators' like you in this world, there must be destroyers," he said in the same tone of voice he'd used when confirming Ed's identity. Ed clapped his hands and transmuted a nearby piece of pipe into a knife, holding it so the blade ran parallel with his forearm.

"When we rush him, you two stay ahead of us," he told Chester and Al telepathically before directing his next words at the man. "Then it looks like we're gonna have to fight." Ed side-glanced his brother, who nodded, already knowing his brother's intentions. Chester and Ayala got themselves ready as well. "Now," he whispered and they rushed forward, each team on one side of the man.

"Gutsy one, aren't you?" The Animals had made it past him and the boys prepared to land their hits so they could get past him as well. "But, too slow," he said as he connected his arm to Al's side and the area he hit deconstructed, destroying the entire side and disabling his arm and leg.

"Al!" Ed heard Chester join his shout as they both looked at Al's ruined armour. If he couldn't use his legs or arms, he was defenceless. "You bastard!" Ed moved in with his weapon while the scarred man stared at Al's armour shocked at finding it empty. The man wasn't as stunned as he seemed because he simply grabbed Ed's arm and activated his alchemy.

"Too slow," he growled as the blue energy flashed.

 _"Ed!"_ Ayala and Chester shouted as the resulting explosion threw Ed back a few feet into the street, losing his knife in the process.

"Fucking hell," he grumbled as he yanked his jackets off, the tattered right sleeves being more of a hindrance than not and tossing them aside. Al pulled himself so he was sitting against the wall, powerless to help as he watched the scarred man approach his brother. Ayala and Chester both placed themselves in front of Ed but the scarred man barely gave them a glance.

"An automail arm," he mused out loud. "That explains why my attacks didn't have the effect I intended." Ayala snarled at him as Ed clapped and transmuted his arm into his trademark weapon.

"No, Ed, just go! He's too dangerous!" Al pleaded.

"I'm not leaving you here, you idiot!" Ed shouted back, eyes not leaving the threat in front of him. Ayala and Chester didn't budge or try and persuade him to go. They both knew he wouldn't anyway and they were fully prepared to defend him if he was going to stay.

"So you press your hands together to make a ring then perform the transmutation. I see," he continued analysing Ed's method. With a yell, Ed raced past the Animals and aimed a strike at the man's side but he caught the attack in one hand and placed his right hand against his automail shoulder. "Then I will start by destroying this abhorrent right arm of yours." Ed's eyes widened as he realised what was about to happen and tried to pull himself away. He was nearly blinded by the flash of energy and he heard Al's frantic shout as he fell sideways, unbalanced by the loss of his arm and the explosion. He slid a little, thanks to the rain on the street and the force of the explosion. "Now you won't be able to use your heretic's alchemy," he pointed out as he moved towards Ed's prone figure.

Ayala and Chester immediately moved into action, trying to gain Ed some time to get up and figure something out. Ayala launched herself at his throat and he knocked her aside while Chester went for his legs, forcing him to step back out of his attack range. The man struggled against the two Animals as they made sure he didn't have time to use his arm while Ed picked himself up and adjusted to the loss of his right arm.

The Animals were doing a good job keeping him back, even landing a few blows themselves. He had some blood streaming from cuts caused by Chester's claws and Ayala's teeth. Ed looked around and found another piece of pipe laying nearby. He grabbed it just as Chester was kicked in the side, throwing the leopard a few metres away from the fight. As the leopard struggled to his feet, Ed felt the dull pain flare in his ribs and knew Chester had broken at least one.

"Go back to Al, Chester. Guard him and keep him company. Ayala and I will be fine," Ed ordered as he joined his golden wolf against the serial killer. Chester hesitated but obeyed. He knew he couldn't risk his ribs getting hit again. He took up a defensive position in front of Alphonse but kept himself ready to leap back into the fight if he was needed.

Ayala and Ed silently thanked Teacher for all the lessons she forced them through for fighting together and making Ed fight so he was as proficient with his left hand as he was with his right. The man never got the chance to activate his alchemy, thanks to their skilled fighting. Ayala and Ed fought as a tag team, when one was thrown from the man, the other moved in to keep him busy while the other gathered themselves and prepared a new attack. The scarred man didn't make it easy and they knew their luck wouldn't last. They were proven right when Ed was kicked in his sternum and thrown nearly half a dozen metres away while a sideswipe from the man sent Ayala flying into a nearby wall. Ed was trying to get himself breathing again and looked on in horror as the man used his alchemy to collapse part of the wall on top of her. Ed's left side exploded in sympathy pain but he could feel she was still alive.

Chester watched the events unfold and rushed to Ayala's aide to try and help her when he was forced to skid to a stop when the wall collapsed on her. From Ed's reaction, he knew she was still alive but that was a small mercy as he watched the man approach Ed, who was struggling to breath and wouldn't be able to defend himself in time. Chester also knew that with his ribs, he'd be hard pressed getting to Ed in time. That didn't mean he wouldn't try as he ran as fast as he could to intervene but, as the man bent over his surrogate human, he knew it was in vain.

"I will give you a moment to pray to god," the man said as he stopped just short of Ed, who was just getting his lungs to cooperate.

Ed knew how royally fucked he was. He was barely able to breathe; his body ached all over and he couldn't think of a clever way to get out of his situation without alchemy. Ayala was incapacitated and Chester had no way of reaching him in time. He was going to die right there on the street and he knew that meant Ayala and Chester would be killed with him. He would be leaving Al completely alone in this world and he couldn't do a damned thing about it. He shut his eyes and offered a silent apology to the two Animals attached to him when he heard a feral snarl approaching from behind him.

* * *

Ed opened his eyes in time to see a beige blur leap over him and slam into the scarred man. Sitting up, he was stunned and happy to see Nala crouched defensively in front of him. "Nala?"

If she was here that meant – Ed glanced over his shoulder, fighting the pain he was and spotted who he was looking for. Ed never thought he'd be glad to see Mustang ever. The colonel was backed up by his entire team plus a handful of random soldiers Ed wasn't sure he'd met. Looking back, he saw Nala was doing her best to keep Scar away from Ed as he carefully climbed to his feet. He fell once but was back up a moment later. "Can you keep him busy for a moment?" He asked the lioness as he wiped blood out of his left eye so he could see the situation better.

 _"I can try but I don't know how long I can keep him back,"_  she answered honestly, relieved her second favourite human was in good enough shape to get up and figure something out.

"Soren, Kara, can I borrow you for a while?" He asked the two birds telepathically and, to the surprise of their humans and the other soldiers, both birds launched themselves from their perches on their shoulders and circled the blonde. "Do you think you can help Nala distract him while I help Ayala?" The two birds nodded and – after circling once more – headed for the scarred man, taking turns to dive bomb the white-haired man while Nala kept up her attacks. Soren used his powerful talons, aiming for the man's eyes and Kara used her sharp beak to land fierce pecks where she could. Ed used his connection with Ayala to assess her injuries and found they weren't as bad as he feared. The wolf was still conscious at least. He sighed in relief as he dropped to his knees. "Ayala? You okay?" He called out loud.

 _"As good as can be expected when you have a wall on top of you."_  Ed smiled when he got the sarcastic response. Blood obscured his left eye again but he left it this time instead of trying to wipe it away. Obviously, it was gonna keep happening and he needed to adapt so it didn't affect his fighting.

"Good. If I get you out, can you move?" He asked, keeping an eye on the fight going on near him. So far, none of the Animals had been injured.

 _"Yes. I'm not that hurt."_  Ed could tell she was telling the truth. Aside from injured ribs – honestly, did bad guys go out of their way to injure their ribs? – she was bruised and had a few slight cuts but that was the extent of her injuries.

"Good. Get ready," Ed said before closing his eyes. Focusing on their bond and pouring all his energy into what he wanted to do, he slammed his one remaining hand onto the ground and felt the alchemic energy exit through Ayala, causing the rocks on top of her to shift and transform into a small structure for her to get out of. She shook her fur, splattering blood and dust everywhere and joined Ed.

* * *

"Holy shit." Havoc stole the words right out of Mustang's mouth. "I didn't think alchemy could be used like that." Mustang shook his head as he watched the gold and red wolf trot over to her human.

"I've never heard of anyone doing that with their Animal. I didn't even know it was possible," Mustang admitted. They'd had a plan when they arrived but when Nala had seen Ed about to be killed, she lost her cool and rushed Scar, forcing Mustang to rethink his next move. The fact that Ed was in better shape than what they'd thought when they turned up also threw a wrench in the plan.

* * *

Ed immediately looked her over and noted a decent cut running along her flank. "Stay still. I need to heal that." Placing a hand over the cut, he dug for the healing energy and activated it. Ayala squirmed in discomfort but it was soon over. "Okay, you're good." She thanked him with a lick on the cheek and headed into the fray to help Nala and the two birds.

The onlookers watched, unable to do anything to help, as Ed snatched up a nearby bit of pipe and joined the four Animals as they fought against Scar. Ayala and Edward worked seamlessly as a team, moving fluidly alongside each other but the real surprise to the veteran military soldiers was the fact that Nala, Soren and Kara were moving in coordinated attacks with them without the blonde opening his mouth to issue orders.

A near miss caused some of the onlookers a small amount of panic when Scar almost managed to take both Soren and Kara out of the picture. Both birds circled Ed but the blonde shook his head after a couple of moments. Ed jerked his head towards the bystanders and gave the birds a nod before they flew back to their humans, letting Ed get back into the fight. This meant that it was only Ed, Ayala and Nala against Scar and Ed was a little worried. Normally, he would've had no doubts about winning a fight but he and the two Animals were injured and Ed was not only down an arm but he was down his main weapon. Scar, on the other hand, was in better shape, only suffering minor injuries and they could tell he was tiring but he was still fighting as effectively as he had been at the start.

* * *

Mustang and the rest of the soldiers were watching the fight with eagle eyes. None of them could risk making a move until Edward, Nala and Ayala moved far enough out of the way to give any of them a clear line of sight to fire a shot. None of the onlookers would admit it out loud but it was a little frightening to watch Edward fight. Even as clearly injured as he was and down an arm, Ed was still a force to be reckoned with. They all winced, twitched or hissed with sympathy every time Ed landed a blow or Scar landed one of his own. None of them managed to stifle their gasps of shock when Ed was thrown into a wall, slamming into hard enough that they all heard it, and crumpled onto his side.

* * *

Scar tried to use the chance this gave him to finish Ed off but the two Animals unleashed a level of feral protectiveness that surprised even Mustang. Nala and Ayala fought Scar back away from Ed as the blonde struggled to get back to his feet. Mustang wasn't the only to notice that the main cause of Ed's struggle wasn't the missing arm but the knock he'd just taken to the head and Mustang swore he could see blood trickling down the back of Ed's neck before his hair covered it up as he finally regained his feet. The entirety of Mustang's team could see that Ed was running on pure spite now but, to their surprise, Ed didn't join back in the fight right away. He was looking at the wall off to his right and a relieved expression crossed his face before he focused back on the fight to block a punch thrown by Scar before it landed and pay back the favour before the Animals interceded.

"Ayala, Nala, get back now!" Ed shouted urgently and neither Animal dared to disobey him as he led them back towards Al. "We're clear!" He shouted to seemingly no one as some distance opened between them and Scar. The wall in between the two of them exploded, knocking the Animals and Ed down and causing Scar to skid to a stop. A massive, black gorilla and equally massive, bald alchemist stood with their backs to Nala, Ed and Ayala, facing off with Scar. Both newest arrivals were flexing their muscles as Ed sat himself against the part of the wall that was still intact.

"I will destroy all who interfere with my mission," Scar informed the newcomers. Neither were overly fazed with the threat. Instead, they both attacked the man at the same time. Scar was still able to dodge them both.

"You have to be quick to avoid my fist," the bald man praised. "Not bad. Not bad at all. You said you were going to destroy us all. In that case, why don't you start by defeating me?! We'll see how you fare against the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong, and my Animal, Gary!" Major Armstrong challenged while Gary roared his own challenge from beside him. Ed rolled his eyes at the theatrics but was grateful the fight was moving back away from him. At least he didn't have to move from where he was sitting against the part of the wall that was intact now. Nala and Ayala seemed to share those sentiments as they both sat on either side of him, still alert just in case.

"Another State Alchemist. God is putting them in my path for me," Scar said, ducking a punch thrown by Gary and side-stepping one aimed by Armstrong.

"Not backing down?" Armstrong asked before nodding once when Scar didn't answer. "In that case, your courage will earn you a demonstration. I'll show you the art of alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations!" He exclaimed, a little too impressed with Scar's tenacity for Ed's taste. They continued pushing Scar back, further from the general area Ed had been fighting the man and Ed got the feeling it was on purpose.

* * *

Havoc and Falman used the fight as a distraction to get over to Ed and check on him. Havoc knelt next to him while Falman stood guard over them. "You okay?" He asked as he visually assessed the kid over. Aside from the missing automail and probably a concussion, the kid wasn't in too bad shape. He was bleeding from several moderate cuts and would probably be covered in bruises come morning but he wasn't fatally wounded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That's the man who killed Nina, isn't it?" Ed asked, eyes still watching the fight. Havoc and Falman exchanged a glance.

"Yeah, that's him." The wall Ed was next to exploded as Armstrong's fist missed Scar and got the wall instead. Havoc instinctively pulled Ed into his chest and covered him until the debris and dust cleared. "Hey, Major! Watch what you're doing! We don't want to destroy the city, do we?" He reprimanded the alchemist as he let Ed go.

"What do you mean? Destruction and creation are the sides of the same coin. You must destroy to create. That is the law of the universe!" Gary gave a roar in agreement as Armstrong flexed his muscles and tore his shirt off. Ed's face paled as he took in the scene before him. Was it even possible for such a large man and gorilla to actually sparkle? Maybe he hit his head harder than he thought.

"Did he have to strip?" Hawkeye asked, sounding slightly ill.

"Are you surprised? He's clearly insane," Havoc deadpanned while Ed nodded his agreeance.

"Non-alchemists may fail to see the inherent truth of that statement but we understand, don't we, Scar?" Armstrong said conversationally, like he wasn't currently attacking him.

"So this killer's an alchemist too?" Mustang sounded surprised. That reminded Ed of what he'd discovered while fighting Scar.

"Right! The stages with the transmutation process are construction, deconstruction and reconstruction! This guy just stops at deconstruction!" He exclaimed suddenly.

"Wait, if he's an alchemist as well, doesn't that mean he's strayed from whatever his 'ways of god" are too?' Havoc asked, confused. It was kind of hypocritical.

"And what would his reason be for only targeting alchemists with a state certification?" Mustang wondered out loud. Ed shrugged, even though the black-haired man wasn't looking at him. Armstrong and Gary were still fighting, pushing Scar back and that's when Edward realised what they were trying to do.

"I have you cornered now, Scar!" Armstrong exclaimed, victorious. Scar took a swing at him but Gary pulled him out of the way and Hawkeye fired three shots from her rifle, barely pausing to aim between each shot. Scar dodged the first two successfully but from the grunt he made, Ed knew he'd been hit by the third. Honestly, the fact that he'd gone up against him, Al, Ayala, Chester, Nala, Soren, Kara, Armstrong and Gary and now Hawkeye and her rifle and was still standing was testament to how incredible a fighter the man was.

"Did you get him?" Mustang asked his Lieutenant as he watched the man's sunglasses fall to the ground, one lens broken.

"He's too fast. I only grazed him with one shot." She sounded both impressed and disappointed. Armstrong gasped as he took in the man in front of him.

"Brown skin, red eyes. That means he's-" Mustang interrupted him.

"Of course! He's an Ishvalen!" He exclaimed as he signalled for everyone who'd fanned out and surround the man to raise their guns. The Ishvalen man's keen eyes took in his situation. "You might as well give up, Scar. You're not going anywhere." Scar simply answered by slamming his hand to the ground and deconstructed the ground from underneath himself, disappearing down the sewers as bullets rained down on him.

"Damn. Bastard escaped," Havoc mumbled as the dust cleared and no Ishvalen, alive or dead, was in sight.

"Everyone, stay where you are," Mustang ordered as he moved over to the bigger alchemist. "Sorry, Armstrong, but thanks for buying us some time to surround him." Armstrong shook his head.

"Mm. I was hardly buying time. It was all Gary and I could do to keep me from getting killed," he told the colonel, who shook his head in disbelief. Hughes chose that moment to make himself known.

"Is it over yet?" Armstrong and Mustang both spun to face the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Hughes, why weren't you out here, backing us up?" Mustang demanded.

"I thought it best to lay low." Before Mustang could yell at him, he turned to the soldiers who were standing around. "Don't just stand there! We've got things to do! Deploy troops! Circulate his description!" Ed realised he still hadn't checked on his brother and scrambled unsteadily to his feet, heading for the alleyway Al was in.

"Alphonse! Al, are you okay?" He asked, frantically looking over his brother's armour for signs his blood seal had been damaged. Havoc, Hawkeye, Armstrong and Mustang stood a few metres away, watching the scene unfold.

"That suit of armour is Elric's younger brother, isn't it?" Armstrong asked quietly while Ed took stock of the damage.

"There's got to be a really long story behind this one," Havoc stated. Mustang ignored them both and watched the boys carefully.

"I'm okay, Ed. Just in a few pieces. The damage didn't reach the seal," Al assured him and Ed sagged in relief.

"Thank goodness. Where's Chester?" Ed asked his next most urgent question as he looked around for the leopard. He'd lost track of him after Nala made her appearance.

 _"I'm here,"_  Chester emerged, limping, from where he'd been laying.

"How badly hurt are you?" Ed asked, immediately moving closer so Chester didn't have to move as far.

 _"At least two ribs are broken and I think I twisted my front leg,"_  Chester answered and Ed was comforted by the fact that it wasn't worse. It was a nasty kick he took.

"Okay, that's not too bad. Lay down so I can give you a once over to be sure," Ed instructed, watching the leopard carefully as he did as he was told.

Everyone standing close enough to hear him gaped in astonishment as they realised that Chester and Ed were communicating directly. It was the only explanation they could all reach to explain why there was no pause between Ed's question about his injuries and Chester's answer that would've ordinarily meant Ayala had passed along the answer. To the humans surprise, none of their Animals were surprised and it didn't take long for them to figure out that that was because their Animals already knew. The only person who wasn't as surprised as everyone else was Mustang, who was secretly gloating as his suspicions were confirmed. Nala rolled her eyes before Ed's voice broke the group as a collective out of their stunned disbelief.

"Okay, you have a bit of internal bleeding. Hold still." Ed closed his eyes and placed his hand over the big cat's body and activated the healing energy stored in him. Green energy glowed as he healed all of Chester's injuries, while the four people behind him gaped in shock. Both Elric's ignored their audience. Once the green light dissipated, indicating the healing was completed, Chester hopped up and Ed sat back on his heels.

 _"Thanks, Ed."_  Chester grinned as he made himself comfortable next to Al.

"No worries. Ayala, your turn." He turned so he was facing his wolf. She gave him a look. "Oh don't bother arguing. You know I can heal you long distance even if it's a pain to do so and I'm fine so don't bother with that argument," he pointed out and she sighed in exasperation.

 _"If you pass out..."_  she warned as she made her over to him. He rolled her eyes before mimicking his earlier actions with Chester. The green light stayed active longer but that made sense she fought longer than Chester had. When the light faded, he looked far more exhausted but he was still conscious.

"Told you I was fine," he grinned tiredly.

 _"I'm not so sure about that,"_  she sighed. Ed poked her tongue out at her and turned his attention back to Al and took in the extent of the damage both of them took.

"We're really falling apart, aren't we? We look like we belong on the scrap heap," Ed joked. His little brother chuckled.

"But we're alive." He sobered up as he realised just how close they'd come to losing their lives. If Nala hadn't turned up when she did, his brother wouldn't be here.

"Yeah, we are," Ed agreed as Ayala leant up against his right side. Hughes chose that moment to stop bossing other soldiers around and stand at his best friends side.

"Woah. I've stumbled into an extra special kind of freak show, haven't I?" He exclaimed as Leo reprimanded him, causing him to apologise to his irate Animal.

"Yeah, sorry." Mustang knew he was apologising more for keeping their secret from him than him having stumbled onto this scene and Hughes got the message.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone upstairs. If this got out, things would get complicated," Hughes assured him. Mustang rolled his eyes at the understatement. They watched as Hawkeye placed her jacket around Ed's shoulders and the teen smiled up at her while Havoc knelt next to Al to see how he was.

"Yeah, the older brother aside, I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain the younger brother's body," Mustang admitted. Hughes sighed and Mustang gave him a questioning look.

"I don't envy you. This is one tough customer you're dealing with. At least we've got a better description of him. Hopefully that will help us catch him quicker before he tries this again. I mean, Ed barely held his own against him." Hughes grew quiet after that and Mustang didn't blame him. That was a bit too close for comfort. Nala had decided their conversation was boring and headed over to Ed.

"Nala! Thanks for your help. You weren't hurt, were you?" Ed asked as soon as he spotted the lioness.

 _"Only minor wounds. I'm glad you're okay. You really scared me out there,"_  Nala admitted as she nudged his shoulder with her head. He scratched her head soothingly.

"Yeah, that scared me too. Thanks for showing up when you did." Ed placed their foreheads together and listened to her purr. A flutter of wings caught their attention and they broke apart to see Soren and Kara join them on the alleyway floor. "Hey, you two. Thank you for helping us out. Neither of you got hurt, right?" Both birds reported back that they weren't injured. "That's good." He was glad none of the Animals were hurt too badly while they were helping him out. Saving his life, if he was being completely honest.

"Hey, chief?" Ed turned to face Havoc. "We should get you two out of here," he said, looking back at the people who were starting to gather curiously. Thankfully, it was just Mustang and Hughes' teams but still, Havoc had a point.

"Okay. We need to get every piece of Al's armour and something to cover the ruined side up so no more metal is lost," Ed said and Havoc nodded as he and a few others moved to do as Ed said.

* * *

Someone had found a small tarp and secured it around Al's damaged side. The remains of his arm and leg plus every shard of metal they could find and was positively identified as Al's armour by Ed were wrapped in another tarp and stored in the boot of Havoc's car. Armstrong and Gary helped load Al into the car since he couldn't do it himself and Chester jumped in straight after him. Hawkeye helped Ed to his feet and Mustang joined them as they moved out of the alleyway, Hawkeye's jacket still wrapped around Ed's shoulders.

"We'll head to the hospital first, Lieutenant. Havoc and Armstrong are going to take Al to the office," Mustang told Hawkeye, causing Ed to stop.

"Why are we being split up? And why are we going to a hospital? Did Hawkeye or you get hurt?" He asked, pissed they'd decided to split him and Al up. Mustang sighed in annoyance. This would've been so much easier if Ed had been knocked out.

"We're splitting you up because people might ask question if they saw a half suit of armour talking in the hospital. There won't be as many soldiers around my office at the moment," Mustang explained. "We're going to the hospital to make sure you don't have any brain damage or major injuries you've decided to hide from us. Consider it an order," he added the last part when he saw Ed get ready to argue.

"I'm fine! The only 'major' injury I've got is my missing automail! The hospital can't do shit about that!" Ed argued anyway. This was pointless. Mustang was doing this just to piss him off, he was sure.

"Fullmetal, you've suffered at least a head injury. You're going to the hospital and getting looked at by a doctor. That way, I'll know you aren't going to drop dead and I won't have any extra paperwork to fill out," Mustang informed him and Ed snarled until Ayala nudged him to the open car door.

 _"Don't argue, just get in. It'll be over sooner if you just stop arguing,"_  Ayala pointed out and Ed sighed.

"Fine! Pushy bloody wolf," he muttered as he trudged to the car. Ayala growled at him. "Bite me." Mustang smirked as Ayala seemed to consider doing just that before Ed winced in pain as he sat himself in the car. Ayala clambered in after him and, Mustang assumed, asked what was wrong. "I'm fine. You try getting kicked in the sternum and see if you don't bruise," Ed told his fussing wolf and she gave him a look that just screamed she didn't believe him. Hawkeye shut his door and both her, Mustang and their Animals hopped in the front though Nala did end up climbing over to the back seat with Ed and Ayala, claiming lack of room.

* * *

The drive to the hospital was quick, something Mustang was grateful for since it lessened the time Ed could start complaining or plotting his revenge. Hawkeye pulled up out front of the Emergency entrance and Mustang climbed out and waited for Ed, who only hopped out of the car after Hawkeye gave him some encouragement in the form of her gun. Nala and Ayala jumped out after him and Mustang escorted him inside while Hawkeye went and parked the car someplace more legal than the front of the ER. The nurses were busy but not swept off their feet and Mustang's uniform certainly assured them a quick response. A blonde, short haired nurse approached them almost as soon as they'd stopped to figure out where they were supposed to go.

"If you'll follow me, we've got a spare bay you can wait at while we find a doctor to have a look at you, Major Elric." Nobody questioned how she knew Edward. The kid was probably the record holder for most visits to this hospital.

The nurse led them to the bay and Ed took his seat on the bed while Mustang sat in the chair next to it. Nala and Ayala made themselves comfortable next to Ed, even though Mustang shot Nala a disapproving and semi-betrayed look that she simply ignored. The nurse handed Ed the usual forms for him to fill out, which he did, utilising Ayala as a table. The doctor the nurse found barely gave the Animals a second glance when he turned up, just read over the forms Ed handed him.

"Hello, Major Elric. I'm Doctor Taylor. It says here that you suffered a head injury and a blow to your sternum?" He asked, deciphering Ed's scrawl.

"Yes. Minor injuries that didn't require me being dragged in here to see a doctor," Ed shot a look at Mustang, who rolled his eyes.

"Get over it, Fullmetal." The doctor intervened.

"Both those injuries can be serious, Major Elric. You could have suffered additional injuries, especially if your sternum is fractured or broken." Dr Taylor's voice took on the 'you're just a kid who doesn't know enough about medical stuff to be arguing' tone that Ed despised.

"We both know my head injury isn't severe enough to more than a mild concussion. I didn't lose consciousness when I got hit, I'm not dizzy or nauseous and I'm not sensitive to light or noise. The treatment for that is to take it easy and have someone check on me every few hours," Ed said, glaring at the doctor. "My sternum isn't broken or fractured because it doesn't hurt enough for that, therefore I have no other injuries associated with it. If I did, they would be injuries to my heart, specifically tears to a chamber or my aorta and I would be dead right now. The treatment for that is the same for a concussion, neither of which require me being in a hospital. All my other injuries are minor and don't require anything more than cleaning out, something I am more than capable of doing myself." Mustang was torn between being impressed and face-palming himself as Ed looked at the doctor, daring him to argue with his self-diagnosis and treatment plans.

"You may very well be correct, Major Elric. I wouldn't be surprised if you were but you still need to undergo tests just to be sure." His tone changed immediately when he realised Ed did know what he was on about.

Ed groaned almost theatrically as he accepted his fate only after Ayala told him he had too or she'd be telling Al. Ed told her that that was rude but she wasn't overly phased. Ed had to wait with only Mustang for human company until they could squeeze him in for an x-ray. The doctor had already confirmed he had a mild concussion, something Ed looked only minorly smug about. Hawkeye turned up a few minutes into the consultation, with a sleepy looking Soren on her shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Major?" Hawkeye asked as she finished manoeuvring around nurses, doctors and random Animals. Ed gave her his best 'get me out of here' look. Other than looking slightly amused, she didn't react to his silent plea.

"Soren, your human's being rude," he whined silently.

 _"She's worried about you,"_  Soren told him and Ed scoffed slightly, causing Hawkeye and Mustang to look over at him from where they stood talking.

"I'm fine," he said for what he felt was the hundredth time in the past couple of hours. Soren gave him an exceptionally disbelieving look that Hawkeye echoed which Ed pointedly ignored. Sighing, Ed didn't say anything in response to her look, he just returned her jacket to her. She accepted it with a thanks. The doctor came by a few minutes later while Ed, Nala and Ayala were in a debate about whether Ed would be forced to stay the night in the hospital.

"Major Elric, if you'd follow me. We're ready to take your x-ray." Ed jumped down from the bed and went to follow the doctor when he turned around to see his entourage trying to follow him.

"As much as I appreciate your company, it's just an x-ray. I'll be right back. Stay here." Ayala continued following. "That includes you, Aya. You wouldn't be allowed in there anyway." She pinned her ears back and whined, showing her unwillingness to leave him alone with the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster. Ed looked amused rather than like he'd change his mind. "Nice try. Stay here." He chuckled at her expression before following the doctor out to the x-ray room. Ayala sulked back to where Nala was waiting, the lioness having been the second part on Ed's entourage.

"There's no need to sulk, Ayala. It's a simple x-ray." Mustang was trying to be reassuring but he may have come across a little condescending because Ayala snarled at him from where she lay with her head on her front paws, watching the hallway her human disappeared down. Hawkeye may have shown no outward sign of amusement but Nala wasn't above laughing at his stunned reaction.

"How's the clean up going?" He asked Hawkeye, changing the subject to save face. The look Hawkeye gave him told him she'd seen right through him.

"It's going as well as could be expected," she told him. "We've had trouble gathering alchemists willing to help patch up the alleyway and the staircase that was destroyed since word got out that Scar was targeting State Alchemists. It appears many people have taken that to mean any alchemist who helps the military, state certified or not. I've spoken to 2nd Lieutenant Havoc as well," Hawkeye informed him and he perked up slightly. "Al is at the office waiting for a report on his brother's condition. No one saw them go in. The rest of the team is there and Hughes and Armstrong said they'd be back there in a couple hours. They needed to make sure the correct information about Scar was released." Mustang nodded in acknowledgement. Maybe he could rope Edward into helping mend with the clean-up. Then he remembered he was missing his automail arm and would need to go to Resembool as soon as possible so he couldn't help.

"Lieutenant, once Fullmetal has either been admitted or cleared to leave, would you please arrange the purchase for three tickets to Resembool on the next available train? Fullmetal's vacation has now become medical leave." Mustang sighed as he realised that the kid had still caused him more paperwork.

"Three tickets, sir?" Hawkeye asked. Mustang nodded.

"Three tickets. With Al like he is and Fullmetal unable to do alchemy, they'd be prime targets for someone with a vendetta against the military or them. I'll be sending someone to accompany them," Mustang told her and she nodded in understanding.

* * *

Ayala was semi-listening to their conversation. She was grateful to the colonel for already arranging for her boy to go back to his hometown and get his automail fixed. She almost felt bad for snarling at him. Almost. She suddenly perked before bounding down the hallway Ed had gone down, Hawkeye and Mustang making startled noises at her sudden movements. Just before she rounded the corner, Ed appeared, grinning smugly and Mustang knew the kid had had his self-diagnosis proven correct. His grin turned from smug to genuinely happy when he saw Ayala and gave her a scratch behind the ear.

"I only had an x-ray, you know? I wasn't even gone that long," Ed informed his wolf even though his grin matched hers.

 _"I know but after what happened, I don't like you being out of my sight,"_  Ayala told him and Ed blanched.

"Please don't tell me this is going to be a repeat of how you acted the first time I got hospitalised?" Ed shuddered as he recalled those days. It had taken almost a week of Ayala trying to follow him into the bathroom before she relaxed.

_"Nooo."_

"That sounded convincing," he deadpanned while she chuckled in a way that made Ed nervous. He shot her a warning glare as they finished being escorted back to Mustang and Hawkeye by Doctor Taylor.

"Major Elric was correct in his diagnosis. He has a bruised sternum and the mild concussion. His other injuries have been cleaned and he's had to have a couple of stitches -"

"I didn't need them." The doctor ignored Ed's interruption.

"But he doesn't require hospitalisation. He'll need to take it easy for at least two weeks, ideally a month. He's free to leave whenever he's ready," Taylor finished up.

"Thank you, Doctor Taylor." Hawkeye bowed slightly to the doctor, who mimicked her before taking his leave. He didn't want to be around the eldest Elric in a hospital more than necessary. It was almost a fight to get those stitches done without getting him so riled up his wolf noticed. The only thing scarier than Edward was his wolf when she was in protective mode. A nurse had learned that the hard way when he tried to strongarm the alchemist into staying in his bed and Ayala had used his arm as a chew toy.

"Let's head to the office. I'm sure your brother is eager to make sure you aren't dying and I believe there are a few questions you need to answer." Mustang was certain his team would have questions considering he definitely did.

"Yay. Let's go," Ed grimaced at the thought of what questions everyone would have for him. Quite a few of his unique talents were on display today. He wondered how many they'd picked up on.

They hustled out of the hospital, pace set by Edward, and Hawkeye brought the car around while they waited at the entrance. Ed had rolled his eyes and muttered something about him being a lazy bastard which Mustang decided to be the  _bigger_  man and ignored. He snickered at his own joke and Ed shot him a glare, his 'short joke' radar going off. Hawkeye's timely arrival saved Mustang from a  _miniature_  rant.

* * *

The drive back was much more relaxed now that Ed wasn't planning his revenge on Mustang for the completely unnecessary trip to the hospital. Once they arrived, Ed and Ayala were immediately out of the car and ready to head to the office when they were held back by Mustang.

"Three hours ago, you were almost killed by a man intent on killing every single State Alchemist he can find. You aren't able to defend yourself so you aren't going anywhere by yourself." For once, Ed didn't argue though he did shake Mustang's hand off him. They headed for Mustang's office when Chester joined him halfway down the hallway. Ed knelt to give the leopard a one-armed hug, completely unashamed of showing affection he normally wouldn't in front of Mustang and Hawkeye. He knew he'd really worried the leopard today considering how close he came to dying.

"You and Al are still all good, yeah?" He asked Chester, releasing him from the hug though he kept his hand behind Chester's ears.

 _"Yeah, we were just worried about you. Ayala wouldn't answer me for a while there and I thought something had happened."_  Ed raised his brow at his wolf who had the decency to look a little ashamed.

"I was fine. She was just upset she couldn't go into the x-ray room with me." Ed rolled his eyes at his wolf's childish behaviour. Chester laughed at her and she huffed in annoyance as Ed straightened up. "Come on. We better make sure Havoc's not torturing Al with his dating sob stories." Mustang tried, and failed, to cover up his snort of laughter with a cough. Nala decided she'd had enough of them dawdling and nudged her head against the back of Mustang's knees to get him going.

Ed was greeted by a cacophony of noises, loudest of that was his brother's call of 'brother!' as soon as the suit of armour spotted him. That call caused everyone to turn to the door and look at him. Suddenly, he was surrounded by people asking him how he was and was almost overwhelmed by the attention and the amount of people in his personal space when Ayala and Chester's warning growls had them giving him some breathing space.

"I am completely fine. Just minor injuries," he told them and they all seemed relieved. Al was sitting against one of Mustang's couches in his inner office. Evidently, they'd placed him in there to prevent people seeing him in the shape he was, should someone had decided to drop by for some reason.

* * *

Once Mustang, Hawkeye, Ed and their Animals finished entering the inner office, the door was shut and everyone seemed to be waiting for either Ed or Mustang to say or do something. Ed decided Mustang could take the lead and walked over so he could lay down on the couch Al was sitting on the floor and leaning up against. Nala had beat him over, curled herself up on one end of the couch and let Ed use her as a pillow, to the amusement of almost everyone. Ayala took her place by Ed's side, cushioning herself between the back of the couch and Ed's side, resting her head on his lower gut as opposed to her usual spot; right over his heart.

"I think the team, as well as myself, have some questions for you, Fullmetal." Mustang wasn't impressed that Edward had decided to leave it up to him to explain things and that he was laying in his nice couch in his filthy clothes. Ed raised a brow at him.

"First off, Hughes and Armstrong ain't here and I'm not repeating this shit twice. Secondly, how about you explain to me and Al why Scar being Ishvalen makes it more reasonable for him to be trying to blow my brains out?" All the eyes in the room flicked back to Mustang.

"Fine." Mustang headed to his desk and sat down. "The Ishvalans were a race of people who lived to the east of us. They believed their god Ishvala was the one, absolute creator. Even after they were annexed into the country, there were still conflicts between us and them. Then, thirteen years ago, a military officer accidentally shot and killed an Ishvalan child. This accident led to a full-blown civil war. One uprising led to another, and before long, the rebellion had spread to the whole eastern sector. After seven years of this, an order came down from the military high command. We were to exterminate Ishval. Many State alchemists were brought in to act as human weapons. Needless to say, the State Alchemists produced striking results. That man is an Ishvalan survivor. In a sense, his revenge is justified." Ed had sat up and was openly gaping at him. He'd known the Ishvalen Civil War was horrible. As a young child, he'd regularly seen soldiers marching through Resembool to get to Ishval and he'd seen the wounded come back. But there was still something that didn't sit well with him.

"Fine. He's going after State Alchemists because he's getting revenge for what happened in Ishval. But that doesn't explain why he went after me. I was 2 years old when the war bloody started! There's no justification for taking revenge on people who had nothing to do with it! He's just dressing his ugly lust for vengeance in the mantle of his god and calling himself an agent of justice," Ed ranted.

"Brother, he's not stable. You can't expect him to stop and think about whether the alchemist he's after actually was in Ishval. All he sees is just a State Alchemist," Al rationalised. Ed grumbled but he accepted it, even if he didn't like it.

He, Ayala and Chester almost died because that man had decided to throw a blanket over all the State Alchemists instead of going after those who were actually there. Not that he wanted any of them killed, not even Tucker though he couldn't say he was exactly upset over his death, but now that he knew why Scar was coming after him, he was pissed off. This was just an added bump in their journey to get the Stone and the fact he wasn't being targeted for something other than joining the State Alchemist program irritated him to no end.

"Now, I believe you owe us some answers, Fullmetal," Mustang said, leaning back in his office chair.

"Nope. I said I wasn't saying anything 'til Hughes and Armstrong showed up. They ain't here, I ain't answering any questions," Ed said, laying back on Nala again and closing his eyes.

Hawkeye headed out of the room, claiming to need to make a phone call. It was only a minute or two later that she resumed her spot next to Mustangs side. Two seconds later, before Mustang had a chance to convince the blonde to start talking, Hughes and Armstrong burst through the office door. Well, Hughes did. Armstrong followed him, closing the door with a bit more respect than Hughes had opened it, once he and their two Animals had followed Hughes through.

"Ed! Glad to see you weren't hospitalised!" Hughes smiled at him and Ed couldn't help but return the smile.

"I didn't even need to go to the hospital. I wasn't badly hurt, just like I said." Pointed look thrown at Mustang and Hughes laughed at him, earning him a scowl.

"Right. Well, Hughes and Armstrong are here. Time for you to uphold your end of the deal, Fullmetal," Mustang smirked, finally turning attention back on the blonde himself. Ed sighed and winced as he sat up fully, pushing Ayala off him and causing her to get in a comfortable position again. Chester looked up in mild annoyance as Ed rested his feet on the leopard but settled back next to Al, not really minding.

"Al, you okay with me telling them everything? Including what we did that night?" Ed asked. It wasn't his place to tell people what had happened to Alphonse unless his brother agreed to it first.

"I think we should. We can trust them with this," Al said and Ed had to agree with him. They'd known the team for nearly two years and none of them had ever given them cause for concern. Everyone had basically gathered near the couch opposite them, either standing behind or sitting on it. Mustang and Hawkeye were over near his desk and Mustang was leaning forward with his elbows braced on his desk.

"Okay, so in order to explain most of what happened today, you need to know what happened before Mustang tracked us down." Ed fidgeted a bit but resumed the story. "When we were 8 and 9, our mum passed away. Fast forward two years, we'd both finished our training with our alchemy and combat teacher and returned to Resembool. We'd spent months studying and researching to do this one transmutation and, a couple months after Al turned 10, we decided we'd found every relevant scrap of information and had every ingredient we needed so we went for it. We were so fucking stupid. We tried to bring our mum back. Human transmutation." Every single person, aside from Hawkeye, Mustang and Al were staring at him in shock. They all knew how morally and legally wrong human transmutation was.

"You committed the ultimate taboo and survived?" Armstrong asked, shocked. Being the only alchemist, aside from Mustang and the brothers themselves, he knew exactly what that meant.

"Yeah, barely," Ed scoffed but held his hand up when Fuery was about to ask him what he meant. "The reason human transmutation is forbidden and always unsuccessful is because there is nothing equal to a human soul. We activated the array but almost immediately, everything went wrong and the array rebounded. I'm not gonna go into details but the price of the failed transmutation was Al's whole body and my left leg. I don't know if anyone but Mustang or Armstrong will understand this but when my leg was taken, I was shown the Truth and passed through the Gate of Knowledge. I gained knowledge, which is why I can perform alchemy the way I do. I lost my right arm bonding Al's soul to the armour he's in." He stopped there to give them some time for everything to sink in. He wanted to be out from under their bewildered gazes but he held his ground.

"Okay, so that actually explains a lot about things we've noticed about Al," Falman, surprisingly, was the one who broke the silence. "But what about today? We saw you heal Chester and it looked like you and he could talk to each other." Ed reached down and scratched Chester behind the ears.

"We're not actually 100% sure why but when I woke up after that night, I found out I could talk to and hear Chester like I could Ayala. I can actually do this with any Animal I want to," Ed revealed and saw the looks each person was giving their Animal. "Yeah they all knew. We wanted to see how long it'd take you lot to individually figure it out but I guess circumstances forced my hand." Cue the comically shocked looks each Animal got from their human, Mustang being the exception. "Anyway, after I woke up, Chester spoke to Al and I heard it. We have no clue why. We have a theory about why I can heal him though and that that it's because his energy is stored in me. We think that's because mine and Al's souls are connected somehow and because Animals energy needs a flesh and blood host. This also means I feel any injuries he gets and vice versa, though we don't feel it as severely as we would if he was my Animal." He stopped for a breather. He honestly hadn't talked this much about this since he first realised what he could do.

"Wait, so could you heal our Animals?" Havoc asked once he'd digested the information Ed had just laid on them. Ed shook his head.

"No, I don't have access to their energy. Though, I probably could if I found or created the right array," he mused but shook his head, clearing it. "Anyway, in the interest of full disclosure though, there is something else I can do. I can sight-share with your Animals." Mustang joined the rest of them this time in looking shocked. Even Hawkeye couldn't keep her professional mask in place. She may have suspected Soren and Ed could talk but this was something she would never have guessed.

"You can sight-share with our Animals?" Mustang asked, disbelievingly. Ed bristled.

"What? You don't believe me? All of your Animals will tell you. Though, Nala is the only one I've actually tried it with." He hadn't bothered with the others because he had no need too, though he had told them he could like he did with Leo. Mustang still didn't look like he believed him. "Do you want me to prove it to you?" He asked, a little angry.

"Don't sound so pissy. You know as well as anyone that alchemists don't believe in anything they haven't seen or confirmed for themselves." Mustang smirked at him.

"Fine, you stubborn bastard." He turned to Nala. "Do you mind?"

 _"No, he is rather stubborn. No wonder you two fight so much."_  Nala laughed at his expression.

"Don't even joke like that. Anyway, ready?" Edward asked and Nala nodded. Ed shut his eyes and reached for their connection. "Nala, sight!" He called, snapping his open as soon as Nala accepted his request. He smirked in triumph as he saw Mustang's astonished face through Nala's eyes. He heard everyone else gasp in surprise when they saw the light blue rings surround Nala and Ed's eyes.

 _"I think they believe us."_  Nala chuckled at the feelings she felt through her and Roy's bond. Ed laughed out loud.

"I agree. End sight." Blinking to adjust to seeing out of his own eyes again, Ed looked at Mustang with a self-satisfied smile. "Believe me now?" Mustang nodded.

"Wow." Breda voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"Don't worry. I won't be sight-sharing unless it's an emergency," he assured them all but Havoc shook his head.

"Chief, I knew you were awesome but I didn't realise how awesome you were," he said, awe drenching his voice. Ed glared at him.

"I got these talents by almost killing my brother, our Animals and myself," Ed reminded him flatly. Havoc blanched at the bluntness he said it with. Mustang cleared his throat, effectively cutting the sudden tension in the room.

"There was something I and Lieutenant Havoc, at least, noticed when we all arrived." Ed stared at him and he took that as permission to continue. "How did you get Ayala out from under the collapsed wall?" Ed's brow crinkled as he thought back to what Mustang was talking about before he realised what he was asking about.

"Oh, that," he said, recalling the memory. "Yeah, I don't know when we discovered we could do that. Maybe after our second or third lesson with Teacher?" He looked at Ayala for confirmation and she shrugged. "Well whenever it was, it was only a month or two after we got off that island and Ayala had appeared for me. Teacher had decided to give me and Ayala lessons so we learnt to fight effectively against another bonded pair. After the second or third lesson of us basically getting our arses whooped, she managed to separate us and Teacher and her Animal ganged up on Ayala. I guess it was just a gut feeling or something but I went with it and activated an earth array to throw a wall up between her and Teacher. I honestly don't know who was more surprised out of the four of us. It was the only fight we'd ever won against her." He and Ayala shared a grin at the memory. Mustang's impatience got the better of him.

"That's great but how do you do it?" Ed raised a brow at him but decided to forego Hawkeye shooting him for teasing Mustang.

"Well, it's pretty much the same idea behind how I do alchemy now," Ed said before explaining. "By clapping my hands, I create a circle with my body. By using Ayala, I'm creating a circle using our bond." Ed put it as simply as he could. Mustang and Armstrong were the only two in the room who fully understood what he meant. The others understood to some degree but they weren't alchemists so they didn't truly get the significance of the circle, just that it was needed.

"So you and Ayala could do that before the night of the transmutation?" Mustang asked, a little unsure he believed a ten-year-old could do that sort of alchemy.

"I could've alchemically kicked your arse by the time I was six." Havoc, Fuery, Breda and Hughes couldn't hide their snorts of laughter before Mustang sent them a glare they were sure was supposed to have them quivering in their boots but really wasn't effective.

"Just alchemically?" Mustang asked, eyebrow raising, almost like a challenge.

"Well, I think you would've had a distinct advantage physically fighting a six-year-old." Ed deadpanned and Al joined the laughter as they envisioned that particular fight. "Though considering the most field action you've gotten lately was today, I reckon I could take you on in a physical fight," he mused and Mustang saw his chance and took it.

"I don't know, Fullmetal. You'd still have the same height disadvantage." The effect was almost immediate as every held their breath while they waited for Edward to realise what Mustang said. Al started a mental countdown: 3, 2, 1...

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT?!" Ed screeched at Mustang who was, naturally, smirking at the ever-entertaining reaction he got from the blonde. Hawkeye's gun being cocked stopped him from making any remarks.

"Boys..." she said warningly and even those she wasn't threatening flinched at the sound of the gun. They both backed down, as per her request, but Edward still shot Mustang his best death glare.

"Well, moving on. Ed, Al, what're your plans now?" Hughes asked after a tense moment of waiting for Hawkeye to disarm and holster her weapon.

"We're gonna keep moving forward. We got shit to do and only death is gonna stop us," Ed said, completely serious. Alphonse glanced at their broken bodies.

"Brother..." Ed nodded, telling Al he hadn't forgotten.

"Before we can do that though, we gotta get my arm back. After all, I'm the only one who knows how to bond your soul to that armour." He tapped Al lightly on his only shoulder. Hughes wasn't the only one smiling at the rare gently display of brotherly love.

"You realise what that means," Al said, half-excited, half-worried. Ed couldn't supress his grimace as he did realise what that meant.

"Yup. We've got no choice. It's been a long time," not long enough if you asked him, "but we've gotta pay a visit to our mechanic." He let out a long-suffering sigh. Al petted him on the shoulder, a gesture of sympathy and comfort. Even Ayala could already feel the injuries he was going to receive.

"Speaking of," Hawkeye spoke before anyone could question Ed's dramatics, "I've booked you tickets to Resembool for tomorrows train." Ed wasn't sure if he should be grateful he was going back sooner than anticipated or not. He finally decided that the quicker he got his automail fixed, the sooner he'd be out of harm's way.

"Maybe I'll be meeting death sooner than I thought." He was joking. Mostly.

"Brother, she's not that bad. Plus, she'll be really happy seeing us! You remember I said she had something big to tell us?" Al tried to cancel out his brother's pessimistic attitude. Ed rolled his eyes.

"She's gonna be happy for all of three seconds before she realises I got my automail destroyed. I'll be lucky to be alive long enough to know what she's so excited about!" Ed insisted.

"Who're you two talking about?" Havoc finally intervened, asking what most of them were thinking.

"My mechanic and our childhood friend, Winry Rockbell," Ed informed him. Havoc still looked confused. "You know how Mustang is with mini-skirts?" Havoc nodded, the both of them ignoring the indignant 'Hey!'. "Well, minus the perverseness and add it to the obsessiveness and that's Winry when it comes to her automail." Havoc winced in sympathy.

"Yeesh. Sorry, chief. I hope you come back alive." He offered a smile and Ed accepted it with a nod of thanks. Mustang stood up, the move drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Now that we've discussed what we needed to; you can all go home for the day. Fullmetal, get the details of your booking from Hawkeye. Major Sergeant Fuery, Major Armstrong, escort Fullmetal and Alphonse back to their dorm. Take a car. The less people that see Alphonse before his armour is fixed, the better." Mustang gave his orders and everyone moved to obey, even Ed.

* * *

Once he got the time he needed to be at the station and was given the heads up that someone, likely Armstrong, would be taking him to the station, he followed everyone else out. Gary helped Armstrong load Alphonse into the waiting car and, after a bit of shuffling around, everyone was loaded into the car. Gary and Ed sat on one bench while Al, Ayala and Chester squeezed onto the other and Armstrong and Fuery took the front.

"Thanks for all your help today, Major, Gary," Al said as he was placed on his bed, surprisingly carefully by the excessively massive alchemist. Ed seriously wondered if he should get his head re-examined because he swore he saw pink sparkles coming from the Major and Gary as they accepted the armour's thanks.

"You are most welcome, Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong boomed loud enough to shake the walls.

 _"I really believe turning down those guards was a bad idea, Edward. Are you sure you'll be okay?"_  Gary asked as Al tried to stop the Major from stripping.

"Yeah we'll be fine. Those soldiers would've been collateral damage if Scar did decide to hunt us and he found us." Ed was convinced Scar wouldn't try anything tonight, which is why he told Mustang that if he found any evidence of guards near his dorm tonight, he'd turn all of his uniforms bright pink after the black-haired alchemist offered to assign him some after Hughes suggested he do so. Mustang decided to heed his warning.

"We'll see you in the morning, Ed. Major Armstrong and I are taking you to the train station," Fuery broke in, still in awe of Ed's ability to talk to other Animals, something Ed wasn't really hiding anymore now that everyone knew.

Ed nodded his thanks and they said goodnight to each other before Ed shut and locked their dorm door, beyond ready for a shower and to collapse in his bed. He forced the two Animals to have a bath first, something that was a bit more difficult with one hand than he expected it to be. He was almost surprised at the amount of crap that came off of him. He and Al cleaned out the wounds Ed had uncovered and Al winced as he saw all the bruises starting to form. He wished this was the worst shape he'd seen his brother in.

After they were done and the medical supplies were packed away, Ed crawled into bed and it honestly felt like the most luxurious thing he'd ever laid on. He didn't think he was so tired but apparently fighting almost to the death and unloading nearly all of your emotional baggage took a lot out of the nearly 15-year-old. Al promising him he'd wake him up and bidding him good night was the last thing he heard before he fell into a sleep deep enough that nightmares wouldn't touch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would also really love to know what you all thought to this chapter as well :)


	17. Chapter 17

Ed sighed as he adjusted himself so he was a little more comfortable on the train bench while they were waiting for it to leave the station. He had no idea where Al was because their escort had put him in a different area of the train, claiming that a broken, talking suit of armour would attract some unwanted attention. Chester had decided to forego the relatively comfortable train benches to keep Al company, despite his younger brothers protests that he should stay with Ed. Ed ended up being the one to put his foot down and tell Al that Chester was staying with him so Ed knew he was alright. Al didn't argue after that. However, he still didn't see why an escort who took up nearly the entire bench opposite him and his Animal who was squeezed onto what remained of the seat. A tap on the window grabbed his and Ayala's attention.

"Hey, Hughes and Leo," he greeted once he'd managed to open the window. Ayala had shifted so she was sitting up, peering over Ed's shoulder.

"Hey, Ed, Ayala. The folks at the Eastern Command Centre were a little too busy to make it down here today so I came to see you off instead," he explained.

 _"Hey, Ed. How are you feeling?"_  Leo asked at the same time.

"I woke up covered in lots of pretty blues and purples this morning." Leo and Hughes winced in sympathy. "Anyway, why is Major Armstrong here with me?" He shot the Major a side glance and the massive man didn't seem phased by the fact Ed was talking about him.

"For protection. What would happen if Scar came after you now? You're in no shape for a fight now, Ed. The Major's here to help. Just try to grin and bear it," he added the last part as he saw a protest start to form on Ed's lips.

"Children can be so stubborn," Armstrong informed Hughes. Ed's attention was immediately on the bigger alchemist.

"Hey, shut up! I'm not a child!" Ed snapped. "Anyway, are you sure Al made it onboard okay? Chester said it was really dark where they are," he asked, worry tinging his voice.

"Of course. Even though he has Chester, I did think they'd get a little lonely so I put them in the livestock carriage," Armstrong explained, proud of himself. Ed looked shocked.

"My brother is not some kind of farm animal!" He exclaimed, offended on Al's behalf. The train whistle blowing alerted them to the trains impending departure.

"Oh, looks like it's time to go. You boys have a safe trip and make sure you give me a shout next time you're in Central." Hughes smiled at him and Ed returned the gesture and told him they would. Hughes stepped away from the train and waved them off as the train left the station. Ed settled back into his seat and Ayala made herself comfortable, resting her head in his lap.

"Hey, Ches. You two comfortable?" Ed asked, closing his eyes in an attempt to block everything else out.

 _"We're as good as can be expected. The sheep are keeping out of our personal space. Can't imagine why."_  Ed could just imagine sarcastic and toothy grin Chester would be sporting as he said that. Those poor sheep.

"Oh yes. A real mystery for sure." Ed rolled his eyes and Chester laughed at how serious he said it. "Let me know if you guys need anything. Please don't eat the sheep. I'm not explaining that to whoever's expecting them. I'm gonna nap. I'm still really tired." Ed wasn't really surprised he was tired. He was in a life-or-death fight yesterday and it wasn't exactly in his favour.

 _"I'll do my best but they might start looking tastier the longer we're stuck in here. You have a good sleep. I'll wake you if something happens,"_  Chester assured him and Ed shut his eyes, already half asleep.

* * *

Ed was awoken an unknown amount of time later by Armstrong shouting something. Thinking they were being attacked, Ed jolted awake and wasn't impressed when he saw the massive alchemist hanging out the window - well his head was since that was the only body part that could fit out of the window - and shouting at someone.

"Doctor Marcoh! Doctor Marcoh, that is you, right? It's me! Alex Louise Armstrong from Central!" An old, average sized man with short black hair that was turning grey at the sides turned at the sound of his name and, once he caught sight of Armstrong, paled considerably. Ed thought that was fair, if not mildly over the top, reaction to seeing someone who looks like they could kill you just by squeezing your head between their fingers. However, Armstrong didn't appear or act threatening enough to cause the man to take off running as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

"Friend of yours?" Ed deadpanned as they watched the doctor's dust trail dissipate. Armstrong sat back in his seat, looking mildly upset.

"He's from Central. A talented State Alchemist. He was researching into possible medical applications of alchemy, but after the Ishvalen Civil War, he vanished. He and his Animal completely disappeared." Ed perked as he listened to Armstrong. Medical applications of alchemy? Ayala seemed to be on the same wavelength as Ed. They both jumped up, causing Armstrong and Gary to half rise from their seat.

"Let's go, Major! We gotta get Al and look for that doctor! He might know some useful bio alchemy!" Ed exclaimed as he and Ayala headed to leave the train. Armstrong and Gary followed and, while Ed and Ayala waited impatiently, went and grabbed Alphonse and Chester. Alphonse wasn't the only one relieved to be out of the sheep carriage.

"You smell like sheep," Ed smirked as the leopard came to sit next to him.

 _"Shut up or I'll bite you,"_  Chester scowled as Ed chuckled at the threat.

"Consider me warned." Chester wasn't overly happy with the amusement in his voice still.

Armstrong finished doing whatever he was in his notebook and Gary hefted the crate that Al was in and they headed in the direction the doctor had disappeared in. Chester was happily taking in the fresh air and sunshine while Ayala was on guard, making sure nothing was going to happen to her boy. Ed rolled his eyes but was just happy this was as excessive as she'd decided to be after Scar's attack. Armstrong was stopping people ahead and showing them something. Ed caught up and saw an exceptionally good pencil drawing of the man they were looking for.

"Wow, Major! You can really draw," Ed praised, surprised that such a large man could draw so well. Gary beamed with pride as Armstrong flexed.

"The art of portraiture had been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations," he exclaimed, shirt threatening to rip off while Ed waved his hands to get him to keep it on. Thankfully, the man Armstrong had stopped spoke up.

"That man looks like Dr Mauro to me," he said as he flicked his eyes over the drawing, nodding slightly.

"Mauro?" Armstrong asked and the man took it as a question as to who the man was.

"All our towns doctors were drafted to help on the battlefields during the civil war. Then Doctor Mauro came here. He's really been a lifesaver." They thanked the man and decided to keep asking around, just to get the story.

"He'll see any patient and he never gives up on anyone. We're lucky he's here." Another man they'd stopped told them.

"You'll see this big, bright flash of light and then you're cured, just like that!" A woman exclaimed, startling her small child from the enthusiasm in her voice. Armstrong and Ed decided they'd gotten enough of the same story and asked the woman where they could find Doctor Mauro. She happily gave them directions. They thanked her and soon found themselves climbing up a set of stairs and facing an old door.

"This is it," Ed said after Armstrong let out a questioning hum. He knocked his flesh fist on the door. "Hello?" He called. The door swung open and Ed found himself facing the business end of a pistol. He immediately raised his hand in the surrender position, deciding not to antagonise the man with the gun. Ayala, however, wasn't as calm as her human was.

"Alright, tell me what the two of you are doing here! Have you come to-" Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as he was tackled by the gold wolf.

"Ayala! Don't hurt him!" Ed called as she and the doctor fell back to the floor, Marcoh having been startled enough to release the gun. He was too busy looking at Ayala's bared teeth near his neck to notice a grey blur rushing to his aid. Ed noticed and called out a warning to his wolf but Chester had inserted himself in between Ayala and the approaching threat. The koala, Ed had identified it, slid to a stop as it found its path blocked by the clouded leopard.

Ordinarily, such a small animal would be intimidated by such a large predator facing it but this koala was an Animal and its human was in danger. Launching itself, it lashed out with its claws and Ed felt a flash of dull pain as the attack connected. Chester snarled but before he could launch a counterattack, Ed was standing between him and the koala. "That is enough. Chester, Ayala, back off. And you," he directed the next part telepathically, "settle down. Your human is no longer in danger." The koala sat there stunned as Ayala and Chester did as they were told. Ed watched the koala get over its shock and, after a suspicious glance at Edward, ran over to its human who gathered it up and stood.

"Nicely handled, Edward Elric!" Armstrong called out as he, Gary and Al stepped through the door.

"How's Chester? He's bleeding!" Al fretted as he spotted the small pool of blood gathering next to one of the leopards front paws.

"He's fine, Al. I'll heal him and he'll be good as new. Stop panicking," Ed said as he knelt next to Chester. "Hand your leg over," he ordered him, holding his palm out to inspect the wound. There were three ragged cuts on his leg, each one a varying depth and length. Chester hissed as Ed prodded one the wounds. Telling the leopard to keep it elevated, Ed summoned Chester's energy and placed his flesh hand over the wound, letting green energy glow and dissipate as it finished doing its job.

 _"Thanks, Ed,"_  Chester said as he placed weight on the leg.

"Maybe try not getting attacked by a koala next time." Ed smirked as Chester growled at him. Ed turned from the leopard to face the doctor who looked expectantly confused and scared. His koala was latched onto his arm, clinging like he was a tree branch.

"Are you here to silence me or drag me back to Central?" Marcoh demanded, something that would've been more impressive id his voice wasn't trembling and he was flicking his gaze around the room nervously.

"Neither. We didn't know this is where you were hiding until we saw you. Please, doctor, all we want is to talk," Armstrong said gently. Marcoh seemed to relax a little at his words but he was still eyeing Ayala and Chester nervously.

"Chester won't hurt you, Doctor Marcoh," Al promised, his voice as soft and non-threatening as possible. Marcoh's eyes seemed to grow three times their size as he realised the voice was coming from the broken armour Gary was holding. Chester sat next to the gorilla, in a show of non-hostility. Marcoh's eyes followed Ayala as she silently padded over to Ed's side.

"As long as you don't do something stupid, like threaten me with a gun, Ayala won't touch you," Ed promised, ignoring his brother's hissed 'brother!'. Marcoh had the decency to look mildly ashamed of his actions. With a silent gesture and loud sigh, Marcoh gestured for them to sit at the table. Gary placed the crate Al was in on one of the chairs and soon they'd all sat. Marcoh looked like he was still struggling with processing everything that had happened in the last five minutes.

"So you changed your name and decided to live in hiding way out here in the countryside. If rumours I've heard can be believed, when you disappeared, you took some top-secret research materials with you," Armstrong stated and Marcoh nodded.

"I couldn't handle it anymore. Orders or no orders, to have to dirty my hands researching that thing was too much. Not to mention how it and my stress was affecting Carrie. I couldn't keep doing that to her," he explained, briefly raising a hand to pat the koala, Carrie, before looking back at Armstrong.

"What 'thing' is that?" Ed asked, not bothering to be polite about asking. He had this nagging feeling that this was something he needed to know.

"It took so many lives..." Marcoh's voice turned soft and haunted as he remembered. "During the Ishval Civil War, so many innocents died because of it. I could spend my whole life trying and still never atone for my sins. But I had to do something so I came here to be a doctor so I could help save lives instead of taking them." His tone took on a pleading note, begging them to understand. Carrie snuggled closer to him.

"Doctor, what exactly were you ordered to do research on? What 'thing'?" Armstrong's strong voice held a friendly yet authoritative tone. Marcoh looked at him.

"The Philosophers Stone. The top-secret materials I took were my research notes and the stone itself." Ed's jaw dropped and he heard Al give a small gasp. Excitement and hope flooded his veins for the first time in a long time. Ayala and Chester squirmed in excitement.

"Do you mean you still have it? It's here?" He asked as Marcoh stood up, moving so his back was to them. He produced something and Ed saw him reveal a glass vial no bigger than his finger and no wider than his thumb. He stared at the thick, blood red liquid in the vial. "How can that be the stone? It's liquid!" He questioned, understandably confused.

"The Sage's Stone. The Grand Elixir. The Celestial Stone. The Red Tincture. The Fifth Element," Doctor Marcoh spouted out alternate names the stone had been referred to and, to Ed's horror turned confusion, tipped the red liquid onto the table where it gathered to resemble a solid stone. "Just as the Philosopher's Stone is called by many names, it can take on many forms. It is not necessarily a stone. This is an incomplete product, however. There is no way to know when it'll reach its limit and become unusable," Marcoh explained, almost sadly as he gathered the liquid back into the vial. Ed watched almost greedily.

"Finished or not, it demonstrated plenty of power in Ishval, right?" He asked, eyes still on the vial. Marcoh looked at him concerned but Ed wasn't paying him any attention. He was talking out loud to himself. "It's just like that stone the false prophet had in Liore. It was incomplete but it still amplified his powers considerably. If imitation stones this powerful can be created, who's to say a complete product can't be? Please, Dr Marcoh, I need access to your research materials." He turned his golden gaze and was met with horrified brown ones.

"Major, who exactly is this boy?" Marcoh asked Armstrong, still looking at the blonde.

"This boy is a State Alchemist, doctor." Marcoh's eyes snapped to Armstrong in disbelief.

"What? But he's only a child! After the war, there were so many State Alchemists who turned in their state certifications because they refused to serve as human weapons. And now a child!" He ranted, disbelieved the military would stoop so low. He missed the flash of unbridled anger run through Ed and Ayala's eyes.

"You honestly believe I don't know what I've signed up for?! I know what I'm doing but I've got no other choice! If this is a mistake than it's a mistake I have to make. There is no other way." Ed may have started out angry but his voice faded to something that made Marcoh realise that this child knew exactly what path he'd chosen.

"Why?" Ed's eyes flicked to meet Marcoh's. "Why do you need it so badly?" Ed hesitated but figured he had nothing to lose. Armstrong already knew everything so he gave Marcoh the short version of what he'd done that night. Hearing the story a second time didn't make it less emotional for Armstrong or Gary. Marcoh's face went through half a dozen emotions before Ed stopped talking. He glanced at the armour and made the connections.

"I see. So you've committed the ultimate taboo." He got up and knelt in front of Alphonse, causing Chester to shift as he scrutinised the soul bond once Al had lifted his helmet. "Amazing. The ability to transmute a specific person's soul like this. Maybe one as talented as you might be able to produce a completed Philosopher's Stone," Marcoh mused as he stood back up. Ed felt hope run through his body like electricity.

"So-" He was cut off before he could even ask.

"But I can't show you my research." Marcoh shook his head and refused to meet Ed's eyes.

"Why not?" He demanded as he felt that hope rush out of his body.

"You must not seek after the stone." Marcoh sounded adamant. Ed kept trying.

"Not even to get our bodies back?" He tried to plead to the doctor side of Marcoh, the side that wanted to help people.

"Never! This is the devil's research! If you chase the stone, you'll end up going through hell!" Marcoh shouted, trying to get it through the stubborn blondes head. He saw the pain and fury flood Ed's eyes as he slammed his hand on the wooden table.

"I've already been through hell!" Ed shouted back at him and Marcoh collapsed in his chair, head in his hand as he shook his head.

"Please. Please just leave." He couldn't look at them as he begged for them to leave. He knew he'd just stolen the young alchemists hope and he couldn't bear seeing the results of that. Ed just stared at him as he considered his options. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to argue with the old man. He looked so pathetic and beaten. Carrie was watching him warily and Ed sighed. Obviously, he and Al were going to have to keep chasing long shots and dead ends, like they've been doing the past two years.

"Let's go. There's nothing for us here." Al could hear the broken tone Ed was trying to hide. They'd been so close to something tangible, to a lead that could have solved their problem. Gary hefted his crate and followed the two alchemists and Animals back out into the sunshine, Armstrong shut the door behind him but not before stealing one last glance at the doctor. He was still hunched over, head in his hands while Carrie soothed him with soft pets.

* * *

The walk back to the train was silent and Armstrong could feel the disappointment and bitter defeat coming from both Elric brothers. You'd have to have been blind to miss how hopeful they'd been, only for Marcoh to rip it away like that. He could understand why Marcoh didn't want them to have it. He literally ran from the military, committing treason when he stole that research, and hid it all away because of how strongly he'd felt about how evil it was. That didn't mean Armstrong didn't feel for the boys. They'd neared the train when Armstrong asked Ed something.

"Are you sure about this, Edward? Even an incomplete stone could be useful. You could have taken it from Marcoh with force," he pointed out though he was glad it hadn't come to that. He liked the doctor and didn't want to see him hurt.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider that. I wanted it so badly, I could taste it. But still..." Ed trailed off and Al picked up where his brother left off.

"But still, we don't want it so badly that we'd be willing to deprive this town of the only doctor they have just to get it." Ed nodded in agreement.

"Besides, we gained plenty today just by finding out it can be made, that we're not chasing a fairy tale. Now we just have to find a way to do it." He glanced at Armstrong. "What about you, Major? How do you feel about not reporting back to Central on Doctor Marcoh's location?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"I met a simple, small town doctor today. I see no reason why that should be reported," he remarked casually and Ed smiled at the response. He'd thought it'd be something like that. Ayala and Chester both stilled as they sensed something coming from behind them. Ed spun as he realised why they'd stopped and was stunned to see Marcoh running towards them, calling for them to wait.

"Doctor Marcoh, Carrie?" Ed asked, perplexed at seeing the man and the koala. Said man was hunched over to catch his breath but soon straightened and handed Ed a piece of paper.

"Carrie told me you spoke to her. She said you were a good person with only good intentions and that you wouldn't misuse this information or let it fall into the wrong hands without a fight," Marcoh said and though he appreciated the glowing character reference, Ed wasn't sure why Marcoh had decided to chase them down just to tell him. "That paper is where my materials are hidden. If you're certain you won't regret learning the truth in the end, start there. Maybe you can find the truth hidden within the truth." The small spark of hope was back in Ed's eyes and, despite having met him barely an hour ago, Marcoh found himself glad he was the cause of it. "But I've said too much already. I hope the day will come when you are able to restore your bodies," he said sincerely and before Ed or Al could thank him, he was gone, leaving the blonde alchemist standing in front of the waiting train, clutching a scrap of paper like his life depended on it.

"Brother, what does the note say?" Al couldn't contain his excitement as he watched his brother read the note in his hand.

"National Central Library, First Branch." Ed's lips stretched into a grin as he crumpled the paper in his fist.

"I get it. It's like hiding a tree in a forest." Armstrong could appreciate the cleverness behind that. Ed's eyes got their familiar fire back as he grinned at his brother.

"Finally, Al. We've got a real lead!" He exclaimed. Ayala and Chester were bounding around them. This had been a long time coming. Both Animals could tell how much each failed lead had affected both boys and they didn't like it. But now, for the first time in a long time, both boys had hope and an excellent lead.

If they hadn't been so caught up in their excitement, they might have sensed the dark wrongness that came from the direction of Marcoh's home as the doctor opened his front door to reveal a familiar, striking figure. Once Al had been placed safely back in the sheep carriage with Chester, both Ed and Armstrong took their seats with their Animals and watched the town pass by them as the train left the station, no one was any the wiser as to what was happening to the man who had just gone against his own morals to give the Elrics hope once again.

* * *

The rest of the trip was quiet. Ed and Ayala never got more sleep, both still too pumped about the fact they got a proper lead. He kept in contact with Al via Chester and it wasn't long before they pulled into the familiar Resembool station. Once Al and Chester had been removed from the sheep carriage before the owner found them, they headed for Edward's favourite mechanic. Edward and Al were greeted by anyone they came across, which were thankfully few and far between. Ayala and Chester were relishing the open fields and all the trees and taking full advantage of them, racing each other through the long grass or crops. Rockbell's Automail finally came into view and Ed felt both happy and scared for his life. Somewhere in that house, there was a vengeful wrench demon just waiting to get his blood on her wrench. He did spot Granny first, so he was kinda hopeful she'd be able to wrangle the wrath of Winry.

 _"Edward! You're back! And you're hurt! What happened?"_  Den had run out to meet him and spotted the lack of arm immediately. Granny was walking down to meet them. Ed crouched and ruffled Den's ears.

"I'm good. Perks of being a State Alchemist," Ed joked and Den shot him an unimpressed look but left it alone, trusting Ed's judgement. He moved on to greet the Animals and Al. Ed looked up and saw Pinako. "Yo, Granny!"

"Oh dear, what have you done now?" She sighed, tapping her pipe while her shrewd eyes assessed their favourite customer. Ed chuckled nervously.

"A lot has happened. Can you fix us up?" He asked before remembering there was a third pair to their group. "Oh, this is Major Alex Louise Armstrong and his Animal, Gary." Armstrong and Gary bowed in greeting.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell," she introduced herself before turning back to the blonde. "I know I haven't seen you in a while, Ed, but you've gone and grown smaller." She smirked as Ed's eye twitched.

"Granny, you've got it wrong. You're supposed to say 'how big you've grown, Ed'," he ground out at the old woman.

"Why would I say something so clearly untrue?" Pinako teased him.

"I'm still taller than you, you mini hag!" Ed shot back just before Ayala nudged him harshly enough to send him stumbling sideways a few steps. Before he could ask her what that was about, he heard a familiar object fly past his head and thud into the ground. A quick look confirmed it was a wrench. "What the fuck, Winry?! Are you trying to kill me?" He glared at the blonde who had now appeared on the balcony her room had. She returned the glare with equal force.

"I thought I told you to call me first when you decided to head back for maintenance!" She yelled back as something climbed up her and settled on her shoulder to peer down at the group.

"Winry! You got your Animal! I knew it!" Al called out excitedly and you would've had to have been blind to miss how brightly she smiled.

"I did! I'll meet you inside so you can meet her!" Ed rolled his eyes. Of course she'd be nicer to Al even if he was in worse shape than Ed. Ayala laughed at him and he ignored her as they headed inside.

Ed flopped onto the couch immediately while Gary placed Al next to the couch and against the wall. Winry appeared barely a moment later with a Brown Spider Monkey firmly attached to her shoulders, almost like a backpack. The monkey immediately left Winry and walked up to Ayala and Chester where they were resting between Ed and Al on the ground.

While the Animals were meeting each other, Ed handed Winry the bundle that held the remains of his arm. She shot him a nasty look before placing the bundle on the table and unwrapped it so she could see what she needed to do. She gave a cry of despair when she saw the scraps that remained. Her Animal watched her before continuing its investigation of the newest arrivals, starting with Al.

"Yeah, sorry. It's a little smashed up," Ed apologised as he watched the monkey jump when Al spoke to it.

"A little smashed up?! A little?! Do you see what you've done to my beautiful creation? I slaved over this!" Her voice had a tinge of hysterics in it. The monkey headed back for its human to give her a reassuring hug.

"It's basically the same, just in smaller pieces." Ed didn't understand her emotional reaction. Both the blonde and the monkey sent him a glare. She was about to say something when she actually looked at Al and processed what she was seeing for the first.

"Don't tell me. You're a little smashed up too, Al?" She sighed before fixing them with the best glare she could muster. "What kind of trouble have you idiots been getting yourselves into?! All you ever do is worry me!" She exclaimed. Figuring a change in subject was needed before she actually blew a gasket.

"How about you introduce us to your Animal?" Ed asked and the change was immediate. Instead of angry and homicidal, she turned happy and excited.

"Oh! This is Michella! She appeared three months ago, just after Al phoned me to keep me update on you two since he's the only one who knows how to operate a phone apparently." She shot Ed a nasty glare and he shrugged. He had better things to do than call people just to chat. "She's a Brown Spider Monkey and she's unbelievably clever! She's so good with automail. With her help, we've been able to complete orders quicker." The monkey beamed with pride at the compliments.

"That's great, Winry! I'm so glad you got her!" Al exclaimed and Winry grinned at him.

"She definitely suits you," Ed said casually. He'd never been good at guessing what Animal someone might get but a monkey made sense for Winry. They were family-orientated, a lot smarter than they looked and, in the case of females, very maternal. Michella and Winry grinned at each other.

"So, Ed, what happened to your arm?" Granny asked as she shuffled back into the room.

"Long story short? There's someone targeting State Alchemists and I got caught." Ed shrugged, not going into any more details than that. Pinako and Winry knew better than to push.

"How's your search going?" Granny asked instead as she and Winry gathered the things they needed to check Ed over.

"Actually, we just got given an extremely promising lead. There was a State Alchemist who defected before the Ishvalen War ended. He hid his research in Central," Ed told her, trying to keep his excitement reined in but failing. Granny and Winry exchanged looks.

"Alright, I see. In order to get this information you need; you want to go to Central as soon as possible?" Granny asked and Ed smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, this is kinda a rush order." Ed and Al had talked about it on the train. Ed wanted to know what Al wanted to do. He had promised his little brother a week in Resembool but Al said that they couldn't waste any time and should get to Central as soon as they could.

"Hmm, it's not just the arm. Your leg needs adjusting too," Granny hummed as she finished measuring his legs.

"Guess your growth's not stunted after all," Winry couldn't resist teasing him.

"Shut your mouth," Ed snapped back at her. Granny interrupted the soon-to-be fight.

"The leg aside, the shape the arm's in; we'll have to build that by scratch," she thought out loud.

"Is there any chance you can have it done within a week?" Ed asked, hopeful. Granny gave him a look.

"Give us some credit, Ed," she said as she attached the spare prosthetic leg. "Three days. But you'll need to put up with the spare for now." She nodded to the leg as he got to his feet unsteadily and grimaced.

"It's a little difficult to walk on a leg I'm not used to," he admitted as he wobbled a bit, Ayala watching him like a hawk.

"We'll be finished before you get a chance to get used to it," Pinako promised. Winry was off to the side, talking to Michella.

"Three days, huh? Between machining, assembly, connecting and finishing, that's three all-nighters." The monkey chattered irritably and Winry smiled. "You're right. With you helping, it should only be late nights." Ed felt a twinge of guilt.

"Sorry for all the trouble." Winry smiled at him.

"Well, you wanna get to Central as soon as possible, right? Then we'll work butts off for you." She gestured to both her and Michella before giving him a slightly evil grin. "But you better believe you're gonna pay a fortune in rush order fees!" Ed nodded. He'd known his bank account was gonna suffer for this.

Winry had started murmuring something to Michella as she made her way up the stairs to her workroom. Pinako disappeared to do some chores and Armstrong and Gary followed her, asking if there was anything they could do for her while they were here. Ed looked around and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Al, I'm gonna go visit mum. Will you be alright by yourself?" Al nodded and Ed grinned as he headed out to Granny's garden to raid it for some flowers. Chester joined him and Ayala as they left the garden. "And what are you doing?" Ed asked once he spotted the leopard.

 _"Going with you,"_  Chester said it like it was obvious which, granted, it kinda was.

"Why aren't you staying with Al?" Ed asked. He wasn't against Chester going with him but it was unusual that he'd leave Al alone, especially with considering Al couldn't keep himself amused at the moment.

 _"Needed to stretch my legs and I wanted to pay mine and Al's respects. Plus, Al told me to go,"_  Chester told him and Ed's curiosity was satisfied. They headed down the familiar path to the cemetery, Ayala carrying the flowers for Ed.

* * *

Al was happily sitting in the lounge room where Gary had placed him. He was a bit bored but he was happy being somewhere safe and completely disconnected from the military or their search for the stone. It was nice to be somewhere you didn't have to worry about someone discovering your biggest secret or try to kill you. Well, there was Winry's wrench to worry about but really, that was Ed's problem, not his. If he didn't make it his mission to irritate their childhood friend, he wouldn't end up leaving with bumps on his head. He almost regretted letting Chester go with Ed but he didn't want to deny his Animal a chance to roam while they were somewhere he could and he was touched that Chester wanted to pay his respects to his mum and Cleo. He heard the kitchen door swing open and Armstrong loudly proclaim he had the firewood Granny had asked him to gather.

"Oh, thank you. Place it over there, please." Granny must've indicated where since the next thing Al heard was Armstrong drop the wood onto the ground.

"I haven't seen Edward anywhere around the house for a while," Armstrong said observantly. Al wondered if the man actually knew how loud he was.

"Yeah. He did say he was going to visit his mother's grave." Al heard the hesitation before Granny continued. "Major, what kind of life do the boys lead?" Al would've rolled his eyes if he had any at the fact that he heard Armstrong's questioning hum. Honestly, did the man know the definition of 'inside voice'? "Aside from Al calling us every few months, we haven't heard from them. Honestly, even those phone calls are only enough to tell us they were alive, Ed hadn't broken his automail and that they were still searching. And we never hear from Ed, just Alphonse." Al's metaphorical heart clenched with guilt. He and Ed had agreed that they wouldn't give them details about their missions because neither boy wanted them to worry about how many times they've gotten into fights. As Ed had put it, knowing they were in dangerous situations was completely different to knowing exactly how dangerous those situations were. So Al had taken to calling when they were stuck researching in between missions, even though he knew it wasn't enough.

"Ed and Al are known for their alchemy, even in high profile places like Central. Sometimes they get into trouble," Armstrong chuckled. "If I'm being honest, they have a knack for it, especially Edward. But don't worry, they're alright. The Elric brothers are strong," Armstrong said, voice full of pride and conviction.

"Strong, huh? I guess you could call them that." Granny's voice wasn't as proud as Armstrong's but it still made Al feel pleased.

"I'm curious, Madam Rockbell. You speak of the boys as though they were your grandsons," Armstrong observed. Granny grunted.

"Of course. They may as well be. I've been watching over them ever since they were born. I'm a friend of the family, you see. Their father was a drinking buddy of mine. One day he just up and left the village with his Animal, abandoning his wife and the boys. Poor Trisha. She never gave up hope he'd be back. I honestly don't even know if he's alive." Granny kept her voice completely neutral so Al couldn't tell what her feelings were towards his father.

"Come to think of it, where are young Winry's parents?" Armstrong asked as though he'd only just realised they weren't here and Al felt a familiar sadness creep up his soul.

"Gone, Major." Granny's voice was filled with sadness. "They were surgeons and they were killed during the Ishvalen War. My son and his wife did what they could to help but there were never enough doctors for all of the injured." Her voice had grown both proud and weary. Al knew she was proud of his aunt and uncle for what they did but she, like all most mothers, wished they hadn't had to sacrifice their lives for it.

"It was terrible, the war." Armstrong's voice had grown quiet, but not in a good way. It was like he was haunted.

"Yes, it was indeed." There was a moment of quiet before Granny changed the subject. "Oh look, it's time to get supper started. You look like you eat a lot but don't worry; there's plenty." Al heard her start shuffling around the kitchen.

"Oh no, please don't trouble yourself on my account," Armstrong started protesting and Al could imagine the look Granny had levelled him with.

"Food always tastes better with guests. We also have an empty patient's cot and some spare bedding, if you'd like. Your gorilla is welcome to camp on the couch. The boys always stay here, not that they really have a choice. Two more guests won't be a problem," Granny told him in a 'don't bother arguing' voice.

Al didn't hear any protests from Armstrong, not that he expected any. No one argued with Granny if they knew what was good for them. Armstrong didn't question the comment about them having nowhere to go. Al had told them about how they'd burnt the house down when they'd come clean about everything after Scar attacked Ed. Gary had had to hold Armstrong back from hugging the life out of Ed for his 'determination and tremendous sacrifice' to do what he'd done.

* * *

The front door opening after nearly twenty minutes of listening to Granny preparing dinner and Armstrong offering his help (apparently, the art of cooking has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations) caught Al's attention and he was happy to see Chester, Ayala and his brother head through. Chester immediately claimed his spot next to Al and Ed and Ayala claimed theirs on the couch after Ed called a greeting to Granny to let her know he was back.

"Anything exciting happen on your walk, brother?" Al asked after a moment of quiet to see if Granny had anything to add to her acknowledgement of his arrival.

"I saw Mr and Mrs Pearce on my way to see mum. You remember them, right?" Al wracked his memories.

"Oh, the old couple who used to give us apples in exchange for some tomatoes?" Al vaguely recalled an elderly couple doing that.

"That'd be them. They asked how we were going and what we were up to these days. You know, typical old person stuff. They wanted me to say hello from them so 'hello'." He dutifully passed the message along. Silence past between them again before Al remembered something he'd thought about once they'd left Doctor Marcoh behind.

"Hey, brother?" Ed glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, telling him to continue. "Don't you have to call Colonel Mustang and tell him you're going to Central instead of East City once we're back in one piece?" From the look on Ed's face, Al knew his brother had realised the same thing and planned on doing nothing. Al sighed.

"What? I would've told him. Eventually," Ed tried to convince him. For a suit of armour that couldn't make facial expressions, Al certainly pulled a very good 'thoroughly unconvinced' one.

"You mean, once we were in Central, you would've told Nala to tell the Colonel where we were," Al deadpanned. Ed realised how inconvenient it was to have a brother who knew you so well. When Ed didn't say anything, Al knew he hit the nail on the head. "You have to call him tomorrow and tell him over the phone. Don't use Nala." Al told his brother, who made a face but didn't argue. He knew better. Fortunately for Ed, Granny called them for dinner before Al got the chance to rub in the fact that he won the argument.

Once dinner was over and despite Al's protests, Gary helped move him to the room that had apparently become the brothers room. They could hear Winry still working in her workroom and was reassured she'd get dinner soon by Granny. Ed commandeered the bathroom while Granny showed Armstrong where he could set up camp while he and the boys were staying in her house. Edward headed back for his and Al's room once he finished showering. Ayala had already made herself comfortable on their bed and Chester was curled up on his and Ayala's original beds. Al had obviously stacked them on each other to give Chester double the padding. Even though it was earlier than his usual bedtime, on the nights he actually slept, Ed was exhausted. Once he and Ayala had made themselves and 'good nights' were passed between the brothers, Ed was fast asleep.

* * *

Ed woke up the next morning, earlier than he usually would've which made sense since he'd gone to sleep earlier than normal. He'd just gotten changed when there was a knock at the door and he gave whoever it was permission to come in. Armstrong entered and Ed frowned in confusion.

"I'm here to help Alphonse go downstairs," he said in answer to Ed's look and Ed nodded.

"No worries. Thanks for your help." Ed stepped back to his bed to give the bigger alchemist more space.

"Yes, thank you for helping me," Al said politely as Armstrong hefted the crate he was in up into his arms. Armstrong waved off the thanks loudly.

Ed made to follow them when he heard machinery noises coming from Winry's workshop. Deciding to check on his favourite automail fanatic, he headed to the room. He opened the door and saw her working on his new arm, too busy to have noticed the door swing open. He looked around and saw unfinished orders that had obviously been put on hold for his arm. Michella looked up at him and resumed her work when she realised he didn't want anything. He walked up and peered over Winry's shoulder to watch what she was doing for a moment.

"Look at you, working so early in the morning. You did get some sleep, right?" Ed didn't need her collapsing from exhaustion or making a mistake because she was so tired she couldn't see straight. He knew from experience; it doesn't matter how smart you are, sleep deprivation will kick your arse.

"Yup. Having Michella really helps. She's been working on your arm with me so I got a few hours' sleep." Winry barely glanced at him. He watched for a few more seconds before he left them to it. He headed down and re-joined his brother and their Animals for breakfast before he wasted the day away with whatever books he could get his hand on. He couldn't really do much else with only one hand. He'd nearly finished the book when Al interrupted his reading.

"Brother, when are you planning on calling the Colonel?" Ed looked over to his brother.

"To be completely honest, I totally forgot. What time is it?" Al sighed. Of course he'd forgotten.

"Nearly 10. You should call him," Al pushed the matter. Ed nodded.

"I will. But not until 11," he said with a small grin. Al looked at Chester for a clue but the leopard was less than helpful.

"Why?" Al figured he'd probably be off better not knowing but curiosity got the better of him.

"Because that's when Mustang starts trying to hide his paperwork to get out of it and I want Hawkeye to bust him." Ed grinned and Al almost facepalmed.

"Brother, you really shouldn't cause the Colonel problems." Ed looked offended.

"Not my fault he's a lazy bastard," Ed told him and Al sighed.

"Fine. As long as you call him." He decided to give in since it was a way to get Ed to do as he wanted, even if the motives were something Al wasn't happy with. They went back to their reading. Despite the fact that he wanted to get Mustang into trouble, Al still had to remind him to call an hour later. Getting up, he headed over to the phone and dialled Mustangs office number. A few rings later, Hawkeye picked up

"Colonel Mustang's office." She sounded semi-irritated and Ed wondered if Mustang had already been busted.

"Hey, Miss Riza. It's Ed." He heard her give a small, surprised gasp. They weren't expecting to hear from him until he got back to East City, after all.

"Hello, Edward. What can I do for you?" She definitely sounded less irritated and Ed was kinda glad for that.

"Is the Colonel there? I need to tell him something."

"Of course, Ed. I'll put you through. Hold on a moment." She didn't sound mad so Ed hoped she hadn't busted Mustang already and was just irritated by the phone ringing.

"Thanks, Miss Riza." He heard her press a button and there was silence. He waited for nearly a minute, which gave Ed hope his dreams hadn't been dashed, before the phone was picked up.

"Mustang." He sounded like he was sulking so Ed knew Hawkeye had caught him in the act of paperwork-hiding.

"You got caught trying to hide your paperwork, huh?" He heard Mustang groan as soon as he realised who was on the other end of the phone.

"Fullmetal. There's no way you're ringing to tell me you're fixed already."

"Nice change in subject. No, I won't get my arm back for another two days but that's not why I'm ringing."

"So spit it out. I'm busy." Ed rolled his eyes.

"You are now that she caught you." He heard Mustang growl. "Anyway, on our way to Resembool, we ran into an old doctor friend of Armstrong's. He gave us a real lead, Mustang. He gave us permission to look through all of his research. All of his research." Edward really hoped Mustang had gotten the message. From what Armstrong had said, Marcoh and Mustang should know each other.

"This doctor friend, did Armstrong meet him during the civil war?" Mustang inquired and Ed almost sagged with relief. Mustang wasn't as thick as he'd thought.

"Think so." Mustang hummed.

"We might have the same friend. As interesting as that is, why do I care that someone is letting you look through their research?" Mustang certainly sounded irritated, like he had better things to do than listen to his subordinate.

"Because of where that research is located. We gotta go to Central to get it and Al decided you should know where we are and that somehow equalled me calling you instead of having Ayala pass a message to Nala." Ed wasn't stupid enough to talk about his talents on a more than likely tapped line.

"I see. You do realise you have actual work to be doing for the military, don't you, Fullmetal? You can't just research all the time." Mustang and Ed were falling back to their typical banter now that Mustang had been told about the lead.

"That's rich coming from the man who spends his days figuring out new hiding spots for paperwork. Besides," he ignored Mustang's protest, "if I remember correctly, you'd originally given me two weeks for research and maintenance. By the time I'm fixed, I'll still have four days owed to me. Depending on how well encrypted his notes are, we should only need another two weeks at most," Ed told him. Two weeks and they might have the answers they needed.

"You're lucky. You've still got some leave owed to you and there aren't any pressing missions requiring an alchemist's attention. You have an extra two weeks to use in Central. After that, report back here for your orders." Mustang barely got that out before Ed was speaking over him.

"Okay, thanks, Mustang." He hung up before the Colonel could say anything in response to that. Mustang just placed his phone back in its cradle as picked his pen up before his Lieutenant came back in.

"He gave us two weeks on top of what I've got left once I get my arm back," Ed informed Alphonse and the Animals once he flopped back onto the couch.

"I hope you thanked him." Ed rolled his eyes at his brother.

"'Course I did." It technically wasn't a lie but the thanks probably wouldn't have been up to Al's standards and both Elric's knew it.

The day passed the same as the morning had. Ed had debated about checking on Winry's progress but was reminded that the blonde mechanic would probably hit him by Ayala and he decided it wasn't worth the injury. He did see her and Michella at dinner since they'd decided to join them that night. Winry all but shovelled the food down and left to go back in three minutes flat. Michella took a bit more time but she was following her human only a minute later.

* * *

Ed found himself back in Winry's workshop the next morning, looking at the progress she'd made. He was honestly surprised at how much the two of them had gotten done.

"Wow, at this rate, you must almost be done!" He exclaimed. Winry didn't bother looking at him.

"Nearly. One more late night and it'll be all done," she commented, eyes watching her work carefully before she checked on Michella's progress. Ed left them to it and went downstairs to get started on another day of reading. Though, he did break the routine by going for a walk with Ayala and Den around the Rockbells land that afternoon. He could see the burnt remains of his childhood home in the distance and he turned away for it, heading back to Granny's as the sun was setting.

* * *

He'd barely stepped foot in her workroom the next morning before Winry was ordering him back out, telling him she'd be finished when she finished. He left her to it before he ended up with a wrench shaped bruise on his body somewhere. He sulked his way into the kitchen for breakfast before he finished his book and then eventually joined his brother on the front lawn. Ayala and Chester were already out there, soaking in the sun. Ayala's gold fur looked like gold fire in the sun. His expression must've been more open than he thought because as soon as he sat down, Al was trying to placate him.

"They said it would take three days, right? So give 'em three days." If he could've, Al would've rolled his eyes at his older brother's impatience. Ed collapsed so he was laying completely flat on the grass.

"Yeah, I know, I know. It's just whenever I think about that research waiting for us in Central, I get so impatient!" Ed complained, waving his arm in the air to emphasise his point. A window opening above them got their attention, especially when they recognised the blonde hair and grin.

"Here you go, all ready!" Winry called out to Ed and he grinned back. He pumped his fist in the air.

"Fucking yes! I'll be right there!" He shouted back as Winry ducked back into the house and he clambered to his feet. He turned back to Al halfway in his dash to get his limbs back. "As soon as I'm done, I'll be back out to fix you!" He promised.

"Okay, brother!" Al called back. Ayala was quick to follow Ed in, wanting to be next to him when they reconnected the limbs. Chester just shook his head at the blondes eagerness. He may hate the pain and the problems automail causes him but he hated waiting to track down leads more.

Ed was immediately directed to the couch and told to strip down to his tank top and boxers. He did as he was told and used the couple of minutes it took the two women to finish up with his arm and leg to prepare himself for the pain of reconnecting the limbs. Ayala had taken the left side of the couch so that she was right next to Ed but out of the Rockbell women's way. Michella had taken up residency on the right side of his head, balancing on the back of the couch so she was nearest to her human but wasn't in the way. Winry lined his arm up and Granny did the same with his leg.

"Ready?" Pinako asked, making sure before they started. Ed took a deep breath.

"As ready as I can be." He nodded for them to go ahead. Granny started the count down.

"On three. One. Two. Three!" They connected the limbs and Ed couldn't stop a groan of pain from escaping as his nerves connected, feeling like millions of tiny, red-hot knives stabbing him over and over for a tense ten seconds before they calmed down to the familiar dull ache. He sagged in relief when the worst of it past.

"That's the worst part every time, reconnecting the nerves. I can't wait to get my hands on the stone so I can kiss that pain goodbye," he confided, not moving as Winry fiddled with his arm.

"Our biggest source of income. We'll be sad to see you go," Granny said straight-faced and Ed gave her a half-hearted glare before letting out a yelp of pain as Winry tortured him.

"Hold still! Do you want me to do this right or not?" She scolded him before making one last adjustment. Before she'd told Ed his arm was done, Michella had found a bolt she'd missed. Now she was paranoid and was determined to make sure she hadn't missed anything else. Happy with what she'd produced, she jumped up and twirled with Michella clinging to her neck. "It's just so lovely! The smell of the oil! The hum of the ball bearings! The rugged yet amazingly beautiful form created through the anatomical engineering! Ah, how wonderful you are, my lovely automail!" Granny and Den pretty much ignored her. Ayala was slightly concerned for the girl's health. Michella was happily chattering away, agreeing with her human.

"Crazy gearhead," Ed muttered under his breath though not quiet enough since both Michella and Winry shot him a dirty look.

"You'd be lost without us, alchemy freak." Ed and Ayala rolled their eyes, perfectly in sync with one another before Ed gingerly got up and performed some stretches to help his nerves finish adjusting to the reconnection.

"Everything's all done. How's it feel?" Granny asked him as he finished the last of the stretches.

"Yeah, it feels good," he told them, turning to look at them.

"Well, Michella and I agreed to increase the amount of chrome this time so it won't be as prone to rust. The downside to that is it isn't as strong so don't do anything crazy. Hey, listen to me!" She yelled as he took off for the front door but she was too late. Ayala stuck back to offer an apologetic look as her human raced to the front yard, calling out his brother's name. Ayala shot the monkey a quick message to relay to Winry before she followed her human to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

 _"Ayala said she'd pass the warning on to Ed,"_  Michella dutifully informed her blonde. Winry rolled her eyes as she headed back up to the workshop to continue work on the orders she'd pushed aside for Ed's arm.

"At least one of them has some sense to listen to me." Michella couldn't help but agree.

* * *

Ed had found Armstrong and Gary and enlisted their help to get Al set up with all the broken bits of his armour so it was all in one spot and he was out of the crate. Once he was set up, Ed readied himself to perform the alchemy required.

"So you can fix him right here?" Armstrong asked curiously. Ed nodded.

"Yup, so long as you know the trick to it. You see that seal there?" He gestured to Al's helmet, which the younger boy had lifted, and Armstrong nodded when he spotted it. "That's the medium between Al's soul and the armour. In theory, anyone competent with metal alchemy could fix him but they'd also have to know about his seal and we can't risk that. So I'm the only one who can mend him if he can't do it himself. You ready, Al?" He asked his little brother who nodded enthusiastically.

"More than ready." Ed flashed him a grin before clapping his hands and placing them on Al's armour. The resulting light lasted a tad longer than Armstrong and Gary were used to but once it cleared, it showed Al standing in one piece.

"All done. You're as good as new! Ready to test it out?" Ed asked, challenge in his tone.

"Yeah!" Al accepted it readily. Both boys took off for their familiar sparring grounds, followed by their Animals. Armstrong watched them fight one-on-one then with their Animals after a short break to let Ed catch his breath and get a drink. He had to admit, both boys were phenomenal fighters. He hadn't witnessed them fight against Scar and was amazed to witness Ed's long-distance alchemy with Ayala in person for the first time.

Granny ended up putting a stop to the sparring when it went on past lunch time and neither boy nor Animal noticed. After Ed and the two Animals got something quick to eat, the Elric's went for a walk around the property like Ed had done the previous evening.

"I'm going to miss this place," Al sighed as he took in the view. It was something he'd always commented on when they got a mission that took them to a small rural town. "What's the plan?" He asked Ed who was busy watching Ayala and Chester flit in between trees and the long grass.

"It's time to head to Central and look for Doctor Marcoh's notes. We'll leave tomorrow morning," Ed told him. "I know I promised you a week here-" Al cut him off.

"It's okay, brother. This is the lead we've been waiting for. I can feel it so I don't mind cutting our time here short if it means we get answers sooner," he said, completely honest. Ed's shoulders loosened as the guilt he'd been feeling lifted slightly. They sat on the hill until it was nearly time for the sun to set. Only then did they head back for Granny's to get some dinner.

Ed had managed to make it all the way to his room before he collapsed on his bed, not even bothering with the covers. Ayala sighed as she gently pulled the covers up over her human so he didn't wake from the cold. Al had watched this and whispered a goodnight to Ayala before joining the others in the lounge room. Armstrong had retired to his room earlier and Gary was with him, happily giving the Rockbells and youngest Elric some time to talk.

"He's asleep. I guess our sparring match and walk was too much too soon with the new automail," Al told them and Winry chuckled.

"It's almost funny to think someone as small and young as him could be considered a human weapon," Winry commented and Al hummed in agreeance.

"Granny, Winry, I just wanted to thank you." He couldn't bring himself to meet their eyes.

"What's this? Why so formal?" Winry asked, a little concerned.

"It's just... you're always welcoming us like we're blood. He won't ever admit it but I know brother feels as grateful as I do," he admitted, looking up to see Winry's eyes glistening.

"Don't you worry, dear. We know he feels the same. He doesn't have to say anything." Granny's voice took on a so rarely used softer tone. Al wished he could've smiled at them.

"Thank you." He really was grateful. Both women waved off his thanks as unnecessary and the subject soon changed until Granny decided she needed sleep and Winry wanted to finish up an order before she went to bed. Al followed both Rockbells up the stairs and bade them goodnight as he entered his and Ed's room with Chester. Sometime while he was downstairs, Ed had turned in his sleep and had curled around Ayala, who was sleeping with her head on his ribs, eyes sleepily opening as she watched him enter before snuggling back into her human as she closed her eyes again.

* * *

Ed and Al were up and out of the room earlier than normal, ready to head for Central and get to the library. Granny was in the kitchen with Armstrong, Gary and Den but Winry and Michella were nowhere to be seen.

"She's had a few late nights. She'll be down in time to see you leave though," Granny said in response to Al's inquiry after the blonde girl. Winry, true to Granny's word, made it downstairs just after they'd finished breakfast and making sure they had everyone and everything, Michella sleepily blinking on her shoulder.

"You two had better come back and visit us soon, you hear?" Winry demanded as soon as she came to a stop in front of them.

"Wow, Winry. I think you've set a record for how soon you order us about after you wake up," Ed drawled. Winry refused to look ashamed.

"We'll come back as soon as we can," Al promised. The mechanic accepted the slight compromise. They all headed out of the house and the two women waited on the front porch as the boys and their escort left. Ed suddenly stopped a few metres away.

"Knew I forgot to do something," he exclaimed before turning on his heel to face the house and its perplexed occupants. After a few moments, a surprised squeak from Michella and a smirk from Edward, the group finally left.

"What was that about?" Winry asked, though she wasn't sure if she was asking about Ed's behaviour or Michella's.

 _"He spoke to me!"_  The monkey looked at her with wide eyes and Winry realised that in the time she'd had Michella, she'd evidentially neglected to tell her about Ed's talents.

"Have fun explaining that," Granny said as she headed back inside with a small smirk of her own.

* * *

Al had asked Ed the same question and, even though he was silent, they knew Armstrong was wondering what Ed had done.

"I just realised I never thanked Michella personally for the work she'd done on my arm." Comprehension flowed through Al and Chester and it took a moment but it dawned on Armstrong and Gary what Ed implied.

"How'd she react to that?" Al asked, curious about the monkey.

"She was definitely surprised. I think Winry forgot to tell her what I could do," Ed told him with a smirk. The monkey had uttered a surprised 'you're welcome' on pure reflex before demanding answers from her human. Al chuckled as he imagined Winry answering all Michella's questions, even if he did feel a bit sorry for the blonde.

The rest of the trip to the station wasn't as entertaining but they didn't mind. There was something peaceful about walking through Resembool before most people were even awake. It was so quiet and calm. You honestly felt like you were the only person there. The moment was ruined once they reached the station and Ed went and got their tickets to Central. Armstrong had been told about their change in plans a few hours after Ed called Mustang so he wasn't surprised at the change in destination. They boarded the train half an hour later and grabbed three empty benches.

Ed and Al amused themselves by playing cards or reading and challenging each other with small alchemy tricks throughout the train ride. At some stage, Armstrong joined them until Ed fell asleep, boredom at having been kicked out of the card game when his brother caught him cheating. A total overreaction, if you asked the blonde alchemist. Ayala rolled her eyes and huffed in amusement. They exchanged trains in East City before a stopover in Awrosut to grab some lunch from a place Armstrong knew well. After lunch, they boarded the train and ended up in Central by early morning the next day.

Exhausted, Ed, Al and the Animals were escorted by a still chipper Armstrong to a hotel Hawkeye had apparently had the foresight to book them into. She'd told Ed via Soren and even though he'd already thanked her, Ed was prepared to thank her a million times over once he saw the hotel. It was nothing overly fancy but it was certainly a lot nicer looking than motels he saw down the street. After bidding Armstrong and Gary goodnight and making plans to meet up in the lobby at 8:00am, the boys and the Animals headed up to the room they were assigned and Ed forced himself to wash the grime of the train ride off before he crawled into bed. It was one of the nicest beds he'd ever had the pleasure of sleeping on and he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning, or more accurately a few hours later, Ed, Ayala, Al and Chester made their way downstairs to meet up with Armstrong and Gary, both of whom looked like they'd gotten a full night's sleep as opposed to the few hours they'd had in reality. After exchanging morning pleasantries, they wasted no more time and headed straight for the First Branch Central Library. Armstrong pointed out random landmarks and Ed paid close attention so they knew the way back to the hotel. The closer they got, the more on edge the Animals got, something that went unnoticed by exactly no one. Even Gary was acting confused and nervous. When they arrived at the library, they realised half the issue. Where there once stood a massive building, filled to the seams with books and files, now stood the burnt remains and ashes on what remained.

"There's nothing here but ashes! It's all gone!" Ed exclaimed, complete disbelief filling his voice and a strangled noise escaped from Al. Ed never realised how much hope he'd been accumulating since Marcoh told them about this research until he felt it vanish as he looked at the charred ruins. This had been the first lead they'd gotten since the start of their journey that wasn't a rumour, half-cryptic trail that turned out completely unrelated or was a hoax invented to rip off visitors. This had been so real, Ed had almost tasted victory on his lips. And it was all gone now. Shoving his emotions back for the moment, he faced the Animals. "Is this what caused you lot to act all odd?" He asked, hoping it was a 'yes' so they could put it behind them and figure out their next move.

 _"Not quite. I don't know what Gary sensed but Chester and I picked up a familiar feeling we'd both gotten in Liore just before we left. I felt it here in Central, at Central Command, when you took your exam, remember?"_  Ed nodded, confused. They hadn't figured out what that feeling was or what it meant and Ed had almost forgotten about it.

"So, what, you think there's something behind this?" He asked but Ayala shook her head.

 _"No, not really. I don't know? Maybe. The things I'm sensing haven't been identical. The one at Central Command was a lot angrier, I guess? There were two in Liore, both different to Central Command and one of them was here. The feeling's fading so this happened a couple of days ago. That can't a coincidence, Ed. You finding out about Marcoh's research and then the place it was hidden in_ happened _to burn down a couple of days later? There's something happening. I can't describe it but I have a nasty feeling about this and Chester agrees."_  Ed relayed what she told him to the two humans who hadn't heard their conversation and looked back at the remains of the library. Ayala was right about one thing. It was too strange a coincidence that this library burned to ashes just after they'd been told about the research hidden there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18 will be posted immediately after this but I would still love to hear what you guys think to this chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

Ed was too busy staring at the ruins of the library and worrying over what Ayala had told him to notice the two approaching soldiers. At least until Ayala reacted to them. Al was the next to notice them but Major Armstrong didn't until the black-haired one called out his name.

"Ah, 2nd Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh! To what do we owe the pleasure?" He boomed as they stopped in front of their group. Ed could see two different dog breeds, a dalmatian and a blue heeler, watching from the feet of the two new arrivals.

"You've been ordered to report back to the Command Centre, sir," the woman with black hair styled in a pixie cut informed them.

"We'll be taking over the supervision of Edward Elric and his brother, effective immediately," the second soldier, a dirty blonde-haired man with a subdued enthusiastic demeanour, smiled at them.

"Very well. They're yours." Ed stopped watching the new Animals in favour for studying their humans quickly. Ayala was doing the same.

"Seriously? We don't need bodyguards! This is getting old," Ed complained, causing both Ayala and Chester to roll their eyes.

 _"You don't think that maybe it's because you were almost by someone who's still on the loose?"_  Ayala asked sarcastically and Chester snickered. Ed shot him a look that the leopard ignored. Unknown the woman, she echoed what Ayala said albeit a lot nicer.

"Sir, this is for your safety. Scar is still at large though your Commanding Officer is working diligently to find him while Lieutenant Colonel Hughes is here going through reports and leads." She looked about as excited to be following them around as he was about being followed.

"I believe some introductions would be a good idea," Al interrupted before Ed could start an argument about whether they could look after themselves or not.

"An excellent idea, Al!" Armstrong praised. "This is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his brother, Alphonse." He pointed to each boy as he said their name. "Boys, these are 2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross," he pointed to the black-haired woman, "and Sergeant Denny Brosh." He pointed to the blonde man. "I leave them in your capable hands. Good luck, boys." Ed dipped his head in thanks while Al voiced it.

"So, did you boys come to check out the ruins?" Brosh asked once Armstrong and Gary were gone.

"No," Ed sighed "there was some research we needed here but now it's all gone." He looked at the charred ruins sadly.

"All might not be lost. There was a woman who was well acquainted with the materials in the first branch. Unfortunately, she wasn't working there anymore," Maria offered and Ed figured it was worth a shot.

"Might as well go talk to her. She might be able to give us something," Ed said though he clearly doubted it. What were the chances that she found the research, read it and remembered enough to give them anything? Maria and Brosh gave a nod.

"Then let's go pay her a visit. Follow us, we already have a car organised," Maria told them and Ed gestured for her to lead the way.

It wasn't until they were in the car and being driven to the mystery woman's home that Ed reached his limit with the not-so-subtle stares shot at Al's armour. Even Ayala was starting to get twitchy from it. Thankfully for Ed, Al was the first one to question the soldiers.

"Is something wrong?" Maria and Brosh's faces flickered with the guilt of being caught out.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sure, it was. "Although, if you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing a suit of armour?" Ed and Al exchanged a quick look.

"It's part of his alchemy training," Ed said, falling back on their go-to excuse whenever someone asked. It was the best excuse to go with when asked by non-alchemists because they generally didn't know enough about alchemy training to question it, though judging from the fact that they were suddenly talking to each other behind their hands, these two certainly didn't believe the story. So he decided to change their focus.

"We haven't introduced our Animals yet." That stopped their private chat.

"Oh, right! Well, this is Ajax. He's my Blue Heeler," Brosh ruffled the Blue's ears. The dog lolled his tongue out happily at the affectionate pat.

"And this is Kaia, my Dalmatian." Maria gave the spotted dog a smile. The pretty, slender bitch rubbed her head against her humans knee.

"This is Ayala, my Arctic wolf." Ayala levelled them with a scrutinising look before resting her head back in Ed's lap. Both soldiers looked a little warily at her. Ed felt her smug satisfaction through their bond and mentally rolled his eyes at her though he wasn't gonna say he was dissatisfied she'd gotten that reaction. Both he and Ayala were of the opinion that a installing a need for caution in the first meeting never hurt.

"And this is my Sunda Clouded Leopard, Chester." Al's tinny voice was always filled with pride whenever he introduced Chester to people. After Al had met Hughes for the first time, Ed had always compared his tone when introducing Chester to how Hughes sounded whenever he talked about Elysia of Gracia. Al had been both happy and offended at the same time, especially after the fourth or fifth conversation about his girls that had lasted for more than an hour. They arrived at their destination only a couple minutes after the conversation.

* * *

The woman lived in an apartment complex that looked similar to the dorm building that Ed and Al stayed in sometimes though the doors were more spaced out which meant each apartment was bigger than the dorm rooms. Brosh checked the apartment numbers against the one in his notebook until they found the correct one. A knock on the door and a few seconds for an answer later, Brosh tested the doorknob and it opened. A look was exchanged by the uniformed soldiers and they entered the apartment only to be confronted by towers of books stacked from the floor to the ceiling and covered every surface.

"Oh, wow." Ed's jaw dropped as he took in the true magnitude of what was in front of him. "There's got to be a million of them," he said in amazement.

 _"Edward, close your mouth and help us look for the tenant,"_  Ayala chided and Ed snapped his jaw shut as he followed Maria and Denny inside. There was barely enough room between the book piles to accommodate Al's armour.

"Is there really someone living here?" Denny's voice was filled with awe as he looked around while they shuffled through the path left.

"Ms. Sheska? Are you home? Ms. Sheska!" Maria was calling out, both Kaia and Ajax in front of her, sniffing the ground for anything useful.

Ed had just passed an opening to his right when a small, fluffy, grey thing launched itself at him. It was pure reflex that made it so he caught it instead of it smashing into his face. The creature was panicking, absolutely frantic and, though Ed was talented, he couldn't speak pure animal.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, relax. Just stop squirming and breathe," Ed ordered, going with his gut that this was Sheska's Spirit Animal. So when it stilled at the fact that he'd spoken telepathically instead of out loud, Ed knew he was right. The Animal, a Chinchilla if he wasn't mistaken, looked at him with wide, black eyes in shock before it remembered why it was panicking.

 _"You have to help her!"_  It squeaked at him. Ed frowned.

"Your human? Where is she? What happened?" He asked, ignoring the looks that Maria and Brosh were shooting at him. Al made a concerned noise from behind him and Ayala was watching the small Animal expectantly.

 _"They fell on her! Over there!"_  It told him, jumping out of Ed's hands before scampering on top of a pile of books.  _"She's under here!"_  Just then, Ed and Al heard the muffled voice of a woman.

"Is someone there? Sam? Please help me." Ed and Al burst into action, Maria and Brosh following close behind. Sam had jumped off the book pile and onto Ed's shoulder, too small to actually move the thick books. In no time, they'd successfully rescued the woman, much to Sam's evident relief as he leapt from Ed's shoulder to hers with a joyful squeal. She was a petite woman with a mousey appearance and shoulder length brown hair. She dug around in the books still surrounding her and found a pair of glasses that she put on so she could see them properly.

"Thank you so much! I'm so sorry I caused you trouble! I thought I was going to suffocate under there. Sammy tried so hard to move the books but they were too heavy for him." She gave the Chinchilla a scratch. "But Sammy heard you guys knock on the door and now we're here." She flashed them a blinding, yet shy, smile.

"So you're Sheska?" Ed asked, giving her a smile significantly less blinding but no less friendly.

"Yes?" The woman's nervous demeanour showed now.

"And you worked at the library?" He needed to make sure. The woman's whole lit up, eerily similar to how Winry's looked when she spoke about automail.

"Ah, the library. The word itself is so beautiful! I've loved book my whole life, ever since I first learnt to read as a little girl. The job was heaven." She got this starry-eyed look on her face and Ed and Al exchanged a nervous look. She wasn't done yet. "But I forgot I was supposed to be working and all I ever did was read, so they fired me. If I never find another job, I'll never be able to help move my mum to a better hospital. She's really sick. But I'm hopeless! The only thing I'm good at is reading! I'll never find another job as long as I live! I'm useless, good for nothing! More pathetic than pond scum!" Sammy made an offended noise and started berating her, from the tone of the noises he made.

"Excuse me?" Edward interrupted whatever lecture Sheska was currently getting. "There was something we needed to ask you. It's kinda why we're here." He was surprised she hadn't actually questioned four strangers being in her home.

"Oh! Yes?" She seemed to have just realised there would be a reason for them to be there.

"Do you remember seeing any research belonging to someone named Tim Marcoh?" Ed asked, almost hopeful that her answer would be 'no'.

"Tim Marcoh. Where do I know that name?" She placed a finger to her chin, tapping it as she thought. "Oh! Yes, of course! I remember now!" She exclaimed suddenly.

"Really?" Ed needed to make sure she was certain.

"Oh, yes. I'm absolutely positive. There were some hand-written notes stuffed into a bookcase where they didn't belong." Ed felt his heart sink.

"The notes really were there after all." Ed looked at Al. "That means they burnt up along with everything else in the library." Ed scrubbed his flesh hand over his face. Damn it.

"Did you want to read them? Is that why you're here?" She looked at them, a little confused about why they were asking about some old notes.

"Yeah," Ed said as he stood up, ready to leave, "but it's too late now. They're nothing but ashes." Ed moved past Al. He just wanted to go back to their hotel room and figure out their next move.

"We're sorry to have bothered you." Al gave Sheska a small bow before turning to go after his brother, Ayala and Chester following him.

"I remember every single thing that was written in them. Would that help at all?" She flicked her eyes between the two brothers.

"What do you mean you remember everything?" Ed asked, spinning back on his heel to look at her. Al did the same but a bit more careful of his surroundings.

"It's just the way I am. I'm able to remember the content of any book I've ever read." The disbelief and hope in Ed's eyes made her come to a decision. "It'll take a while but I could write them out for you, if you'd like?" This time, it was Ed's smile that was blinding.

"Thank you, bookworm! You're our hero!" He exclaimed, causing the brunette to startle.

"You're welcome?" She offered, a little unsure of what else to say. "I can go get started right now!" She scrabbled to her feet, nearly dislodging Sam in the process. She led them to the only room not completely covered with books and grabbed as much paper out of a drawer as she could carry before plonking it on her desk. "Do you have some way for me to contact you?" She asked as she got herself settled. Brosh stepped forward but Ed intervened.

"Just have Sam contact us at least once a day. And don't tell anyone what you're doing for us, okay?" Ed ordered her and she gave a nod before getting to work. "Please remember to contact us, even if she forgets. I have a feeling she's a bit scatterbrained when she's working," he asked Sam telepathically.

 _"Yeah but that's part of what makes her special. I'll stay in contact, I promise,"_  Sam assured him and sat on his human's shoulder to watch her work. They watched for a moment but they left when she never looked back up at them.

"Do you mind me asking what that was about?" Maria asked as they walked down the stairs of the apartment complex. Ed shot the back of her head a confused look.

"What what was about?" He asked once he realised his look wasn't enough since, you know, she couldn't see it.

"Cutting Sergeant Brosh off like that. Using Animals as messengers is frowned upon since we have no way of accurately recording what the Animals say." She stopped to face him.

"Look, I don't want people to know what she is doing for her safety. Having Sam contact me is the best way for us to be kept in the loop without the rest of the military finding out before she's done." Maria and Denny gave each other a unconvinced look and Ed sighed. "Look, call us paranoid but we're not convinced that the library burning down within a week of us finding out that the research that could hold the answer to everything we've been looking is an accident. If we're right and someone  _is_ trying to sabotage us, I don't want Sheska being targeted." Ed pushed past them and continued down the stairs, Al and their Animals following close behind.

 _"Are you sure you should have told them about the library?"_  Chester asked as Maria and Brosh followed them.  _"I mean, you didn't even tell the rest of Mustang's team everything until nearly two years after you met them."_

"I know but they need to know that we think there's something up if they're stuck babysitting us." Ed may have issues trusting people easily but he wasn't the type to put people in danger knowingly.

 _"Are you going to tell them what the research is about?"_  Ayala asked. Ed thought for a moment before answering.

"No. Not unless I have too." Ayala had figured his answer would be something like that.

"Where to now?" Brosh asked as they exited the building.

"Can't do anything until everything's done. Might as well stay in the hotel room until she's all done," Ed sighed, resigned to the fact that they could be spending a few days doing nothing. If Marcoh was as thorough as he and Al were with their research and experiments, there would be a lot of notes which meant Sheska could be writing for a week.

"Brother, can we go to some bookstores while we're waiting?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"We can before we go to the hotel. There's that one that you found that's nearby. Do you wanna go there or somewhere else?" Ed asked as they climbed into the car.

"Oh, can we go to that one? It had some really interesting books last time," Al asked enthusiastically.

"I said we could, didn't I?" Ed pointed out as he turned to the driver and gave him the name of the bookshop.

"Thanks, brother," he said as they headed for the bookshop.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I need some new books as well," Ed said dismissively.

Once they pulled up in front of the store, the boys were out of the car and in the shop before Maria, Brosh and their Animals could blink. Wondering if this was going to be their life for the foreseeable future, chasing after two teenagers, one of whom had made it clear they didn't want guards, they followed them inside the small store and located their charges down two separate aisles. They split up, Brosh heading for Al and Maria taking on Ed. She stopped at the end of the aisle and watched him from a distance so she didn't disturb him. She did have to question when he put the six books he'd chosen from the section on the ground so Ayala could look at them.

"What are you doing?" She watched Ayala nudge two of the books and Ed put them back on the shelf.

"Getting Ayala's opinion on the books. I only want, like, ten maybe? She helps me narrow down my choices since there are more aisles to investigate and Al will be getting his own. Should keep us entertained for a few days." He shrugged as he grabbed the remaining four before moving onto the next aisle. She didn't bother replying. She had a feeling there was a lot about these boys that would be considered weird. She watched Ayala chose another seven books before they met up with Al and Chester, the former with six books of his own.

"Are you done looking, brother?" Al asked, checking the books Ed had against his own in case they doubled up.

"Yup, let's pay and go to the hotel." Ed headed for the book shop employee as he spoke. The portly woman rang up their purchases and thanked them as they left. It was the biggest sale of the week and they never haggled over the price so she was very happy when they said they'd probably come back.

"Are you two heading back to base once you've dropped us off?" Alphonse asked Maria and Brosh as they headed back for the Elric's hotel room.

"No. We'll be staying with you guys until we're ordered otherwise," Brosh told him, causing Ed to roll his eyes and mutter something unintelligible under his breath.

"But you'll go home tonight right? So you can get some sleep and rest?" Al asked, concern drenching his voice. Neither military officer missed the way that Ed flicked them a concerned and curious look before going back to essentially ignoring them.

"No, we'll be taking a room in the hotel and splitting the night shift with our Animals." Maria used a soothing tone to try and placate the younger Elric. He seemed to accept it. At the very least, he didn't argue or question them anymore about it.

They made it back to the hotel with no issues and Maria dismissed the driver once everyone was out. Once they were in the lobby, she and Denny split up again, Denny and Ajax escorting the boys up to their room while Maria and Kaia secured a room of their own. They re-joined them after only a couple of minutes. "We'll be right outside if you need us. Please don't leave without at least letting us know where you're going. If you want food, one of us will escort you."

"Don't worry. We're not going anywhere. For now," Ed told them as he opened the door to his and Al's room and disappeared, along with his wolf and Chester, though to the leopard's credit, he did hesitate.

"I'm sorry about my brother. We won't go anywhere except to eat and we'll find you before we do. Thank you." Al bowed slightly before following his brother, already starting to lecture his brother. "Edward! That was so rude! They're..." His voice was cut off by the door shutting behind him. Maria and Denny sighed as they took up their positions on either side of the door.

"This is gonna be a fun assignment," Maria sighed, sounding entirely unenthused. Kaia nudged her hand onto her head and Maria gave the Dalmatian a scratch. Denny and Ajax had to agree.

"I have a feeling it certainly won't be boring," Brosh commented and Maria grimaced. That's exactly what she feared.

* * *

It took Sam five days to contact Ed to tell him Sheska was all done instead of just updating him. During those five days, Ed and Ayala had made it their mission to avoid Maria and Denny when it was their turn to get food, purely for their own amusement. Maria and Denny weren't as amused after the third time they made it all the way to the restaurant Ed wanted food from before one of them caught up. His brother turned traitor and extracted a promise to not do it again from him, knowing full well Ed wouldn't break a promise he made to Al. Ayala was also lectured by Al, something that rarely happened because each time it did, she was reminded why she avoided being lectured by him. He knew how to a lay on a guilt-trip. So Ed's days became boring and repetitive since he had been banned from evading Maria and Brosh. Which was why both soldiers had been slightly startled when Ed threw open his door and took off, followed by Ayala and Chester, leaving his brother to explain that Sheska was finally done.

They got to her apartment a lot slower than Ed would've liked since Maria had him wait for the driver she requested to take them over arrived. The whole ride was strained with nervous anticipation. Ed was visibly trying to not get his hopes up and was exceptionally twitchy the closer they got to her residence. That didn't stop him from being the first person out of the car. Maria asked the driver to wait for them before following everyone up to Sheska's apartment. She let them in straight away and led them back to the little office they'd seen her last in.

"Sorry. I know five days is a long time to wait but there was quite a lot to write down." She gave them a sheepish smile.

"Unbelievable! There are some amazing people in this world!" Al exclaimed as he looked at the hundreds of papers sitting on the desk. Ed was almost afraid to go near them.

"These are really Doctor Marcoh's research notes?" He asked, just needing the extra assurance.

"They sure are!" Sheska told him proudly. "Come and take a look! Written by Tim Marcoh: One Thousand Easy Recipes." She handed him a bundle of papers while Maria and Denny grabbed their own.

"Six cups of rice, one carrot, two onions, salt..." Maria recited, confused. "Oh, great. Does this mean we went through all the trouble of waiting for a cookbook?" Kaia didn't look like she had the answers either.

"Miss, which part of this made you think it was an important document?" Denny asked a little bluntly. Sheska and Sam looked upset and confused. She directed her answer to the boy who she'd done this for.

"Is this not what you're looking for? All I did was copy down what I remembered." She bit her bottom lip nervously as Ed scanned through the documents hungrily.

"Wonderful. So this was just a wild goose chase?" Denny muttered to Maria, who shrugged and waited for Edward's reaction.

"Miss Sheska?" He looked up to meet her gaze. "Are you absolutely sure this is a flawless reproduction of the notes?" Sam looked offended at the question but Sheska nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, I'm 100% certain." Edward's face split into a grin, making her relax immensely.

"Then thank you very much! You're absolutely incredible!" He praised, making her blush. He turned to the others. "Alright, let's get this to the Second Branch Library," he ordered, ignoring Maria and Denny's flummoxed looks. Using some thick string Sheska produced when asked, he tied two bundles of paper separately so Ayala and Chester could carry one each. Ajax offered his help and Ed did one up him too with some thanks. He did the same to the rest so they didn't mix up the papers during the move.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. They should have the latest materials there," Al agreed, grabbing massive armful of material.

"Yup, that's right," Ed said as he went to grab his own armful before remembering something. "Oh! Sheska's fee. Lieutenant?" He scribbled something on a loose piece of paper before handing it to Maria, stopping her from picking up some of the paper. "Here. This is my registration number and the pocket watch for ID." He handed over his watch. "Withdraw that amount from my annual research grant and make sure Sheska gets it, okay?" He grabbed half of what was left while Denny got the rest.

"Right. I'll do that right away, sir. I assume I can just take this note down to the State Alchemist Office?" Ed nodded as he headed for the door.

"That oughta do it." He turned around again. "Well, Sheska. You're a lifesaver. Thanks, again!" He left before he heard Maria and Sheska's joint exclamations at the figure he'd written on the note.

Denny was proud of himself. Ajax was proud of his human too. He'd waited until they were at the second branch and had completely set up a workspace for the boys before he questioned their sanity over being excited about some cookbooks. He thought they wanted research notes pertaining to alchemy, not cooking.

"I don't understand. These are cookbooks. What could they possibly have to do with alchemy?" He asked almost as soon as they'd sat down at the table after undoing all of the string. Ajax sat next to him waiting for an answer as well.

"Alchemy is a powerful art. It can be incredibly dangerous if misused. In order to prevent that, alchemic research is almost always encrypted," Ed explained as he paused his reading in favour of looking at Denny. "These may look like cookbooks to you but they're actually incredibly advanced alchemic notes. Only the alchemist who originally wrote them can understand them unless you have the encryption key." He finished explaining.

"If they're so heavily encrypted, then how are you going to able to decipher them?" Denny asked curiously. Ed shot him an amused look.

"It's not going to easy," he admitted, looking at his brother. "We'll need to use all of our alchemic knowledge." Al nodded. They'd only skimmed some of the notes but it was clear that Marcoh's encryption wasn't child's play.

"Wow, sir. That sounds really complicated." Denny didn't envy them. He'd always hated school and this sounded worse. Ed gave him a smirk before diving into the notes properly instead of skimming them.

"Al! There's a section here on green tea." He pointed it out as Al looked over his shoulder. Denny was about to leave when he caught Ayala apparently reading some of the notes, an intense look of concentration on the wolf's face. He decided against asking. These last five days had shown him that there were a lot of weird things about these boys and their Animals.

"Green tea? Are you thinking what I am?" Al asked, already moving to the bookshelf.

"Yup. It might be a reference to the green lion of metallurgic alchemy. Do we have a copy available of Flamel's codex or Lambspring's concerning the Philosopher Stone?" Ed asked, not even looking up from his notes.

"Yup, right here," Al told him, pulling the books Ed had listed. He placed them on the table next to Ed.

"Sweet. Now take a look at this." Ed pointed at something. "You see? And here?" Al nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." He spotted something else. "And maybe here, too?" Ed flashed him a smile.

"Great! We've got a place to start." Ayala looked up, locking golden eyes with golden eyes. Chester was just as keen as the others, even pulling a set of papers towards himself to help out. Ed grinned at them all. "Let's do this!" Denny watched them as they read what was in front of them like their lives depended on it. They left them to it and both Ajax and Denny headed outside the room and waited for Maria and Kaia to join them.

* * *

Four days later, Ed and Al were still surrounded by the notes Sheska had copied for them as well as all of their own notes, no closer to cracking the encryption key than they were when they got their hands on the notes. They hadn't left the room except for bathroom breaks, Al just walking to the toilet and back with Chester when he needed to go so no one wondered why he hadn't gone. Maria and Denny had taken turns getting them food and Ed had only gone back to the hotel to shower.

"Why does this encryption key have to be so damn hard to figure out!" Ed complained, throwing down his pen and rubbing his face in frustration.

"Brother? Maybe we should just ask Doctor Marcoh about this directly. You could contact Carrie," Al suggested. Even Ayala looked offended at the idea of asking for help.

"No way! That would mean admitting defeat!" Ed sounded scandalised at the very idea. Al wished he could roll his eyes.

"So this is a contest now?" He asked, amused at his brother. Ed went to retort when a familiar brunette was escorted through the door.

"Excuse me?" Sheska interrupted their conversation. All four heads snapped to look at her.

"Sheska? What's up?" Ed asked, a little confused as to why the brunette was there.

"I just wanted to thank you." Ed and Al were slightly confused. Why would she be thanking them? "Thanks to the money you gave me, Edward, I was able to move my mother to a better hospital. I really appreciate it." She gave them a grateful bow.

"Nah, it was no big deal. Really," Ed said, uncomfortable with the gratitude he felt wasn't owed.

"Have you had any luck deciphering it so far?" Sheska asked. She didn't expect the Animals or the boys to look so depressed.

"Not yet. Have you found another job?" Al asked and it was Sheska and Sam's turns to look depressed. Shaking her head, she cleared it of the depressed thoughts.

"No but that's okay. You two made me feel better by having me write all that out for you." She gestured to everything in front of her. "It was nice to know that even a pathetic mess like me can help out sometimes. So thank you for that as well." Both Al and Sam made offended noises.

"You're not a pathetic mess. I think that the kind of dedication you've shown to reading is a talent all on its own. And besides that, your memory is absolutely incredible! You should have more faith in yourself." Sheska was a blushing mess by the time Al finished talking.

"Thank you, Al," she managed to squeak out.

 _"Tell your brother thanks from me as well,"_  Sam asked as he nuzzled Sheska's cheek. Ed passed the message on.

"Yo!" All three pairs of humans and Animals looked up at the newest intrusion only to be confronted with a pissed off fox and enthusiastic bespectacled man.

"Hughes? What're you doing here?" Ed asked, honestly shocked at seeing the man.

 _"He's here because you didn't tell him you were in town and he has no interest in doing his work until he finds out why."_  Leo definitely wasn't happy. Ed flinched guiltily.

"Major Armstrong told me you two were in town. What gives, Ed? I told you to give me a shout the next time you made it to Central." Maes actually pouted.

"Uh, I was busy? Sorry," Ed offered. It had honestly never occurred to him to contact Hughes.

"It's just as well. I've been busy too," Maes sighed, sounding exhausted. "We've had a lot of cases to deal with lately. And we're still working on getting that Tucker-Chimera situation settled." He did not miss the way Ed flinched when he mentioned that. Mentally berating himself, he apologised. "Sorry. I guess that brings up some unpleasant memories. Anyway, as if things weren't bad enough for us already, the First Branch had to burn down in the middle of all this." Ed latched onto the subject offered, still trying to stop the memories of Nina coming up.

"That's been a problem, huh?" Maes gave an exaggerated sigh.

"A big one. All of our case records were stored in the stacks of that location and trying to work without them hasn't been a picnic, let me tell you." He chuckled but stopped when he saw the way Ed and Al were looking at the unfamiliar brunette he literally just noticed. She looked just as confused. "Uh, what's with the looks?"

"Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, meet Sheska." Ed grinned as he introduced them. "I believe she may be able to help you with your problem." Sheska clued on to what he was suggesting.

"Well, I have read all of the military's case records and I do remember every detail," she offered and Hughes grinned.

"That's all I needed to hear, lady! You're hired! My office pays well so don't worry." Hughes had grabbed her by the arm and started walking her out of the room. She was stumbling to match his pace.

"Wait, you want to hire me?" Sheska asked as Sam held on for dear life and Leo watched this all unfold, very unimpressed with his humans behaviour. Maes nodded and she turned back to the boys. "Thank you so much! I'll have faith, just like you told me! Thank you, thank you!" She called as they disappeared through the door. Leo sighed as he headed out to follow his human.

 _"Thanks, Ed. This will help him out a lot. Hopefully get him to relax,"_  Leo sighed. Ed wished him luck and he chuckled as he disappeared.

"She won't be thanking us for long." Ed laughed. "How'd you put it again, Al? 'I think that kind of dedication is a talent all on its own'? Very smooth, little brother, very smooth." He smirked at Al who chuckled at him.

"It's something I always think whenever I see a certain someone I know," he admitted, nudging Ed a bit as his brother grinned.

"Well, in that case," Ed picked up his pen and Ayala stretched before settling back, ready to get back to it, "a certain someone should hurry and get back to work or you're gonna have to come up with a new motivational phrase." Al laughed but followed his brother's lead and got back to work.

* * *

Denny was slumped against the wall of the library that separated him from the boys, snoring softly as he slept. Ajax was lying next to him, alert so he could warn his human about any approaching dangers. He shot up as Maria and Kaia headed back from grabbing the boys dinner, immediately waking his human up.

"I'm awake," he snorted as he shot up to a standing position.

"I can see that." Maria sounded amused as she held up the plastic bag containing their dinner and the one that had the boys dinner in it. "Let's go give them some food."

"They've been at this for ten days. I'm impressed that they're still going after all this time," Denny commented and Maria agreed. She honestly would've considered giving up by now, at the very least.

"Fuck this!" A very angry shout came from inside the library and both soldiers rushed inside, needing to make sure their charges were okay. They came to a sudden stop as they took in the scene in front of them. The entire room looked like a tornado had come through and strewn paper and books everywhere. Ink from broken pens splattered some pages and even got on the floor. Ed had his face buried in Ayala's fur and Al had an arm around Chester.

"What did you guys do to this place?" Denny gasped in shock. Ajax and Kaia had left their humans side to nudge at Ed and Al.

"There's no need to get angry because you can't crack it." Maria felt like a schoolteacher. "There's no need to throw things." Ed chuckled humourlessly. Maria and Denny shot him confused and worried looks.

"We did crack it," Al's quiet voice rang in the room.

"What?" Both soldiers asked at the same time. Ed still hadn't moved, not even to remove his face from Ayala's gold fur.

"We cracked the code and decrypted the notes," Al explained and both Denny and Maria looked stunned but happy.

"That's great!" Denny exclaimed. "You finally cracked it! That's good, right?" That caused Ed to finally look at them and the amount of rage in his eyes had them taking a step back.

"There's nothing good about it!" He half-shouted. "It should have been fucking destroyed! Doctor Marcoh was right. This research is evil." His voice had grown soft and that was somehow way worse than when he'd been yelling.

"What's so evil about it?" Denny asked after a minute of silence.

"The main ingredient to make a successful Philosopher's Stone," Ed swallowed hard, "is human life." Maria and Denny stood there like statues. Even Ajax and Kaia had grown still. "In order to manufacture just one Philosopher's Stone, you'd have to make multiple human sacrifices." Ed slowly stood up but his head was still hung and he didn't meet any of their eyes.

"How could the military authorise research into something so horrible?" Denny asked, outraged.

"I can't believe this. It's so awful!" Maria felt disgusted. Kaia and Ajax's expressions reflected the feelings of their humans.

"Do us a favour." Ed finally looked them in the eyes and they could see the desperation. "Don't tell anyone about any of this."

"But, sir-" Denny's protest was cut short.

"Please. Just until I figure this out. Just pretend you never heard any of this," Ed pleaded and they just nodded. The flicker of gratefulness that crossed his eyes was nearly enough to make them okay with their decision.

"How about we take you back to the hotel room? You can have some dinner and you can think about all of this and maybe get some proper sleep," Maria said coaxingly. Ed nodded and they left the room, not even bothering with the mess.

The drive back was expectantly subdued. The same with the walk up to the Elric's hotel room. Maria gave Al the food she'd gotten for them and there was a quiet thank you before the boys disappeared behind their door. Maria and Denny stood in the same spot for a few moments before taking up their usual spots on either side of their door.

 _"They worked so hard to decipher those notes and this is what they find out? Talk about a blow,"_  Ajax said to Kaia who agreed.

 _"I'm not sure how I'd react if I were in their shoes."_  Kaia lay down at Maria's feet. Ajax mimicked her position next to his own human.

 _"Ed will be alright. So will Al. This was a tough break but they'll get through it. They're strong,"_  Ayala told them both. She hadn't heard their conversation considering they'd kept it to themselves but she knew they liked the boys and figured they'd be worried about them. Kaia and Ajax couldn't do much except trust her on that.

* * *

Ed and Al had barely sat down when the phone began ringing. Ed stared at it like it was spouting short jokes and made no move to answer it. Right now, he didn't want to talk to anyone about anything. It also didn't help that he had no clue who was on the other end of that phone call. As far as he knew, the only people who knew his room number were the hotel employees, Armstrong, Hughes and the two guarding them. In the end, Al was the one who answered the phone.

"Hello?" Al's curious voice asked. He'd been thinking the same thing as Ed. Not many people knew their number or hotel room. "Oh hello, Colonel Mustang." That got Ed's attention. What the actual fuck? How did Mustang get their hotel room number? Hughes. It had to have been. Ed was gonna torch his whole photo collection. "You want to speak to Ed?" Ed shook his head vigorously. "He's in the shower at the moment. Can I give him a message?" Bless his younger brother. Ayala rolled her eyes at him and Ed shot her as silent glare. "Okay, sir. I'll let him know. Have a good night, Colonel," Al said just before he hung up.

"What'd Colonel Bastard want?" Ed asked, sitting himself up.

"Ed, you know you shouldn't call him that." Ed shot him a blank look and Al moved on. He tried and that's what mattered. "He just wanted to remind you that tomorrow is the last day you have allocated for leave and that you're to report in with him by the end of the working day tomorrow." Ed sighed. He should've known.

"Did he mention how he got our number?" Ed asked as he lay back down on the couch.

"No. I'd assume Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes gave him our room number." Ed hummed in agreement. Silence reigned in the room for quite a stretch before it was broken by Alphonse.

"Brother, you really should eat the food Miss Maria got for you," Al said as he eyed up the bags of food growing cold.

"Nah. I don't want food right now." Ed stared up at the ceiling. "Pretty awful, huh?" Al didn't need Ed to give any more details than that.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. Ayala and Chester were laying on Ed's bed, watching their humans with sad eyes.

"You know, Al, it's like, we try so hard to grasp the truth but it always slips away," Ed said, reaching up like he was actually trying to grab something. "Now that we've finally caught it, it turns out the truth is too dangerous to hold. I'm starting to think this is god's special way of torturing people who have committed taboos. I wonder if it'll be like this the rest of our lives, Al. You know, there's something I've been meaning to tell you but never did. I guess I was just too afraid too." That had Al sitting up straighter. His brother never admitted he was scared under any circumstances and especially not to him.

"What is it?" Al wasn't entirely certain he wanted to know. He heard Ed inhale, ready to tell him when banging on the door had Ed sitting upright and Ayala and Chester were off the bed and in front of the boys before a familiar, booming voice thundered through the door.

"Elric brothers, I know you're in there! Open up! It's me, Major Alex Louise Armstrong!" As if the introduction was actually necessary.

"What do we do?" Al whispered as the door was almost knocked off its hinges again.

"We ignore him, that's what!" Ed whisper-shouted back but that plan went to hell when the lock gave out on their door and slammed open to reveal Armstrong stooped a bit to come through the door, followed by Gary, who gave the boys a wave, who was then followed by Maria and Denny, both of whom looked guilty.

Those guilty looks increased with Armstrong's next statement. "I know what it said, Edward Elric. How tragic! To think that the legend of the Philosopher's Stone was built upon such a terrible secret!" The death glare Ed gave Maria and Denny would have made Truth itself quake where it stood.

"We're really sorry," Maria offered as Denny hid behind her.

"It's really hard to stay quiet when someone like him asks you," Denny offered as an excuse.

 _"They did try really hard to keep quiet,"_  Ajax told Ed. The boy sighed and accepted their apologies, much to their relief.

"Imagine the military being behind something like that!" Armstrong continued his dramatics. "Often the truth is more cruel than we bargain for." That sparked something in Ed.

"The truth..." He said thoughtfully.

"What is it, brother?" Al asked, recognising that tone.

"Do you remember what Doctor Marcoh said back at the train station?" He asked, facing Al.

 _"He said to 'look closely, maybe you'll find the truth hidden within the truth', right?"_  Ayala asked, following his train of thought.

"Exactly." He gave Ayala a smile and repeated the words to everyone else. "I didn't have a clue what he was talking about then but now? It's the same with alchemic notes. Sometimes, what you see on the surface is only a portion of the truth. There's still more to find here. There has to be." Ed was pacing now. "Why else would he tell us that?"

"I don't know, brother. Maybe he just meant the notes?" Al wasn't one to be pessimistic but he didn't want Ed's hopes back up. He didn't want to witness it being crushed again.

"Maybe. You're probably right but just work with me here," Ed asked and Al nodded. Ed gave him a brief smile before starting his pacing again. "Okay so we know Marcoh was ordered to research the stone and what he discovered caused him to defect, stealing all his own research and the near-completed stone. He hid his notes in the first branch and someone burned it down, maybe to deter us from finding them." He stopped in his tracks as something occurred to him and faced everyone else. While he'd been pacing, everyone who was military had sat on the couch Ed was previously lying on. Al was still at the table. "Who's to say that the military isn't still researching the stone?" From the looks on everyone's faces, no one else had thought about that.

"If they were, they would need somewhere to do the research," Al pointed out and Ed nodded, turning to the Major.

"Major, if I said to you 'military research', what do you immediately think of?" He asked Armstrong.

"Well, I'd say the military laboratories," he answered almost immediately. He pulled a map out of one of his inner pockets and spread it over the coffee table. "There are currently four operational laboratories in Central that have connections to the government." He pointed out the four buildings and Ed circled as they went. "We can narrow it down even further. Marcoh worked in the third laboratory." He pointed to a building Ed had circled. "We should start with that one. It's the most suspicious." Ed shook his head.

"No, Al and I have been to all of the labs here in the city. None were doing any remarkable research." His eyes scanned the map and saw another building marked as 'laboratory' that Armstrong hadn't mentioned. "Here, what's this one?" He asked pointing to it.

"That was designed to be the fifth laboratory but it currently isn't in use. The building isn't structurally sound so it wasn't cleared for use. Now it's strictly off limits," Armstrong told him and Ed grinned.

"That's where they're researching it," he said confidentially.

"Huh? How can you be so sure that's it?" Denny was the first one to voice the question. Ed pointed to the building directly next to the fifth laboratory.

"There's a prison right next door." Apparently that wasn't a good enough explanation because Maria, Denny and Armstrong looked a little confused. Ed sighed. "What was the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone?"

"You said that it needed human lives." Realisation dawned on Denny and he made a face of horror.

"There'd be plenty of condemned prisoners in the jail. Officially, they would be recorded as executed." Ed nodded as he explained. Maria's face paled.

"They're using the prisoners to make the stone." She looked at Ed like she wanted to throw up.

"Don't look at me like that," Ed scolded. "I don't like this anymore than you do."

"Prisons from other jurisdictions could be used too," Al thought out loud. "I wonder if the government is behind all of this." Ed wasn't sure but that was something to think about later.

"Why do I get a feeling that we're getting involved in something really dangerous here?" Maria asked out loud and Ed gave her a look.

"This is why we told you to pretend like you never heard anything!" Al reminded her and she grinned sheepishly. Armstrong stood up but what got their attention was the way he held himself, his body language screamed seriousness.

"This has the potential of becoming a political nightmare before long." He sighed and looked at Ed. "I'll look into what we've talked about tonight. In the meantime," he turned to Denny and Maria, "speak of this to no one."

"Sir!" They both saluted him and Armstrong turned back to the boys.

"And you, Elric brothers, behave yourselves!" Armstrong didn't by the innocent look Ed was trying to sell. "I know you two boys. You were thinking about sneaking into this building and taking a look around, weren't you? Admit it!" His posture changed and suddenly his clothing was threatening to jump off his body. Gary stood behind him, just as imposing.

"We weren't gonna do anything, we swear!" Al swore as Ed tried to get as far away from Armstrong as he could in case he started sparkling. Armstrong nodded, satisfied with their answer.

"I'll let you know if I discover anything," Armstrong promised when he finally left.

"Thanks, Major, Gary. Please be careful," Ed warned. Armstrong nodded as they left. Maria and Denny escorted Armstrong and Gary down to the lobby for further orders. Ed turned to face his brother and their Animals. "We're going to check that lab out tonight."

"Of course we are," Al sighed. Ed shot him a knowing smile.

 _"Well, I'm all for breaking and entering but how do we get out of here? Our guards won't be leaving us alone anytime soon,"_  Chester pointed out. Ed dismissed his concerns.

"I've got an idea for that. Don't worry about it." He grinned at them. "We've just gotta wait for the perfect time." A few minutes later, a knock on the door preceded Denny telling them they were back and Al responded with a thanks. Ed served up dinner and they went about their usual routine. When it was nearly midnight, Ed gave them a look and he and Al grabbed all the blankets they could and got to work creating a makeshift rope.

"Okay, repeat to Al what I'm about to tell you," Ed asked Chester. One of the perks of being able to talk to other Animals directly is it made passing along secret messages easier. "Al's gonna go down first. I'll pull the rope back up and send one Animal down at a time then I'll come down. Got it?" When Al nodded, Ed gave him the go ahead. It took nearly ten minutes to make sure everyone got down quietly and carefully and then it was Ed's turn. After checking the door one more time, he scrambled down the rope before joining the others on the ground. "Let's go."

* * *

It took them nearly an hour to get to the fifth laboratory. About halfway there, they stopped being careful about how sneaky they were. They managed to duck down an alley next to the laboratory and peeked around the corner. Seeing no one, Chester went forward and peeked around the corner of the opening before reporting back that there was a guard.

"A guard posted at an unused building. Interesting," Ed mused as Chester re-joined them.

"That is suspicious," Al granted him. "How do we get in?" Ed thought for a moment.

"We could make our own way in?" He suggested but Al shook his head.

"They'd notice the light from the transmutic reaction," he pointed out. Ed sighed before looking up at the high walls topped with barbed wire fence.

"Okay so we'll do this the hard way. Al, give me a boost." Al stuck out his hands and Ed placed a foot in them before Al launched him up and Ed grabbed the edge of the wall with his automail arm, dangling for a moment before hoisting himself up the rest of the way. He knelt precariously as he got the barbed wire to snap before unravelling it down so Al could reach it. After looking around cautiously for any guards walking the perimeter, Ed sat so his legs were dangling down above Al and the Animals. "Okay, Chester, tell Al to send Ayala up the same way whenever he's ready." Chester nodded and passed along the message. Ayala backed up and waited for Al to get ready before launching at him. He did the same thing he did with Ed and the next thing she knew; she was being caught by Ed and was balancing on the wall in front of him. "Do you think you can jump down by yourself or is it too high?" Ed asked and she looked down. It was high, higher than she was comfortable with but she knew she'd be alright.

 _"I can do it. I'll hide in between the bushes and wall until the rest of you join me,"_  she told him and he watched her leap down. He didn't feel any sympathy pain but that didn't mean she didn't hurt two certain limbs.

"You okay?" He asked once she shook off the landing and went to hide to the left of him, behind the bushes like she'd said.

 _"All good down here,"_  she told him and he leant back the other way to look down at Al and Chester.

"Okay, Ches. Your turn," he said and the leopard nodded before they repeated the same move, with Chester landing neatly next to Ed before shooting the blonde a smile and following Ayala down the wall and joining her behind the shrubbery. Ed nodded down to Al and he started his climb up using the barbed wire as the rope. Once Al was up, with a bit of help from his brother, they both joined their Animals. They avoided the front door, knowing the guard was nearby and headed for the side door only to discover it was boarded up.

 _"Any attempt to remove those is gonna make too much noise and alchemy will have the same problem as before,"_  Ayala pointed out.

"They're not taking any chances, are they?" He sighed before spotting a vent above and to his left. The others followed his line of sight. "Al, you need to wait here," Ed told him as he moved under the vent.

"You'll be fine on your own?" Al asked, not keen on splitting up. Ayala shot him a dirty look, something Al hastened to make right. "I mean, aside from having Ayala with you," he quickly amended as Ed climbed up onto one of his shoulders and popped the vent open.

"Well, that's beside the point. You're too big to follow me through here," Ed commented as he realised a second problem. "And Ayala won't be going with me."

_"Excuse me?"_

"What?" Both Ayala and Al asked at the same time and Ed looked back down at them.

"She's too big to go through as well. You'll get stuck and I won't be able to turn around to help you," Ed told them both and Ayala scowled at him.

 _"You're not going in there by yourself! I don't have a good feeling about this place,"_ she said in a no-nonsense tone and Ed sighed.

"Ayala, we didn't risk Miss Maria's wrath sneaking out to turn back empty handed. I'll be fine by myself," Ed tried reassuring her but she wasn't budging. He didn't want to start an argument but he wasn't turning back now. He was about to tell Ayala to suck it up when Al offered a solution, though he wasn't overly thrilled with it.

"How about Chester goes with you?" Ed looked at him incredulously and he wasn't the only one.

"What?" Ed asked him and Al shifted, causing Ed to grip so he didn't fall from his perch.

"What if you take Chester with you? He's narrow enough to fit through there easily, you won't be by yourself and Chester can keep both me and Ayala up to date with what's happening in there," Al pointed out the pros of this plan before anyone could argue.

 _"Are you sure, Al?"_  Chester asked, feeling his humans reluctance to let him out of his sight in a potentially dangerous situation. Al gave him a silent nod.

"Is that okay with you, Chester and Ayala?" Ed asked, keeping his voice low.

 _"Not as happy if I was the one going with you but given the choices, this is tolerable,"_  Ayala said and Chester snorted.

 _"I'm game."_  Chester grinned.

"Okay than. You first, Chester." Ed gestured to the opened vent and the big cat jumped gracefully onto Al's shoulder then climbed into the vent and belly-crawled through. "I'll contact Ayala when we're inside," were his parting words before he followed the leopard through.

"Be careful, brother."

_"Be careful, Ed."_

Ayala sat down next to Al, ready to wait for her human to come back. She didn't like being separated from Ed for any length of time but she also knew that Alphonse would be feeling the same as she did. She gave him a light nudge to let him know she understood. He gave her a light pat in return.

* * *

"How you going, Ches? We nearly there?" Ed asked as they continued inching their way through the vent.

 _"I'm good. I think I see some light up ahead coming from below,"_  Chester said and Ed grinned to himself.

"If there's light, that means the power's on," he said as they kept going.

 _"So?"_  Chester was nearly there. The dim blue light was bright to his eyes.

"So, why would there be power if this building abandoned? This is definitely the right place." That made sense and Chester should've realised that but right now he didn't really care.

 _"I can see the floor of a hallway. The lights aren't very bright. I guess they're just so you can see your way around when the lab is shut for the night or something. The floors are a mess. There's debris everywhere. You wanna go down or are we going back?"_  Chester asked, looking down at what he could see through the vent. He could feel the 'are you serious' question.  _"Going down it is."_  Chester knocked the grate loose and leapt down to floor, followed closely by Ed, who landed almost as silently.

"Hey, we're inside. The power's on. We were right. This building is being used for something. We're gonna investigate," Ed told Ayala while Chester told Al pretty much the same thing. Once they'd both been given warnings to be careful, which both rolled their eyes at, they headed forward, Chester using his nose to follow any scent that caught his attention. Neither of them noticed they were being watched as they made their way down a hallway that caught Chester's attention.

* * *

"Ed and Chester are taking a long time." Al's voice broke the deafening silence, making the whisper sound like a shout. Ayala whined in agreement. They hadn't heard from them since they'd told them they were out of the vent. Ayala could tell Ed wasn't in immediate danger and she knew Al could tell the same for Chester but her bad feeling was growing worse, like it had in Liore. That feeling was proven warranted when Al and Ayala were forced to avoid the suit of armour that dropped from the roof of the lab, wielding a set of meat cleavers.

"You move pretty well for your size. If you didn't though, it wouldn't be worth the effort to cut you into itty-bitty pieces." Al decided this dude was insane and Ayala had come to the same conclusion.

"Who are you?" Al asked as he and Ayala faced the armour.

"I'm number 66. Well, that's the name they gave me when I came to work here anyway." The armour's helmet cocked to one side as it considered them, finally pointing one cleaver at them. "I'm gonna cut you both up nice and neat. All you have to do is sit back and scream. Well, in your Animal's case, howl." He pointed the cleaver at Ayala who responded with a snarl. The armour chuckled at her and she used the time to send Ed and Chester a warning they were in trouble.

* * *

Ed and Chester had just stepped into the most brightly lit room they'd come across in the whole joint. It was a rounded room with pillars supporting the weight of the top floors. But what really caught their attention was the massive transmutation circle taking up most of the floor. Ed was quick to break the outside circle just in case. He'd learnt that lesson the hard way. Never leave an unknown transmutation circle intact if you plan on entering the circle for a better look. You never know if the alchemist who drew the array is nearby and waiting for a victim to enter it.

"I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here and say this is where they're transmutating a Philosopher's Stone," Ed commented to Chester just as Ayala sent through her warning. He and Chester spun just as a voice sounded from behind them.

"Yes, that's correct." A suit of armour appeared behind them. Ed and Chester got into relaxed defensive positions. "I don't know who you are, kid, but you sure figured out a lot just from looking at a transmutation circle." The too-similar tinny voice actually sounded impressed.

"I'm good like that," Ed said as he studied the figure. "Who are you, pal?" All three parties were on high alert as they faced each other, no one making the first move.

"I'm the one in charge of guarding this place from curious brats. For the moment, let's just say my name is number 48. And believe me, I am not your pal. My orders are to dispose of anyone who wanders in here, poking his nose where it doesn't belong. Try not to take it personally, boy." He unsheathed his sword and watched the blonde for his reaction. He was a little surprised when the kid grinned in response to the sword.

"Alright, I won't." Ed clapped his hands and transmutated his arm into his weapon. "And you try not to take it personally when this 'boy' kicks your arse!" Chester growled his own challenge.

"You're an alchemist, are you?" The armour sounded intrigued and a little excited. "Alright, then. Let's see what you've got!" The armour made the first move, slashing at Ed who simply blocked the blow with his automail. The strength behind the blow still sent him back a couple of steps.

"So your whole arm is prosthetic?" Number 48 observed before aiming more blows. "No matter. My sword can pierce steel as well as flesh!" They traded more blows before the armour was forced to defend the kick and Ed used his momentum to flip off the armour's arm. The sound his automail leg made as it hit the armour confirmed what both he and Chester knew.

"What's this? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're hollow inside," Ed lightly asked as he landed, Chester coming back to his side. The armour laughed.

"You're a perceptive one," he said it almost as a praise and Ed shrugged.

"I can tell from the sound. I spar against someone like you all the time," Ed said as he launched a new attack only for it to be blocked and he gained a small cut to his flesh arm for his trouble. He felt Ayala's concern but he didn't bother reassuring her. She would know it wasn't bad.

"So there are people like me on the outside too, are there? That's surprising," the armour commented as they exchanged more blows, Ed managing to place a gash in his armour which wasn't overly helpful but great for morale.

"Yeah, it makes me sick," Ed gasped out as he received a kick to his automail shoulder. "To think there's more than one idiot in the world who came up with the brilliant fucking idea of bonding a disembodied soul to a suit of armour." Ed was breathing heavily as he stepped back into his familiar fighting stance. Chester had been trying to help but fighting against a suit of armour wasn't easy. He had to give Ed and Ayala points for the fights against Al they'd won. The armour stopped to consider Ed before he returned to his own relaxed fighting stance.

"Maybe I should introduce myself again. 48 was the number I was assigned when I was on death row. Back when I still had a living body, I was better known as 'Slicer'. I was a mass murderer, you see," he said this the way someone would say 'oh, I was a doctor'.

"So you were slated for execution," Ed said, mind running fast. "Tell me something then. This laboratory, are they using condemned prisoners like you to make Philosopher's Stone?"

"That I can't tell you. It isn't my 'area'. They simply recognised my skills, gave me this body and made me a trusting guard dog," he explained almost remorsefully.

"Interesting." Ed decided he might as well try. "I'm sure they also gave you a blood seal too, to serve as a medium between soul and armour?" The armour nodded.

"Yes, I have a blood seal." He removed his helmet to show Ed. "This is it right here. If you destroy this, the fight's yours," he said, placing the helmet back.

"That's awfully considerate of you to show me your weak spot," Ed pointed out as they readied themselves to fight once again.

"I like to give myself a little extra challenge during a fight every now and then." The armour shrugged.

"As long as you're in such a giving mood, why not just let me and him go?" Ed suggested, knowing the answer.

"Nice try, kid. But what kind of mass murderer lets his prey get away so easily?" Ed sighed. He'd figured.

"Okay but before we get back into this, answer me this; where's your Animal? My sparring buddy still has his so where's yours?" Ed asked and he actually saw the armour sag a little.

"Ah, you see, the government locks up your Animal in a separate building. I'm sure you know this already." Ed nodded. It was one of the first things you're told when you learn about Spirit Animals. It was a way to try and deter people from a life of crime. "Well, what I bet you didn't know is that when you're a convicted criminal with absolutely no chance of parole, someone like myself, the government has your Animal killed. They say it's so the Animal doesn't have to suffer years of confinement like you do but it's really as an extra punishment for the human. After all, you don't die if your Animal does." Ed did not know that and now he really wished he'd never asked. He felt a sympathy blow to his ribs, causing him to gasp in pain which seemed to jumpstart the armour in front of him. "Enough of this. Let's fight!"

That was the only warning Ed got as Slicer moved back into action. Ed was forced into the defensive as Slicer pushed him. Honestly, he would have to give Al his most heartfelt thanks because he would have been screwed if Chester wasn't there to help him. The leopard honestly couldn't do much in way of disabling Slicer but he could provide Ed with distractions and opportunities to catch his breath. The leopard suffered some minor nicks when he didn't avoid the edge of the sword quick enough. But even with his help, Edward still suffered wounds. The one they were most worried about was a nasty slash to his flesh shoulder. While not his dominant arm, the wound was deep and bleeding heavily. He'd suffered a cut above one of his eyes that was obscuring his vision, which absolutely didn't help with this. He was forced to backflip out of range of one of Slicer's swipes.

"What a cute little monkey!" Slicer taunted as Ed parried another move with his automail blade.

"Don't call me little!" Ed growled as he and Chester launched a new attack together and he was successfully pushed back. Ed was given some breathing space as Chester crouched protectively in front of him.

"It's been too long since I had a prey worth hunting," Slicer commentated as he took in Ed's condition and the area surrounding them. There was blood smeared everywhere and he could see Ed's chest heaving as the boy tried to keep standing despite the exhaustion and blood loss he undoubtedly felt. "But you're tired and wounded now. You won't last much longer. Right about now, my companion should be finishing off the partner and their Animal you left outside." Again, the kids reaction was not what he expected.

"Is this companion of yours strong?" Ed asked between gasping breaths. Talking with broken ribs was torture.

"Yes, he is. Although he isn't as strong as me," Slicer admitted and was intrigued to see the kid and leopard exchange grins. Ed straightened as he spoke.

"In that case, we don't need to worry about him. He's my brother, you see, and he and I have been sparring a long time and I've yet to win a fight against him that didn't include our Animals. And I know the Animal outside is alright because she's mine." Ed grinned as the armour stilled while he absorbed that information. Deciding not to let his opportunity go to waste, Edward and Chester used the armour's shock to launch a new attack.

* * *

Ayala had just sent the message to Edward and Chester when their attacker announced his presence by jumping from the roof top when the suit of armour launched a series of lightning quick attacks that Alphonse was easily able to deflect and dodge. Ayala hadn't had to step in yet to help, as per Al's request to keep out of it unless she thought she had to step in.

"Damn it!" Number 66 exclaimed, aggravated as Al dodged another blow. "Why can't you just stay still and let me slice you? Your wolf is doing a great job of the staying still part! Why can't you be like the wolf?" He complained and Ayala sent him a threatening growl. Al delivered his own blow, the first one he'd been able to land, while number 66 was busy watching Ayala and the blow echoed with a familiar ring.

"Wait, you're empty?!" Al exchanged a look with Ayala and she shrugged. She had no way of communicating with him except with noises and gestures.

"Ooh, there's a bit of a story behind that. Would you like to hear it? It's a pretty good yarn. You probably already know it though. It all started with a man by the name of Barry." The armour actually stopped moving around and rested one cleaver up behind his head. Al and Ayala took this chance to regroup. Ayala felt a small sting to her left front leg and knew Ed was fighting and had been injured but it was minor and she didn't want to distract him. "Once upon a time, right here in Central, there was a butcher named Barry who loved his work."

"I have a feeling this is gonna be a long story," Al whispered to Ayala, something she grinned at.

"His favourite part was cutting up the meat into little, tiny pieces," he continued, not having noticed his audience's attention waiver momentarily. "But one day, Barry found that cutting up beef and pork wasn't enough anymore. So he took to the street and began cutting up people instead, night after night. In time, of course, Barry was caught, but not before 23 victims had fallen prey to him and his knife. Naturally, after terrorising Central for so long, Barry was sent to the gallows for his wicked deeds. And the world was happily rid of another man. At least, that's what everyone out there believes." He pointed dramatically with his knife over the wall. "But our story isn't over yet. We haven't even reached the good part yet. Barry isn't actually dead, you know. He's very much alive and charged with guarding a certain place, only without his body. Yes, that's right! He's standing right in front of your very eyes! I am the infamous serial killer, Barry the Chopper!" He lifted off his helmet, showing them his empty armour and spread his arms out wide as they blankly stared at him.

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of you. Ayala?" She shook her head. "Sorry, we don't know you. We are from a little town in the East though," he offered apologetically.

"Fine! Even if you didn't know who I was, shouldn't you at least be a little scared? Shouldn't you be going 'AAHHH' or 'what happened to your body?' or something?" Barry whine and stamped at the lack of reaction. He turned to glare at them and saw Al take his helmet off and reveal his own empty armour. "AAAHHH! What happened to your body, you freak?!" He shrieked.

"Hey!" Al protested as he placed his helmet back on. "Now that's impolite." Barry had apparently decided to use Al's distraction to attack and Al was hard-pressed to defend himself with his helmet still in his hands. Ayala stepped in and got a blow to her ribs for her trouble but it was enough to let Al push Barry back and cause him to stop.

"Oh, I see. You were on death row as well! You had me startled there," Barry laughed.

"No way! I'm not a criminal," Al protested.

"Then what happened to you?" Barry asked curiously.

"It's kind of a long story. When I lost my body, my brother transmuted my soul and bonded it to this armour," Al gave him the short version.

"Your brother?" Barry started laughing, something that confused the wolf and other armour. "Of course! Your brother!" He continued laughing.

"What's so funny about it?" Al asked, intrigued and worried at the same time. Ayala was just perplexed by the odd behaviour.

"Are you sure you and your brother are related?" Barry asked once he got his chuckles under control. Ayala got distracted by more sympathy pain as Ed suffered a small wound to his head.

"Well, I guess we don't really look alike anymore," Al answered and Ayala rolled her eyes at him.

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean. Are you sure you're not a puppet created and controlled by your so-called brother?" That had Al and Ayala's attention. "Were you ever a real person to begin with?"

"How can you ask something like that? I was a real person and my name is Alphonse Elric!" Al cried out and Ayala snarled at Barry.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Barry asked casually.

"I have memories. I remember who I was before this happened," Al said triumphantly. Ayala grinned at him encouragingly before more sympathy pain lanced through her and she started to get more worried about how Ed's fight was going. She could feel his exhaustion building up.

"And who's to say those memories aren't made up?" Barry asked, the same tone of voice as before.

 _"I do, for one!"_ Ayala snapped at him, even though she knew neither suit of armour would hear her.

"But Winry and Granny, they know me." Ayala did not like the tone of voice Al was using, like he was no longer sure. Barry tutted. Ayala was worried about Al but her link with Ed caught her attention again. He felt so tired and the effects of blood loss were starting to catch up on him. She sent him some encouraging feelings but she needed to focus on Al and the mental attack Barry was unleashing on him.

"That's easy! They're in on it too!" Barry declared like it was obvious. "Silly boy! You were never alive to begin with! It's as simple as that!"

"Then how do you know you were alive?" Al asked, his voice growing stronger as he tried anything to help keep himself from believing the serial killer.

"Oh I was. Trust me." Barry sounded so sure that Al didn't know what to think.

"This area is off limits!" Both suits of armour and Ayala swung to face the soldier and Animal who had been guarding the front entrance, evidentially having just realised there were intruders. "Don't move!" He had his weapon out but, judging from the trembling, the poor bloke had no idea who to aim it at. Barry threw one of his cleavers at the soldier and his Animal, a Great Dane, managed to push him out of the way quick enough that the only injury the man suffered was a deep cut to his right upper arm, causing him to drop his weapon and have his Animal drag him out of harm's way. Barry shrugged and turned back to Al and Ayala.

"There! Did you see that?" Barry pointed at where the man had been standing moments before. "There is nothing I love more than chopping people up while they still live. I can't control myself! I kill therefore I am! As long as I know that, it's all I need to prove that I've always been me," he informed Al. Ayala could tell that her humans brother had no idea what to think so she shoved him and hoped he'd get the message she was trying to send.

"Right. Chester. How do you explain that? How do I still have my Spirit Animal if I never existed?" Al asked him and Ayala grinned knowing she'd gotten her message across.

"Well, I, uh-" Barry couldn't think of a lie quick enough before Al was launching his own attacks, pressing Barry into defending himself quicker and quicker.

"Nice try, Barry. Next time think your con through a little more," Al snarled as he swung a fist at Barry's face. Ayala sent Ed a message telling him to stay alive before she joined Al in fighting Barry, having enough of sitting on the sidelines.

* * *

Ed and Slicer were still fighting, despite Ed's injuries and obvious tiredness. Slicer had to admit he was impressed with the fact that Ed was not only still going but that his fighting hadn't suffered in its intensity or accuracy. The leopard was still helping Ed out which could account for why Ed was still able to stand and fight.

"So your brother is that good, is he? Then I have to hurry up and defeat you so I can get around to taking care of him," Slicer commented casually as he defended himself against another attack. Ed was starting to get desperate. He knew he couldn't keep going like so he decided to try something.

"Go, Al! Do it now!" He shouted, looking over Slicer's shoulder like he was actually looking at someone behind Slicer and he fell for it. Chester used the opportunity the ruse provided and leapt at the armour, effectively knocking the helmet from the rest of the armour causing it to slide across the floor and stop at Ed's feet. The rest of the armour crumpled to the ground.

"That was a dirty trick," The helmet grumbled once Slicer realised what had happened.

"There's no such thing as a dirty trick in a fight," Ed told him as Chester came back to his side. "Good job, Ches." The leopard grinned, pleased with himself.

"What's the matter?" Slicer asked after a few moments where Ed didn't move to finish him off. "You still haven't destroyed the blood seal I so kindly pointed out. Are you going to or not?" Ed shook his head.

"There's something I need to ask you about," Ed reminded him while Chester's tail twitched in anticipation.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Slicer asked.

"Yes. Tell me everything you know about it." Ed ordered Slicer.

"Sorry, can't." Slicer didn't sound very apologetic.

"Hey, now. We did beat you at your own game so you gotta tell us." Chester's ears flicked back when Slicer chuckled. Ed looked confused.

"That's where you're wrong." The rest of Slicer's armour got up. "I'm not beaten yet." Ed looked at the approaching armour with his mouth open.

"That's impossible," Ed gasped as he and Chester moved out of striking range as the rest of the armour drew level with its helmet.

"I forgot to tell you about this mass-murderer 'Slicer'." The helmet was talking again. "His crimes were really done by a pair of brothers." Ed spotted the blood seal on the inside of the armour's body, similar to Al's.

"An independent head and body? That's a dirty trick!" Ed snapped at him.

"Now, now," Slicer tsked. "Weren't you the one who said there's no such thing as 'dirty' in a fight?" Slicer's body got into a fighting stance.

"Are you ready?" This time, the voice came from the headless armour. "Round two is about to begin, short-stuff." He shot forward with an attack.

"Don't call me short!" Ed yelled as he met the attack head on and the fight was back on.

This time, Slicer's body managed to land a blow to Ed's automail wrist and he felt the wrist go limp. It was broken somehow, which meant he couldn't use his blade now. The injury to his automail and loss of his weapon had him momentarily distracted, something the armour took advantage of immediately. He swung his sword, aiming to disembowel Ed, a move he would have been hard pressed to block considering the sword was aimed to cut him open from left to right.

Chester had noticed the moment Ed's automail failed because he let out an almost inaudible gasp as his wrist went limp. He also noticed the move the headless armour was making and the fact that Ed wasn't moving quick enough. Chester did though. He ran at Ed just as Slicer swung and used his full momentum as he leapt to knock Ed to the ground, Ed and him rolling as they landed. He wasn't quick enough for them to both avoid the attack though. The tip of the sword managed to slice through Ed's side and Chester's rump, leaving both of them with deep gashes that were bleeding heavily. Chester wasn't so worried about himself since it was his only major injury but Ed had already lost a lot of blood and this new wound wasn't going to help.

Ed groaned as he picked himself back up, almost immediately after coming to a stop. He was really going to have to thank his brother and buy Chester as much steak as the leopard could eat. That injury would have been so much worse if he hadn't been there. He felt the dulled sympathy pain that told him Chester had also been hurt but he couldn't heal the leopard because as soon as he'd gotten up, he was under attack again. Chester couldn't help him this time. The wound to his flank was severe enough that he couldn't put weight on the injured leg. Ed kept trying to transmute something, anything, but he wasn't being given the chance.

"I don't think so!" The headless armour said as he prevented Ed from transmuting once again. "I'm not gonna give you time to transmute!" He was true to his word. Ed was forced to defend himself as best he could while Slicer's brother kept up his attack.

 _"Ed, watch out!"_  Chester called as he realised the trap Ed had literally walked into but he was too late. Ed's back hit the pillar Slicer had been pushing him towards and Ed's eyes widened as he realised what had happened.

"DIE!" The headless armour shouted as he swung the sword down in a deadly arc.

 _"ED!"_  Chester shouted, trying to heave himself to his feet, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to him in time no matter what he tried. It almost broke his heart seeing how scared Ed looked in that moment. It was almost like seeing him back in that basement the night they tried bringing their mum back, the moment Ed realised they'd screwed up. And then as suddenly as that fear entered his eyes, it was gone as an idea entered Ed's mind.

As quick as he could, he clapped his hands together but instead of trying to transmute something, Ed slammed his flesh hand on the torso of the armour and blue alchemic energy sparked before the mid-section and arms of the armour shattered into dozens of pieces with a surprised shout from the soul bonded to the armour. Ed heaved in some breaths as the adrenaline from his near death started wearing off and he flinched when the legs started moving.

"How could you, you damned brat?!" The soul whined as he realised he couldn't do anything.

"You reminded me of someone I don't like and I used his trick against you," Ed said between gasps for breath. The legs wiggled again and Ed scooted away from them. "He's wiggling, Chester! That's so freaky." He heard Chester laughing at him and Ed shot him a tired yet dirty look.

"Brother!" The torso called out to the helmet.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we lost," the helmet sighed and Ed nudged the legs cautiously.

"So you're not going to tell me you're really three brothers, are you?" Ed asked, eyeing the legs suspiciously.

"No, no," the helmet chuckled and Ed sighed in relief. Ed got to his feet before collapsing as his right leg gave out on him. Gasping in pain, he looked it over and found a deep cut to his calf. He didn't know when he got it but he was certainly feeling it now. Getting back to his feet carefully, he placed all his weight on his left leg and limped forward to Chester before collapsing at his side.

"Fucking hell. I'll give you two some points. I haven't gotten this injured in a fight since last time I fought my teacher," Ed groaned as he leant over Chester, a move that aggravated his busted ribs.

"Come on now, boy, you won. Hurry up and destroy us." Ed shot the helmet a confused look.

"I'm not going to murder you," he said as a green glow shone from his flesh hand and Chester squirmed in discomfort as his wounds healed. The cut to his flank took a while because of its severity but eventually it healed as well. Ed felt the exhaustion that came with the healing. It wasn't much but considering how much the fight took out of him, it was enough to be noticeable.

"With bodies like these, are we really even people?" The helmet questioned.

"I consider you people whether you have physical bodies or not," Ed said, wincing as he adjusted to find a sitting position that didn't hurt as much. "If I didn't, that would mean I didn't consider my own brother a person."

* * *

Ayala felt Ed's triumph and she grinned, knowing her boy may be severely hurt but at least was alive and out of danger. All he had to do was sit tight and wait for Al and her to wrap this up and wait for them to get to him. With the injuries he had, there was no way he was walking out of there without help. Despite his slip up before, Barry was still trying to play mind games with Al.

"What's the matter, little puppet?" Barry taunted as one of Al's strikes was dodged.

"I told you; I'm not a puppet!" Al yelled, letting his emotions get to him as his fighting became more frantic. Ayala was starting to get worried.

"You keep telling yourself that," Barry sneered. "But how can you know for sure? How can you be certain you were really alive?! There is one way you can prove that you're not just a puppet made from scraps of armour," he told Al conspiratorially.

"Huh?" Al asked, confused about the change of direction in conversation.

"You've got a blood seal too, right?" Al nodded hesitantly. "Go ahead, break it yourself. If you die, you were a real boy all along, just like you want to believe." Ayala hated to admit it but Barry had his mental attacks down to a science.

"No!" Al sounded horrified at the very idea. "There's no way I could ever do that! I'm real. I had a body and I know I'm not some puppet because Chester and Ed wouldn't trick me like that!" Ayala barked her agreement and Al's fighting became more precise.

"Oh, no? Then I guess I'll have to do it for you, won't I?!" Barry yelled and the fight continued with renewed vigour. Ayala sent Ed a silent message to just hang on a little while longer. This fight was gonna last longer than she thought.

* * *

Ed smiled when he got Ayala's message. She hadn't been hurt much during Al's fight but he didn't know how the fight was going. He knew Al could handle himself just fine. He said so himself; he'd never won a one-on-one fight against his brother and Slicer said his companion wasn't as good as he was. So he wasn't overly worried but that didn't mean he liked being away from his brother when he was in a dangerous situation.

"I know that my brother is a human being," Ed said once he'd finished responding to Ayala. "That means you guys are human too. I will not take the life of another person," he swore.

"Brother?" The torso of the armour called out.

"My brother and I have lying, stealing, cheating and killing together for as long as we can remember. And now that we are in these pseudo bodies," the helmet chuckled slightly, "we're being treated like humans for the first time. Don't you see the irony? For that, boy, I'll give you a parting gift. I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you who made the Philosopher's Stone and ordered us to guard this place." Ed sat up slightly when Slicer had started talking, eager for the information he'd fought so hard for, when a black thing pierced through Slicer's blood seal and causing Ed to scramble back from shock.

"You see that too, right?" Ed asked in stunned disbelief as Chester rushed to his side to stare at the black spike. Their eyes followed the spike back to its origin and saw it protruding from a woman's hand.

"My, that was a close call," the woman purred as she retracted her fingers. She had a beautiful figure, wearing a long black, strapless dress accessorised with matching black gloves that went almost all the way up to her armpits. She had long, thick, silky hair that fell past her shoulders. She was gorgeous but the way she held herself told everyone she was beyond dangerous and out of their league. She turned cold eyes to the helmet she'd just destroyed. "Number 48, you should know better than to talk about things that don't concern you."

 _"Ed, she smells familiar. She's the one who was Liore and burnt down the first branch. We need to be careful. I can smell someone else here like her,"_  Chester warned, hackles going up, making his tail resemble a bottlebrush. That someone appeared from behind the woman and Ed had to do a double take. He honestly had no clue if the figure was male or female. They were at least a head shorter than the woman, barefoot and wearing a crop top and a something that looked like a mix of a skirt and a pair of shorts. Their green hair was long but spiked up behind a headband and Ed had to chuckle. The dude looked like a palm tree.

"Well, well. Would you look at that? What's the Fullmetal pipsqueak doing here?" The voice made Ed believe the second person was male.

"Such a troublesome boy. How did you find out about this place?" The woman sneered at him.

"What? It was supposed to be hard to find? Try a little harder next time," Ed snarked back.

 _"Ed, I really don't think giving them attitude is a good idea,"_  Chester warned. Ed was surprised. Chester wasn't normally this cautious or protective. Chester was almost on top of Ed, front and back feet on either side while he curled towards the two threats, leaning against Ed as he snarled his own threats.

"Brother? Brother?" The second Slicer brother called out. "Brother? BROTHER?!" He called panicking when his brother didn't respond. The green haired boy strutted over, snatching Slicer's sword up from where it had fallen as he approached. He barely glanced at Chester as he hissed at him, leaning his body weight painfully against Edward, causing the blonde to shift back to ease the pain.

"Quit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot!" Palm Tree ordered disdainfully. "You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices!" He placed the tip of the sword on the blood seal and dragged it over the blood, not quite breaking it so the soul was in constant pain. "Do you understand me? You could have messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then, huh?" He demanded while the soul sobbed from the pain and Ed felt his blood boil.

 _"What does he mean by 'sacrifices'?"_  Chester asked as Palm Tree finally put an end to Slicer's brothers misery. Ed shook his head. He had no clue but he didn't like the sound of it.

"How are you people? What plan are you talking about? What do you mean when you say important sacrifice?" Ed demanded, eyes darting between the woman and boy. Palm Tree laughed at him.

"Aw look. The pipsqueak is demanding answers. I think I've made it angry." The woman smirked at him.

"Don't call me pipsqueak again, Palm Tree," Ed snapped. The woman was amused, the boy; not so much.

 _"Ed, we need to get away from them."_  Chester sounded worried. He knew how badly injured Ed already was and he knew Ed couldn't survive another fight. And he knew Ed knew that too. This wouldn't end well for them.

"Don't call me palm tree, you little runt," Palm Tree snarled.

"Stop calling me short, you overgrown palm-frond," Ed snarled back, this time clapping and sending a wave of spikes racing for the bloke who, much to Ed and Chester's surprise, gracefully backflipped to avoid them.

"Wow, now there's no need to go start a fight here." Palm Tree grinned, something that made Chester uncomfortable. "Someone might get hurt, you know." Chester snarled at the thinly veiled threat. Ed placed a hand on Chester's head to try and calm him. He was sending all this information back up to Ayala. He needed her aware of what was going on and he only hoped Chester was doing the same for Al.

* * *

Al and Barry were still fighting. Barry was still taunting Al and Ayala kept reminding Al that what he was saying wasn't true by growling and nudging him whenever she thought he was starting to buy into what Barry was saying. Al couldn't keep what Barry was saying from affecting him and it didn't help that the memory of Ed telling him he wanted to tell him something he was too scared to say originally was floating around in his head. These distractions meant his fighting got sloppy again and Barry kept getting more hits in.

"What's the matter, little boy?" Barry questioned. "You got something on your mind?" He taunted as he went to attack Al only for his blow to be intercepted by Ayala knocking his arm aside.

"Shut up! You're wrong!" Al yelled at him, throwing a wild swing that Barry easily dodged.

"Just accept it! You'll feel better," Barry said as he threw his own attack that landed and knocked Al down. He used his cleaver to stop Ayala from coming to his aid. "You're mine now, little puppet!" Barry crowed as he went to lift Al's helmet off and expose his blood seal. A bullet went straight through the hand holding the cleaver on Ayala, startling Barry enough for him to drop his cleaver. Al threw Barry off himself and got up, Ayala coming to stand next to him. Barry turned and revealed Maria, Denny and their Animals, the two humans with their weapons out and the Animals in attack stances.

"Stay right there! Or the next one will put a hole in your head!" Maria ordered; weapon trained right between Barry's eyes.

"This isn't going quite as I planned," Barry commented drily, staring at Maria and Denny. Before any of them could react, the building shook with an explosion.

"Sergeant, get down now!" Maria yelled back at Brosh, who moved himself and the Animals out of way just in time, a large chunk of the building smashed into the spot they'd just been. Alphonse and Ayala started moving for the entry, only to be stopped by Maria and Kaia. "What are you two doing? Get away from there!" Maria and Kaia were pushing them back, Ayala and Al fighting them.

"But my brother's still inside!" Al yelled as Ayala snapped at Kaia, trying to get her out of her way. The wolf was absolutely frantic and Ajax ended up having to give Kaia back up.

"Ed's in there?" Maria gasped as more of the building came down and they were forced back. No one except Denny paid attention to the other walking suit of armour making a break for it.

* * *

Somehow, Palm Tree managed to separate Chester and Ed from each other and was focused on teaching Ed a lesson about calling him a palm tree. Ed was barely able to defend himself and, even though he'd managed to get in a couple of attacks, he knew this was a losing battle. Ed needed a plan, anything to help him get himself and Chester out of danger before it was too late for either of them. Chester was being kept busy by the woman who was using her nails to prevent the leopard from coming to Ed's aid as Palm Tree added to his list of injuries.

"Listen to me, boy. Don't ever forget this. We're going to let you live. You'll be in pain but you'll be alive because we let you live," the woman told him as she blocked Chester once again. "We can't have him poking around here anymore, it's too dangerous. It'll have to go. Blow it up." Palm Tree nodded and grinned as Ed was forced to block another blow and produced a trigger device.

Ed didn't like the look of that. Even though the woman just said she was leaving them alive, he certainly wasn't going to take their word for it. Ed thought of a plan. It was a stupid plan and it would more than likely backfire on him but it was all he had and he was gonna roll with it. He told Chester his idea and was not shocked when Chester's response wasn't a positive one but when asked too, the leopard couldn't up with a better plan and reluctantly agreed to go along with Edward's, though he did make sure Ed knew that Chester would never forgive him if they died. With that, Ed put his haphazard plan into motion.

First thing was getting Chester clear from the woman so he had the ability to move freely and help with part two of the plan. Ed was given his opportunity when Palm Tree knocked him to the ground. He clapped his hands and place them on the ground and threw up a wall, effectively blocking the woman from Chester or risk losing her fingers. The angry scowl on her face suggested she was not impressed but Ed was already up and pushing his attacker back. Before either threat could take down the wall, Chester put part two into motion. He rushed Palm Tree and leapt for his throat.

It went down exactly as Ed hoped it would. When Chester leapt, going for Palm Tree's throat, the green haired boy grinned and stepped aside, leaving Ed as the only person Chester could hit since he couldn't adjust himself in mid-air. Ed was prepared for this however and so was Chester. What Palm Tree hadn't noticed was Ed triggering the device before Chester had leapt and that Chester had his claws retracted when he attacked.

Ed caught Chester just as the first explosions sounded and the leopards momentum had them both falling backwards and rolling. Ed kept a tight grip on Chester and when they came to a stop, Ed managed to catch the shocked and thoroughly murderous look on Palm Tree's face before he clapped and threw up a thick box around himself and Chester just as the building started coming down around them.

When Ed's transmutation was complete, they were thrown into immediate darkness and the only sounds they could hear were their breathing and the noises of the building coming down around them. Chester was curled up against Ed and he could feel the blonde's blood seeping into his fur.

 _"Ed?"_  The leopard needed Ed to stay conscious, at least until they were found.

"We didn't die. My plan worked," Ed responded, gloating a little with a grin on his face and Chester laughed.

 _"You got lucky,"_  Chester told him flatly as Ed laughed then groaned.  _"You should contact Ayala and tell her you're okay,"_  he suggested and Ed agreed. He could feel his wolf's panic and he didn't want her to run into a building that was falling down around them.

"Ayala." He felt his wolf immediately calm down as she heard his voice. "I'm okay. Chester and I are both fine but we're still in the lab. I've transmuted a shelter to protect us from the debris but you can probably tell, I'm pretty banged up. Tell me when the building's finished collapsing and I'll figure out something to tell you exactly where I am, okay?"

 _"Edward! I know you're lying through your teeth about how you are. I can feel all of your injuries, remember? I know exactly how hurt you are. The building is still settling and Maria and Denny aren't letting me or Al near it. Al's okay but the armour we were fighting put some ideas into his head that really got to him. I'll tell you as soon as we're allowed near the building. We'll get you out as soon as we can,"_  Ayala told him and Ed was relieved to hear she was doing okay. Any injuries she'd suffered were obviously not severe and he could heal them once they'd gotten him out. Actually, that gave him an idea. He could use the healing energy to help them find him and Chester. If he kept the healing as slow as possible, it might give Al enough time to transmute a pathway down to them both.

"Did you contact Al? Something happened during that fight that's got him rattled," Ed asked Chester. He was starting to feel really tired and he needed to stay awake so he could help the others find him. Talking was going to be the best way to do that. He hoped the leopard was in a chatty mood.

 _"Yes. He didn't say much but I could tell. When I asked, he said he wanted to tell me face to face,"_  Chester sighed. Whatever that armour had said to his boy had been extremely detrimental and Chester wanted to be up there with him more than ever.  _"He was very worried about you. He noticed when Ayala felt the sympathy pain. I told him you were pretty hurt but that you'd be fine once they got you out. He said for me to tell you that he's gonna get us out as soon as he can."_  Ed chuckled.

"Yeah, Ayala said the same thing. Apparently Maria and Denny aren't letting them near the building until they deem it safe. Which I'm actually glad for. You know those two would've gotten themselves hurt or killed to get to us straight away," Ed sighed. It was a bit hypocritical considering he and Chester would've been breaking bones to get to Al and Ayala if their situations were reversed.

 _"Yeah, that's true. Though I wish we were out of here. We really need to talk to Al and you really need to get to a hospital,"_  Chester told him and Ed sighed. He wasn't going to argue though. All the adrenaline he was running on was practically out of his system by now and he was starting to feel all the aches from the fight as well as all of his injuries.

"I'm honestly not even gonna argue against a hospital visit right now," Ed chuckled weakly. "Mustang's gonna be so pissed off. At least something good came out of this." He laughed again but Chester was confused.

 _"Why exactly would Mustang be angry about a building falling on top of us?"_  Ed shook his head.

"No, it's not about us being under the fallen building, it's about all the paperwork this is gonna cause him. Can you imagine the look on his face when Hawkeye hands him the paperwork from this building collapse and my hospital visit? He's gonna murder me if the paperwork doesn't kill him first." Ed and Chester had to laugh at the visual they managed to create. "Though, he will be pretty pissed off if he learns I did blow this building up. If I'm lucky, no one will mention that to him."

 _"He won't find out from me. Just blame that Palm Tree guy,"_  Chester suggested and Ed told him that that was a good idea. They lapsed into silence, broken only by Chester asking Ed if he was okay and making sure the blonde didn't fall asleep. Chester thought it had been about an hour, hour and a half since they first got trapped when Ayala and Al reached out to them

 _"Ed! Ed!"_  Ayala's voice roused him.  _"Ed, we can look for you now. Can you help us out? I know you had a plan."_  Chester was talking to Al, judging from how still he was.

"Yeah. I'm gonna distance heal you. I'm gonna do it real slow so you're gonna feel very uncomfortable but it'll make the green glow last longer. You need to use our connection and get as close to where we are as possible so you don't have to dig as much."

 _"Are you sure that's the best idea? Slow healing and distance healing at the same time? You're gonna be so exhausted,"_  Ayala fretted but Ed shot her protests down.

"Ayala, as soon as you find me, I'm probably gonna be unconscious. I'm lucky I stayed awake this long. This'll kill two birds with one stone; I heal you and give you a way to find us," Ed told her and she couldn't bring herself to argue so she agreed to it.

* * *

Nearly 15 minutes later, Ayala told Ed they were as close as she and Al could figure. Clapping his hands together was a bitch. His left arm had seized up from the injuries he'd gotten then not using them for a long period of time. He transmuted a small hole in the roof of their shelter and was almost blinded from the brightness of the alchemic energy. Dust and small pieces of building debris fell on top of Ed, causing him to cough as he inhaled some of it. No light shone through the hole so Ed had to hope that they were practically right on top of them when he activated the healing array. "Ayala, I'm gonna do it now. You ready?"

 _"I am when you are,"_  Ayala told him and he took a deep, steadying breath before clapping his hands together and releasing Ayala's healing energy as slow as he could manage it.

The green glow was aimed at the newly crafted hole and it reflected off of both his and Chester's eyes and cast them with a soft, eerie, green glow. Ed could sense Ayala's discomfort but she assured him he was fine and that the plan was working. Al was transmuting a path down to them and Maria and Denny were moving what they could. The process continued for nearly five minutes when Ed felt Ayala was almost fully healed. He forced the healing to slow down even more, dragging it out so Al could find them quicker. Ayala's discomfort increased but she soothed his worries, assuring him she could handle it and that Al was making good progress.

Light finally cracked through slightly and Ed finished Ayala's healing all in one go. Chester watched as the light grew steadily stronger as more debris was moved and he managed to catch flashes of Al's alchemic reactions. However, now that he had nothing he needed to stay awake for, Ed was quickly giving in to blood loss and exhaustion. Despite Chester and Ayala's best efforts, Ed couldn't keep awake long enough to be greeted by Al's frantic worry as he got to the bottom the debris pile and found Ed's hastily transmuted cover.

"Chester!" Al called once he spotted his leopard through the fist-sized hole Ed had created. "Are you okay? What about Ed? Brother, are you okay?" Al called as he shifted to try and get a different angle to look through.

 _"Ed's unconscious. You gotta get us outta here, Al. He needs a hospital,"_  Chester told him and Al grew even more worried. He could only see Ed's black jacket and one of his thighs but he had a good view of Chester. The leopard couldn't stand up, the ceiling of the cover was too low, but he could belly crawl so he was in Al's direct line of sight.

"Okay, I'm gonna get you out. Cover Ed's face and stay over that side of the box. I'll transmute the rest of the top off on this side then you should be able to get out," Al told him and Chester nodded his understanding. He curled himself around Ed and protected his head before telling Al to go ahead. A flash of light later had the half of the roof Al was standing on disappeared, transmuted into the debris and Al hoped down before transmuting the rest out of the way. Chester stood up and shook the dust out of his fur before rubbing up against Al, purring. Then Al got a proper look at Ed and he couldn't believe the condition his older brother was in.

Ed was covered in blood. Half of his face was smeared with it from a couple of cuts above his eyes and on his cheek, his hair was streaked with it and his black jacket had several cuts in the sleeves and front of it. Al could see the wet patches that indicated blood that had leaked on it and his black tank top. His lower half was in slightly better shape. He had one large gash on his calf that Al could see and there were more tears in his leather pants but they didn't look anything more than scratches. With surprising gentleness, Al picked his brother up bridal style and carefully clambered up the debris with Chester nimbly leaping his way free. The whole area was lit thanks to some lights the injured guard had been able to direct Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh to while Al was busy transmuting chunks of the building to get to his brother and Animal. Maria and Denny both grabbed Al by one of his arms each and helped pull him the rest of the way out of the debris pile.

"Oh my god," Maria gasped as she took in the extent of Ed's injuries. The boy barely stirred when she gingerly placed her hand on the uninjured side of his face. "We need to get him to a hospital now. Sergeant Brosh, you stay here with Officer Messer. Secure the scene and call it in as a building collapse. Tell them the Elric brothers were here but don't tell them about the fighting. If they ask, tell them Ed was caught in the building but Ayala, Al and Chester were able to make it out in time and get Ed out but he suffered severe injuries in the collapse and I took them to the hospital. Are we clear?" She asked and they both snapped a salute. She led Al over to the car they'd commandeered to hunt the boys down when they discovered they were missing.

* * *

The drive to the hospital was quick in every sense of the word. Al was so worried about Ed that time passed quickly as he consoled Ayala and Chester and Maria drove like a maniac to get Ed to the hospital as quick as possible. She certainly got them there in record time and with a few broken traffic laws. She drove straight to the ER entrance and had the car turned off and Al's door open in a split second. The ER nurse who spotted them first rushed them to bed while more went to fetch the doctor on call and any equipment they needed. A nurse finally had to tell everyone who wasn't medical personnel to leave and wait in the waiting room while they tended to Ed. Even Ayala was told she needed to wait to see Ed until his wounds were cleaned and covered so they didn't get infected.

* * *

Three hours they waited. Al, Ayala and Chester watched the clock tick three hours away before the doctor came to update them on Ed's condition. Major Armstrong and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes joined them nearly an hour before the doctor came out and Sergeant Brosh joined them not long after, having finished up at the scene. Ayala had given up on her worried pacing and was laying at Al's feet, eyes locked in the direction she could sense Ed was in. Maria had considered lecturing Al but decided the kid had enough on his plate right now. Especially after Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes started showing Al pictures of his wife and daughter to try and distract Al from the wait. That hadn't lasted for very long before Ayala had snarled and snapped at him, effectively telling him to shut up, something Hughes did almost immediately. You didn't mess with an angry and stressed Ayala.

"Elric?" The doctor called and looked mildly shocked to see four military officers, a gorilla, wolf, leopard, fox, two different dogs and a suit of armour stand up in response. He got over it pretty quickly though and moved onto business. "Which one of you is Major Elric's next of kin?" Al moved nearer.

"I'm his brother. This is his wolf." He pointed to the worried Ayala and the doctor dipped his head in greeting.

"I'm Doctor Overland," the doctor introduced himself before getting to the matter at hand. "Your brother sustained multiple serious injuries including three broken ribs, a significant cut to his left shoulder, left torso, right calf and his lower right back. They've been stitched and bandaged but he won't be able to use his left arm fully until that wound is healed completely. It'll take about four to six weeks. The rest of his injuries are relatively minor. His head wounds were shallow and he has a concussion," Overland reported. "He'll certainly be sore for the next few days from the bruises alone. Right now, he's sedated and asleep. You can go in and see him but I'll ask that you wash his Animal first before she jumps up on the bed with him. The last thing he needs is an infection." The doctor was very clinical and thorough. "He can be released in a week, ten days at most. Also, you'll need to call his automail mechanic. His right wrist is broken and will need repairs. Your brother got very lucky. If any of his wounds had been any deeper or a couple centimetres in a different direction and this would be a different story."

"Thank you, doctor." Al bowed in gratitude. "Can we see him now?" He asked and the doctor eyed them before sighing.

"You may. I'm limiting visitors to two bonded pairs at a time until he wakes up completely. Obviously, his Animal is allowed to stay with him 24/7." Everyone nodded their understanding. "Whoever wants to visit him first, please follow me." Al and Chester were, naturally, one of the bonded pairs to go and the others decided Hughes and Leo should go with them, though Hughes was politely asked to relinquish his photo collection to Lieutenant Ross before he left. He pouted the entire way to Ed's room. That pout disappeared when they first laid eyes on Ed laying on the hospital bed. "Please remember this boy needs as much rest as possible before the sedatives wear off. From what I've been told of his last visit, he doesn't appreciate hospitals or staying in them if he can help it so I'd like it if he got the rest while he can, please." The doctor had a good reason to request that. The first time Ed woke up in Central Hospital and been denied being allowed to leave had resulted some broken hospital equipment and a very scared doctor before Al and Ayala had managed to calm him down.

"Of course, doctor. Thank you." Hughes was the one to thank him this time as Al headed over to sit next to Ed. Doctor Overland told them to let him know if there were any changes before leaving them alone.

Al had sat down next to the wall, since he was too big for the chair so Hughes took the chair and sat in between the brothers. For a while, no one really talked or did anything. Ayala wanted to be up next to him but she hadn't been bathed and she wasn't willing to risk him getting an infection from her. Al noticed this problem and immediately offered to give her a bath, something she accepted though she was reluctant to leave Ed's side. Al was quick and had her cleaned and dried within ten minutes of her being away from Ed before she back by his side and able to jump up on the bed with him. He didn't wake up but when she got herself as comfortable as possible, he moved his hand so it rested against her jaw and she leaned into the touch. Leo watched the scene before taking up his chosen spot; directly under Hughes's chair. For a few minutes, all they did was watch Ed sleep. They could see bruises forming on what skin showed and he had a split lip and bruised cheek to add to his list of injuries.

"So, Al, wanna tell me what happened?" Hughes asked, voice soft so as to not wake Ed up. Al shifted slightly, looking at Ayala but she didn't look back at him, too busy watching Ed's chest rising and falling. Hughes noticed the nervous behaviour and decided to give the kid a hand in making up his mind. "I know that that building wasn't empty or collapsed because it was unstable. I know there was at least a fight between you and someone else and I'm betting that Ed got in a fight as well, judging from his injuries. I've seen the types of injuries people get when a building collapses on them. Your brothers don't match them. So what happened?" Hughes asked once again and Al sighed, tipping his helmet back so it clunked on the wall behind him. Chester shifted next to him before simply draping himself across Al's lap before telling him to just go ahead and tell Hughes.

"Okay," Al relented. "Ed and I discovered some stuff about how to make a real Philosopher's Stone that didn't sit well with us before we remembered something the person who told us about the notes said. So we went looking and discovered that lab five was built but closed for 'structural problems'. It was the perfect place for someone to do illegal research on a Philosopher's Stone because it's main ingredient was right next door, readily available," Al explained. "When we got over the fence, we realised the only entry was a small air vent that led to the inside. Ed was planning on going in alone because Ayala was too wide to fit through the vent but we compromised and Chester went with him. It worked well because I could contact Chester to make sure they were okay and Ed could contact Ayala for the same thing. They were in there for nearly twenty minutes before we were attacked. Chester said they were attacked around the same time. Me and both of our attackers were the same so Ed was already at a disadvantage. Chester said that Ed fought and eventually won but it turned out his attacker was really two people and he was forced back into the fight. That's how Ed got most of his injuries, or at least all of his major ones, according to Ches." Al paused as Ed shifted before settling again.

"What else happened?" Hughes pressed lightly.

"Well, mine and Ayala's fight was going as well as could be expected. But Chester said that they won their fight against the second person and were about to get some information that would help us when two new people showed up and killed the first two attackers," Al told him and Hughes looked stunned.

"Two more attackers? So Ed went up against four people today? No wonder the poor kid is so beat up." Hughes looked at the blonde, upset.

"Well, Ches said that he only fought one of the last two," Al said. "The woman was keeping Ches pretty busy so he couldn't help Ed. Ches said that Ed knew he was tiring and came up with some ridiculously dangerous plan that fortunately for him worked. He threw a wall up to block the woman from the fight and free Ches to help him. He did that by leaping at Ed's attacker like he was going for his throat and the boy got out of the way so Chester crashed into Ed except that's what Ed wanted because as soon as he and Ches rolled clear of him, Ed threw up the protective cover we found them in. Then the building came down around them. Ches said that the person who Ed was fighting triggered the building to blow just after that." There was something in Al's voice that made Hughes curious.

"Al?" The armour looked at him and he used his best 'it's okay' look. "Was there something else bothering you?" Al sagged a little.

"There was something that the second lot of people said before they attacked Ed that's worrying me." Hughes gave him a 'go on' gesture so he did. "Ches said that when they were killing the first attackers, the boy was yelling at them for endangering the life of an important sacrifice. Mr Hughes, I think they want my brother alive until they need him dead." The tone of Al's voice broke Hughes's heart. He placed a comforting hand on the young boys armour and though Al couldn't feel it, he appreciated the gesture.

"It'll be okay, Al. You'll see. Edward will wake up and give me a description and we can hunt these guys down before he gets hurt, okay?" Hughes said soothingly and Al nodded. Ayala whined and nosed Ed's hand. Al and Hughes just sat there in silence, both not knowing quite what to say after that conversation. Hughes watched Ed's IV drip for a while before realising he hadn't done something he should've. He stood up, attracting the attention of the three others. "I need to go make a phone call and rescue my precious photos from Lieutenant Ross. I'll let someone else come in, if they want. Keep you company."

"Okay, Mr Hughes. Thanks," Al said quietly, still focused on watching his brother's breathing.

* * *

Hughes left him to it, followed closely by Leo. He did go and rescue him pictures and told the others that Al was okay with the rest of them visiting one at a time. Denny and Ajax went this time. Hughes headed for the public payphones in the hospital waiting room and fed the phone before dialling a familiar number. The voice that answered was not a happy one, though to be fair it was rather early.

"Mustang," the voice growled, heavy with sleep.

"Roy!" Hughes responded with far more cheer than his best friend.

"Hughes. Do you know how early it is? What do you want?" Mustang groaned as he tried waking up a bit more so he could deal with Hughes. Honestly, he was certain his best friend rang him at weird hours just to irritate him.

"Yes, I know what time it is. I just thought I'd give you a heads up before you try calling them. The Elric brothers won't be at the hotel for the next week, at least." Hughes got interrupted.

"Well, where are they? Fullmetal knows he has to return to work tomorrow. His requested leave will be over," Mustang said. "If I find out you're helping hide him so he can keep researching-" Maes cut him off.

"No, Roy, listen. Ed and Al found something out. I don't know what because Al wouldn't say but when they went to hunt down a lead, they got in trouble," Hughes told him before speaking over anything Mustang could say. "From what Chester told Al, Ed went up against three highly skilled fighters before the building collapsed with Ed and Chester still inside. Ed's been hospitalised and won't be released for at least a week. He's unconscious right now but he'll be fine. I'm just giving you a heads up before the paperwork hits your desk," Hughes told him quickly and quietly. Something about this whole situation had Hughes on edge. "I'll call you when he's woken up and I've talked to him, tell you what he said. The doctor reckons he should wake up sometime tomorrow afternoon or the day after. I think there's something much more serious going on here, Roy. I need to hear it firsthand from Ed but there was something Al said that just gives me a bad feeling."

"No, don't bother. I'll be taking the next train to Central. I want to hear what he has to say firsthand as well. If it's got you this anxious, it has to be something. I'll meet you at the hospital." Mustang was fully awake now. "How badly injured was Fullmetal?" Mustang would've sounded bored, uncaring even, to anyone else but Hughes knew him too well.

"He'll be alright, Roy. Whoever he went up against, at least one of them anyway, was good though. His automail sustained damage so Al's planning on calling his mechanic and getting her out here. He did get a couple of serious injuries though. He's going to be out of commission for at least a month while he recovers. I'm sure the doctors can explain his injuries in more detail when you get here. I'll see you tomorrow, Roy. Have Nala send Leo a message if I'm not here when you turn up." Roy agreed and they hung up. Hughes grinned. Roy could try and hide it all he wanted but Hughes knew that Hawkeye was about to have a very trying day while Roy pretends he isn't worried while Hawkeye organises travel for them. He silently wished her luck and Leo just hoped Mustang wouldn't be admitted with more holes in his body than he should have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know what you thought of this chapter! See you all next week!


	19. Chapter 19

Alphonse, Ayala and Chester watched as Ed slept soundly in his hospital room. Though they knew it was a good thing as his body needed the rest to help him heal faster, they were still worried. Ed hadn't woken up once since they'd brought him into the hospital the previous night and it was now nearing sundown the next day. Al wasn't alone in wanting Ed to wake up quicker so they could hear his voice and know he was okay.

Alphonse and the Animals hadn't been left alone for more than a couple of minutes at a time while they sat a vigil next to Ed's bed. Maria and Brosh, as well as their Animals, were still under orders to stand guard over the Elric brothers so they'd been continuing with their rotating shifts, with one bonded pair working with the human standing outside the room and the Animal watching over everyone inside the room. Hughes had left the previous night, a couple of hours after he'd called Mustang, as he still needed to go into work the next day but he'd called in before work and had promised he'd be back later that night. Major Armstrong had paid a visit with Gary on his lunch break and promised – loudly – that he would be back the next day when he had some spare time.

None of them had strayed away from Ed's side more than strictly necessary, the two Animals only leaving the bed to go to the bathroom or eat the meals Maria or Brosh brought for them. Al, not needing to do either of those things, never left Ed's side except when the doctors made their checks on his brother and needed the room. He took the opportunity those times presented to call Winry and tell her the watered-down version of what had happened and beg her to come to Central to look at Ed's automail wrist. After scolding them for doing nothing but worry her once more, she agreed to get on the morning train the next day but told him she needed to stop over in East City to pick up the some tools she'd specially ordered that would help her with Ed's wrist so she wouldn't actually be in Central until the day after. Al had thanked her before hanging up the phone and heading back to Ed's room to speak with his doctor and get an update.

* * *

Maria and Kaia had left to go pick up some dinner for Al, Ayala and Chester when Ed received an unexpected visitor. Alphonse hadn't even noticed them until Chester and Ayala had sat up, alert and watching the door. Since Al had been expecting Hughes, he hadn't really reacted until he realised their reactions were different to what they should've been. Looking up, he was shocked to see Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye talking to Brosh and Ajax, who had switched with Maria and Kaia while they were out of the building getting dinner. Naturally, Nala and Soren were with them though they looked like they wanted to be in the hospital room more than they wanted to listen to their humans.

Maria soon appeared, paused beside Brosh as she murmured something before he nodded and she came into Ed's hospital room. Nala and Soren both took this as their opportunity to enter the room with her and Kaia as they gave Al the bagged dinner she'd gotten for them. Once he'd thanked her and she'd gone, Al split the three meals between Ayala and Chester, ignoring Ed's commanding officer and Hawkeye for the time being. They hadn't entered the room yet so he was content to wait for them to finish what they were doing without his interrupting them.

Al looked up just Mustang nodded to Brosh and Maria and entered the room with Hawkeye. "How is he?" Mustang asked, glancing at Ed's prone form and his lioness, who had taken up residence next to Ed's bedside with Ayala. Soren looked up as Hawkeye entered from where he'd perched himself on the foot board of Ed's bed.

"He's going to be okay," Al said. "The doctor said he woke up briefly while he was checking on him when I was on the phone to Winry but he was in too much pain so they gave him more painkillers," Al told him, despite knowing his brother wouldn't appreciate Mustang knowing he'd been in a lot of pain. "The doctors are optimistically hopeful about him waking properly before morning," Al added, his voice perking slightly.

"That's really good to hear, Alphonse. How are you doing?" Hawkeye asked when Mustang made no move to respond.

"I'm doing alright," he told her before he turned to look at them for the first time since they'd entered the room. "If you don't mind me asking but why are you guys here? How did you even know Brother was injured? Did Nala sense something?" Al questioned; his confusion obvious.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes called me this morning to let me know what had happened," Mustang answered. "He said something was up and he had a bad feeling. Maes be one of the most irritating people in the whole of Amestris but when he says he has a bad feeling, he's usually right. I came down to hear Fullmetal's story from him," Mustang informed him and Al nodded.

"You'll have to wait until he wakes up. I can tell you what Ches told me but he was distracted at some points and missed some of Ed's fights," Al offered but Mustang shook his head.

"Thanks, Alphonse, but this is something Hughes and I need to hear from Fullmetal himself," Mustang said, sighing as he realised he'd have to endure both Hughes and Fullmetal at the same time. He couldn't say he was looking forward to that.

"Okay. Are you going to stay here until he wakes up or go to a hotel? 'Cuz I can have Chester contact Nala or Soren if you'd like," Al offered and Hawkeye looked at Mustang, silently telling him he was the one who had to answer.

"Thank you, Alphonse but we will be staying here for a while. Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes is meeting us here once he has put Elysia to bed," Hawkeye told him when Mustang wasn't forthcoming with an answer and Mustang's face was comically shocked. "I informed Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes of our arrival when our train arrived," she informed him in response to his expression. Mustang looked like he couldn't believe she'd betray him like that. Alphonse managed a chuckle at his expression.

"I think Mr Hughes managed to commandeer some chairs and put them outside brother's room," Al told them helpfully while Mustang sulked. Hawkeye thanked him before leaving Ed's room, followed closely by Mustang. Nala and Soren followed their humans but they did so a little reluctantly. Al knew they'd wanted to stay but he also knew they hadn't wanted to impose on them either.

* * *

An hour later, Alphonse heard Hughes arrive in his usual fashion and greeted Mustang as he always did when he saw his best friend. His enthusiastic greeting caused Ed to stir a little but he didn't open his eyes and had soon settled once more. Al had listened to the start of the military officers' conversation but it had soon grown too hushed for him to make anything out so he just went back to watching Ed. Ayala had been acting a little more attentive to Ed in the last minute or so and Al hoped that meant Ed was going to wake up shortly.

Ayala perked right up half an hour later and Al saw why a moment later. Ed's eyes fluttered open momentarily before he screwed them shut at the harshness of the light. Ayala whined pitifully and nudged Ed's flesh hand, causing Ed to open his eyes a little more cautiously this time. It was obvious he didn't know where he was but upon seeing Ayala, he relaxed immensely. At least until he finally figured out where he was but, to Ayala and Al's surprise, he didn't react how he normally would've and try to escape as quickly as he could. However, he did spot the IV in his arm as Alphonse finally decided to greet his brother.

"Ed! You're finally awake!" He greeted happily as Ed utilised a skill an East City nurse had taught him when they realised the only way Ed would keep an IV in was if he stayed unconscious. "What are you doing? You're gonna hurt yourself even more!" Al scolded as Ed removed the IV needle. He climbed to his feet to try and stop his brother from opening his wounds as he tried to remove the needle. By the time the military officers outside had entered the room – summoned by Al's shout – Ed had the needle out and was propped up on his pillows at Al's insistence, with Ayala curled up next to him as close as she could be. Ed ignored them in favour of the leopard who was sitting next to the bed.

"Chester?" The leopard placed his front paws up on the side of the bed, bringing himself to near eye level with Ed. "You're okay?"

 _"Completely fine. How are you feeling?"_  Ed sighed in relief before giving the leopard a smirk.

"I dunno what all this fuss is about. It's not like a building came down on me or anything." Ed grinned before focusing on the others in his room and realising there were two that hadn't been expected. "What the fuck?" He said before he could stop himself.

"Brother!" Alphonse scolded and Ed winced.

"Sorry, Miss Riza," he said before lowering his voice. "Did I get transferred to East Hospital while I was out or something? Why's Colonel Bastard here?" Ed hissed at Al while Hughes smirked from behind Mustang and Hawkeye.

"We're still in Central.  _Colonel Mustang_ ," Al emphasised his name and Ed rolled his eyes, "and Lieutenant Hawkeye are here because they wanted to hear what you had to say," Al told him.

"About what? The research notes?" Ed asked, a little confused. "I coulda told them about that when I got back to East City."

"No, Ed," Hughes stepped forward and sat on the edge of his bed, making Ed look at him. "Well, knowing what you found out from those notes would likely be helpful since I think they're what started this whole thing but I told Mustang you'd gotten hurt and that there was something bigger going on. That's why they're here. We want to hear about what happened in the lab," he explained and understanding crossed Ed's face.

"Well, if you want me to talk, I need some food. Like, real food, not the stuff hospitals call food." Hughes grinned at him.

"I think we can handle that. How about Sergeant Brosh goes and gets you something and you talk while we wait?" Hughes compromised, amusement in his voice.

"You drive a hard bargain but I accept your deal." Ed nodded, mouth threatening to curl up into a grin. Hughes chuckled and called Denny into the room.

"Would you mind going out and getting Ed something to eat please? And find his doctor on your way out, let him know Ed's awake." Ed groaned at that last part, causing Denny and Maes to grin at his expense.

"Is that really necessary?" Ed muttered and Ayala gave him a look that told him was. "Fine," he grumbled at his wolf before sitting back on his pillows.

 _"Glad to see you're awake, Ed,"_  Ajax told him before he followed Brosh out and Ed sent him a thank you. Nala had enough of waiting her turn and mimicked Chester's earlier position but on Ed's other side.

"Hey, Nala," Ed greeted the lioness, giving her a soft smile and small scratch behind the ears.

The arrival of his doctor prevented anyone else from saying anything. Everyone except Ayala, Al and Chester were asked to leave while the doctor gave Ed a check-up. After the normal twenty questions about how he was feeling, how much pain he was in, the doctor moved on to the first thing he spotted when he came into the room.

"I see you've taken the liberty of removing your IV drip," Doctor Overland commented drily, raising an eyebrow. "At least you didn't yank it out," he sighed.

"I got taught how to do that. Don't bother putting one back in 'cuz I'll just take it back out," Ed warned him.

"You'll want the painkillers," the doctor warned.

"I'll take them in tablet form, thanks," Ed told him and Doctor Overland sighed.

"Fine. You'll need to keep your fluid intake up as well. Like I told your brother, your shoulder will take at least a month to heal completely. Until it does, you cannot take on any new missions. I'll be talking to your commanding officer. I believe that's him outside, yes?"

"Yeah, the one with black hair and lioness," Ed told him as the doctor looked up to put a face with the description.

"You'll be in hospital for at least a week. I'll see how you're healing up at that time and we'll go from there. I'm not sure if you've noticed yet but your automail wrist is broken. I believe your brother has called your mechanic." Al nodded when the doctor glanced at him and Ed paled slightly. Doctor Overland paid no attention to it. "I'll check on you again in the morning."

"Thank you, doctor." Al gave him a small bow and the doctor nodded in response. Ed gave him his own thanks before he left. They watched Doctor Overland speak to Mustang for a few moments before Ed turned to Al.

"You called Winry?" He asked and Al nodded. "Did she sound mad?"

"No, she sounded worried. She'll be here tomorrow night if her train doesn't come in too late. If it does, she'll be here the next morning," Al said, knowing what his brother was about to ask.

"So, on a scale of 1-10, how likely is she to murder me?" Ed wanted to know what the probability of his life span was. Ayala snorted at his fear.

 _"Don't worry, Ed. I'll protect you from the wrench-wielding witch,"_  Ayala promised and, even though he knew she was kinda joking, Ed still gave her a thankful grin.

"I think you'll live. You might even get out of a beating for breaking her precious automail - in record time I might add - when she sees how injured you already are," Al said positively and Chester nodded in agreement.

"You may have a point," Ed said as he looked himself over. "I wonder if we can convince the doctor to talk to her first. Maybe he can persuade her that a wrench to the brain isn't an effective healing treatment." Ed cracked a smile as he listened to his brother and their Animals laughter. It was short lived when the three officers outside were let back in. Maria stayed outside the door with Kaia but she did give Ed a smile that he returned.

"Alright, Fullmetal. Doctor Overland gave us a rundown of your injuries and his medical orders. Now it's your turn. Start with what you discovered from those notes and go from there. Don't leave anything out," Mustang ordered.

"You better get comfortable then. It's a bit of a long report," Ed suggested as he got himself comfortable. Maes grabbed the chair next to Ed, leaving Mustang and Hawkeye to get their own, something Mustang shot him a dirty look for. Hughes just grinned back at him and Ed couldn't hide his smirk quick enough. With seating arrangements sorted, Ed made himself as comfortable, wincing as his ribs protested the movement, and started talking.

"We cracked the notes Doctor Marcoh lead us too. Turns out the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone is multiple human sacrifices." There were three audible gasps but Ed ignored them. "Which means that unless we can find another way to make them, we have to figure out another way to get our bodies back," he sighed, rubbing his face, already exhausted by the thought.

"You said that Doctor Marcoh did the research?" Maes asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Al, Armstrong and I ran into him on our way to Resembool," Ed told him. "He gave me the location of the notes. They were in the first branch that caught fire while we were still in Resembool. We think it was a deliberate attempt to stop us from finding those notes." Mustang interrupted with a snort.

"You think someone burnt the first branch down to stop you from finding Doctor Marcoh's notes?" He asked, clearly thinking Ed was being a bit over dramatic.

"No, I know they did," Ed told him and Mustang raised a disbelieving brow. "Chester and Ayala picked up a scent they recognised from Liore at the library. That scent was enough to put them on edge. They said it smelled wrong. The woman who burned down the library was one of the ones who attacked me but I'll get back to that soon," Ed told him icily. Hawkeye levelled Mustang with a warning look and he took the hint, settling back into his chair and kept his mouth shut.

"So our military knew about Marcoh's research and they ordered him to keep going with it? That's why he left and took all of his research." Hughes couldn't quite believe it. He knew the military wasn't perfect but this was more than he'd expected.

"Yeah. Anyway, we figured out that the military had five labs built but only four were being used. Lab five was conveniently labelled structurally unsound and located right next to a prison." Mustang realised exactly what Ed had meant.

"Perfect for making a Philosopher's Stone. All that space, the main ingredient right next door. No one would question the bodies of people given the death sentence disappearing." Mustang spelt it out for the two non-alchemist and even Hawkeye's professional mask slipped as she realised what Mustang had said.

"Exactly. So, naturally, Al, Ayala, Chester and I went to investigate," Ed said.

"You mean, after you disobeyed orders to stay away from that laboratory?" Mustang asked, brow raised.

"That's beside the point." Ed waved off the question. "When we got past the guard, I realised that the only way in was through an air vent. Al was way too big and Ayala was too broad so Al suggested that Chester go with me. I don't really know what happened to Al and Ayala once we got inside but I know they were attacked," Ed told them and Hughes spoke.

"That's okay. Al can tell us what happened to him next, okay?" He offered. Ed nodded and continued.

"Ches and I found the room they were using to make the stone. I saw the array but I didn't see all of the details. We were confronted by someone like Al. Someone making the stones decided bonding the soul of a prisoner used as a sacrifice to a suit of armour was a good idea. Anyway, we fought. I won but turns out he had a trick up his sleeve. Turned out I was fighting Slicer." Ed saw recognition flicker through everyone eyes except Al's.

"As in the Slicer brothers? A pair of brothers who were serial killers terrorising Central," Hughes asked and Ed nodded.

"That'd be them," Ed said. "So the suit of armour had two souls bonded to it. One was bonded to the helmet and one was bonded in the same place as Al's. So when I knocked the one on the helmet off, I was attacked by the rest of the armour. I barely won that fight. I ended up using Scar's trick against the armour. They were going to tell me everything that was going on in that place when two more people turned up," Ed said before shaking his head. "To be honest, I don't think they're human," he admitted. It was something he'd concluded about after going over the fight in his head while waiting for Al to find him and Chester.

"What do you mean?" Mustang asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Well, after they killed the souls, me and the guy fought. I was already pretty beat up but I got a few good hits in, including one that should've knocked him out but he healed himself every time," Ed told them. "As in, wherever I managed to cause damage, red alchemic energy flashed and he was fine. The woman could extend her fingers into daggers so she could stab someone 15 metres away with her fingers." Ed wanted to laugh at the disbelieving faces but he decided to get the storytelling over and done with. "This dude had me cornered and the woman was keeping Ches away from us so he couldn't help me so I came up with probably the worst good idea in the country. The woman had ordered the man to wrap up our fight and blow up the building. Once he hit the trigger, I put my plan into action. He knocked me down and I activated an array and threw a wall up, separating the woman from Chester. I got back up and Ches leapt at my opponent's throat but he sidestepped Chester's attack – which was part of the plan – and when I caught Ches, we went down and rolled. Once we stopped, I enclosed us in a box and the building came down. Al got us out and here we are," Ed finished up. No one spoke for a few minutes.

"Brother, that was the riskiest plan ever! What Ches had hurt you?! What if you weren't quick enough getting that shelter up?! What if-" Al started yelling and Ed held his hands up submissively.

"I know, Alphonse! I know how stupid it was," Ed snapped. "Like I said, it was the worst good plan I've ever had. You weren't there and I couldn't rely on the distance alchemy me and Ayala could use. I was losing a lot of blood and had no hope of winning that last fight in the condition I was in. Even I knew that. It was the only plan I could come up with that had a minute chance of working in our favour," Ed argued back and Al fell quiet.

"Was there anything else? Did they say anything?" Mustang asked, forcing the brothers attention back to the matter at hand.

"Yeah, they weren't happy the Slicer brothers had fought me with the intent to kill or that they tried to reveal what was going on in the lab. Said they were trying to kill an 'important sacrifice' and that they could've messed up the entire plan," he admitted. Hughes didn't look shocked at the news so Ed surmised that Al had already told him. Mustang and Hawkeye looked disturbed, to say the least. Ayala didn't like being reminded that there was a group of people wanting her human dead.

"Did they say anything that might tell us what their plan is or why you're a part of it?" Mustang asked and Ed thought he heard a bit of concern in his voice. He was probably imagining it.

"Nope, though I do have a theory as to why I'm one of the sacrifices and  _if_  I'm right, it means Al's one too." That got Chester's attention.

 _"I'm sorry, what?"_  The leopard asked.

"Well, think about it," Ed said. "Unless they're just picking random alchemists then there are really only two reasons to choose me. Either they're after alchemists who've committed the taboo or they want alchemists who are extremely powerful." Mustang made a derisive snort. "I could beat you any day of the week, Mustang," Ed snarled before turning back to Chester. "Even though he can't transmute like me, there's no doubting Al's a powerful alchemist. Though I'm leaning more towards the idea that is has something to do with the taboo," Ed admitted. Al was quiet for a moment before he chimed in.

"What if it has something to do with both?" Ed gave him a questioning look. "Well, neither of us would've survived if you hadn't been as powerful as you were back then and both of us have gotten a lot stronger since that night. Maybe they need alchemists strong enough to commit and survive human transmutation. I mean, there's powerful and then there's you." Ed mulled that over for a second.

"I think you're onto something there," Ed finally said. "Also, you're on my level; don't bother arguing. That means there's potentially two more alchemists out there that I can think of who they'd be after. Though I almost pity anyone who tries to go after her." Ed grinned at the idea. Teacher would have a field day with Palm Tree.

"Who's the second one you thought of, brother?" Al asked. They'd theorised that Teacher had committed the taboo a while ago since she and Ed could transmute the same way but he didn't know a third person who could.

"Assuming he's not dead, and he really better hope he is or he will be if I ever see him, the second person would be our deadbeat father," Ed spat out. "You don't remember him and I only have vague memories but I remember his alchemy and we've read all of his journals. He was a much better alchemist than he was a father, though it wouldn't be that hard."

"Brother, I really wish-" Al started but Ed cut him off.

"Enough, Alphonse. I'm not getting into this again," Ed snapped and Ayala recoiled from the amount of anger Ed was feeling, though none of it was aimed at his little brother. There was an awkward silence that they were saved from by the timely arrival of Sergeant Brosh and Ed's dinner. Ed immediately had a grin in place but everyone could see it didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks, Brosh," he said as he grabbed the offered takeout bag. Brosh looked like he wanted to say something but he settled for giving Ed a smile before he went and stood guard with Ajax.

"Roy and I are gonna have a chat. I have a lot of photos of my adorable girls to show him," Maes said with a wink and Mustang failed at hiding his irritation. "We'll finish this discussion once you're done." He ruffled Ed's hair and he shot him an annoyed glare before nodding. He was already devouring his food by the time the three adults left the room. Nala and Soren elected to remain behind and so did Leo but Ed wasn't sure if that was just a convenient way to escape Hughes's pictures or not. Al was quiet until Ed was halfway done with his meal.

"I'm sorry, brother. I shouldn't-" He started apologising, tone quiet but Ed shook his head.

"You don't need to apologise. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm the one who's sorry." Ed looked down at his food. He knew Al didn't hate their father and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't bothered by that but he also knew he hated thinking about his father, even if it was imagining how much pain he could inflict on the bastard before Al intervened, so he changed the topic. "So, you wanna tell me what's been bothering you since the building collapsed?" He continued eating as he looked at Al for a response.

"Who says I'm bothered by anything?" Al asked, voice pitched as he was obviously lying.

"I can talk to your Animal and even if I couldn't, mine says something's up," Ed reminded him and Al would've blushed at being caught in such an obvious lie if he could've blushed. Nala, Soren and Leo were watching this conversation with various degrees of interest, Leo's being almost non-existent. Ed saw Al glance at the three Animals and he sighed. "Guys? Do you promise not to repeat this conversation to your humans?" The lioness, owl and fox all nodded and Ed looked pointedly at Al. Realising he had no excuse and knowing he should tell Ed now instead of letting it fester, Al spoke.

"The armour I was fighting, Barry the Butcher, tried playing mind games with me. He kept trying to convince me that I wasn't real, that you had made me up and that all my memories were false and that Granny and Winry were playing along with it." Once he started talking, Al couldn't stop. Not until he'd gotten it all off his chest anyway. "I know he was lying and was just trying to mess with me because no matter how clever you are with alchemy, you couldn't make up Chester but you said there was something you were scared to tell me before Armstrong kicked our door open and even though I know he was lying..." He trailed off, unable to finish that thought but Ed was able to pick up where he left off.

"You thought there might be something to it because of what I said," Ed said, voice neutral and Al nodded, head down and not making eye-contact. Ed pushed the rubbish from his dinner away and sat up straighter, wincing at the pain rolling through his entire body. "Let me set the record straight. While I'm flattered a serial killer thinks so highly of my alchemic ability, you are not something I created with false memories; you  _are_  my brother," Ed told him sternly. "You're as real as I am and Chester is proof enough of that. No one can create a Spirit Animal. I doubt you could even do something like that with a Philosopher's Stone. And do you really think Granny and Winry would go along with something like that?" Ed asked and Al shook his head. The Rockbell women would never have condoned Ed doing something like that. The idea was worse than human transmutation. Ed kept going. "You're 100% real and I will get you your body back. The thing I so afraid to ask was if you blamed me. If you blamed me for what happened to us that night; to you. I pushed us into activating that array. I didn't listen to Ayala or Chester and when you said you weren't sure, I made you choose and told you that we'd be fine. That's what I was afraid of." Boy, did that feel good to get off his chest. He'd been holding onto that fear for nearly four years now and admitting that out loud was a lot easier than he thought it would be. Ayala leaned into his side without the broken ribs and he scratched her behind the ears.

"Of course I don't blame you, brother," Al told him. "How could I? I may not have had a good feeling about that array but I didn't stop you. I could've walked away, I could've messed the array up, I could've insisted but I didn't. I placed my hands on that array with you and used my alchemy to help activate it. It's just as much my fault as it is yours. So please stop trying to take the blame all on yourself." Al had stood up and grabbed Ed by the shoulders, carefully avoiding his injury, and looked him in the eyes, deadly honest. It took a moment but Ed did smile at him.

"Okay, Al," he promised his little brother and Al let go of him, sitting back down in his spot. Deciding the atmosphere in the room needed to be a little less sappy, Ed looked at Nala and Soren. "So has Hawkeye shot Mustang yet?" Soren ruffled his feathers while Nala grinned.

 _"No, not yet. Though it's been a near thing,"_  Soren admitted and Nala laughed.

 _"He's come up with some clever hiding places but he's not found the ideal spot yet. Hawkeye nearly lost her cool with him when she found two of his hiding spots_ and _walked in on him napping, in the same morning."_  Ed laughed and relayed the story to Al, who simply shook his head in amusement.

 _"Although, there is some interesting news,"_  Soren said, conspiratorially and that got Ed's interest.

"Ooh, what's that?" Ed asked, leaning forward slightly. Even Ayala and Chester were looking at them interested. Leo didn't look like he cared but Ed could see his ears pointed forward.

 _"Roy is getting transferred to Central; the whole team are. He hasn't told anyone though. We'll be based here by the time you get released from hospital,"_  Nala told Ed who told Al.

"So he hasn't told the lieutenant-colonel?" Al asked, confused. Why wouldn't the colonel tell his best friend something like that? Nala shook her head and Ed grinned. They didn't get to discuss it any further because Mustang, Hawkeye and Hughes knocked and entered his hospital room once more. Ed shared a mischievous grin with Nala before schooling his features. Everyone sat back in their original seats.

"Say, Ed?" Hughes got Ed's attention. "Do you think you could give us a sketch of the two who you and Chester last went up against?"

"I could but I'm not that great of a drawer. You'd still have to wait until my automail is functional anyway," Ed informed him and Hughes thought that over before coming up with a solution.

"Could you describe them to someone to draw?" Ed thought he knew where Hughes was going with this.

"Do you mean Armstrong?" Maes nodded. "I'll send Gary a snapshot of the two of them in the morning so he can show Armstrong," Ed offered.

"Oh. Yeah that would probably make them more accurate. Good thinking, Ed." Maes grinned at him and Ed rolled his eyes as Maes playfully hit him, though he did hit a sore spot that caused Ed to flinch and Maes to look apologetic.

"Please don't injure him further, Hughes. He's already caused me enough paperwork." Mustang smirked at Ed's angry expression.

"You know what, Mustang? Go f-"

"Okay! Moving on," Maes interrupted Ed, though the blonde was still glowering at a smirking Mustang, and turned to Al. "Your turn, Al. Ed told us what happened with his fight." Al glanced at Ed who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Okay, well not much really happened," Al admitted. "The soul bonded to the armour I fought was someone called 'Barry the Butcher'. He was a little upset when I said Ayala and I didn't know who he was," Al said, laughing a little as he recalled that. "We fought the entire time Ed was inside the lab and the guard who was stationed at the front door interrupted us but he got hurt and his Animal dragged away from the fight. Ayala helped me out but since we couldn't hurt him, there wasn't much she could do to help except provide a distraction if he managed to knock me down," Al told them.

"Just before the building collapsed, Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh showed up and Barry escaped when the building started to collapse. After that, Ayala contacted Ed and I contacted Chester. He told me what had happened their end and that Ed had a plan to lead us to him once the building had settled," Al recounted. "We got as close as we could to where we thought they were buried and Ed activated Ayala's healing energy. When we saw the green energy, I started transmuting the rubble away until I got to them. Ed was already unconscious when I found them. I got them both out and Lieutenant Ross drove us to the hospital." Neither Animal nor Elric brother mentioned what Barry had said to Alphonse. Mustang had a look on his face that suggested there was a small detail that didn't sit right with him. Neither Elric noticed it but the others sure did,

"Tell me, Al. You said Ayala wasn't badly hurt in the fight?" Mustang questioned.

"Uh, yeah. I think she suffered some bruised ribs and maybe a small scratch but I don't actually know for sure. Ed would be able to tell you." Al was confused. Why would he be asking about the wolf's injuries?

"Fullmetal?" Ed eyed him suspiciously. "What were Ayala's injuries?"

"What Al said, plus a twisted paw. Why are you interested in my Animal's injuries?" Ed demanded. Even Hawkeye and Hughes were watching Mustang curiously. They hadn't connected the dots.

"If she wasn't badly hurt, how come healing her took long enough for Al to find you? I can't imagine that that was a quick process." Hawkeye and Hughes's eyes flew open as they realised what Mustang was implying. Ed could tell Mustang already knew the answer and was just waiting for Ed to confirm it.

"I slowed her healing down." Ayala shifted next to him. It hadn't been a pleasant experience for the wolf. The feeling of her injuries healing tortuously slowly was not fun. Ed gave her a comforting scratch. Something like triumph shown in Mustang's eyes while the other two gasped. "Before anyone starts lecturing me, healing her as slow as I did had zero effects on me," he stated and Mustang raised a brow in disbelief.

"You were unconscious when they brought you in, Edward," Hawkeye pointed out and Hughes nodded his agreement.

"I was unconscious from blood loss, not from healing her. There's a difference," Ed said. "The amount of energy I have inside of me for her is massive. I mean, three or four times more than what you have for your Animals combined. She could've broken every bone in her body and I could've healed her and it wouldn't have made a dent in her energy or required more than a few hours' sleep for me to recover from healing her." Ed watched as the realisation sunk into each of them.

"You're just all sorts of weird, ain't ya?" Maes asked after a couple minutes of silence and Ed just laughed while Ayala shot Hughes an offended look.

"I guess so. Anyway, I got a question for you, Mustang." Ed and Nala shared a knowing grin and Mustang wasn't sure he liked the not-so-innocent tone of his youngest subordinate's voice. "When the fuck were you gonna tell me we'd been transferred to Central? I got shit to grab in East City." The effect of his question was immediate and varied.

Mustang's face paled and he looked betrayed while Hawkeye looked pissed that Ed hadn't been told. Hughes looked both ecstatic at the fact his best friend would be living in the same city and angry that he hadn't been told. Ed was wearing a shit-eating grin as he sat back and watched the chaos unfold in front of him, Nala, Soren, Chester and Ayala's laughter ringing in his head. Ed could tell that Al was trying not to laugh either. Nala came to lay on Ed's bed on the opposite side of Ayala so she could revel in the chaos she had helped create.

"How could you not tell me, your best friend, that you were moving to Central?!"

"You told me you'd told Edward a week ago."

"My girls will be delighted to hear about this! I'm gonna take so many photos of when I tell them and show you all of them!" Ed wasn't sure what he found funnier; Maes enthusiasm, Hawkeye's pissed off glare or Mustang's frantic looks for an exit. The humourous scene was cut short by a nurse walking in with a disapproving scowl on her face.

"Visiting hours are over. Please take this racket somewhere where people aren't trying to rest and recover," she sternly ordered and Maes and Hawkeye apologised to her. Mustang just looked grateful for the rescue.

"I'll swing by before work tomorrow, Ed." Maes clapped him on the automail shoulder.

"Can't wait." Ed may having sounded unenthused but he still grinned and Maes winked before he left, waiting near Maria and Denny for Mustang and Hawkeye.

"I believe we'll be catching the train back tomorrow. I'll have Soren let you know when we've officially moved to Central since you'll still be here. I hope you feel better soon," Hawkeye said as Soren fluttered up to perch on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Miss Riza. Have a safe trip back." Ed smiled at her and she nodded.

 _"See you soon, Ed,"_  Nala said as she nuzzled the side of his face and he gave her a one-armed hug.

"Yeah, let me know when you get here. That way, I can tell Maes." Ed grinned at her and she laughed, promising she would. Mustang, who had heard none of their conversation, still looked nervous, knowing they were plotting something.

"Come on, Nala. Let's go." Nala made an annoyed noise but she jumped down and waited at Mustang's feet. "I'm glad you weren't badly injured, Fullmetal." Something in his voice made Ed falter with his snarky response.

"Easy there, Mustang. People might think you actually care about me." Ed had aimed for a teasing tone but there was an underlying uncertainty in it, like he wasn't sure that Mustang still hated him thanks to the tone of Mustangs voice.

"As if. You're not worth the paperwork you'd cause me if you died." Mustang rolled his eyes and Ed felt his emotions settle back down. This was familiar ground.

"Like you'd do it anyway," Ed snarked back but Mustang pretended not to hear him as he shut the door behind him. The nurse escorted them all to the front entrance.

"You do realise he does actually care about you?" Al asked and Ed huffed as he tried to adjust his bed and pillows so he could lay down. Now that it was just him and Al, he felt really tired again.

"Yeah, right. You keep believing that, Al. I'm simply a career-making tool to him. I die and there goes any progress up the military ladder he might've made," Ed scoffed as he lay down and Ayala adjusted her position so she was laying comfortably next to him. "Good night, Al."

"You're wrong," Al said but didn't push it any further when Ed shot him a look that clearly said to drop it. "Good night, brother." Ed huffed out a breath, clearly aware that Al was going to bring this subject up again at some point in the future. But that was a matter for then and not now so Ed shut his eyes and curled up around Ayala as best he could without further hurting himself. Sleep claimed Ed easily after that.

* * *

The next day passed relatively uneventful. The only entertainment was watching Ed's increasing fear as the hours slowly passed before they would know if Winry was coming straight to the hospital or if she was crashing somewhere for the night so Ed had one more night with his skull intact. Maria was a bit worried about the woman who instilled such fear in Edward being near him while Al and Brosh found it completely hilarious.

Ed had sent Gary a snapshot of his memory like he'd promised Hughes and had also asked the gorilla to ask Armstrong if he wouldn't mind meeting Winry at the train station. Gary had told him that Armstrong had said that he'd be more than thrilled to meet Miss Winry and escort her to the hospital. Ed had thanked them and just started to hope that she got in late enough that Armstrong would help her find a hotel instead of his hospital room. Naturally, Ed's luck was not that good.

"EDWARD ELRIC! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BEAUTIFUL AUTOMAIL THIS TIME?!" A familiar voice shrieked as she entered the room before she stood there in stunned silence, taking in all of his injuries. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO NOW?!" There went any hope Ed had of a quiet conversation.

The infuriated blonde had her tool kit in one hand and Michella wrapped around the other, the monkey looking as furious as her human. Maria and Denny hovered near the open door just in case they had to intervene since Al had somehow managed to time his walk perfectly to miss Winry's arrival. Winry's fingers twitched, searching for her wrench when Ayala sent her a warning growl. The fingers stopped their search but the anger didn't fade from her face.

"Look, I'm not gonna go into details but I went up against someone who was really well trained with a sword and he managed to land a blow on my wrist that did something to it because I've lost all movement to it. I can still wriggle my fingers and grasp things but I can't use my wrist," Ed explained as quickly and calmly as he could, hoping the calm part of his tome would rub off on Winry.

Michella leapt lightly off Winry and landed gently next to his automail arm, holding her small hands out in a 'gimme' gesture. He was wise enough not to argue with the monkey. Winry set her kit down and rifled through it for the tools she was obviously being told she'd need. Once done, she grabbed Ed's food table and rolled it over next to him so his arm could sit propped on it while she worked.

"Michella says one of the bolts holding the joint together snapped. He must've been strong, whoever he was, because it takes a ridiculous amount of force to snap a bolt. You're lucky it's not any worse. I'll be charging you the usual rush fee and travel expenses, of course." She grinned at him in a way that made him send a silent apology to his bank account. They got to work almost immediately and Ed couldn't help but marvel at how helpful Michella actually was. Having such small hands was a huge advantage when it came to automail as it made it easier to get into those hard to reach places. Al and Chester came back from their walk later than Ed had anticipated.

"Armstrong ran into us," was all Al had to say to Ed's questioning expression and he gave a nod of understanding. "He said to tell you that he wishes you a speedy recovery and that he'll pass those sketches onto Hughes in the morning if he doesn't see him beforehand. Hey, Winry, Michella. When did you two get in?" Al asked, spotting the girl and the monkey.

"About an hour ago. We've been here for half of that." She looked up briefly at him gave him a once over. "At least you don't look banged up. Your brother's in enough trouble." Alphonse nervously laughed while Ed's face paled slightly at the danger in that tone.

"Yeah I got the easier end of the fight. Brother and I really appreciate you coming out all this way to help him." Alphonse used his best 'I'm just a little, adorable kid' voice and Winry visibly softened, but only slightly. That anger was replaced with a more serious expression though.

"All you boys ever do is worry me, you know that? It seems like every time I get a phone call, it's to tell me you need repairs. I just wish you'd either tell me what's going on or that you'd at least call me more than every few months when you don't need your mechanic," she said, voice wavering as she continued her work. Ed and Al both felt the effects of that guilt trip and, as usual, the placating of Winry fell to Al.

"I can't promise that we will but I can promise that we'll definitely try harder," Al said gently as he placed a massive hand on Winry's shoulder. She gave him a watery smile before giving Ed a watery glare that made him hastily agree with what Al had said. With that crisis diverted, Winry and Michella announced they were done after a few more minutes of work and Ed happily tested it out.

"That feels so much better. Thanks, Win, Michella." He flashed her a quick smile before ruffling Ayala's fur with his mended arm.

"No problems," Winry said as she gathered her tools.

 _"You're welcome. Though you'd better keep that promise you made to her or you'll have me to answer too."_  Ed's eyes widened slightly. It was the first time Michella had spoken to him since their initial conversation to complete the bond and threatened him, at that.

"I said I would try and I will," Ed assured her and the monkey gave him a nod before making her way back to Winry just as Hughes dropped by for his usual visit.

"Yo! Ed, my boy. I heard you'd smuggled in a pretty blonde to work on you." Hughes flashed him his usual teasing smile while Ed rolled his eyes.

"Maes Hughes, this is my mechanic and childhood friend, Winry Rockbell," he introduced the two of them and they exchanged nods. "She's practically my sister so don't bother teasing me like you do Colonel Bastard about Miss Riza." Hughes pouted at him. Ed looked decidedly unimpressed.

"Hello, Mr Hughes," Al greeted from his spot and Hughes turned to flash him a smile.

"Hey, Alphonse. How are you today?" Al shrugged one huge shoulder.

"Same old, same old," was the reply.

"While it's nice to see you, Hughes, don't you have work you should be doing?" Ed asked, interrupting the two of them.

 _"Yes, he does but he gave Sheska overtime so he could come down here,"_  Leo told him before Hughes could answer. This time, Leo was on the receiving end of a Hughes pout. Leo was about as moved as Ed was.

"You're a bit of a jerk, you know that?" Ed commented dryly and Hughes offered him a 'what can you do?' shrug.

"Well, I had to go see my best friend off at the train station and I ran into Major Armstrong just before. He gave me those sketches. I just need you to look at them and tell me if they're accurate or not. Oh, and I found out you and Al might not need a military guard for much longer." That brightened Ed's day. Though he's grown to like Maria and Brosh, being out from under their watchful eye would be wonderful. They'd become kinda intense with their guarding duties since the boys and their Animals had given them the slip, though couldn't really blame them.

"Are you gonna hand over those sketches?" Ed asked, choosing to ignore the guard thing for the moment.

"Oh, yeah." Ed rolled his eyes in sync with Leo as Hughes rifled through his pockets before producing two bits of paper. "Here you go." He handed them over and Ed unfolded them. He didn't think he'd get used to how good an artist the Major was. There was just something unbelievable about a mountain of a man being able to sketch like this. He passed the sketches to Al once he'd finished scrutinising them.

"They're good. Palm Tree has that ouroborous tattoo on his left thigh but it's pretty much covered when he's standing still. Other than that, it's spot on," he told Hughes as the sketches were passed back to Ed so he could show Ayala. Once she'd seen them, they were given back to Maes.

"Okay, I'll make a note of that. Thanks, Ed." Hughes did indeed jot that information down in a notebook before slipping the sketches inside and putting the notebook back. "I'll see you tomorrow." Hughes gave him a smile.

"As long as you don't make Miss Sheska pick up your slack," Ed said as he smiled back at the man who simply winked in response. Winry stood up to leave as well.

"I should go too. I still have to find somewhere to stay for the night." She offered almost apologetically that she had to leave so soon.

"Oh, there's no need for that," Hughes claimed, making everyone look at him. "You can just come stay at my place!" He offered and Winry looked startled.

"Really?" She asked, knocked off balance by the offer.

"Yes, of course. My wife and daughter would be simply delighted to have you," Hughes assured her and she looked back at the boys for help, something that wasn't forthcoming from either of them. He didn't give her a chance to argue. "It's settled. Come on, come on." He gave her a slight push and then smartly grabbed her tool kit out of her hands. "I'll carry this for you. Let's go!" She had no choice but to follow him. The boys did not miss that 'you'll pay for this' glance she threw back over her shoulder. Ed was almost afraid to go to sleep that night, worried that she'd sneak in to exact her revenge against him. He still managed to fall asleep a couple hours later after the nurse came in to check on his injuries and Al managed to grab him some dinner.

* * *

Winry came back to visit the next morning and once again Ed was given a thorough tongue-lashing for breaking her automail. He suffered through it until Al offered to take her around Central and show her the mechanical shops. Doing much the same as he'd done for Sheska, Ed wrote down the figure Winry told him and handed Al his watch with instructions to withdraw that amount for Winry to take. He emphasised that only the amount written on the paper was to be withdrawn and Winry pouted as she realised Al couldn't be conned into giving her a little extra. Michella didn't appreciate the insinuation that Winry would take more than owed, even though she knew Winry had been planning on doing just that. It was something she had tried before though Granny had berated her for overcharging Ed so he'd wised up to her game.

Once Winry was gone and he wasn't in danger of being murdered with a wrench, Ed managed to relax for the first time since he woke up. Al had been thoughtful enough to ask Sergeant Brosh to go back to their hotel room and grab Ed some books so he wasn't bored when it was just him and Ayala by themselves. He and Al were working on something important that Maria and Denny had been trying to figure out but the boys were too paranoid for their own good. Ed worked on their project without Al for a while but he needed a second person that wasn't Ayala to bounce ideas off of once he got stuck so he was reading until his brother came back.

* * *

A week had passed with the Elric brothers days passing like this. Winry had decided to turn her emergency visit into a little holiday and explore Central, all on Ed's dime, of course. Doctor Overland had visited Ed every shift but declared that Ed wasn't healed enough for him to authorise his release. Ed was tempted to leave anyway but Al and Winry both provided very persuasive, if not violent, reasons as to why he should stay until the doctor told him he could leave.

So Ed stayed and when he apologised to Ayala, she just told him she didn't care and that she just wanted him to heal up so the doctor would let him leave. It was a couple days after this and when Ed could finally sit up without pillows behind his back that Maria and Denny had both come into the room, something that sparked Ed's curiosity since they'd both stuck to the 'one inside the room, one outside the room' technique.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, sir!" Both Maria and Denny shouted, causing Ed and Ayala to make a confused questioning noise. "We do apologise in advance for this!" Again, this was said in perfect synchronisation that was immediately followed by a loud SLAP! as Maria stuck Ed across the face before Ayala could even warn him. The wolf didn't appreciate that and was up and snapping at them before Ed could do anything. Ajax and Kaia were pressing themselves into the front of their humans legs, just in case. Ed lay a soothing hand on Ayala while his automail hand touched the rapidly reddening cheek.

"You acted like a selfish brat and you only escaped with your life because you were lucky!" Maria scolded him before her expression softened. "You don't have to do everything alone, you know. You can lean on other people, you and your brother both. Like us. Not all adults are the enemy, Ed. You can trust us," she said in a soft, almost pleading voice before she snapped back into her professional persona.

"Please forgive our abusive conduct and words, sir! It will not happen again!" Both Maria and Denny apologised, standing military straight.

"No, you're right," Ed admitted as Ayala finally lay down back next to him. "I should be the one apologising." And he really should have been. He'd thought about it a few times while he was healing. He'd acted without thinking, going off his own and almost getting himself and Chester killed and he'd almost gotten Maria and Denny into trouble.

"My punishment?" Maria asked and a quick glance saw Ed's questioning expression. "For slapping you?" She clarified.

"Oh. Nothing. I had it coming. Though you probably should apologise to Ayala," Ed said as the golden-eyed wolf shot them a quick glare.

"We apologise for injuring your human, Ayala. It won't happen again." Maria bowed and Ayala snorted.

 _"Tell her that it better not. No one is allowed to hurt my boy and get away with it."_  Ed dutifully relayed the message.

"What's got you two so scared of me, anyway?" He asked as he witnessed them almost sag to the floor in relief when they realised neither boy nor Animal were going to punish them.

"State Alchemists carry a military rank equivalent to that of a major," Maria reminded him. Ed honestly forgot about that sometimes.

"Oh, well don't worry about it. I didn't join the military so people would kiss up to me. You don't have to talk to me like a high-ranking military officer, either. Being called 'sir' by people older than me is just weird," Ed informed them, scrunching his nose up a little. A realisation sparked in his brain and he looked at them with amused curiosity. "So did you two lecture Al?" Denny grabbed his hand and Ed laughed as he made the connection. Even Ayala huffed in amusement. A nurse came to investigate the shouting and the two military officers soon resumed their posts outside the door, not willing to risk another lecture from the nurse, leaving Ed to get back to his and Al's secret project while he awaited his brothers return.

* * *

The day after Maria and Denny's lecture saw Hughes accompanied on his morning visit by Major Armstrong and Gary. The Major apologised for not visiting sooner and giving him an 'example of the perfect specimen to inspire his recovery', something Ed had quickly assured him was completely unnecessary and Hughes had to intervene before Armstrong could rip off his shirt to show him what he meant. Ed ended up giving Armstrong and Gary the rundown of what had happened in the laboratory, partially so the Major wouldn't be tempted to remove his clothes again.

"It's odd they let you live," Armstrong commented after he'd finished giving him the shortened version of events. "What about this sacrifice and the other armoured souls?" He asked and Ed recognised it as a method of working through a tricky problem.

"Not to mention the ouroborous tattoos and transmutation circles," Hughes added helpfully. "Doctor Marcoh claimed that they were using Philosopher's Stones in Ishval." Ed wasn't sure if it was the information or the memories that had Armstrong frowning. Gary placed a hand on his humans shoulder and that seemed to bring Armstrong back out of wherever he was.

"Every clue we have to work with seems to lead to its own mystery," he sighed and Hughes nodded.

"Not much we can do about that though. Any answers we may have found are buried under a ton of rubble back at the lab," he reminded him and Ed glared at the imagined accusation but Hughes didn't notice. "I'll run a search and see if I can find priors on anyone with an ouroborous tattoo," he offered as he took the sketch of the tattoo off Ed's worktable.

"While you're doing that, I'll continue looking into the research team under Doctor Marcoh while he was in Ishval," he announced as he pulled a bunch of papers stapled together from his inside pocket. Ayala suddenly stood up on the bed and stared intently at the door, ears twitching nervously. A quick glance showed Ed that Chester was doing the same, only with his tail. The two military officers looked confused since their Animals weren't acting completely out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong with you two?" Ed asked as he placed his hand on Ayala's side.

 _"Something like what attacked you is outside your door. I can't believe neither of us picked up his scent earlier,"_  Ayala berated herself.

"Wait, you've sensed this person before?" Ed asked as a knock sounded but Ed paid no attention to it.

 _"Yes. Back when you took your practical exam. Someone who was in that room is here now,"_  Ayala hissed a warning as the door swung open and Ed found himself face to face with the Fuhrer himself.

"Sorry to interrupt." He smiled pleasantly at them all and both Hughes and Armstrong immediately saluted.

"Fuhrer Bradley, Your Excellency!" Armstrong managed to get out with some surprised stuttering.

"Calm down, gentlemen. This is just an informal visit," he told them, dismissing their salutes with a casual smile.

"This is who you sensed back then? How did you not know it was the Fuhrer?" Ed asked, keeping their conversation silent as Hughes asked the Fuhrer why he was here.

 _"I didn't know!"_  Ayala said defensively. _"That scent was all over Central Headquarters and there were dozens of different people in there and the Fuhrer had his bodyguards. I couldn't distinguish the different scents, not without being closer to them. All I could sense was wrongness and pure anger. Ed, whatever they were that attacked you, the Fuhrer is one of them!"_  A basket with a melon in it was thrust in front of Ed's face and he blinked in surprise as the Fuhrer finished what he was saying, something about how a melon would cheer him up.

"I guess. Thank you, sir," he said, confused as he placed it on the spare surface of his research table. He was doing his best not to freak out at the information Ayala had just given him and act normal. He gave her instructions to pass that information onto the Animals in the room and Nala with instructions they were to pass it on to their humans and keep their mouths shut until he got in contact. He also asked Ayala to ask Nala to pass it on to Mustangs teams Animals.

"I understand you've been checking up on some of the senior staff. Is that right, Major Armstrong?" Bradley's question got Ed's attention again.

"Yes, sir," Armstrong answered, almost sweating from his nerves. "How did you know I was-?"

"You should know that nothing gets by me, Major," Bradley cut him off before facing Ed. "And now for you, my young Fullmetal Alchemist, tell me. What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone? I hope for your sake; you don't know too much." The tone of his voice had Ed struggling not to squirm. Ayala was starting to pull her lips back in a snarl and growl softly at him, making Ed warn her not to be too threatening or they'd get in trouble. Suddenly, Bradley's whole demeanour changed and he was laughing. Ed was not the only person who looked completely confused and even caused Ayala to stop her protective display briefly. "I'm only kidding! There's no reason for you to be so uptight!" Ed managed a weak smile but Bradley didn't take any notice as he continued, tone much more serious now. "I know that there has been some suspicious activity in the military lately and I believe it's necessary for something to be done about it," he said as he snatched the papers out of Armstrong's hands before the big man could do anything to stop him.

"Oh, that's just uh-" Armstrong couldn't come up with anything.

"A list of the research team investigating the Philosopher's Stone," Bradley finished for him in a knowing tone. "Every person listed in this document was reported missing. They all vanished several days before the fifth laboratory collapsed." He glanced at Hughes and Armstrong's shocked faces before sighing. "It seems that our enemies are always one step ahead of us. Even with my vast network, I have no way to determine just how far into the military ranks we've been infiltrated. The most we know about them is that they know a lot about us." That was not comforting information to any of them. Ayala wasn't buying whatever the Fuhrer was trying to sell. Ed could see the hidden suspicious looks on the others' faces as well.

"In that case, this is proving a lot more dangerous that we imagined," Hughes commented as though nothing was amiss.

"Major Armstrong, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, Elric brothers, you've all proven yourself to be men of trustworthy character but from this point forward, I'm giving you the direct order to forget this matter and all it concerns. At this time suspicion is our strongest offense and our strongest defense is discretion." His voice turned deadly serious. "Do not trust anyone. Keep this to yourselves at all costs." Again, his demeanour did a 180 and he smiled. "However, when I feel the time is right to confront the enemy, I expect you to be prepared to join me."

"Sir!" Hughes and Armstrong saluted and Ed sat on his bed, watching the Fuhrer's back.

"Has Fuhrer Bradley passed through here?" A random voice asked, worry evident. The Fuhrer let out a guilty chuckle, like a child who's just been caught stealing some candy.

"Whoops, gotta go," he muttered something about bodyguards acting like shadows as he made his way over to the window and opened it, one foot on the sill before he turned back to the perplexed and shocked faces of those in the room. "You see, I snuck away for a few minutes of privacy," he explained before he ducked out through the window and disappeared from their sight. It took them a minute to get over the shock of seeing their leader escape through a window to avoid his bodyguards. Hughes went to say something but Ed held his hand up, stopping him short.

"Ayala?" He didn't have to say anything more than that. His wolf knew what he was asking.

 _"He's gone. We can talk,"_  she told him after a moment and Ed gave Maes a nod.

"What the hell? Leo said that Ayala reckons the Fuhrer's scent is similar to the ones who attacked you?" Hughes wanted answers and unfortunately, he wasn't the only one. Every single Animal on Mustang's team all bombarded him with questions at the same time, giving Ed an instant headache.

"Shut up for one second!" He mentally yelled back at all of them and breathed a sigh of relief when they did as they were asked. "Right, I'm gonna explain all of this to you all at the same time. If you have questions, wait until I ask you, okay?" He got six affirmative answers before he looked back at Maes.

"I don't know why but Fuhrer Bradley isn't to be trusted," Ed told everyone, speaking out loud and through his bonds. "Ayala says that he smells like the other three scents she's been able to pick up but the thing that sets Bradley apart is that he smells like pure anger. Whatever they were that attacked me, Bradley is one of them. I don't have definitive proof but I think his visit here wasn't just an excuse to get away from his bodyguards. I think he came here because he doesn't want us to find out something big. If he really is the enemy than this whole situation just got a million times more dangerous. If the leader of this country and the military is on the wrong side than we have to be constantly on our guard. They're going to be keeping an extremely close eye on us and what we do." Ed finished on that cheery note. He asked the Animals but no one seemed to have a question from their humans, just messages for them to stay safe. He closed his connections to them and focused solely on the people and Animals in the room with him.

"This is way too unbelievable. If you're right than whatever's going down could very well affect the whole country," Hughes said and Ed nodded. "Leo said he felt something strange about the Fuhrer when we first met him but he never described it like Ayala did. He just said that something felt off about him. I never imagined this."

"Gary said the same thing." Armstrong told them and Gary nodded. "I would never have guessed the Fuhrer was part of this. If Gary hadn't passed on Ayala's message when he did, I doubt I would've believed you guys straight away after that speech."

"Look, you two can't look into this any further," Ed told them straight up. Both men and their Animals looked at him in surprise. "This is way more dangerous than we bargained for. You two need to stay out of it. I have a nasty feeling they won't take kindly to people snooping into this. Not after what the Fuhrer just said. Just leave this to me and Al." Hughes was already shaking his head.

"We can't leave this entirely up to you. You two would be placing a bigger target on your backs," he argued.

"No, they don't want us dead, remember? Worst case scenario is we'd have to fight them again. They would not hesitate to take you two or anyone who gets in their way out," Ed told them but he could see that they weren't going to listen. "He may be on the wrong side but the Fuhrer did give you a direct order to stay out of it so you have to." He tried giving them that as an out.

"That order was directed at all of us, including you two," Hughes pointed out with a smirk and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Just ask Mustang. I've never been one to listen to direct orders like that." He smirked back and Maes managed a chuckle before his face grew serious.

"Ed, I'm not leaving this for you to handle by yourself. Even with Al, Ayala and Chester, it's way too big for you to figure out. You need help and I'm going to give you that no matter how much you argue." His tone told Ed that he wasn't budging from this decision.

"I agree with the lieutenant-colonel. I'll continue my digging and see what information I can produce to help you two figure this out." Armstrong's deep voice carried the same tone of finality that Hughes' had. Ed's eyes flicked between the two men.

"There's nothing I can say that will make you change your minds, is there?" He asked and Hughes flashed him a grin.

"Nope," they both confirmed and Ed tried one last time.

"Leo, Gary, can't you make them agree not to do this?" He pleaded with the Animals but both shook their heads.

 _"Sorry, Ed, but Maes is extremely stubborn once he gets on a major case like this,"_  Leo informed him.

 _"Alex doesn't like not lending a helping hand to those he cares about, especially if they're involved in something as dangerous as this,"_  Gary said proudly and Ed's head fell into his palm as he sighed.

"Please don't get involved in this more than you already have?" He tried one last time, this time he was begging. It almost worked.

"Sorry, Ed. We're gonna keep looking into this." Hughes at least had the decency to sound genuinely apologetic. Ed scowled at him and Armstrong both but Winry's arrival saved Maes and Armstrong from being subjected to Ed's death glare for too long.

"Woah, what did I miss?" The blonde girl asked as soon as she and Michella stepped into the room and took stock of the mood.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Ed said sullenly and Hughes resisted the urge to ruffle the alchemists hair. He was fairly certain the teenager would bite his hand off if he did.

"Okay," she said uncertainly before remembering why she came here in the first place. "Oh! I had a look at a map after you two mentioned you wanted to go to Dublith after Ed was released and I saw that Rush Valley was on the way there." The hopeful and pleading looks on both Winry and Michella's faces had Ed feeling a little on edge.

"And?" He asked uncaringly. He had no clue what would be so exciting about Rush Valley. Winry gaped at him like he'd said something horrendous.

"And Rush Valley is the holy land of automail mechanics!" She squealed with excitement and glee. "Michella and I want to go with you so we can find someone there to apprentice under. Granny's already said yes and suggested someone to me." She turned puppy-dog eyes on Ed who, fortunately for him, was immune.

"So why are you telling us?" Again, he had no clue why this was important to them.

"Well, someone had to pay for my ticket!" Winry told him, huffing slightly. Ed's brows scrunched together.

"I recall recently giving you a disgusting amount of money for my arm. Why should I pay for your ticket?" He asked and Winry flushed a little.

"Well, I kinda already spent it on stuff to send back to Granny." Ed facepalmed.

"You seriously spent all of that money already?" He asked, ignoring Hughes' chuckles of amusement.

"Well, no. I sent most of it back to Granny. Please, Ed? I really wanna go!" She begged him and even Michella was asking him nicely. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Fine but I'm deducting the cost from my next repair." Winry jumped up and down with glee.

"Thank you, Ed! I can't wait to go. You better not take too long to get released," she warned him with a dangerous gleam in her eye.

Doctor Overland had checked him over yesterday but wasn't willing to release him, even though he'd taken the stitches out. The next time the doctor was going to see him was tomorrow. Part of him wanted Winry to leave already before she drained him dry but he didn't want her travelling alone. A solution soon formed.

"How about you and Al catch the next train to Rush Valley?" He suggested and watched as her jaw dropped and Al made a surprised noise.

"What? What about you?" She asked before Al had the chance to protest.

"I don't know how longer I'll be stuck in here and this way, you get to be there quicker. I'll catch the next train I can get on once I'm released and catch up with you two in Rush Valley before Al and I head to Dublith." Winry turned to Al who still hadn't spoken.

"Please, Al? I know you want to stay here with Ed but he'll be fine! He has Ayala to look after him." She turned the puppy dog eyes onto Al and, unlike when she'd tried it on Ed, they worked.

"Are you sure, brother? I know we're practically done with  _that_  but will you be okay by yourself?" Al asked. He didn't want to leave Ed alone. His big brother did have an annoying talent for getting into trouble.

"Of course I will be. Honestly, Al, I'll be fine. Plus, we won't have to deal with an antsy Winry." He smirked as said blonde glared daggers at him. Al heaved a sigh.

"Okay. Why don't we call the train station and find out when we can leave?" He suggested to Winry who looked like she was about to explode with happiness.

"Thank you, Al! I'll go call them right now!" She disappeared out of the room so quickly they almost didn't see her.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, brother?" Al asked again, hoping Ed would be a bit more honest with Winry out of the room.

"Yeah. I don't know when Doc will say I'm okay to leave and since you two extracted that promise from me, I can't leave before he lets me. You four don't need to be stuck here with me. Plus, I don't want her travelling by herself, not after everything that's happened in the last two weeks," he admitted and Al nodded.

"Don't worry, Al. I'll make sure your brother doesn't get into trouble!" Hughes declared and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Mr Hughes." Al bowed slightly. Hurricane Winry swept back into the room.

"The lady said there was a train leaving in hour! If we hurry, we can catch it!" Al looked at Ed and Ed nodded.

"Okay, let's go. Where's all your stuff?" Al asked and Winry beamed.

"At Mr Hughes' place," she told him.

"Righto, I'll give you two a lift back so you can grab your things and drop you off at the train station," Hughes offered and Winry aimed her mega-watt smile at him.

"If you guys don't move now, you'll miss the train," Ed said, smirking slightly. That got Winry into high gear.

"Right, let's go!" She ordered them before flinging her arms around Ed and causing him to gasp in pain as she squeezed his ribs too tight. Michella had to scramble up onto Winry's back to avoid being squashed as well. "Thanks again, Ed! See you soon," she called as she headed out the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," Hughes said as he and Leo followed the enthusiastic blonde. Armstrong and Gary followed Hughes out with a goodbye.

"Make sure you let Chester know if something happens or you get releases and when you plan on catching the train," Al told Ed as he fidgeted slightly. He didn't like being away from Ed and Ed didn't like being away from him.

"I know, Al, and I will. The second I get released, I'll let you know. Make sure you tell me when you guys get to Rush Valley. You better go before Winry comes back and drags you out." Ed grinned and Al nodded before clamping his hand on Ed's automail shoulder.

"I'll see you soon, brother." Ed nodded.

"See you in a few days, hopefully," Ed said back with a smile.

 _"Don't get caught under anymore collapsing buildings while we're gone,"_  Chester joked as they headed for the door and Ed rolled his eyes at the leopard.

"Make sure you look after my brother," he told the leopard and Chester nodded before slipping through the closing door. Now it was just Ed and Ayala in the room by themselves and Ed couldn't believe how silent it was.

 _"They'll be fine and you'll be released soon,"_  Ayala said comfortingly, snuggling into his side as they both got comfortable on the bed. Ed smiled gratefully at her before he pulled out their project notes and went over them again, making sure they'd done everything correctly. Ed was convinced this new array would be absolutely vital in the future.

* * *

There were only two interruptions before nightfall and that was Denny bringing him lunch and Chester telling him that they'd caught the train on time. Ed stayed up for a few hours after dinner, courtesy of Maria, reading a book until he heard from Chester again. Once the leopard had told him they'd arrived in Rush Valley safely and were in a hotel, Ed let Ayala convince him to get some sleep.

* * *

The next morning passed like all others had in the hospital. A nurse woke him up to see how he was feeling and to ask if he wanted breakfast, which he always replied 'no' to since Maria or Brosh always grabbed him something. After he had his breakfast, Hughes would pop in to say hello and tell him stories about what cute thing Elysia or Gracia had done the previous night before he headed off to work only after Leo and Ed both told him he'd be late. However this time Hughes didn't stay as long as Ed was used to and he seemed preoccupied by something. Ed asked what was going on but Hughes said he didn't want to say anything until he'd gathered some more information and Ed reluctantly let the matter go. Even Ayala tried questioning Leo but the fox refused to tell her anything, not even a single hint.

After Hughes left, Ed called Maria and Denny into the room and gave them the short version of what had happened yesterday. Denny wasn't as shocked as he'd expected and it only took a couple of seconds staring at him for the blonde man to spill that he'd been eavesdropping the day before. Ed just rolled his eyes before reminding them both to be careful. They thanked him for the warning and resumed their posts. Ed and Ayala wasted away the rest of the morning reading.

Doctor Overland didn't visit until nearly sundown. Ed had contacted Chester shortly after lunch to see how they were going and managed to waste nearly two hours just chatting to Chester and his brother but once they'd said goodbye, Ed was left with reading again. Ed was starting to wonder if the old man had forgotten he was still held captive here and Ayala had rolled her eyes at his wording. But the good doctor did make his appearance and after subjecting Ed to some minor tests and examinations, declared the blonde fit to be released. Ed's whoop of joy could be heard almost all the way to Central Headquarters.

"Major Elric, you must remember that you can't use your left arm much for another couple of weeks. If you aggravate that injury, you may very well end up back here for a longer stay. Please take it easy and get it checked out by a doctor in two weeks. If you're in Central, I'd be happy to take a look at it but as long as it gets looked at by a trained medical doctor, I'll be happy," Doctor Overland requested as the blonde emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his usual attire minus the red jacket. His spare was in his suitcase that Hughes was kindly holding on to since the hotel couldn't hold their room forever. Ayala was jumping up and down near him, eager to be out of the hospital for good.

"No worries, doc. I'm sure Ayala will remind me," Ed said as he gathered all of his papers and books up. Denny came forward and relieved him of some of the burden. "Thanks, Brosh." Doctor Overland took his word.

"Okay. Please make sure you stop by the front desk and fill out the necessary paperwork. Goodbye, Major Elric." The doctor smiled; thankful the blonde was leaving. He'd been getting crankier with every visit the doc had ended with 'sorry, you can't leave just yet'.

"We will. Thanks, doc," Ed said as he led the way to the exit and his freedom.

Ayala was showing her puppy-like behaviour, bouncing on her toes, trying to get Ed to go faster. Even though she was part of the driving force behind convincing Ed that staying in the hospital until the doctor said otherwise was necessary, she still didn't like being confined to the hospital having not been willing to stray too far from Ed's side. There was a quick stop at the reception desk so Ed could fill out the necessary forms and soon enough, they were outside in the afternoon sunshine, breathing in the fresh air of Central.

"Where to, Edward?" Maria asked after giving the boy and the wolf a minute to soak in the sunshine. Ed contemplated his choices for a moment.

"I guess, back to the hotel to see if they've got a room for tonight. I'll grab my crap from Hughes once he's finished work." He shrugged before remembering something. "When do you guys get off of babysitting duty?" He asked, surprised they hadn't already been pulled from guarding him.

"Actually, as soon as we drop you off at the hotel we're to report back to Major Armstrong and resume our normal duties," Denny told him and Ed nodded. As much as he'd grown to like the two of them and their Animals, he would be glad to be rid of his shadows. Ayala agreed with that.

Maria had ducked back inside to order them a military car despite Ed's protests that the hotel wasn't too far and that broken ribs hadn't stopped him walking further. She gave a look Ed swore only women knew that told him to shut up and accept it so he did, much to Denny's evident amusement. Ed pretended to ignore him as they waited for their ride. They were soon piled into the car and heading for Ed's hotel. He'd never admit it out loud but the car ride was a lot nicer on his ribs than walking would've been. Once they reached the hotel, Ed and Ayala immediately hopped out and, after a quick word with the driver, the two other pairs followed him out.

"Thanks for everything and sorry for sneaking out and almost getting blown up on your watch." Ed scratched the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. Maria and Denny both cracked a smile at that.

"We certainly will never complain about being bodyguards for anyone else," Denny admitted and Ed laughed at that.

"Stay safe, Edward. We'll see you around," Maria said before suddenly wrapping him up in a hug and letting go before he had a chance to react. "Try not to get in any more trouble." She grinned slightly.

"I can promise to try but trouble seems to follow me around." Ed laughed and the others joined in. Ajax and Kaia came forward and Ed crouched down so he could ruffle their ears. "Thanks for all your help too, guys." He smiled at them and they leaned into his touch.

 _"Make sure you let us know when you're at the base so we can try and see you,"_  Ajax told him and Ed promised.

 _"Keep safe, okay? I don't think Ayala will appreciate her fur turning grey from the stress,"_  Kaia half-joked and Ed laughed before saying he couldn't make any promises. Kaia and Ayala both rolled their eyes before Kaia re-joined her human. Denny helped Ed carefully pile his books in his arms so he wouldn't drop them. With a final wave, Maria, Denny, Kaia and Ajax all climbed back into the waiting car and left Ed and Ayala alone for the first time in nearly a month.

"Let's go get a room then go and walk around for a bit. I don't know about you but the last thing I want to do right now is stay inside for a long period of time," Ed remarked and Ayala nodded enthusiastically. Ed grinned at her before heading in and nabbing a room. The hotel employee handed him the key – which he took carefully so as to not spill his books – and directed them to the room. Once he'd unloaded his burden onto his bed, Ayala and Ed immediately headed straight back outside and started walking in a completely random direction.

"Hey, Ches. Just letting you know I've been released now. Tell Al I'll check for train times this afternoon and I'll let you know when I can leave." Ed contacted the leopard while they were passing by some clothing shops.

 _"Did you actually get released or did you escape?"_  Chester replied cheekily.

"I got released. You can ask Kaia or Ajax if you really want," came Ed's reply and he could feel the smirk the leopard was undoubtedly sporting.

 _"Al said he's glad you're out and that he'll tell Winry."_  Ed flinched slightly. He hadn't even though about telling his mechanic he was out of the hospital. Oops. That actually reminded him that he should contact Leo so Hughes doesn't swing by the hospital this afternoon like he'd sometimes do. Ed quickly sent the fox a message telling him the name of the hotel he was at and Leo said he'd pass along the info before Chester started talking again.  _"Al also wants to tell you that he and Winry helped delivered a baby last night."_  Uh, what?

"They did what?!" Ed practically shouted through their connection and Chester laughed uproariously at his reaction. "You gotta tell me how the fuck they managed that," Ed demanded and Ayala put in her own demand for the gossip.

Chester caved and they spent the next hour and a half discussing the events of the previous night while Ed and Ayala kept up their aimless wandering. It wasn't until Chester had finished regaling them with the tale that Ed realised it had actually gotten dark and decided that they should head back to hotel so he and Ayala bade Chester a goodnight and headed back.

* * *

Ed realised two things once they were nearly back; they hadn't gone to the train station and that Hughes hadn't had Leo contact him. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was well past sundown so Hughes should have definitely knocked off by now. He gave the fox until he'd reached the front of the hotel before he caved and went to contact him, assuming Hughes was caught up investigating something but Leo sent him a frantic message first.

 _"Maes and I are being attacked by the woman you described!"_  Leo said, speaking frantically and Ed felt his heart stop. _"Maes uncovered something and she ambushed us but we managed to stop her. Maes got a cut on his arm but we've lost her. We were gonna call Mustang from the military phones but Maes has changed his mind for some reason. We're heading to Central Park to use the payphone there. Can you meet us?"_  Ed commended the fox for being able to think so clearly, even though he was clearly panicking. Central Park was a lot closer to Hughes than it was to him and Ayala but he took off running immediately, Ayala easily keeping pace with him.

"Which payphone are you heading for? We're on our way now. Make sure you keep your guard up. There are at least two of them who will not hesitate to publicly attack you," Ed reminded him, grateful his panic didn't bleed into his voice.

He knew how ruthless those two were considering how they attacked him and Chester and that was keeping in mind the fact they wanted him alive. They wouldn't hesitate to wipe out Hughes and Leo if they actually found something. Ed sped up, ignoring his screaming ribs and the aches his half-healed cuts were starting to feel. Ayala was ahead of him slightly, ready to use her sensitive nose to try and pick up on either Hughes, Leo or the unmistakable scent of one of those things.

 _"We're going to the one in the middle of the park, on the footpath. We're nearly there and I can sense something else nearby. I think there's another one after us. It's not the woman,"_  Leo told him and Ed continued his sprint to get to Hughes before something bad happened. This is exactly why he told Hughes and Armstrong to leave it alone. If he and Hughes survived this, Ed was going to tell him the biggest 'I told you so' he'd ever gotten. Ayala and Ed finally reached the edge of the park and cut through it, heading for the centre, slowing only slightly so their rapid footsteps wouldn't give them away.  _"Hughes is trying to get through to Mustang now. Someone's just approached,"_  Leo said, giving them a running commentary on what was happening. _"Wait, I think that's Lieutenant Ross. She doesn't smell right and I can't see or sense Kaia."_  Leo sounded extremely lost and confused. Ed and Ayala finally,  _finally_ , got onto the path Leo told them about and rounded a corner only to stop short and get behind some bushes once Hughes and a blue-clad figure came into view.  _"This isn't Lieutenant Ross. It's someone disguised as her!"_  Leo told him and Ed almost paused at the desperate plea for help hidden in those words.

"Go around the back of these bushes and sneak up behind whoever that is. Don't attack until I tell you too. Keep yourself hidden and wait," Ed ordered Ayala. She nodded and slinked off silently, disappearing without a trace into the darkened park. Ed moved just as quietly so he was closer to Hughes but still hidden. Timing would be everything for this plan to work. Leo could sense him, he could tell, but the fox was standing protectively in front of Hughes, though his small body offered no protection from the gun the Maria-clone was holding on Hughes. Ed couldn't hear the conversation Hughes was having, he wasn't close enough for that, but a slip of white caught his eye and evidently the enemy's.

 _"I'm right behind them. Ready when you are."_  Ed glanced over to where he guessed Ayala was and caught a glimpse of gold glinting through the bush as she shuffled slightly. Ed turned his attention back to the scene in front of his and got the shock of his life.

Red alchemic light crackled all over Lieutenant Ross' form and she was replaced with that of Gracia Hughes. Maes stood there, frozen in shock as his wife aimed the barrel of a pistol between his eyes, smiling as she did so. Ed could feel his shock echoed through his bond with Ayala and, to a lesser degree thanks to the fact he wasn't Ed's Animal, through his bond with Leo. Fake Gracia said something but Ed couldn't hear what she was saying.

When Fake Gracia smiled again, her normally kind and soft features twisting into an evil, manic grin, Ed realised they couldn't wait any longer. Shouting telepathically through their bond, he and Ayala burst out of their hiding places and sprinted for their targets. Their sudden appearance caused Fake Gracia's features to turn from the twisted grin to stunned disbelief and she automatically lowered the gun in surprise so now it was aimed for Maes' abdomen rather than his head. Hughes looked equally as surprised as Ed raced straight for him while Ayala bore down on Fake Gracia, her teeth bared as she readied herself to go in for the kill. Ed heard the gun being cocked and saw Fake Gracia raising it once more as he rapidly closed the distance between him and Hughes. Two things happened within a heartbeat of each other; Ed collided with Hughes and a single gunshot rang out through the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a double posting once more so the next chapter will be up in a moment. I'd love your thoughts on this one though please? Many thanks xx


	20. Chapter 20

Ayala heard the gunshot a mere second before she leapt for Fake Gracia, teeth ripping into the back and side of her neck, sinking into her flesh and she felt the warm blood rush into her mouth, coating her tongue and teeth as it ran over her muzzle as she bit through the skin and down on the muscles, spinal cord, jugular vein and carotid artery. The blood tasted foul, like that of a months-old corpse, and she fought against her reflex to swallow it as her weight and momentum brought Fake Gracia crashing to the ground where, once Ayala was on her feet, she shook her head viciously and with a wet tear, she tore the chunk of flesh she had a firm hold of from her neck and causing even more blood to spurt out, splattering the wolf, ground and anything close by with the black blood. Spitting out the chunk of flesh, Ayala trotted over to Ed, Hughes and Leo to check on them.

Though she knew Ed hadn't been hit by the bullet, thanks to the fact that she hadn't felt any new sympathy pain, Ayala wanted to make sure both Hughes and Leo were alright. To her dismay, Hughes' military issued jacket was darkening rapidly from the bullet wound in his left shoulder. Ed was picking himself up still, having caused all his still-healing wounds to flare sickeningly from the pain, so Ayala took it upon herself to check that Hughes wasn't hurt too badly. Leo righted himself from where he'd fallen and confirmed Ayala's suspicions; Hughes only had a flesh wound and would likely need stitches but would ultimately survive.

Ed sighed in relief when Ayala passed the information on to him as he stared at the spreading red stain on Hughes' military jacket before he crawled over next to the older man and helped him sit up, murmuring apologies as Hughes' face pinched in pain. Red light caught their eyes and the four of them looked over in horror as red alchemic once again swarmed over the figure before them and Fake Gracia climbed to her feet. The chunk of flesh Ayala had torn out of her neck had disintergrated before their eyes so only the blood staining her neck, face, hair, clothing and the ground remained as proof of the damage Ayala had previously inflicted on her. Hughes watched in horrified shock as his not-wife grinned maliciously at them, gun laying forgotten a few metres away where it had landed from the force of Ayala's tackle.

"Didn't expect to see you here, pipsqueak. Too bad that ambush will be the only time you one-up me." The  _completely inaccurate_  nickname sparked realisation in Ed.

"Why don't you show us what you really look like, Palm Tree, instead of looking like a cheap copy of Gracia?" Ed snapped back and Hughes' eyes snapped to Ed.

"He's the one who attacked you in the fifth lab, right?" Ed nodded, eyes not leaving Fake-Gracia's as she shrugged unconcerned and again, in a red alchemic flash, shapeshifted into the green-haired boy Ed fought against. Realising that the red energy, which was so similar to the fake stone in Father Cornello's ring, had to be from a Philosopher's Stone had Ed coming up with a plan but he needed to deal with Hughes' injury first.

"Sorry, Hughes, but I'm gonna have to borrow Leo," he whispered and raised his voice before Hughes could ask why. "Ayala, Leo?" Both Animals looked back at him from where they were standing defensively in front of the two humans. "Keep him busy until I can help." Ayala gave him a bloody grin and Leo looked far more ready to attack than Ed thought he would before they both launched separate yet coordinated attacks, forcing Palm Tree to fight against two vastly different fighting styles that never inhibited the other Animal.

"How are you even here? Don't get me wrong, I've never been happier to see you in my life since you've just saved it but how did you know?" Hughes asked as Ed clapped and severed the bottom half of his blue jacket.

"Leo contacted me when the woman attacked you. He told me you'd found something out and were going to this phone booth and Ayala and I got here as quick as we could," Ed said as he methodically tore the jacket into strips. "I hope you realise that if we both survive, I hold the right to tell you the biggest 'I told you so' ever," Ed added absentmindedly as he tugged at Hughes' jacket and removed it so he could see the wound.

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll deserve it," Hughes said, sounding like he was still slightly in shock and Ed couldn't blame him. He winced as Ed poked the wound before he tied the first strip around it. Ed suddenly flinched violently, hand going to his gut automatically, and gasped in pain as Ayala was sent flying with a particularly vicious kick to the stomach. She struggled to pick herself and Ed clapped once before facing his palms to Ayala.

"Heal!" Green light lit a path between himself and his wolf before engulfing her. Leo was still going strong, keeping their enemy focused on himself while Ayala got healed.

A few seconds later, Ayala re-joined the fight and Ed turned back to his patient. He tied the remaining makeshift bandages as quickly as he could. Once he'd tied the last strip around the injury he'd gotten earlier by the woman, he helped Hughes to his feet and looked around before shoving him back towards the phone booth. He mentally called Leo over, telling Ayala to buy them some time and helped the confused Hughes into the phone booth. He almost laughed when he heard Mustang's faint voice answer the call.

"Tell Colonel Mustang what happened. I'm gonna alchemically reinforce the glass and seal you two in here." He didn't give them the chance to argue before he slammed the door shut and clapped his hands, sealing the door shut. Another clap saw that the glass wouldn't break without a massive force slamming into it. He heard Hughes shouting at him but he just flashed him a quick grin before darting away and joining the fight in time to save Ayala from a blow that would've done some serious damage to the golden wolf.

* * *

Hughes snatched up the phone after wasting a few seconds trying to break the glass with his one good hand. "I'm here," Hughes said, eyes never leaving the blonde as he ducked and dodged furious blows that the green-haired man was throwing. He was slowly growing more infuriated as his blows kept missing or getting blocked by Ed's automail and the wolf was landing more blows as he was kept busy by Ed. Their enemy's red alchemy was almost constantly flaring as Ayala landing more and more injuries, occasionally landing a fatal blow which bought Ed a few seconds to breathe. Hughes heard Roy sigh on the other end of the line.

"What was that? Did I hear Fullmetal? What's going on?" Mustang asked and Hughes winced as a fist connected with Ed's jaw and sent him reeling a few feet back before he wiped the blood from his split lip and launched his own attack.

"I found something out about the group that attacked Ed and wants him as a sacrifice. I can't explain it properly over the phone but they're basically turning the whole country into a goddamn transmutation circle, Roy," Hughes told him and the silence on the other end almost had him thinking Roy had hung up except he could hear his breathing. "I don't know how but I suspect it has to do with the one who visited Ed in hospital but they found out I'd discovered what I had almost as soon as I discovered it, Roy. The woman who attacked Ed came after me but Leo and I got out without major injuries," he said before taking a breath, "Leo didn't tell me but he'd contacted Ed as soon as we got away and were heading to this phone in Central Park and Ed and Ayala immediately headed for us. They barely got here in time, Roy." Hughes' voice broke a little as he realised for the first time that he'd very almost died right here in this phone booth.

"What do you mean?" Mustang almost didn't want to ask. The way his best friend sounded almost made him bite back the question.

"The man who attacked Ed can shapeshift, Roy," Hughes revealed. "While I was waiting to be connected through to you, he showed up but he looked like Lieutenant Maria Ross. He was an almost perfect copy of her but I spotted a detail he'd missed and then he transformed into Gracia and held a gun on me. I froze," Hughes admitted, choking on his emotions a little. "I knew it wasn't her but I couldn't make myself raise a hand to defend myself. Ed came out of nowhere and knocked me down while Ayala went for Gracia's throat just as she fired. The bullet would've gone straight through my heart if Ed hadn't turned up. I got away with a flesh wound instead." Hughes had finally turned away from the fight so he could stare at Leo instead. He could still hear it going on and knew that Ed was gonna at least have some bruises to add to his list of injuries.

"Fuck, Maes," was all Mustang said and, really, what else could he say? His best friend just told him that the only reason they were even talking right now is because his youngest subordinate almost took a bullet for him. Mustang had to calm Nala down and promise to explain everything to her later. A loud bang and a frantic yell of Ed's name brought Mustang's attention back to the phone call. "What's happened? Is Edward okay? Hughes!"

Maes barely heard Roy as he watched Ed sit slumped against the glass he'd just been thrown against. He didn't even crack the glass but the glass wasn't as kind to him. Hughes watched, horrified, as a red smear of blood formed on the glass as Ed shook his head, like he was trying to clear it. Ayala was too far away as they watched Green-Hair approach Ed, grinning gleefully, but the distance didn't stop her from trying.

* * *

Ayala raced at the figure, snarling and snapping, drawing their enemy's attention momentarily, letting Ed use that distraction to put his original plan into action. He clapped his hands when Palm-Tree wasn't looking before using the glass at his back to pull himself up into a standing position and Hughes saw more red smears from where his left hand touched the glass. Ed didn't even look back and Hughes could still hear Mustang on the other end of the phone, demanding answers. Ed still hadn't activated whatever array he'd prepared by the time he was standing straight.

"So what are you? 'Cus you sure as shit ain't human," Ed goaded. "Ayala said your blood tasted feral, like a dead animal, so what exactly are you?" Ed gasped out as Ayala backed off slightly to give their enemy the chance to answer. Palm Tree grinned.

"What? Are you telling me the oh-so-smart Fullmetal Alchemist hasn't figured this out yet? My, my. Apparently you aren't quite the genius everyone thinks you are," he taunted as he looked at the injured, yet defiant, blonde. Ed snorted derisively.

"Well, I know you aren't human and I know a Philosopher's Stone is involved somehow. I also know that whoever created you chose the wrong inspiration unless they thought 'palm frond' was a good look." Ed smirked as he coughed. The infuriated look he got was almost worth the pain. "Maybe you don't wanna tell me because you don't know what you are. It might be too hard for you to pronounce," Ed said, mockingly thoughtful.

"I'm a homunculous, you tiny brat!" He snarled and Ed grinned in victory. Palm-Tree realised what he'd done and spat out a curse. Quicker than Ed thought possible, he launched himself at the blonde, left fist aiming a punch that would cave his skull in. Ed's surprised look and Hughes' frantic yells were short-lived as the blonde caught the punch with his automail hand and activated the array he'd readied earlier.

"I don't know how you exist but I'm assuming your life is tied to that Philosopher's Stone you've been using to shapeshift and heal." Ed's eyes were hard as he stared the trapped homunculous in the eyes as his array took effect. His arm began disintegrating and he looked completely shocked, like he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. "I studied Marcoh's array inside and out while I was stuck in hospital after our last fight. I guess I really should thank you for giving me the time to develop this array so I could destroy any Stone I came up against and free any souls trapped inside. If I'm right, this array will kill you and any other homunculi out there when I use it against the,," Ed said all of this as more of their defeated opponent's body crumbled and before he could say anything, he was gone. Ed watched as the last of his remains disintegrated into the wind before slumping against the glass fully, overcome with emotion. The souls in that stone had thanked him, they'd  _thanked_  him for releasing them.

* * *

Hughes watched the blonde as he sank to the ground and wrapped his arms around Ayala. Something had upset the boy and he was determined to figure it out once he'd gotten home. He had a feeling that Ed wouldn't go to the hospital tonight, no matter what he or Ayala said, and right now Hughes just wanted to hug his wife and daughter. His attention was brought back to Roy as the Flame Alchemist practically screeched through the phone for information.

"We're okay. We've been fighting a homunculous, apparently. I don't even know what that is and I don't know how he did it but Ed destroyed it," Hughes reported and heard Roy let out a slight sigh of relief. "I'm gonna hang up now and I'll have Ed contact Nala when he feels up to explaining what happened. I'll call you when I get home," Hughes told him in an almost whisper.

"Fine," Mustang almost bit out, not happy with the fact that he'd have to wait for some answers. He also, for reasons he couldn't explain to himself, needed to hear Ed's voice and find out for certain that the boy was alright. "When you call me, I want to speak to Edward as well," Mustang informed him and Maes chuckled far too knowingly for Mustang's liking.

"Of course. Talk to you in an hour or so," was the last thing he heard before the click of the phone call ending. Roy hung up his phone before gathering his stuff and heading home, ignoring the paperwork on his desk and Nala rushed after him. Both were desperate to hear from the blonde so they knew he really was alright.

Hughes turned away from the phone just as Ed climbed carefully back to his feet. He watched the blonde with a scrutinising eye as Ed appeared to gather himself together before clapping his hands and press them against the phone booth door, unleashing blue alchemic energy and unsealed it so Hughes could push it open and get himself and Leo out.

"Sorry about trapping yo-" Ed started apologising before he was cut off by a fierce, one-armed hug. Hughes buried his face in the blonde hair and after a few moments, he was rewarded with Ed cautiously snaking his hands around his waist and hugging him back. Leo was pressed up against Ed's flesh leg and made a grateful noise.

"Thank god you're alright," Hughes breathed into his hair. "Thank you for making sure I got to see my daughter again," he whispered into the gold hair and squeezed Ed a little tighter. The alchemist's grip tightened even more and his frame trembled slightly. They stood there for a minute longer before Hughes reluctantly withdrew from the hug though he kept his good arm around Ed's shoulder. "Come on. You're staying at mine tonight. I'll look at your injuries and Roy wants to talk to us about what happened." Ed didn't protest and neither did Ayala.

Hughes picked up the picture of his wife and daughter that he'd dropped and his bloody military jacket before leading Ed out of the park and towards his house. Leo was the only who could pass as having not been in a fight, though Hughes was going to have to heal the fox later tonight as he hadn't escaped that fight completely unscathed. Hughes had never been more grateful to realise his beautiful daughter would already be in bed. He didn't want to scare her.

Ed and Ayala followed behind him silently. Ayala's jaw, chest and the front of her front legs were covered in dried blood from the arterial spray she'd caused after ripping Palm Tree's throat out. Ed wasn't covered in quite as much blood though he did have blood that was drying on his hand from where it had run down his arm from a cut and a split lip. The blood from his head wound wasn't really visible if you looked at him front on. His eyes were on the bloody makeshift bandages wrapped around Hughes' shoulder and he couldn't help but feel responsible for the injury. If he'd pushed harder to get him to not look into this or if he'd been a couple seconds quicker, he wouldn't be returning home with a bullet wound through his arm.

 _"You know he doesn't blame you? Like, at all. Not even slightly. He could've listened to your warnings but he didn't."_  Leo broke him out of his thoughts and Ed was kind of shocked. Had he been accidentally talking to the Animals? Leo shook his head.  _"No, I could just tell."_  That made Ed feel a little less mortified.

* * *

They didn't pass many people and those they did gave them a wide berth which Ed would probably have laughed at any other time. They trudged along, not talking until they were suddenly in front of Hughes' home. Hughes used his key to enter and paused as the door opened, listening for little footsteps racing towards him. When there were none, he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Come on in and keep quiet. Elysia is asleep," he whispered to Ed who nodded and followed him in, Ayala was sneaking as best she could. Hughes grabbed Ed's suitcase from where it had been sitting in the living room. "The shower's over there. When you come out, I'll look at your wounds. You may want to give Ayala a bath as well," he added as he glanced at the once golden wolf. Ed nodded and pulled out some sleepwear before he and Ayala disappeared. Five minutes later, Ayala emerged all clean and Hughes heard the shower start.

Hughes started looking for his wife so he could explain what had happened to her. She'd apparently heard the shower and they almost ran into each other as she headed to investigate. The warm smile and greeting she was about to bestow on her husband were lost as her eyes took in his appearance and, more importantly, his injury. Lilith was already questioning Leo.

"What happened?" She managed to hiss out, keeping her voice low so as to not wake Elysia up, hand going over her mouth to stop the sob that had come forth at the sight of her bloodied and bruised husband standing there.

"I found out something I shouldn't of and almost paid the price for it. I'm okay though. It's just a flesh wound," Hughes assured her, placing a hand on either side of her face. She didn't look overly reassured but she kissed him back when he kissed her so he called that a win. The sound of the shower being turned off reminded Gracia of why she'd been heading that way in the first place.

"Who else is here?" She asked, looking around her husband to see if she could spot their visitor. Maes made her look back at him.

"Ed and Ayala. They're the reasons I only got a flesh wound. I should go make sure he's alright. I told him I'd look at any injuries he got," Maes said as he reluctantly moved his hands back down to his sides. Gracia raised a brow at him. "What?" He asked, almost defensively.

"You're going to look at his injuries?" She asked bemused. "You're not injuring the poor boy more than he already is. I'll look at him," she said as she headed into the kitchen to dig up their first aid kit. Maes made an offended noise but didn't offer any arguments since he knew she was right. "Go and make sure he's okay and tell him I'll be there in a moment. Then get yourself in the shower so I can put a proper bandage on that arm," she ordered him and he hurried to obey her. Once he'd left the room, she let a few tears escape before pulling herself together and scrubbing the tears off her face. She wouldn't cry until after she'd heard the story, until she knew there was definitely a reason for it.

Hughes headed for the bathroom and saw a clean Ayala curled up just beside the door, waiting for her human to come out. She looked up at him when he approached but otherwise didn't do anything. Hughes guessed she was tired which was obviously not hard to believe. He knocked on the door and heard Ed call out.

"If you're okay with it, Gracia has offered to check your wounds. Apparently I'd just injure you more," Hughes told him just as Gracia appeared with the first aid kit.

"You don't exactly have the right touch for it, my love," she told him, patting his arm consolingly. She raised her voice so Ed could hear her. "Only if you're comfortable with it. If you'd prefer Maes, that's fine," she told him. They heard him shuffling around a bit before he opened the door. She took in his appearance, which she guessed was a lot better than it was before the shower. He'd left his hair out so it could dry and she could see at least three separate fresh injuries.

"No, it's all good. Where do you want me?" He asked as he threw his dirty clothes in his suitcase.

"Uh uh. You can put those in the laundry. I'll wash them tomorrow," Gracia told him. "You can go sit yourself in the lounge room after that," she told him, talking over his protests. Ed looked at Maes for help.

"Don't argue with her," he laughed as he headed into the bathroom and Ed sighed as he gathered his clothes back up.

"Thanks, Miss Gracia," he said as he walked past her to get to the laundry.

* * *

When he and Ayala went back to the lounge room, they sat on the couch and waited for Gracia and Lilith to join them. Lilith was the first of the pair to appear. Since their first meeting, Lilith had warmed up to Ed a lot quicker than Leo did. Gracia often commented on their friendship since Lilith hadn't become comfortable in someone's presence quite as quickly as she had with Ed.

 _"She's just helping Maes remove the dressings you put on him. She'll be here in a minute,"_  Lilith told him, curling up on the chair nearest to the couch he and Ayala had claimed. Ed nodded as he dug his toes up underneath Ayala as he waited. Gracia moved through the living room, offering a small smile as she went to throw the ruined jacket and bloody strips in the bin. Ed heard the muffled sound of the shower running and Gracia reappeared with the small first aid box.

"Do you want to wait to do Hughes' arm first? Make sure you've got enough supplies? My injuries aren't that bad," Ed asked before she could start rummaging around for what she needed.

"It's fine. This isn't the only first aid kit we've got," she assured him. "Take your shirt off, please," she requested and Ed hesitated only momentarily before complying.

Gracia took in his injuries with an assessing look before grabbing some alcohol wipes and bandages. She started at the top and worked her way down, dabbing softly at his split lip to clean it out and apologising when he winced from the sting. Gracia made him turn around so she could check the head wound that Maes had been thoughtful enough to tell her about. It wasn't bad so she just cleaned it out and left it to heal by itself.

Ed turned back to face her at her request and she checked his shoulder, knowing the wound on it was the one the doctors had been worried about after the laboratory incident. While it hadn't reopened, the wound was still red and swollen. She couldn't do anything about it though so she moved onto the wound she could. Ed had managed to get a decent cut on his upper arm though he had no clue what caused it. Maybe a stick or piece of glass he'd landed on one of the times Palm Tree had managed to connect a blow that caused him to be sent crashing to the ground.

"This one won't need stitches. I'm sure your doctor will be happy about that," Gracia said as she meticulously wiped the wound clean and bandaged it. "I'm going to assume you've rebroken your ribs?" She said as she took a step back so she could deal with the slight mess she'd made. He pulled his shirt back on, wincing as the movement made his ribs cry out in pain.

"Yeah. I'm fairly certain I managed to break a couple more," he added as Ayala whined in concern. "I'm okay, Aya. You know it's rare for me to go more than week between broken ribs," he joked and she gave him an unimpressed look.

Gracia chuckled at the expression before she left to dispose of the rubbish. She went back to sit on the chair Lilith had claimed, her fox moving onto the armchair before settling into her lap once Gracia had sat. She was burning to ask what had happened but figured it'd be best to wait for her husband. Ed looked sad and she hated seeing the blonde upset but she didn't want to pry. She knew the boy hated that and he was more likely to tell her on his own terms anyway. They sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence until Hughes came to join them which he did only a couple of minutes later.

"Sit down over there," Gracia ordered, pointing to the spot Ayala hadn't managed to take up on the couch.

"Yes, dear." He did as he was told and Ayala crawled slightly into Ed's lap. "Sorry, Ayala," he apologised to the golden wolf.

"She says 'it's okay'," Ed told him, not quite meeting the older man's eyes.

Hughes frowned at the boy but his attention was quickly diverted to the accidental pain Gracia caused as she cleaned his wound out. She offered a quick 'sorry' but continued with her work and deftly wrapped the bullet wound up before placing a bandage over the scratch on his arm. She gave him a quick kiss before throwing out the rubbish and returning a few minutes later with three mugs of steaming tea this time. Both males happily accepted the hot drink and she settled back onto her chair before looking at Hughes expectantly. He took the hint and started talking.

"I was investigating what leads I could about the group that attacked Ed in the fifth laboratory and I found out something massive," Hughes started explaining. "I took what had Ed said about how the Philosopher's Stones are made and that the last one was made during Ishval and I followed a hunch. There have been nine massacres, including Ishval, that could have been used to make a Stone and they all connect somehow. I can show you on a map but I really want to wait for Roy to transfer over here so I can show everyone at the same time," he said, semi-apologetically but grateful when Ed and Gracia nodded. "Thanks," he sighed gratefully.

"Once I found this information out, I was attacked by the woman who attacked Chester. That's how I got the cut," he continued. "Leo and I got away and we were going to go to the phones nearest us to contact Roy but with our suspicions about the Fuhrer, I decided to use the payphone in Central Park so as to avoid someone overhearing us on tapped lines. I didn't realise this but Leo had contacted Ed and Ayala to tell them we were in trouble and where we were," Hughes revealed, giving Leo a grateful pat. "While Ed and Ayala were trying to get to us, someone approached us at the phone. They looked like a Lieutenant who works under Armstrong but I could tell something was wrong because she didn't have a mole on her face. When I pointed that out, she made one appear! The next thing I knew, I was looking at a perfect copy of you, Gracia." Hughes was almost ashamed. If that homunculous hadn't transformed right in front of him, he doubted he would've spotted the difference. Gracia's eyes grew wide.

"What happened then?" Gracia asked, still trying to come to terms with someone shapeshifting to look like her so they could kill her husband.

"Well, that's when Ed came in. He and Ayala came rushing out from the trees they'd been hiding behind. Ed tackled me and Ayala went for, well, your clone's throat." Hughes winced as she grimaced and reflexively covered her throat with her hand. Ed shifted uncomfortably and Ayala looked almost guilty. "Ed knocked me out of the way a split second before the gun was fired and I managed to get out of it with just this." He shifted his injured arm, as if they wouldn't realise what he meant.

"After Ed told him too, the person we were fighting transformed back to his original body. Leo and Ayala attacked him while Ed wrapped my arm up. Once he'd finished, he locked me and Leo in the phone booth while he joined Ayala in the fight. I don't really know much of what happened because I was on the phone to Roy. Next thing I knew, Ed was slammed against the phone booth door and was taunting his opponent into revealing some information, which worked. I don't actually know what happened but Ed used some kind of alchemy that turned him into dust. After that, we came home and you know the rest," he ended lamely but Gracia nodded.

"I killed him." Both adults looked at Ed but he was staring firmly at Ayala's fur. "He was a homunculous and his core, his life, was tied to a Philosopher's Stone. I destroyed the stone and him and I killed every single soul still in the stone." Maes didn't know what to say in response to Ed's tone of voice.

Hughes knew, of course, that the boy was against killing anyone. Most of his fights may have ended with the opponent severely injured but Ed had always been careful with how badly he injured someone. Before he could even start thinking about what to say, Gracia had practically launched across the room and wrapped her arms around the teenager's neck and leaning her head against his. She earned herself a squeak of surprise and felt Ed go completely rigid from shock.

"You saved Maes' life. You saved your own life. You saved Ayala and Leo," she whispered to him, voice breaking slightly. "I know you didn't want to and I wish you didn't have to be the one who did it but you saved both you and Maes, as well as Ayala and Leo, and I can't thank you enough for making sure Elysia didn't have to grow up without her father or one of her big brothers." Ed's eyes had started watering and Maes had looked away, giving them a bit of privacy as Ed buried his face into Gracia's shoulder and putting his own arms around her to hug her back. Maes pretended not to see the alchemist's shoulders shake slightly and Gracia didn't seem to mind that her sleeve and shoulder were growing slightly damp. Gracia vaguely wondered how long it had been since Ed had actually been held like this. Ayala pressed herself slightly more into Ed, reassuring him she was still there and she felt his gratefulness through their bond.

* * *

Ed didn't know how long he sat there, wrapped in Gracia's warm embrace, after he'd stopped crying. He felt his face grow warm as he realised he'd literally cried in her arms, in front of Maes, and he shifted slightly. Gracia got the subtle message and, after a final squeeze, unwrapped her arms from around him. She caught his face in between her hands before he could pull away completely though and his eyes flicked to hers. She used both of her thumbs to wipe stray tears from his cheeks and smiled at him. He felt his stomach drop as he was suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. The last time someone had done something like this for him was when his own mother had been alive and before she'd grown too weak to get out of bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly and Ed nodded. She gave him a small smile and he gave her an even smaller one but she seemed pleased with it. She stood up and faced her husband. "You should go call Roy. That poor man is probably worried sick about the two of you," she scolded her husband and Maes gave her a semi-guilty look. Neither of them missed the soft snort Ed gave when Gracia had said 'the two of them' but they didn't comment on it. The stubborn boy wouldn't believe them anyway.

"Come on, Ed," Maes groaned as he carefully got out of the chair. Ed gave him an 'are you serious look' and Maes' look told him he was. "Roy gave me specific instructions. He wants to hear from you as well." Ed rolled his eyes.

"He probably just wants to make sure I didn't cause a building to blow up or something," he grumbled but reluctantly got up once Maes gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look. Ayala followed with slightly more enthusiasm.

"I'll get you some bedding. You can camp on the couch as long as you need," Gracia said as she caught and gave Ed's forearm a quick squeeze.

"Thank you, Miss Gracia." She accepted his thanks with a smile and he followed Maes to his office so he could get this stupid phone call over and done with and get some sleep.

It wasn't every day he went up against a crazed homunculous while still healing from previous injuries and then destroy said homunculous and deal with an injured friend and try to come to terms with hundreds of souls thanking you for killing them, after all. Ed just wanted to sleep and Ayala whined in agreement. She just wanted her human to rest. If Mustang so much as made a joke at his expense during this phone call, she swore she'd bite the older man, consequences be damned.

They made it into the office and Ed took the chance to sneak a look. He hadn't been in this office before, only having caught glimpses of the inside if the door had been left open when he, Al and their Animals had left after a visit whenever they were in Central. He was kinda disappointed. The office was slightly messy with small towers papers on the desk and files haphazardly stacked in the corner. There was a large map of Amestris with various coloured pins sticking out of it, obviously each colour corresponded to a hidden meaning and Ed had to admit he was curious about that. Hughes walked over to the phone on his desk and dialled a number. While he was waiting for Mustang to answer, Hughes indicated to the spare chair and Ed took the hint.

"Roy, it's me." Hughes' voice drew Ed's attention back to why they were actually in this room. "I'm fine. No, the wound was a through-and-through. I probably need stitches so I'll certainly welcome a visit from Havoc when you lot get here," Hughes joked and Ed heard the muffled reply. "Yes, he's here with me. No, he's fine as well. He rebroke every rib injured in the collapse of the laboratory and then some but other than that, he's just got some cuts and bruises. Yes, I'm sure. Gracia looked him over and you know no one can lie to my beautiful Gracia." Ed rolled his eyes and Maes chuckled. "Right, sorry. I guess you want a better explanation than what I gave you before?" Mustang had obviously said yes since Maes then started explaining, in a bit more detail, what had transpired that evening. Ed half listened as he gazed at nothing, lost in his own thoughts. He didn't even realise he'd started dozing off until Hughes had nudged him awake, offering him the phone. The cord could barely reach where he was sitting so he and Hughes wordlessly exchanged spots.

"'lo?" Ed said, stifling a yawn as he placed the phone to his ear.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Who else sounds this excited about talking to you?" He couldn't help it. Maes snorted, trying to pass it off as a sneeze.

"So, you're obviously alright," Mustang commented dryly. "Tell me what happened after you locked Maes in the phone booth. He was too distracted to actually remember what you were doing," Mustang ordered and Ed sighed.

"Fine but don't you dare interrupt me. I'm too tired and pissed off, got it?" Once Ed got the agreement, he started his version of the story. "Right, so after I patched Hughes up as best I could and sealed the phone booth up so he couldn't try and help me, I joined up with Ayala. We fought, well he fought and I dodged, and I tried to find an opening 'cuz I realised that the red alchemic energy was identical to what Cornello produced with that fake stone in Liore so I knew he was using a stone but I couldn't see it so I needed to get close enough to get a hand on him and activate the array," Ed explained, stifling a yawn. "He managed to throw me at the phone box before I could but I used that to my advantage in the end. Didn't realise until he'd told me but that fucker was a homunculous. The stone was literally his life force so when I destroyed it, I killed him. That's it. Hughes and I got back to his in one piece and Gracia patched us up," Ed finished, ready to simply hang up the phone or hand it back to Hughes when Mustang's voice sounded. Ed didn't bother suppressing his groan.

"Hold on," Mustang pretended to ignore the groan, "a couple of things before you can go."

"What?" Ed snarled, his irritation getting the better of him.

"Why didn't you fight back? You said, and I quote, 'he fought and I dodged'," Mustang asked, concerned. If Ed didn't fight back, there had to be an underlying reason.

"Seriously? I nearly had my good fucking arm hacked off less than a month ago, remember? That wound isn't healed fully and because of the way I normally fight, I had to stick to dodging so I didn't get chucked back into hospital," Ed told him, none too nicely and Hughes almost wanted to take the phone back. Evidently, the blonde was not pleasant to talk to when he was sleep deprived.

"Okay. Next thing, how did you destroy the stone? I didn't think that was possible," Mustang admitted, not caring that he kinda admitted the blonde was smarter than him.

"After you left Central, Al and I started coming up with an array that could destroy a stone and release the souls still trapped. We had Doctor Marcoh's research, we had the array to build the stone and we had plenty of time while I was stuck in that hospital. We just reversed-engineered it. I guess I get to brag that my idea worked to Al when I join him in Rush Valley." Ed almost managed a smile at that. He couldn't wait to get back to Al.

"You seriously managed to figure out an array to destroy the perfect material in less than three weeks?" Mustang asked and he actually sounded impressed. Ed tried not to feel too proud of that.

"Don't doubt the Elric genius," Ed told him. "Is that it or was there something else you absolutely must know right now?" He asked, irritation coming back when he remembered he was tired.

"Last thing," Mustang promised. "Consider this an order. You are to stay with Hughes until I get to Central. Our transfer is nearly complete and we should arrive within in the next two, three days at the most." Ed couldn't believe his ears.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I just got attacked by a psycho homunculous and there at least two more out there and Al and Chester are by themselves!" He protested and Ayala felt herself getting angry. She just wished Ed's commanding officer were saying this in person.

"Enough, Fullmetal. Send your brother to your teacher. I know that was your original plan. I'm sure she can help look out for him. You are to stay in Central until further notice. Do you understand?" Mustang's superior officer tone made Ed wish he could send alchemy down the phone line. Then again, with how pissed off he was, it was probably a good thing it wasn't possible.

"The only reason I was able to one up that homunculous tonight is because I don't have to draw out my arrays. Al doesn't have that advantage. So I will stay in Central but let me tell you right now, if Al gets hurt or killed, you will be the one to pay for it." His voice was calm and deadly serious, not even shaking from the anger he felt. He slammed the phone onto the desk, not hanging up in case Hughes still needed to talk to the arsehole before he stormed out of the room, an equally angry Ayala following him. He didn't glance at Hughes on his way out and the older man didn't bother stopping him.

* * *

Ed flopped gracelessly onto the couch he was going to be camping on for the next couple of nights and huffed. Ayala watched him settle before climbing up and curling up at his feet, resting her head on his legs. Gracia and Lilith were nowhere to be seen which Ed was grateful for. Leo and Hughes hadn't followed him out yet so Ed assumed Hughes was talking to Mustang again. Now that he'd had a few moments to calm down, he was worried he'd crossed the line. He'd never threatened Mustang outright before, no matter how much the older man had pissed him off.

"Do you think I overreacted?" Ed asked Ayala, causing her to lift her head up and look at him thoughtfully.

 _"Given the circumstances, I'd say no,"_  she told him honestly.  _"But you do realise you need to tell Chester and Al what happened, right? Chester will have definitely felt your broken ribs at least and they need to know what Mustang ordered you to do."_  He made a face at her suggestion and, while she could sympathise, it didn't change her mind. He sighed and contacted Chester. His wolf was right after all.

"Chester? You awake?" He asked and felt the leopard respond immediately. Evidently, he was.

 _"Yeah. What's wrong? I felt you break more ribs. What did you get yourself into now?"_  Chester asked and Ed wasn't certain whether he should be insulted that the leopard automatically assumed he was the one who caused the trouble. Though, he did have to admit that the leopard had several good examples to back up his assumptions so he let it slide.

"I swear, this time, I didn't start it." He heard Chester chuckle and Ed felt his mood lighten a little. "Hughes was almost killed by Palm Tree," he admitted quietly and he felt the leopard's shock.

 _"Is he okay? Are you okay?"_  Chester asked quickly.

"Yeah, we're both alive. You need to tell Al this though, okay?" Chester agreed immediately. "Tell him that we're up against homunculi and that the array we developed will destroy them. Their life force is tied to a stone. Also, and trust me I will punch him for this, Mustang has ordered me to stay in Central for the time being so I need you and Al to go to Dublith and fill Teacher in on everything." Ed felt Chester's disbelief at his orders but the silence meant he was passing the message along like Ed had asked.

 _"Al said he'll leave for Dublith in the morning. He'll pass along your message to Teacher and he'll tell her everything, including the new array, just in case. He says he'll miss you and that he's really glad you and Mr Hughes weren't badly injured though he does wish you could go longer than a week between injuries. Also, he says you're not allowed to injure Colonel Mustang for any reason,"_  Chester repeated back; amusement evident in his voice.

"Okay, first off; rude. Secondly, I'm the older brother here so he can't boss me around! Thirdly, I didn't leave the hospital with immediate thoughts of trying to go back," Ed informed him haughtily and the leopard and his wolf both laughed at his pout. He stuck his tongue out at Ayala.

 _"Don't shoot the messenger, Ed. Plus, I told Al that you didn't try and find trouble this time and he has requested that you call him tomorrow and tell him everything that's happened,"_  Chester told him and Ed sighed. He was terrible at remembering to do things like call people.

 _"I'll remind him in the morning,"_  Ayala told both of them and Ed gave her a grateful smile.

"So what's been happening in Rush Valley? Has Winry driven you mental with all the automail there?" Ed asked now that the serious side of this conversation was done.

 _"I didn't think it was possible for someone and their Animal to actually become so obsessed with the same thing. I think their mutual appreciation actually encourages them to become even more enthralled in the subject. It gets kinda scary after a while. Al and I actually had to leave when they got worked up over this particular trick Garfiel showed them."_  Ed and Ayala laughed at him and it was the leopard's turn to pout.

"Who's Garfiel?" Ed asked, not recognising the name from any updates Chester had given him.

 _"Oh, he's the man Winry's apprenticing under. She started working under him today,"_  Chester explained and Ed nodded in understanding, even though he knew the leopard couldn't see the action.  _"From what I hear, she's lucky to be working under him. Apparently, he's one of the best automail mechanics in Amestris,"_  Chester informed him.

"Well, I guess that's good for her. She and Michella are probably having tonnes of fun geeking out." Ed stifled a yawn.

 _"Go to bed, Edward. Don't argue. I can sense how tired you are."_  Chester smirked as he felt Ed's protest coming.  _"Al says you gotta."_

"Again; I'm the big brother here!" Ed argued but Chester just laughed at him.

 _"Good night, Ed,"_  he said, voice still chuckling with amusement.

"Whatever. Night." Ed huffed before breaking their connection.

He got himself comfortable again and Ayala ended up having to get off the couch while he threw the blanket over himself to avoid being covered herself. She got back up as soon as he stopped squirming to get as comfortable as possible and not break his ribs even more in the process. Ed was starting to drift off when a sudden noise nearby had him sitting up, something his ribs yelled at him for, and looking around for the threat. The threat turned out to be a very startled Hughes and amused Leo.

 _"I told you he'd hear you,"_  Leo smirked, proud of himself.

"It's generally considered a bad idea to sneak up on someone who could kill you with a clap of his hands," Ed remarked and Hughes looked slightly sheepish. "What's up?" He asked, genuinely curious as to why Hughes was sneaking around.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Hughes said as he crouched so he was eye level with Ed.

"Well, yeah. It's not the first time I've been in a fight. Technically, it wasn't even the worst fight I've been in," Ed frowned. Hughes had literally witnessed the aftermath of one of his worse fights only a couple weeks ago.

"No, I meant if you were okay after your conversation with Roy," Hughes corrected and Ed realised that that made a lot more sense.

"Oh," Ed shrugged. "I'm fine. Al's okay with it. I'm almost glad I'm not with him to face Teacher after she finds out what we did and that I joined the military." Ed grimaced as he imagined the beat down Al would get.

"She's that scary, huh?" Maes asked, a little intrigued. They boys didn't talk about their Teacher much. They said it's because they wouldn't be the ones to put the military onto her since she's an excellent alchemist but Maes believed it was just because they were terrified she'd leap out from behind something and attack.

"You know how Miss Riza gets when Mustang really pisses her off?" Ed asked and Hughes nodded. He'd witnessed several of Roy's reintroductions to Hawkeye's guns. "Teacher's scarier on her good days." Well, that was not a pleasant piece of information. He couldn't imagine any scarier than Hawkeye on her bad days.

"Are you sure Al and Chester will be okay by himself with her?" Maes was genuinely concerned for the armour. Ed was happy that Maes cared enough for Al and Chester to be concerned for their safety.

"Nah, they'll be fine. She wouldn't kill them. She won't even be able to hurt Al," Ed reminded him before he paled slightly at a sudden realisation. "She might kill me though. When I go back to Teacher's, I'm so royally fucked." Maes patted his automail shoulder soothingly.

"I'm sure she won't kill you. Ayala certainly wouldn't let her," Hughes reassured him. He at least hoped Ed's teacher wouldn't actually kill him. The silence grew between them and Ed glanced at Hughes to see that he was deep in thought.

"Hughes? Was there something else?" Ed asked, a little worried. Was Hughes going to blame him for the fact he got shot? He knew he should've moved earlier. If he had, Hughes wouldn't have gotten hurt and Gracia wouldn't have... and there was a pair of arms wrapped around him again for the third time tonight. And for the second time tonight, Ed found himself not knowing how to react straight away. He did react a little faster than he had to Gracia's hug and wrapped his arms around Hughes' waist, though his grip was light and hesitant. "Are you okay?" Ed asked, looking at Ayala and Leo for help. Neither Animal offered him any. Hughes pushed him away but still held him by his shoulders, though his hold was light on his flesh shoulder.

"Yes." Hughes smiled and Ed was shocked to see his eyes glisten with unshed tears. "I- just... thank you, Ed. Thank you for being there. You gave me another chance to see Elysia grow up and to spend more time with Gracia. You gave me the chance to take even more photos to show Roy." He grinned and Ed couldn't help but chuckle at that. That was almost worth not being allowed to hit him for the order he'd just given Ed. "I know you blame yourself for the fact that I got shot at all. Don't look at Leo like that, I figured it out on my own. I know what you're like. But I'm telling you now; I'd rather a bullet hole through my arm than my heart. I know Gracia and Elysia would prefer that too. So please stop beating yourself up?" He requested, using puppy-dog eyes that Ed honestly thought needed work but he relented anyway.

"Okay but I have one condition." Hughes raised an interested brow and Ed grinned. "You have to absolutely torture Mustang with photos when the transfer's complete." Hughes' grin was kinda evil when he pretended to think the deal over.

"Deal." He held his hand out as a formal agreement and Ed shook it. "Now, get some sleep before my precious princess wakes up in the morning and finds out you're here." Ed grinned. He'd never minded Elysia's early wake up squeals of excitement when she found out her big brothers stayed the night without her knowing. Ayala thought it was cute though she could do without the squeals. Her ears already hurt just from thinking about them. "Good night, Ed," Hughes said as he and Leo headed out of the living room, turning lights off as they left.

"Night, Maes," came the soft reply as Ed finally went to sleep, Ayala following his example not too long after.

* * *

 _One day_ , Ayala thought,  _this child will succeed in reaching the correct pitch to make my ears bleed._  She was interrupted from her musings as Ed woke up and greeted the nearly five-year-old who was trying to make every canine suffer within a five-mile radius from her squeals.

"BIG BROTHER ED! YOU'RE HERE!" She glomped herself onto Ed's neck with a vice like grip before spotting the golden wolf. "AYALA, YOU'RE HERE TOO!" And then it was the wolf's turn to be glomped on. At least Elysia was big enough to wrap her arms around her neck without ripping fur out now. Ed grinned at the little girl while he got himself sitting up carefully.

"Hey, Elysia," Ed greeted her, effectively capturing her attention. "Do you remember what I said last time you woke us up?" Elysia's chubby face screwed up in concentration as she tried to remember before her mind latched onto something.

"Yeah! You said that Ayala's ears picked up noises better than ours so we shouldn't yell when we're close to her," she repeated and then realised what she said. She turned her guilty face to Ayala. "Sorry, Ayala. I forgot," she mumbled out, removing her arms from the wolf. Ayala sighed before turning to Ed.

 _"Tell her I forgive her."_  Ayala couldn't let the little girl look so sad in front of her. Curse those chubby cheeks. Ed grinned.

"You're a big softie," he told her before talking out loud for Elysia. "Ayala says that she forgives you. You just gotta remember what I said." Elysia's big, grateful grin almost made up for the near-bleeding ears. Almost.

"I promise!" She crossed her heart with a finger and Ed had to smile at the seriousness of her voice and face.

"Hey, are your parents up yet?" He asked the little girl as he swung his feet off the couch so he was sitting instead of laying down, wincing as his muscles protested the movement slightly.

"Nope," Elysia told him and Ed nodded.

"Okay. You stay here with Ayala while I get dressed, alright?" She nodded as she clambered up next to the wolf and Ed gave her a smile before getting up cautiously. Rebroken and freshly broken ribs were not something he enjoyed. Being the naturally observant child she was, Elysia noticed the odd way Ed moved, holding his side as he crouched in front of his suitcase to get his clothes out.

"Are you okay, big brother?" She asked, worry tainting her voice. Ed looked over at her and gave her his best smile.

"Course I am. Your big brother's always okay. Remember to stay with Ayala," he reminded her before heading to the bathroom.

* * *

Getting changed was difficult and braiding his hair was even less fun but he managed. When he headed back into the lounge room he saw Ayala was being entertained by Elysia, who was telling her some sort of fascinating story. Ed dumped his pyjamas on his suitcase and glanced at the clock. If Elysia wasn't so cute, he might be tempted to get up her for waking him at 5:30am. Gracia probably would be up soon. She had the uncanny ability to always know when her child was awake. He was surprised neither adult had been awoken by the squealing.

"Hey, Elysia?" The little girl turned to him. "What do you want for breakfast?" Her eyes lit up she realised Ed was going to cook for her.

"Scrambled eggs! You always make the bestest scrambled eggs!" She bounced enthusiastically on her spot on the couch.

"Okay, scrambled eggs it is. How about you get changed out of your jammies while I get started?" He suggested and she looked down to see she was still clad in her pyjama dress.

"Okay!" She agreed, jumping from the couch and tearing out of the lounge room just as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Do you want some scrambled eggs too, Ayala?" Ed asked as he headed for the kitchen.

 _"Of course I do. That's a stupid question and you're stupid for asking it"_  she told him as she leapt from the couch to follow him. He laughed as he started grabbing things he needed and she helped with what she could. He'd just finished chopping and mixing all the ingredients together when they heard the tell-tale footsteps of Elysia heading for them. She stopped just next to Ayala and watched Ed for a few seconds.

"Can I help?" She asked hopefully. Ed thought for a moment.

"I'm nearly done but how about you find some juice or something in the fridge for us to drink?" He suggested and she headed to the fridge to fulfill her mission. The eggs were done by the time she found and grabbed the orange juice out of the fridge. Ayala shut the door for her since she had to use both hands just to carry the juice. Ed finished serving up the eggs and glanced at her. "Good job! Now let's go put it on the table and I'll grab some cups." He smiled at her and she headed for the table while he balanced the three plates and followed her. She managed to get up on her chair and place the bottle on the table with no accidents and Ed placed the food before leaving and returning with cups and utensils. He'd just placed Ayala's plate on the ground and started pouring juice when both adults came down the stairs.

"Morning mummy and daddy! Big brother made scrambled eggs!" Elysia said delightedly as she spotted her parents in the doorway.

"I can see that," Gracia said as Maes scrubbed at his face in an attempt to wake up a bit more.

"There's enough left in the kitchen if you want some," Ed offered, gesturing to the kitchen. That was all Hughes needed to hear as he headed for the food.

"Thank you, Ed. You didn't have to cook, you know," Gracia reminded him and he shrugged.

"Well, Elysia asked and I didn't mind," he told her as he poured himself some more juice. Elysia was happily digging into her eggs and Gracia disappeared into the kitchen to make sure Maes left enough for the foxes and herself. They re-joined them in the dining room and dug in. Maes told him he was allowed to make scrambled eggs every morning for breakfast and Ed felt himself flush slightly at the compliment.

"What are your plans for today, Edward?" Hughes asked as he polished off the last of his breakfast.

"I was hoping I could just stay here for the day, if it's no bother. I have to call Al sometime today as well as go back to my hotel room and grab my stuff from there," he said

"Of course it's no problem, Ed. You're never a bother," Gracia assured him gently.

"I dunno. It depends on who you ask." Ed smirked and Hughes struggled not to laugh. "But thanks, Miss Gracia." Elysia looked up from the forkful of food she was about to eat.

"You're gonna be here the whole day?" She asked, eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Yup. I'll even stay the night again," he told her and she smiled happily before remembering she still had food in front of her and getting back to the task of finishing it.

"Well, I gotta get ready for work," Hughes said as he pushed himself out of his chair. Ed baulked but Gracia was the first to speak.

"I don't think you should go back into work today. Not with that arm. Any doctor would tell you to take a couple of days off, at the very least." She frowned at him. Ed couldn't keep the worry off his face. What if the woman or one of the others came back? Ed wouldn't be able to get there quick enough to help him. Maes took in what his wife said and Ed's expression before he grinned.

"Guess I'll be staying home for the day," he declared and he saw the tension leave Ed's shoulders a little.

"Really?" Elysia asked and when Maes nodded, she squealed in delight. "A day with daddy and big brother Ed!" She clapped excitedly.

"That's right, princess! Daddy's just gotta go make a phone call but I'll be back, okay?" He told her and she nodded her head. "You think about what you want to do today while I'm doing that." He ruffled her hair as he went past her, making her giggle. Gracia stood and started collecting the dirty dishes while Elysia started talking about the things she wanted to do today.

"I can clean up, Miss Gracia," Ed told her, half-rising out of his seat so he could take the stuff from her.

"It's okay, Ed. You cooked." She smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked, still reaching for things to grab to help out.

"Ed, you don't argue with mummy," Elysia broke in with a scolding voice. Ed backed off with his hands raised submissively.

"You heard the boss. No arguing." Gracia smirked at him and headed for the kitchen. Ayala laughed at his scowl which caused him to poke his tongue out at her. Hughes reappeared from making his phone call.

"Do you mind if I steal your phone?" Ed asked, standing up.

"Yeah, go ahead," Hughes told him, knowing he wanted to get on the phone to Al as soon as possible. Ed gave him a quick thanks and he and Ayala headed for the office. He went to go dial when he realised he had no idea what phone number to dial.

"Hey, Ches, can you get Al to contact me on Hughes' number? I don't know what number to call," he explained a little sheepishly. He felt the leopard's amusement before he replied.

 _"He's calling you now,"_  Chester informed a second before the phone rang.

"Al?" Ed asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, brother," Al greeted and Ed only had to wait all of a second for Al to ask the question they both knew was coming. "Did you seriously get into a fight only a few hours after being released from the hospital?"

"Well, you see, this time it was in no way my fault whatsoever," Ed defended himself and Al sighed.

"What happened this time?" Al asked resigned to the fact his brother couldn't go anywhere without getting injured.

"Didn't Chester tell you already?" Ed asked. He had told Chester to pass along the facts of the fight.

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you," Al told him and Ed decided to humour his little brother.

"Well, not only am I, possibly both of us, being considered sacrifices by a set of psychos, those psychos just so happen to be near-immortal homunculi. I went up against Palm Tree again last night and he told me what he was." Ed heard Al's gasp. "Look, it's not all bad. I know our array works now."

"The one we came up with to destroy Philosopher's Stones?" Al asked.

"Yup. Like I told Chester, the homunculi each have a stone. It's their life force and it's how they can heal so quickly and use some of their abilities," Ed told him. "Destroying the stone kills them. Just..." He trailed off, not really wanting to tell Al but he didn't want him to be caught off guard like he had been.

"Just what?" Al asked, a little worried.

"Look, I don't know if I imagined it or if it was just this stone or if it will happen with every stone but when I destroyed it, every single soul left thanked me. I just wanted you to know because it really threw me," Ed admitted quietly. He honestly wasn't sure if he'd get over that.

"Brother..." Al sounded worried for him.

"I'm okay, Al. I just wanted you to know. When you get to Teacher's, make sure you show her the array and tell her about the stone and the homunculi. Tell her everything. Though she probably knows it all by now," Ed joked and Al let out a weak chuckle. "Do you know when you're gonna leave Rush Valley yet?" Ed asked, changing the subject a little.

"Yeah, there's a train leaving in a couple of hours for Dublith. Chester and I'll hop on that one. We should be at Teacher's by tonight. I'll make sure Chester lets you know when we have," Al promised him.

"I almost don't envy you, you know," Ed joked. "You're gonna have to face Teacher's wrath with just Chester. She's gonna be so mad when she finds out what we did."

"Oh man," Al sounded scared. "But she can't actually physically hurt me. I guess that's a bonus of this body. Brother, you realise she's gonna be twice as mad with you though? Especially when she finds out that you're not there because you were ordered to stay in Central," Al asked now worried about his brother's life expectancy.

"I know, Al. I've come to terms with the fact that I probably won't survive my next meeting with Teacher," Ed said solemnly.

"That's assuming you don't pick a fight with the wrong person beforehand," Al snarked.

"Hey! I didn't pick this fight! And I barely picked any of the other fights. Not my fault people believe resisting arrest is the way to go," Ed huffed, a little annoyed. Al laughed at him and Ed smiled a little at the sound. "What's happened your end? I heard Winry's driving you made with automail facts." Ed really didn't envy him there.

"Yeah, she's very excited about being Garfiel's apprentice. He's really good, too. She said she's already learned loads from him. Like, did you know there was a specific automail designed for cold weather, like North City cold, so that anyone who has automail doesn't get frostbite easily? Even though she'd heard about it, Winry says she's never made it so she's really excited about learning how to. It'll mean she could cater to more clients," Al rambled slightly.

"No, I didn't know that but I'm glad she's gonna learn to make it. One of these days I'll probably need a set." Ed was almost positive he would. That was just how his luck went. "You be careful, Al. Any more time with her and you'll turn into a crazy gearhead as well," he joked.

"I think I'll be fine, brother," Al reassured him, amusement tinging his voice. "What are you gonna do until Colonel Mustang shows up and Mr Hughes can finally show you what he found out?" Ed groaned as he leant back in the chair.

"I don't know. It depends if that arsehole decides I'm allowed to leave Central. I guess, if you're still at Teacher's, I'll catch up with there. If not, well, I'll figure something out. We've still gotta figure out a way to get you back to normal with a stone that isn't made with people," Ed sighed. "I almost wish we'd never run into Marcoh and gotten his notes."

"I know but we can't change the past," Al reminded him gently. "Besides, I'm glad we know what we know. Because of those notes, we have a way to take care of the homunculi," he pointed out and Ed smiled.

"You're always looking for that silver lining, aren't you?" Ed asked and Al chuckled softly.

"Well, one of us has to be an optimist and you seem pretty set on being the pessimist," Al teased and Ed had to give him that. They stayed on the phone for over an hour before Ed said that Al should probably go so he had enough time to say goodbye to Winry so he didn't suffer her wrath. Once they'd hung up, Ed headed back out to the lounge room, assuming that's where the Hughes family was likely to be.

* * *

For the morning, Hughes and Elysia entertained Ed and Ayala with stories and re-enactments of some of their adventures, courtesy of Elysia's imagination. Maes naturally had his camera the entire time and he was certain he'd gotten some great shots of Ed and Elysia together. Ed was almost pulled into the stories but Maes told Elysia that Ed was still recovering from being in the hospital. She pouted then asked if Ayala could play. Ed knew he'd pay for this later but he said the wolf would love too.

If looks could kill, Ed would've died under that golden glare as she nimbly dropped off the couch and approached the little girl. Two minutes later, Ayala was dressed in a pair of butterfly wings and asked to be the dragon they were fighting. At least she had the thoroughly pissed-off look down. Maes got photos of that too. Gracia rescued her only a little while later with the announcement that lunch was ready. Ed helped her out of the wings and had to give her half of one of his sandwiches to ensure her forgiveness. Gracia once again booted him out of the kitchen when he tried to help clean up.

Elysia went down for a nap not long after lunch, much to Ayala's relief. The wolf may love that little girl almost as much as she loved Al but there was only so much humiliation she would take in order to keep the child happy. Ed had called the hotel he'd been booked into and arranged for them to hold his gear until he picked it up the next day and was now reading since it was silent, though he did have to use Ayala as a pillow so she could read and he wouldn't hurt his ribs. Hughes was using the time to catch up on some paperwork in his office though he did bring it out to the lounge room and used the coffee table so he could keep Ed company.

Gracia was doing housework and refused Ed and Maes' help when they offered. They eventually got the hint and left her to ask if she needed the help. Elysia woke up a couple hours later but she decided she'd had enough of storytelling and wanted to do some arts and crafts. Maes shared half the coffee table for her artistic needs and she went and found her colouring things before sitting down to work. By mid-afternoon, Maes, Ayala and Ed had been gifted half a dozen pictures each and she'd drawn a few for Ed to give to Al, something that Maes damn near melted at with the sweetness that was his little girl. Ed almost threatened the camera; he was taking that many photos. Ed figured the camera would probably blow up from overuse, if he was lucky.

Gracia cooked meatballs and spaghetti for them for dinner and Ed was honestly certain he'd never eaten anything quite as good as them since the last time his mother had cooked them. Elysia had naturally made a mess of them and even managed to get some of her dinner on Leo, something the fox looked overly used to. After dinner, Gracia made Elysia go for a shower and Maes, Ed, Ayala and the two foxes migrated back to the lounge room.

15 minutes after the change in scenery, Hughes was forced to get up and answer the phone. Ed just continued his reading until Elysia and Gracia re-joined them. Elysia was happy to continue the drawing she hadn't finished before but after she was done, she demanded Ed show her alchemy tricks. He told her she had to go get things that could be transmuted so she headed for different rooms to find things. Gracia had to stop her from sacrificing ornaments or clothing she'd grabbed. Maes slipped back into the room as Elysia finished spreading her spoils on the floor in front of Ed's couch. He carefully lowered himself to the ground and couldn't quite stop a grimace as his ribs ground against each other in protest.

Once on the ground, he overlooked his supplies before asking Elysia what she wanted him to make. It took her a couple of minutes and few shot down ideas before they settled on things Ed could actually make out of the available materials. She was exceptionally pleased with the doll that looked like her that had caused Ed to have flashbacks to when he and Al had tried creating a doll for Winry that had ended up absolutely scaring the crap out of her. Ed would have to tell her about this but then Ayala told him he'd probably end up with a caved in skull so he decided he'd let Elysia tell her when the blonde mechanic visited the Hughes' again. Ed also created little figurines for her. She'd asked for little versions of Ayala, Leo, Chester, Nala and Michella. Ayala had decided the fact that Elysia had asked for a small version of the golden wolf first had made up for the butterfly wings.

Eventually, Ed was forced to stop his alchemy tricks after a rather impressive display of water manipulation once Gracia had realised how late it had gotten and informed Elysia she had to go to bed. She put up a small fuss but relented when she realised her mum wasn't going to give in and, after a stern look from his wife, Maes told her she needed to go to bed as well. She pouted in annoyance but eventually gave them all a good night hug before gathering her little presents up and leading her parents up to her room so Gracia could tuck her in and Maes could read her two bedtime stories because he didn't read her one the night before. Ed used the opportunity to go for a shower and get himself ready to turn in for the night. Ayala snuck outside to enjoy the fresh air and make sure there was nothing that could pose a danger to Ed or the Hughes'. She headed back inside when she sensed Ed was heading out of the bathroom.

"Perimeter secure?" Ed asked teasingly as they both entered the living room at the same time.

 _"Naturally. Anything that could've posed a threat were obviously scared off by how fierce I am,"_  she informed him and Ed snorted in amusement.

"Of course. Who's dumb enough to go up against a wolf who let a five-year-old dress her in butterfly wings?" Ed smirked at her and she growled.

 _"You're lucky you're already injured or I'd bite you,"_  she informed him haughtily and Ed grinned at her.

"Of course you would. Consider me warned for next time." Ed ruffled her ears as he sat himself down carefully so he could comb out his hair. An action this simple certainly proved difficult as either his shoulder wound or his ribs pulled at the movement. He'd just thrown his comb back at his suitcase, obviously with perfect aim, when Gracia passed him to use the shower. Maes didn't emerge from Elysia's room until after Gracia had finished her shower and his daughter had actually fallen asleep. Gracia had made them all cups of their chosen hot drink by the time Maes had emerged from the bathroom himself.

"So that was Major Armstrong on the phone," Maes said casually after taking a sip of his coffee. Ed perked at the mention of Armstrong's name. He hadn't seen the other alchemist since the Fuhrer dropped in on him at the hospital. "The Fuhrer was right. Anyone who worked under Doctor Marcoh during Ishval have disappeared without a trace. Armstrong's been asking around and no one knows anything about anything apparently. He tried finding Doctor Marcoh again, to see if he had any idea, but he's disappeared as well. Armstrong said that his place looked tidy but Gary could sense the lingering scent of whoever burnt down the first branch so they don't think he went willingly. From how weak the scent of Marcoh and this homunculous is, Gary thinks they've been gone weeks. Armstrong asked the townspeople and they confirmed the doctor hadn't been seen since your visit."

"Fuck," Ed cursed. "You never once sensed a homunculous following us to Resembool, right?" He asked Ayala who screwed her eyes shut as she tried to remember. Eventually she came up with nothing. She shook her head and Ed sighed. "So, what? It was just bad timing? They found him the same day we ran into him?" Ed didn't believe in coincidences but if they'd been followed, Ayala and Chester would've picked up the scent.

"He could still be alive," Maes offered optimistically. "He is the leading researcher on the stone. They're probably using him to create more," he rationalised.

"Yeah. I can't even contact his Animal. We never completed our bond. I spoke to her but she never spoke back. I need that connection to be completed while both the Animal and I can still see each other or it doesn't take. I've got no way of finding him to get him away from them except to ask the next homunculous I go up against. Something tells me that conversation won't go my way." Ed rubbed his eyes as he placed his empty mug onto the coffee table. "Did Armstrong say anything else?" Ed asked as he sat back against the couch.

"No." Hughes shook his head. "He just wished me a speedy recovery from my cold." He half smirked and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?" He asked. "That's the story you gave them?" Hughes shrugged in response. "I would've thought you would've been more inventive in your fake illnesses to get out of work."

"What can I say? No one wants someone who's got something as easily spread as a cold in the office and risk more officers," Hughes pointed out and Ed let him have that one.

"At least you didn't try pulling something stupid like Mustang tried once," Ed commented and Maes leant forward, obviously interested.

"What did he try?" He asked, eager for anything embarrassing his best friend had done. Even Gracia couldn't hide her interest. Ed grinned.

"Okay so I had gone into the office 'cuz I was bored and Mustang had decided he needed to see me for a report that was overdue. So I go in nice and early so I'd have the rest of the day to myself, right? So, naturally, he isn't in yet and Hawkeye gets a phone call and you can immediately tell it's Mustang because she's not impressed with whoever's on the other end of the line. Anyway, we can't hear what Mustang is saying but Hawkeye gets confused and says 'what is papyrophobia, exactly?' and I almost died laughing so she turns to me for an answer. He was trying to claim he was scared of paper so he could avoid paperwork," Ed told them, laughing. He was joined by Hughes roaring with laughter and Gracia trying to stifle her own so she didn't wake Elysia.

"That's classic. What did Hawkeye do?" Hughes asked once he'd gotten his laughter under control.

"Well, her face went blank and she turned back to the phone and told Mustang he had half an hour to get to the office and start on his paperwork before she came and got him. He got there in the given time but Hawkeye was very irate with him for the rest of the day, I heard. He didn't live that down for a while," Ed said as he chuckled at the memory.

"I can imagine. Poor Riza. I swear, somedays, it's like she's in charge of five children instead of soldiers." Gracia could sympathise to a certain degree. Maes was still cackling at the mental image he'd managed to create of the scene Ed had described. She looked at him like she rested her case and Ed snorted at her while she shot him a quick grin. Maes never noticed the exchange.

They chatted some more and Ed got a few embarrassing stories out of Hughes about Mustang during his academy days before Gracia and Maes decided they should go to bed so they'd hopefully wake up to their child in the morning before she woke Ayala and Ed. Ed got himself comfortable on the couch and Gracia turned the lights off as they wished each other good night.

Ed fell asleep almost straight away but Ayala stayed up a little longer. She wondered if Ed realised how happy he was here, surrounding by two people who obviously cared about him as a person and treated him as though he was family and had a little girl who looked up to him with the wonder and awe of a younger sibling who worshiped everything their older sibling did. She sighed as she lay her head on her boy's legs. It would be hard for her to watch Ed go from this to the soldier he tried to act like when Mustang's transfer was complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. From the next update on, I will be only posting one chapter a week once more. Kudos and comments are more than welcome and are definitely appreciated and cherished!


	21. Chapter 21

It took three more days for Mustang's team to be transferred up to Central. To say Ed was unimpressed was a vast understatement. The only upside to his imprisonment was that he got to spend more time with the Hughes', Elysia especially. Ed had even managed to head over to the hotel he'd been booked into so he could gather the things he'd bought and left in the room the night Hughes had been attacked. Maes had to go back to work after only two days of sick leave and that was how Ed found out Mustang was scheduled to arrive the next day. Hughes had returned home from work in a more exuberant mood than normal and it didn't take much prying for Gracia and Ed to find out it was because his best friend was arriving in the morning.

"You remember our deal right?" Ed asked, smirk already in place and Maes pulled out a fat pile of photos from his pocket and smirked back.

"I remembered and am prepared." Gracia almost felt sorry for Mustang until she realised it could have been worse; Ed could be exacting his revenge his own way. She'd heard the start of the plans from Lilith who'd overheard them when Ed was taking to Ayala and didn't realise she was in the room. They didn't sound like Mustang would've made it out intact. Gracia was fairly certain his plans were just a way to let off steam. That's what she hoped at least.

Ed had nodded his satisfaction with the sheer size of the pile of photos before going back to playing with Elysia. The little girl had been extremely strict with Ed and what he could do once she'd figured out he'd hurt his ribs. Gracia would've been more impressed with her daughter's worry for Ed's health if she hadn't been so cute when reprimanding Ed when he'd tried to be a bit more involved in the game and forgot about his ribs being broken, causing himself and Ayala to both feel the painful reminder. There was nothing quite as adorable as a five-year-old getting up someone like Edward.

Ayala thought it was hilarious, especially when Elysia had adopted the typical pose for rousing on someone; one hand on her hip and the other pointing an accusing finger with her chubby cheeks puffed out in anger. Maes had regretted not being able to take photos of this scene but Ed had threatened his camera's life the last time he took pictures of him and Elysia playing together. Those photos were included in the pile Maes planned to show Roy, unbeknownst to Edward.

Ed woke up the next morning, as usual by Elysia who had taken it upon herself to make sure Ed was still on the couch like he'd promised. She also used this to get Edward to make her one of his famous breakfasts each morning. Gracia and Maes had eventually stopped telling him it wasn't necessary and just let him rule the kitchen in the mornings, though Gracia still had claims on it at dinnertime.

The morning Mustang was supposedly arriving, Ed had made French toast with bacon and Maes had ended up stealing some to eat on the way to the office. Leo commented that he'd get fat but Hughes had waved away his opinion, saying he was walking anyway. Gracia gave him his usual kiss goodbye and Elysia gave him his hug. Hughes managed to catch Ed in his now customary one-armed hug before the blonde could escape. All of them knew that Ed didn't hate the hugs as much as he pretended too. Only once Ed had made certain that Hughes had his photos was the older man allowed to give them a cheery wave before he and Leo headed for his office.

The day seemed to fly by and the next thing Ed knew, Elysia was bouncing on the balls of her feet, waiting for the sounds of her father coming home while she followed Ed around as he helped Gracia mend some things around the house. He'd insisted after he'd overheard her grouse at her washing machine the day before. He offered to fix it and anything else she needed done as payment for him being allowed to stay with them. She'd only relented when he'd assured her that he wouldn't hurt himself more and that he honestly would be happy to use his alchemy for more than pretty tricks to entertain Elysia with.

They both knew when Maes arrived home because Elysia tore out of the room just as Ed was mending some damaged plates. Gracia followed her daughter at a much more sedate pace and Ed finished up his transmuting before moving to stand in the hallway, keeping himself away from the door so that he wasn't intruding but so he could make sure Hughes was in one piece. What he was not prepared for was seeing Nala come through the door, followed closely by his superior, Leo and Hughes. Hughes was already prepared and shot Ed an apologetic look that the blonde returned with a look that promised the older man would regret not warning him.

 _"Edward! How are you? Roy told me you hurt yourself again,"_  Nala fussed over him as soon as she spotted her favourite teenager. He grinned at her and gave her a scratch before answering.

"You're as big a worrywart as Ayala. I'm fine." Ed rolled his eyes at her.

 _"You broke your ribs,"_  Nala deadpanned and Ed nodded.

"Yeah. Like I said, I'm fine." Nala didn't look impressed, even when Ed offered her his winning smile. Ayala and Nala greeted each other while Elysia greeted her father and uncle with as much enthusiasm as the five-year-old could muster. They were able to move away from the doorway once Gracia had managed to wrangle Elysia from trying to hug the two men to death, something she was having a bit of difficulty with. Lilith decided to join Ed and the two bigger Animals where they were standing. "Hey, Lilith. Where've you been hanging out? I haven't seen much of you today." The grey fox shrugged.

 _"It was a good day to lay in the sun,"_  she told him as she stretched before watching the adults with mild interest. Ed nodded. It wasn't unusual for Lilith to lay in the sun for hours at a time. She was rather like a cat in that regard.

Gracia had finally managed to coax Elysia into letting the men go so they could sit down while Gracia finished up preparing dinner. Some nudges, courtesy of Nala, informed Ed that he had no choice but to follow the two men into the lounge room. She pretended to ignore the glare he shot her. He huffed in annoyance but complied with her wishes and claimed his couch before Mustang or Hughes could. Ayala had decided to act as his cushion so that Nala could curl up next to his feet. Lilith had debated but she decided to curl up on Ed's lap instead of following Gracia and Elysia into the kitchen; Elysia did tend to accidentally cover the fox in whatever they were cooking with. Lilith was cautious of Ed's ribs and made sure she was curled up so her back was pressed against the couch rather than have her whole weight on him.

"Any exciting news from the pack up?" Ed asked Nala as he relaxed against Ayala and watched Hughes and Mustang sit down out of the corner of his eye. Judging from Mustang's face and Hughes' position, he was still being shown pictures. Ed grinned before turning his attention back to the lioness before Mustang could spot his smirk.

 _"Havoc had to break up with his newest girlfriend. From what Falman said, she wasn't upset about the breakup. Roy managed to avoid being shot, barely I might add, by Hawkeye,"_  Nala commented, amused by the memory.

"You know, I'm just waiting for the day where you tell me she has actually put a bullet through him," Ed remarked and Ayala and Nala huffed in amusement.

 _"Honestly, so am I and I more than likely won't try and stop her if she did because he'd probably deserve it."_  Ed nodded his agreement. He knew Hawkeye didn't believe in wasting bullets.

"What did he do this time?" Ed asked curiously. Nala sighed dramatically and now he was really curious.

 _"Okay, so we've known about this transfer for a while now, right?"_  Ed nodded even though he was fairly certain an answer wasn't really required.  _"So, Roy decided to leave all of his packing until the last minute, even though Hawkeye told him not too. So, naturally, he was panicked and scrambling to get everything done before we had to leave. After he managed to get everything organised, with a lot of complaining and whining, he had the audacity to ask Hawkeye why she never warned him against last minute packing."_  Ed winced with sympathy for Riza. If he was in her position, he would have definitely shot him.

"I wonder if Mustang's worked out that Miss Riza is actually the one in charge yet?" Ed asked and Nala laughed.

 _"I doubt he'll ever admit it if he did."_  Ed had to agree and Mustang narrowed his eyes at the two of them, not knowing what they were conversing about but having a feeling it was about him. The 'we're totally innocent' looks the lioness and the blonde tried selling weren't being bought by either adult, though Hughes looked more amused than disbelieving.

"I'm honestly surprised that you're still in Central, Fullmetal," Mustang commented in a bid to stop Nala and the blonde talking about him. "I was almost sure you would've been halfway to Al after Hughes told you when the team would arrive."

"To be fair, normally you wouldn't have been wrong," Ed told him and Mustang raised a curious brow. "However, Hughes made me a deal. If I stayed in Central until you turned up and I could leave, he'd torture you with photos all day. I figured it would be amusing to hear about your reaction," Ed explained, smirking at the growing look of fury on Mustang's face as Hughes grinned sheepishly.

Gracia unknowingly saved her husband's cameras life when she announced that dinner was ready. Ed, Ayala, Nala and Leo all bolted for the kitchen so they could get their food and so they were away from any potential fallout. Gracia had prepared beef stroganoff for dinner and Ed had to remind himself to leave some for Mustang and Hughes when he started salivating just from the aromas.

Elysia was the only person who was determined to talk during the meal, everyone else being more interested in their food. Mustang was the one who was being talked to mainly and he managed to endure the entire dinner being told facts about alchemy, books, and whatever else she had learned from Ed during his stay. Ed did pay attention so he could gently correct her when needed but he didn't offer any more input to the conversation than that.

"I didn't realise how much Elysia had picked up from you," Hughes commented as the guys resumed their spots in the living room while Elysia had a shower. Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"You'd be surprised at how much attention a child will pay to a subject they find interesting," Ed said knowingly. "Nina was like that as well. She always asked a hundred questions about every array I used." Hughes and Mustang would've had to have been blind to miss the sudden and intense wave of sadness that overtook Ed before the blonde managed to control his expression. "Anyway, when are you gonna show us what you found out?" Ed asked Hughes so he didn't have to think about the little girl he'd failed. Hughes looked concerned but Ed ignored it.

"I'll show you two once my darling Elysia goes to bed. I have a feeling that you two will have a lot to say," Hughes told them which Ed had to admit made him more curious but he nodded. Mustang sighed in annoyance but didn't argue.

There was silence following was only momentary as they soon heard the sounds of Elysia running towards the room. The little girl paused at the doorway and seemed to be having a small crisis. She had too many people to choose from but after a moment of consideration, she decided on her uncle and clambered up onto his lap before the man had a chance to say anything. Maes cooed at the sight and snapped a dozen photos before Mustang could threaten the camera. Though once Maes caught sight of the look on Mustang's face, the camera was stowed away in a safe place.

Elysia spent the next couple of hours before her bedtime pestering Mustang with questions about East City, his team and Nala. Gracia did try and contain her daughters inquisitive nature but after the twentieth question, she kinda gave up hope and shot Mustang an apologetic look. To his credit, Mustang was very patient and answered every question he could, even after answering the same question phrased five different ways. Though Mustang did end up turning bright red and Hughes and Ed almost died laughing when Elysia asked if Roy was scared of Hawkeye, who Elysia had thought was his boss. Even Gracia couldn't stop her laughter from escaping at Mustang's indignant spluttering.

"No, I'm her boss and I'm not scared of her," he told Elysia, who pulled the cutest disbelieving look Maes had ever seen.

"He's telling the truth, Elysia." Mustang and Hughes both looked equally surprised that Ed had vouched for the older alchemist. "He's absolutely terrified of her."

"Oh," Elysia said as she turned back to Mustang, who looked like he wasn't sure if setting Ed on fire would be a good idea or not. "Why are you terrified of Riza? She's nice," Elysia demanded to know. Mustang looked for help from her parents but neither of them offered any assistance and he refused to ask Ed for help.

Ed really wanted to laugh at his dilemma but didn't want to give the black-haired alchemist any ammunition to use his gloves. Nala and Ayala didn't worry about that as their laughter echoed in Ed's head while Mustang tried to stutter out an answer that helped him save face. Elysia didn't look convinced with his half-arsed response of 'I'm not. Fullmetal is just joking', especially when Ed gave her a wink when she looked at him to see if her uncle was telling the truth.

"Okay, Elysia. That's enough questions for tonight. It's bedtime now," Gracia said, heading over to Mustang so she could save him from her daughter. Elysia immediately pouted.

"I'm not tired, Mummy. I wanna stay up with daddy, Ed and Uncle Roy," she whined, which probably could've been more effective if she hadn't interrupted herself by yawning.

"Come on, Elysia. How about I read you two stories tonight?" Maes tried bribing his daughter. It didn't work and they could see she was starting to get upset. Mustang looked hilariously uncomfortable with being caught, almost literally, in the middle. Gracia and Maes were trying to coax Elysia into going to bed without making her upset but they weren't really getting anywhere. The little girl could be stubborn when she was tired. Maes finally gave Ed a 'help us' look as a last resort and the blonde sighed before coming to their aid. Leaving his couch, he crouched in front of Elysia and waited for her to look at him, ignoring the curious look from Mustang.

"Why don't you want to go to bed, El?" He asked, keeping his voice soft and calm.

"'Cuz I wanna stay up until Uncle Roy leaves so I can say goodnight," she sniffled, wiping her eyes. Ed looked at Hughes for an answer. In response, Hughes mimicked Ed, kneeling in front of his daughter.

"Uncle Roy is staying with us tonight, sweetie," he told her and both Elysia and Ed looked at him with disbelief, though Ed was more of a 'please tell me you're joking' look than the hopeful look Elysia had. Maes barely managed to keep a straight face. Ed hung his head in resignation but schooled his annoyance and looked back up with a soft smile just for Elysia.

"See? He's staying here the night. So how about you go to bed now so you'll wake up quicker?" She still didn't seem sold on the idea so he used another tactic. "How about this? If you go to bed right now, I promise that I'll make sure he stays here the entire night  _and_  I'll make scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast?" That did the trick. Elysia brightened considerably and nodded her head so enthusiastically, she resembled a bobble-head. Mustang visibly relaxed now that he no longer had a five-year-old about to throw a tantrum on his lap. With the crisis diverted, Elysia was led up to her bedroom by her parents after she'd given every person and Animal a hug goodnight. Ed had moved back to his spot on the couch, cushioned between Ayala and Nala like before.

"I didn't realise you were capable of being tactful," Mustang said casually and Ed rolled his eyes.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he pointed out but sighed. "That wasn't being tactful. That was just being a big brother." He glanced at Mustang out of the corner of his eye. "You do realise that I was serious? You have to stay here the night, whether you were gonna or not. I promised her and I don't break my promises." He glared at him warningly before getting himself comfortable again. Neither Ayala nor Nala were happy with the shuffling but they didn't do much more than huff in annoyance.

"Oh, really?" Mustang asked, a mix of amusement and annoyance in his voice. "And if I already have arrangements to stay somewhere else?" He asked, curiousity getting the better of him.

"Then you'd have to live with the knowledge that, not only did you break a little girl's heart, but you got your arse handed to you by your fifteen-year-old subordinate," he remarked casually. "I don't think your reputation could handle that." He smirked at the irked look on his commanding officer's face.

He waited a moment but Mustang seemed unable to come up with a good comeback before Ed snorted in amusement and hopped back off the couch, intending to use the time it'd take Maes to get through two stories to take a shower. He missed the concerned look that crossed Mustang's face when his breathing hitched with pain when he accidentally jostled his ribs reaching down for his sleepwear. He sent Ayala a quick assurance and headed straight for the shower.

* * *

When he re-joined Mustang and the Animals, he was somewhat pleased to see that he'd been right. Maes and Gracia hadn't managed to make it back down to the lounge room. Ignoring Mustang, he fell gracelessly back onto the couch and propped himself up against Ayala and put his toes underneath Nala before grabbing his book to get a few more pages read while they waited. Ed didn't more than two pages read before he heard the tell-tale footsteps of both Hughes' approaching and marked his page. Moments later, Gracia and Maes appeared and took their usual spots while Ed adjusted himself so he was sitting up as opposed to laying sprawled on the couch.

"Thank you for your help with Elysia, Ed." Gracia smiled gratefully at him and Ed waved off the thanks.

"Don't worry about it," he told her, giving her a half-smile which she returned. Maes clapped his hands together, effectively getting their attention.

"Right. I guess it's high time I showed you what almost got me killed," he proposed before actually getting to his feet and disappearing into his office. Ed wasn't the only sitting there, wondering if they were supposed to follow when Maes' reappearance answered that question for them. He carefully laid out a map of the entire country and a box of coloured pins. "Okay, this is what I found," he said and the three of them plus Nala and Ayala gathered around the coffee table. He carefully placed five pins through Riviere, Fisk, Cameron, South City and Wellsley before choosing four pins of a different colour and placing them in Pendleton, Liore, Ishval and Fotset. It hit Ed before it hit Mustang.

"No fucking way." Hughes nodded at his disbelief and used some string to finish what he was showing them. Ed swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "There's no fucking way. That can't be right. It's not possible." He shook his head vehemently and heard the sharp intake of breath that signified Mustang's brain reaching the conclusion Ed's had. Hughes placed a hand on his shoulder while Ayala pressed into his side.

"I don't understand. What is it?" Gracia asked, brows furrowed in confusion as she took in the two alchemists reactions.

"What Hughes has done is shown us the basic outline of an array. If he's right, this array would affect the entire country, should it ever be activated," Mustang answered her; voice low. "What I don't understand is what connection all of these cities have." His brow furrowed as he tried to figure it out.

"Like I promised Ed, I investigated every single report that mentioned anyone who had an ouroboros tattoo. Most of them weren't significant but these were. Each pin represents a town or civilisation that has suffered an event that resulted in massive bloodshed and fatalities," he said soberly and Ed spoke up for the first time.

"Why is Liore on that list? Al and I took care of that problem before it could even become a problem," Ed asked, voice not quite as strong as he would've liked it. Mustang and Hughes exchanged glances.

"A civil war broke out between the citizens only a few days after you left. Evidently, their priest was still able to retain some followers. We still haven't managed to restore peace yet," Hughes told him and Ed's face paled even more. He took a step back to recollect himself and Ayala immediately followed.

 _"I'm so sorry, Ed,"_  she said as she nuzzled his flesh hand. The softness of her fur helped ground him and he managed to pull himself together. He gave her a grateful pat on the head before rejoining the others.

"I'm fine," he lied before they could even ask. "There's a problem with this array. It's incomplete." He stabbed at the very top of the circle with his automail finger, directing their attention away from him. Mustang had a closer look at where Ed was pointing and was kinda ticked off to realise he'd completely missed that.

"He's right. They're gonna have to create an event that will cost people their lives somewhere here." He circled the large concave in their border, an area in Drachma that the military were fighting to claim. "The only place I can think of there is Fort Briggs." Ed and Ayala looked at each other for an answer but neither knew what Mustang was talking about.

"Oh, I almost hope you're right. The Ice Queen would be able to completely wipe out any threat that faced Fort Briggs," Hughes chuckled humourlessly.

"That may very well be what they're counting on," Mustang pointed out which sobered Hughes up fairly quickly. "If I were in charge of this array, I'd count on the Major General's famed ruthlessness to complete the final step. Which means," he sighed, "someone's going to have to travel to Fort Briggs and warn her." Ed still didn't understand what they were going on about and, judging by Gracia's sympathetic face, he was the only one in the dark.

"Who exactly are we talking about? And why do you look more scared of her than Miss Riza?" He asked, ignoring Mustang's scowl.

"Major General Olivier Armstrong, aka the Ice Queen. She is the older sister of Major Armstrong," Hughes told him, seeing the question about a possible relation on Ed's lips. "She's in charge of Fort Briggs, our first line of defence should the Drachmans decide to invade us. She is a woman that you hope you never cross. She has firm beliefs and anyone who doesn't meet her standards is met with a cold indifference until they either prove themselves or show their true colours. She isn't an alchemist like Alex but she's a deadly swordswoman. She will destroy anyone who poses a threat to herself, her country or the military without a second thought or moment's hesitation," Hughes explained and Ed felt a deep admiration and deeper fear of this woman. Ayala felt the same way. Anyone who could cause Mustang to pale so much at the mere thought of speaking to her had to be interesting, to say the least.

"Well, she sounds fun," he remarked and Hughes snorted.

"I still don't understand," Gracia piped up and Ed felt a stab of guilt. He'd forgotten she was still in the room. "What's this array supposed to do?" She asked, worry written in every feature. Ed and Mustang looked at each other before Mustang decided Ed could answer.

"Honestly?" Ed sighed, sounding thirty years older than he should've. "I don't know. Without the symbols or words, I couldn't tell you what the purpose of this array is for. But considering how much trouble they've gone to, killing all of those people, trying to kill Maes to hide it, it can't be anything good. Worst case scenario that I can think of right now? Judging by its size, the bloodshed and preparation gone into it, it could potentially kill everyone inside the circle." You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed his theory.

"Well, fuck." Ed's head snapped to look at Gracia in shock. He'd never heard her swear before and, judging by their faces, it was a rare occurrence for the two others to hear her swear. The words did sum up the whole thing fairly well.

"Is this everything you've discovered?" Mustang asked after another moment of silence.

"Yeah," Hughes nodded, "this is everything. There could be something else but my research time got cut by that woman. I could pick it back up again though," he said, voice turning thoughtful.

"No." Three pairs of eyes turned to Ed's, two shocked and one grateful. Ed's golden gaze hardened as he faced Hughes. "Don't you dare. You got lucky last time. This information almost cost you your life. Don't you dare put it back on the line for the possibility of more information. I can't have your death on my hands, I won't." He grew rigid as he realised what he'd just let slip. He dropped Hughes' gaze and refused to look any of them in the eye until two firm hands were placed on his shoulders, forcing him to look up and see who was touching him. Naturally, it was Hughes.

"You don't still blame yourself for what happened, do you? Because  _it wasn't your fault_ ," Hughes put emphasis on the last four words but he could see Ed wasn't buying it. "Ed, no one here blames you for what happened. You didn't force me to do that research, you didn't lead me to that park, you didn't pull the trigger. You saved my life. None of it was your fault."

"Yeah but if I hadn't gotten hurt, if that homunculous hadn't gone after me and I hadn't given you that information, you wouldn't have gone looking for answers," he pointed out, voice barely a whisper and well aware that they had an audience and his cheeks blushed with embarrassment. "None of that would've happened if I had just stayed in my hotel room that night," he admitted and Hughes felt his heart tighten painfully at the expression on the blonde's face.

"But you did and all of that did happen," he pointed out. "But I promise you that my getting hurt wasn't your fault. I didn't even listen to the Fuhrer when he ordered us to stay out of it. I know he's not human but even if he was, I wouldn't have listened. I would've have dug for those answers no matter who asked me not too. Short of tying me up or locking me in a room, you couldn't have stopped me. As for my injury, I already told you; I much prefer the injury I got to the injury you saved me from. So please stop blaming yourself?" He tried using puppy dog eyes on Ed and was rewarded with a slightly watery chuckle.

"You seriously can't pull off that look," he chuckled, a little wetly but nodded his head. "I'll try," he promised and Hughes grinned, knowing that was as good as he was gonna get. He wrapped Ed in a one-armed hug so his back was to Mustang, giving the young alchemist a quick chance to wipe any stray tears away.

"Right. I think we should call it a night. We can figure out what we should do tomorrow," Hughes decided and Ed internally groaned as he realised he still couldn't leave to go to Dublith. Hughes released Ed and immediately latched on to Mustang. "Come on, Roy. I'll get you some clothes you can sleep in." Not giving the older alchemist much of a choice, he dragged him to his and Gracia's bedroom. Nala decided not to follow. Gracia and Ed were the only humans left in the room and before Ed could say anything, Gracia had swept him into a hug. Ed returned it after a moment and no words were exchanged but they didn't need to be. Gracia just let the warm gesture speak for her.

"Good night, Ed," she said softly as she released him from the hug and Ed returned the sentiment with a smile. She left him to get himself ready for bed and she headed for her own, stopping just outside her door and giving Maes the time he needed to get Roy some clothes and the words of warning he was undoubtedly receiving from her husband. A few minutes later, Roy walked out of their room with some clothes in his hand and heading for the shower. They whispered good night to one another before she slipped into her room where her husband was waiting for her.

Mustang silently walked past the open living room, not even glancing in to see how Ed was doing despite his urge to do so. He hit the shower and after a few minutes of thoughts revolving around what Maes had shown them and concern for Ed, he dried off and got dressed. Leaving his uniform hanging so it didn't crinkle, he headed back to the lounge room where the Hughes' second couch-turned-bed was waiting for him. The light was still on when he entered but from what he could see, Edward was already asleep. Gracia or Maes had come back down while he was in the shower and left a pillow and some blankets and cleared away the map and pins. He got his bed organised before he switched off the lights and got himself comfortable.

Once he'd settled, Nala leapt gracefully from her spot next to Ed and joined her human. Hughes had warned him not to make fun of Ed for what had just happened but Mustang didn't need that warning as he had no intention to do so. All he wanted to do was get the blonde alone and find out what else the boy was hiding from them all. He'd never admit it out loud but he was worried about Ed and a little jealous of how easily Hughes had been able to not only deal with the situation but show Edward just how much he cared. He watched the boy's chest rise and fall evenly for a few moments before turning over and allowing himself to fall asleep.

* * *

Miraculously, Ed made it through the night without a major nightmare waking him up, like they had a couple times since his release from hospital. Ayala had managed to wake him before the nightmares managed to get him fully in their grasp, something he was wholly grateful for. Most nights he just had his usual bad dreams but last night he'd miraculously escaped any kind of dream. As usual, he was awoken by an excitable Elysia, though this morning her excitement seemed to be muffled somewhat. When he managed to blink away the last of the sleep, she held one finger to her lips and pointed back at the other couch. Ed's eyes followed the direction and spotted Mustang asleep on the aforementioned couch. Ed had never wanted access to a camera more than he did now. Ayala chuckled inside his head though he wasn't sure if she was amused by Mustang or him more.

"Okay, you know the routine. Get yourself dressed and meet me in the kitchen." Elysia nodded and scarpered off to do as she was told. Ed quickly and silently gathered his things so he could get ready in the bathroom. He had no clue if Mustang was a morning person but he certainly had no intentions of finding out. He'd just finished his braid when Ayala informed him that Elysia was eagerly waiting in the kitchen. Dumping his clothes back on top of his suitcase, he headed to join his eager cooking apprentice. "Okay, how about you grab what you want to drink out of the fridge and tell me what you'd like in your eggs and we'll get started?" Elysia grabbed some apple juice out and placed it on the dining table before coming back to the kitchen. Ed placed the eggs, cheese and bacon out already.

"Can I have some tomato, mushrooms and some barbeque sauce?" She asked, drawing out the 'and' as she thought of her third ingredient. Ed did as he was asked, mildly surprised out how tame today's menu was. He placed the newest items next to the ones he'd grabbed earlier and went about slicing and dicing everything he needed to, all the while chatting to Elysia about what he was doing and whether she'd had any interesting dreams the night before. He noticed she was starting to get fidgety so he racked his brain for something she could help to do.

"Do you think you could cook us some toast?" He asked pointing to the loaf of bread and Elysia nodded, grinning widely. She grabbed a chair from the dining room and stood next to the toaster, carefully placing a slice of bread into each slot before pushing the lever down to start them cooking. Ed watched her carefully out of the corner of his eyes while he cooked up the bacon and eggs. A small pop and cry of 'ouch' had him quickly focusing on Elysia, who currently had one of her fingers in her mouth. "You okay, El?"

"The toast burned me," she sulked, holding her finger out for Ed to inspect it. He humoured her and looked at the finger critically.

"You'll live." He smiled at her and she gave a smile back. He pulled the toast out and placed it on a plate. "Put some more on but let me know when they're done next time and I'll grab them out, okay?"

"Okay, big brother!" Ed's heart did that small squeeze it always did whenever he heard her saying that. Sometimes, she just sounded so much like Nina. Both girls were similar in age. Ed's smile wavered slightly as he remembered he'd never get to hear Nina call him 'big brother' again, except in his nightmares. He buried those feelings as far down as he could as he grabbed plates and cutlery out and set them on the counter. He turned off the stove tops and served himself, Elysia and Ayala up some breakfast. The second round of toast popped and Elysia called Ed over.

"Okay, one more lot and that should be enough for everyone," he said, giving her a smile and ruffling her hair. She giggled and put the last lot of bread in to be cooked. Ed put out their food on the table and poured them each a glass of apple juice before cleaning up the kitchen and turning on the kettle as they waited for familiar pop of the toaster.

Once the finished toast was plated, Ed, Elysia and Ayala made it into the kitchen and dug into their food. Not long after, they heard the sounds of Maes and Gracia heading towards them and Ed distinctly heard Nala thump as she leaped off the couch. The sound of a third person walking towards the dining room was soon heard and all three adults entered the dining room at the same time.

"Food's that way. Kettle's just been boiled," Ed said, pointing to the kitchen and a quick nod of thanks from Gracia was all he got as she and Maes headed to get some breakfast and coffee. Mustang looked at him strangely for a moment. "I didn't poison it," Ed scowled, stabbing an unfortunate piece of tomato. Mustang seemed to have realised he was staring and shook himself slightly before disappearing into the kitchen without a word.

"Are you okay, big brother?" Elysia's voice snapped him immediately out of his mood. Mustang always seemed to be able to put him in a sour mood and he'd momentarily forgotten that Elysia was there. He immediately flashed her his biggest smile.

"Of course I am," he assured her. "What do you think of this morning's scrambled eggs?" He asked, distracting her from the original topic. Her face lit up as she gave him an enthusiastic review.

"It's sooo yummy! Even the mushrooms tasted good! I don't really like mushrooms," she whispered the last part like it was trade secret.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. Even the mushrooms." He grinned at her and she graced him with a quick smile before quickly digging back into her food.

 _"I suppose you did alright,"_  Ayala graciously told him, smirk on her face and Ed gave a fake offended huff before grinning back and resumed eating his own breakfast.

The three adults finally decided to join them, each carrying two plates of food, placing one on the ground before they sat down to devour the plateful of food in front of them. There was no speaking as Elysia and Ed waited for Gracia and Maes to have drunk at least half of their coffee. It was an unspoken rule in the mornings. As soon as they had, Elysia was chattering away.

"I got the apple juice this morning  _and_  I made the toast, all by myself!" Elysia told them the moment they'd sat their half-drunk coffee down. She puffed her chest out with pride and Ed couldn't stop the grin from forming. Sometimes, Elysia just reminded him so much of him or Al when they were her age.

 _"I think you should contact Chester and make sure he and Al are still alive,"_  Ayala suggested.

Ed felt a small surge of guilt. He hadn't spoken to his brother or to Chester since they told him they arrived in Dublith unharmed. A big part of him knew it was because he was avoiding the message Teacher was sure to have asked Al or Chester to pass along. He'd felt small pains Chester suffered and the leopard had been quick to assure him it was just from the training they were getting. Ed had thought about contacting him last night when Maes had told finally told them what he'd discovered but the leopard was dead to the world. Teacher wasn't one to hold back her blows, after all.

"Yeah, you're right. Hopefully, he's okay. I know Al is because he can't get physically hurt but I've felt Chester's pain. So far, he hasn't required healing but he's still gaining new injuries every day. I hope Teacher realises Al can't heal him soon or I'm gonna be forced to do distance healing with him." Ayala felt the same level of enthusiasm as Ed did at that prospect. They'd discussed this at length. If Ed was forced to heal Chester at a great distance, it would knock Ed out. Chester's energy store was only so big and the greater the distance; the more energy required. It was a big part of the reason Ed didn't like being separated from his brother and Chester. The bigger part was simply because he didn't like not having his only living family member nearby so he could keep an eye on him.

 _"Maybe you should remind Chester that Al needs to tell your teacher that. She could just assume that he's not being healed because the injuries aren't bad."_  Ayala had a point. Most people didn't heal their Animal unless their injury was major or life-threatening. Ed resolved to do just that.

"An excellent breakfast, as always, Edward," Maes complimented him as he relaxed slightly into his chair and the praise reminded Ed that he and Ayala were not alone in the room.

"Thanks but Elysia did all the hard parts. She picked out the ingredients and made the toast," he told him and Elysia squirmed with pride at the praise.

"Well, you two make a great team," Maes conceded, knowing Ed was still uncomfortable with praise related to anything that wasn't fighting or alchemy.

"Yeah, we do," Ed and Elysia fist bumped and the little girl giggled in delight.

"I wasn't aware you knew how to cook." Ed's eyes flicked to Mustang and narrowed slightly.

"Like I said, there's a lot you don't know about me," he reminded the black-haired alchemist.

"Evidently," came the smooth response. Elysia decided to cut in with her opinion.

"Big brother Ed is one of the bestest cooks in the whole, entire world! He makes lots and lots of yummy things! He can make s'ghetti and pork chops and pizza and chicken nuggets and eggs and even more yummy stuff! He's just as good as mummy is!" Elysia told Mustang in a no-nonsense tone and Ed almost laughed at the fact that his boss was getting reprimanded by a five-year-old. If the twinkle in their eyes meant anything, Maes and Gracia were just as amused.

 _"Something tells me she'll miss your food more than you when we leave,"_  Ayala joked and Ed snorted. Ayala probably wasn't wrong. Ed suddenly felt an Animal trying to connect to him and, once he realised exactly who, he let them.

"Hey, Soren, what's up?" He asked, forgetting to do so telepathically. He immediately saw Mustang's face pale minutely and Ed knew this would be good.

 _"Hey, Ed. Long time, no chat. Quick question but is Colonel Mustang still with you and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes?"_  The barn owl asked and Ed's grin grew wider.

"Yup. He's still here." Mustang shot him a death glare and Ed ignored him.

 _"Could you tell him that he promised Riza he would help with unpacking the office this morning? And Riza would like to know if you'd be willing to give up your morning to help?"_  Soren asked and Ed knew there was no way in hell he'd give up the chance to see Hawkeye yell at Mustang.

"Of course. Please let Miss Riza know we'll be in soon," he told him and Soren thanked him before disconnecting the connection. Ed's smile was slightly evil when he locked eyes with Mustang. "Looks like you promised to go into the office today and help unpack. Miss Riza was worried you'd forgotten and asked Soren to contact me." Mustang groaned and Hughes looked thoroughly amused at his best friends predicament.

"Wait," Mustang said slowly as something occurred to him, "why did you say 'we'll be in soon'?" He asked, kinda hoping he was wrong.

"Well, Miss Riza asked if I'd mind giving you guys a hand. As a member of your team, it'd be rude of me to say no," Ed informed him like it was the most obvious answer in the world. Mustang didn't buy it for a second. "Also, I get the feeling she's really ticked off and I'm not missing that for the world." That Mustang could believe. He looked at his lioness for some sympathy but was met with none. If Nala wasn't going to be sympathetic, he knew the two adults weren't gonna be either. "Take your time getting ready. The longer you keep her waiting, the more amusing it will be for me." Mustang scowled at him but the jab had the intended effect. Mustang and Nala left the table.

"Are you gonna come back this afternoon?" Elysia asked, a little uncertain.

"You bet, kiddo." Ed ruffled her hair before gathering plates before Gracia could try.

"Hey, you leave those to me. I suggest you make sure you're ready to leave as soon as Roy's done," Gracia told him as she took the dirty dishes out of his hands and he relinquished them easily, knowing he wouldn't win this fight.

"I'll go in with you. I was planning on going in this morning anyway. I've got some paperwork I need to finish up on," Hughes said, stretching as he stood and wincing as his bullet wound pulled. "I'll meet you out the front," he told Ed before heading to his bedroom to get changed.

"Do you think he actually has paperwork or is he going to make sure we don't kill each other on the way to the office?" Ed asked Gracia, who pursed her lips in mock thought.

"Probably both." Ed nodded in agreement and they both grinned at each other before Ed headed for the lounge room. He wasn't surprised to see Nala there.

"Morning, Nala," Ed greeted the lioness as he dug for his red jacket. He hadn't needed it during his stay with the Hughes' so it was buried under all of his other clothing.

 _"Morning, Ed. Thanks for breakfast,"_  Nala said as she joined him and Ayala in the search for his jacket.  _"You really need to sort your suitcase out,"_  she helpfully pointed as she and Ayala watched him dig through. Seriously, how hard is it to find the only red piece of clothing he owned? He gave a small shout of victory as he finally managed to find it.

"Yeah I know but not right now." He grinned at the lioness, who rolled her eyes in tandem with Ayala. Ed ignored them both as he shrugged his jacket on and hunted down his boots, finding them at the front door. His entourage followed him and waited patiently as he put his boots on. "You two realise that even I can't get in trouble just by putting my shoes on, right?" He asked jokingly and both Animals huffed in amusement.

 _"I wouldn't put it past you,"_  Ayala said and Nala nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for your votes of confidence," Ed deadpanned and scowled when their response was simply to laugh at him. "Rude," he muttered.

 _"You'll live,"_  Nala assured him and Ed heard the sass behind the words. He stuck his tongue out at the lioness.  _"Real mature,"_  she told him and he shrugged a shoulder and smirked at her, causing her to roll her eyes yet again at him. Hughes was the first of the two men to join him at the front door, Leo following close behind. Hughes seemed surprised at the lack of Mustang waiting at the front door.

"Where's Roy?" Ed shrugged but tilted his head slightly as though listening to something Maes couldn't hear. A second later, Maes realised that's exactly what was going on.

"He's still getting ready, apparently," Ed answered and Nala nodded.

"You know, I just realised how handy it is that you can talk to any Animal. I wish I could get you to transfer to Investigations," Maes mused and Ed let out a snort of amusement.

"Wait, you mean that you've just  _now_  realised the upside of that particular talent because I can tell you where Mustang is? I would've thought that particular realisation would've occurred after the last time Leo contacted me." Ed laughed slightly as Hughes grinned a little sheepishly.

"Haven't seen you in that jacket for a while," Maes told him, not so subtly changing the subject, and Ed smirked but didn't comment.

Gracia joined them at the front door and Elysia was right behind her before demanding her father pick her up, something he did happily. Mustang decided to finally grace them with his presence just as Elysia decided she needed a hug from her big brother and Hughes was handing her over with a pout while Gracia gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm. Ed was the first to spot him joining them.

"Took you long enough," he commented though it didn't have as much bite in it as it would've had had Elysia not been in the room.

Mustang didn't bother with a response, just an impatient gesture for them to get going. Maes nudged Ed so the teen wouldn't comment on the fact that they were waiting for Mustang. Only after Elysia had wrangled a promise out Ed and Mustang that they'd both be back for dinner were the three men and their Animals allowed to leave.

Mustang and Hughes were talking between themselves, keeping their voices low enough so Ed couldn't overhear them even if he wanted to listen to them. He was more focused on their surroundings anyway. "Anything?" He asked Ayala telepathically and she closed her eyes in concentration for a moment.

 _"No, there's nothing. I can't sense any homunculous nearby. Not even a faint scent,"_  she told him and he sighed in relief. If Ayala couldn't even pick up lingering scents of them nearby than that meant they were keeping their distance. Ed figured it wouldn't take them long to figure out what he'd done to Palm Tree and realise he posed more of a danger than he'd let on and were now probably treating him with more caution.

"That's good. Let me know if that changes. I know you'll pick up on the Fuhrer once we're closer to the Command Centre but if you pick on anyone else, you need to let me know, okay?" He told her and she nodded her compliance.

Ed didn't really talk much on the walk, only opening his mouth to answer any questions or comment on something. He didn't have a great feeling about today. And the way Ayala was acting made him think she was getting the same feeling. Neither Hughes nor Mustang seemed to have outwardly noticed anything different with them but both were very adept at hiding their nerves from everyone except maybe Al and Chester.

* * *

As they got closer to Central, Ed and Ayala paid more attention to where they were going rather than whether a homunculous was nearby or not so that they could actually tell the way to the place they'd have to hand reports into. Surprisingly, they weren't too far from where Hughes' allocated office was. Ed had a feeling that the close proximity would do Hughes more good than it would Mustang.

As they entered the new office, Ed was struck by how remarkably similar it was to the old office they had in East City. There was the outer office, where the team would do their work, and the inner office would be where Mustang would be avoiding doing his work. There were boxes everywhere and empty shelves lined the walls, waiting to be filled with folders and books. He had the chance to see that only Hawkeye, Falman, Soren, Rachel and, surprisingly, Mark were in the office when he was suddenly found himself under attack before realising it was only Havoc giving him a hug.

"What the-" was all he got out before Havoc was talking over the top of him as they both stumbled slightly as Havoc's momentum almost sent both of them tumbling to the ground.

"Good to see you're still alive, Chief!" He exclaimed, ignoring Ed's protests and elbows to Havoc's side. Ayala was absolutely no help, too busy laughing at her human's dilemma. He scowled at her before finally managing to dig his automail elbow into Havoc painfully enough to make the older blonde man get off of him.

"Yeah, it takes more than a building collapsing on top of me to take me out," Ed grumbled as he placed a hand over his jostled ribs and glared at the man who had just been draped over his shoulders.

"It's good to see you out of hospital, Ed," Hawkeye spoke from across the room, pausing in her unpacking to give him a soft smile. "And thank you for agreeing to help with the unpacking."

"Nah, it was no problems," he dismissed her thanks with a grin.

"It's good to see you, Ed. It's been too long since we've seen you," Falman said from where he stood, behind the new desk.

"Yeah well it turns out little brothers and certain wolves don't like it if you decide to leave the hospital before the doctors let you. They completely overreacted," Ed informed them nonchalantly.

"You almost bled out, broke your automail and ribs. You just have a severe problem of downplaying your injuries," Mustang told him as he headed for his inner office to start in there. Hawkeye followed him and, to the disappointment of the four others, shut the door behind her.

"Aw, I wanted to hear him get ripped a new one," Ed pouted and both Hughes and Havoc laughed. Falman just looked stony faced as always but Ed saw the glint of humour in his eyes. He sighed before turning to the two other members of Mustang's team. "Alright, what do you want a hand with?" He asked.

"Well, that's my cue to leave. Have fun, guys." Hughes placed a hand on Ed's shoulder, causing the young alchemist to look up at him. "I'll meet you back here when I'm done with my work." Ed nodded and Maes squeezed his shoulder before leaving with a wave and a quick grin, Leo following him out with a last-minute goodbye to Ed before the door shut behind them.

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" Ed asked again now that there shouldn't be any more interruptions. Mustang and Hawkeye were still behind the closed inner office door and both Nala and Soren were stuck in the outer office with the rest of them.

"How about you grab a box and start unpacking it? If you unpack folders, they get sorted by date and books get sorted by subject and author. Any stationary, just leave on the desk for us to sort out what belongs to who," Falman instructed as he and Havoc decided to get back to work. Ed nodded and he, Ayala and Nala all chose a box each. Nala and Ayala couldn't do much except carefully pick up books or folders in their jaws and hold them up for Ed to take and place on the shelf in front of him. It didn't take long for the three of them to sort through the three boxes they'd nabbed and they were just starting on their second lot when the inner office door opened and Nala looked up at the slight noise.

 _"I better go make sure he's still in one piece,"_  Nala said as Hawkeye emerged and waited patiently at the door, looking at the lioness expectantly.

"No worries. Thanks for your help," Ed called as Nala trotted away.

 _"You're welcome,"_  she called back as she slunk through the opening and Ed turned back to unpacking with Ayala while Hawkeye headed over to where Soren had sat perched, overlooking their work.

Though she didn't say anything, the two older men both picked up their pace a little and Ed smirked a little as he and Ayala slipped back into their routine, amended slightly for the loss of Nala. Rachel and Mark milled around everyone, too small or lacking hands or jaws to help with the unpacking, but more than willing to share stories with Ed and Ayala about things that had happened while they were away. Hawkeye periodically paused in her work to check on the three others work and, unlike an ordinary workday, Hawkeye didn't reprimand them for chatting so long as they were still unpacking. She even joined in on the conversations or asked Ed questions about what he'd been up to. It was a really nice, non-stressful yet productive day, something both Ed and Ayala realised they needed after spending so much time with Elysia and doing nothing more than reading or participating in whatever games she allowed Ed to join in on.

* * *

The time seemed to pass rather quickly for Ed. Mustang stuck his head out of his office door a couple of times to see if anyone was doing a coffee run and stuck his head back in after a warning glare from Hawkeye. Ed heard Nala chuckle both times and assumed Mustang was complaining about the unfairness of his situation, even though he had no one to blame but himself. The bad feeling Ed and Ayala had been sensing that morning hadn't disappeared, only grown steadily stronger but they didn't think much of it. After all, what could happen to them while they were inside Mustang's office with the majority of his team keeping them company?

That question was answered only a couple of hours later. Ed had claimed he was about to pass out from starvation and Havoc had taken pity on him, giving him instructions on how to get to the mess hall and warnings to stick with the sandwiches. He was fully prepared, if not a little too enthusiastic, about accompanying Ed and Ayala to the mess but Hawkeye informed Havoc he wasn't getting out of unpacking that easily. When he tried to claim he was hungry as well, Hawkeye reminded him that he'd only gone out an hour ago with Falman to grab themselves some lunch.

"Sorry, Havoc. You heard the boss," Ed said as he shrugged on his jacket and headed for the door where Ayala was eagerly waiting. "Do you want anything, Miss Riza?" He asked, turning back slightly to look at the woman.

"Thank you, Edward, but I'm okay. I'll grab myself later," she assured him with a smile. He nodded and shut the door behind him. Ayala was practically vibrating with the need to actually go out and run around in the time they had before they went back. Once he was a few metres away from the doorway, Ayala took off, leaving Ed to blink at the spot she'd just been occupying before he heard her through their bond.

 _"Come on, slow poke! Don't tell me you're out of shape after only a month?"_  He grinned at her taunt before following her example and he raced after his wolf in a slightly unfair game of tag. Ayala took pity on him by only letting herself have a slight lead in the race. They did end up getting lost when one of them took a wrong turn a couple of times and had to double back to get back on the right track.

They were having as much fun as they possibly could on the base when something grabbed Ed by his flesh arm before Ayala could warn him and swung him into an alleyway between two of the buildings on base. His eyes flew open in pain and surprise as his back slammed up against the brick wall, forcing a yelp out of him as his lungs emptied of air. The next thing he registered was a golden blur launching past his face and crashing into whoever had thrown Ed into the wall. The only thing he could say for certain about the person was that they were definitely wearing a military uniform. Ed felt the pressure he hadn't noticed on his throat disappear as the offender was unceremoniously introduced to the ground.

Ayala rolled as she landed but was immediately back in front of Ed, growling at the man who was picking himself back up. Ed himself had recovered fairly quickly from his attack and was watching the military officer right himself. Ayala was the first to recognise him and her growling turned into full-on feral snarling as the man straightened to his full height and turned to face his would-be victim and thoroughly pissed off Animal. Ed's golden eyes flicked up as he noticed a large, black shape circling above the alleyway.

"It's good to see you again, Major Elric." Ed's eyes snapped back down to the person in front of him and Ayala. His head still throbbed from where it connected with the brick wall and he was certain he could already feel the tell-tale warm trickle of blood making its way down the back of his head. It took him a second to place who his attacker was, simply because he hadn't seen the man since he joined the military and had truthfully been trying to forget they'd even met.

"Wish I could say the same, Lieutenant-Colonel Archer," Ed growled out as he and Archer locked eyes. Ayala's hackles rose as Archer took a step closer towards Ed. He paused in his approach and watched the wolf for a moment before he stopped coming closer, heeding the threat promised by Ayala's teeth. "What do you want, Archer?" Archer studied him for a moment.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, tilting his head like he couldn't believe Ed hadn't figured this out yet.

"Humour me," Ed snapped, not really in the mood for this kinda crap. Funny how a blow to the head does that to you. Archer gave him what Ed thought was supposed to be a winning smile but all it did was make him look even more like a creep than he already did.

"I'd like to offer you the opportunity to work under me."  _Uh, what the fuck?_  Ed's jaw dropped and Ayala's snarl decreased slightly in shock but didn't let up completely. Was this guy serious?

"Excuse me?" Ed managed to stutter out in disbelief. Archer splayed his arms out like he was extending an invitation.

"I'd like to offer you a spot on my team," he repeated. "I've heard how Mustang treats you worse than his other subordinates. You're an amazing asset to the military and the fact that you haven't been promoted in the two years you've been enlisted isn't your fault, it's Mustang's. I can offer you a much more respectable position, more money, promotions and less dangerous missions. I'm sure your brother, not to mention your wolf here, would appreciate you not getting injured so much. Really, it's irresponsible of Mustang to send a person as young as yourself on missions as dangerous as the ones you've been on," Archer simpered and Ed wanted to throw up at the sound.

Though he wasn't one to back away from a fight, he had a nasty feeling about this fight and a quick check through their bond showed that Ayala felt the same way and they both started backing away slowly. Ayala got the sense that Archer may be dangerous but he was far more unstable and that was far more concerning to the wolf.

"Are you legitimately insane? Why the ever-living fuck would I join you?" Ed asked, honestly astounded that that had been what came out Archer's mouth. "Mustang may be an arsehole but he's never laid a hand on me. Did you really think I'd accept that offer after you slammed me into a wall?" Archer's eye was starting to twitch in annoyance but his face kept that grin in place as Ed kept talking. "As for your offers: I don't give two fucks about promotions, I'm earning more money now than I know what to do with, the missions I go on are my choice and I have more respect in my pinkie right now than I'd ever get working under you. Even if you hadn't attacked me, my answer would still be no," Ed told him shortly and Ed could see the smile slip from Archer's face as his features screwed into something ugly. Ayala and Ed backed away a little more and Archer's vulture swooped into land on a nearby dumpster. Archer looked like he was struggling to school his facial expressions into something less deranged.

"I'll only ask one more time before this becomes... less pleasant." Archer's voice had certainly lost any lingering tones of inviting.

"I'll save you the trouble," Ed interrupted as Archer went to extent his offer one more time. "No." This time, Archer lost any remaining pretence of being civil.

"Then I'll just have to make you. Trust me," the tone of his voice had Ed doing anything but, "I can be very persuasive." Archer walked towards them and Ed created his usual weapon, his automail blade. Ayala moved so she was next to Ed instead of directly in front of him and Archer's Animal, Drew, raised his wings in preparation of taking off.

"Bring it on," Ed said as he and Ayala took up their typical fighting stances, waiting for Archer and Drew to make their move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would absolutely love to know what you guys thought to this latest chapter! Thank you to everyone who has left a comment so far! I really do appreciate them all! Just a reminder but this story will resume its original posting schedule of one chapter a week starting from today


	22. Chapter 22

The thought to contact Nala or any other Animal nearby to help had crossed Ed's mind but was completely wiped away when Archer took his first swing at him. He didn't know where it came from but the glint of metal was the only hint he had before he bent backwards instinctively to avoid the knife that had suddenly appeared in Archer's hand. Ayala couldn't help him, having been forced away from him by Drew, who was working her back using his massive talons and deadly beak. To Ed's dismay, Archer was proving to be well trained with a knife and Ed was certainly hard-pressed defending himself against Archer's attacks. Ayala was finding herself on the defensive as much as Ed was and both of them knew they needed to get onto the offensive as quickly as possible. While Ayala was in full health, Ed was still healing from his fight with Palm Tree and he now had a new head injury to add to it.

The tide seemed to have turned for a moment there when Ayala had managed to pin Drew to the ground by his wings. She'd caused the vulture enough pain for it to affect Archer, forcing the deranged man to step back in pain and letting Ed launch his own attack. However, their moment was snatched away when Drew managed to dig his talons into Ayala's chest just before her teeth closed on his neck. The large talons tore open her chest where he desperately attacked whatever flesh he managed to hit and caused her to scream in pain and scrabble away from him. The pain Ayala felt radiated through Ed and the jab with his automail knife missed its mark as his chest burned and he barely managed to block Archer's swipe, his blade glancing off of his bared automail arm. He'd shed both of his jackets once they became more of a hindrance than anything else.

"How bad?" Ed asked as he was forced to continually defend himself. He couldn't see his wolf anymore and that sent a spike of worry through him. He'd been forced to watch as Drew beat her slowly but surely away from him until she disappeared from the alleyway completely. It seemed Archer and Drew had succeeded in separating the two of them and Ed loathed the fact they'd managed to successfully pull off part of their plan.

 _"It hurts like you wouldn't believe but I'll be alright for a while. We need to wrap this up quickly though,"_  Ayala told him and Ed had to agree. He'd so far suffered only minor injuries but he wasn't willing to let it draw out any longer than he had to. With Ayala as hurt as she was, Edward was not willing to leave her without medical attention. Snarling, he shoved Archer backwards, causing the man to stumble back into the brick wall and buy himself a few seconds to help Ayala.

"Ayala, sight!" He felt her comply and suddenly his vision was filled with an angry vulture who was shaking its head with sympathy pain. "Pin him just like before!" Ed called, aware that Archer would be recovered any second now. Ayala knew what he wanted to do and knew that time was of the essence. Ed felt his stomach roll a little as his vision showed him running forward but his body didn't physically move.

As soon as Ayala had Drew pinned, making sure the vulture was belly down this time and although Ed almost felt sympathy for how much his wings had to hurt, he didn't hesitate in making his move. Ed dropped to the ground as Ayala moved a paw off one wing so it was touching the ground next to the vulture's head and Ed slammed a hand to the ground. The circle for his array now complete, Ed watched as the ground next to Ayala's paw crackled with blue energy before he manipulated the ground to rise and curve around Drew's neck, fixing itself seamlessly to the ground on the other side. Ed had successfully trapped Drew. "End sight!" Ed called and his vision was snapped back to his body in time for the kick Archer had aimed at him to connect and send him sprawling back. His back slammed to the ground and he saw stars when his newest head injury was aggravated.

"How dare you?!" Archer screeched, spit flying as he stormed towards Ed. Ed scrambled to his feet as Ayala rounded the corner and got to her human's side. Archer's face was tomato-red with rage. "You'll pay for what you did to Drew!" Ed was about to give a snarky reply when he felt a faint pain on his hip and he gasped incredulously. This could not be happening right now. There was no way his luck was that bad that he and Ayala  _and_  Chester and Al were currently fighting an enemy  _at the same time_  while hours apart.

"Please tell me Teacher is the one kicking your arse," Ed shamelessly begged Chester as he and Ayala fought with Archer. Apparently, trapping his Animal by his neck really pissed him off because he came at them with everything he had. Ed and Ayala were hard-pressed beating him back.

 _"Sorry, Ed."_  Chester's voice echoed in his head and Edward groaned.  _"There's a homunculous in Dublith and he's a little too interested in Al. Specifically, how he bound his soul to the armour,"_  Chester told him quickly and Ed's breathing hitched slightly. Archer came at him and Ed lost the last of his cool. He needed to help his brother and Archer was preventing him from doing that. So, he punched Archer in the throat with his flesh hand. After all, he didn't want to kill the man, only force him to stop distracting Ed from his brother and his leopard. The effect was immediate and Ed and Ayala watched as Archer spluttered as he tried to draw a breath and collapsed to his knees, his fingers clawing at his throat.

"Oh, please. I didn't hit you that hard. You'll start breathing again soon," Ed snapped impatiently as he clapped his hands and trapped Archer in much the same way as he had Drew. The only difference was he placed the restraints on Archer's wrists instead of around his neck. Now that his first distraction was dealt with, he turned his attention to Alphonse and Chester. "Chester, sight!" Like Ayala, Chester complied and Ed found himself looking at three people and Alphonse as Chester did a quick look around the room for Ed's benefit. They seemed to be in a basement or something similar and Al was just sitting up against the wall behind Chester. Sensing his question, Chester answered before he even asked.

 _"The homunculous,"_  Chester and Ed's vision focused on one of the spiky haired, beak nosed man and Ed assumed this one was the homunculous,  _"had one of his minions climb inside Al and control his movements."_  Ed balled his fists in anger. What he wouldn't give to be in that room with his brother and Chester.

"How?" He ground out and Ayala looked at him in concern. He sensed the concern and made a reassuring gesture in her general direction. Chester was still standing guard, preventing the two men and homunculous from getting near Alphonse.

 _"I don't know for sure but I think these humans are chimeras. They remind me of Nina,"_  Chester told him and Ed couldn't stop the pang of guilt.  _"I'm pretty sure these ones are combined with their Animals, though. The one inside of Al has been transmuted with a snake. I think these two have been combined with a cow or ox and a dog."_  Ed felt bile crawl up his throat and he was glad Ayala couldn't hear this conversation.

"Okay." Ed took a deep breath. He needed to get his brother out of this before the situation changed from a stand off to a full-on fight. So far, none of them seemed to have noticed Chester was visually linked with someone. "We need to start by getting that person out of Al. Do you think you could get Al's chest plate off and bite the person without killing them or getting blood on Al's seal?"

 _"I think so. I won't be able to get that chest plate off without damaging it,"_  Chester told him but Ed shook his head.

"Don't worry about that. Al can mend it with alchemy later," Ed said. "Just get it off and disable that person before the others have a chance to attack. Al can get them out of his armour and join the fight." Ed told him. "There are straps that connect the plate to the rest of the armour. Get through them and you should be able to pull it off." Chester nodded and stunned the people in the room by going for his human.

Al gave a surprised yelp since Chester hadn't told him the plan. He'd scratched through the leather strips like they were butter and got the chest plate off before anyone could react. Ed saw the woman's slack-jawed expression just before Chester's jaws closed around her throat, carefully aimed to miss the major arteries and trachea so she wouldn't bleed out or suffocate. Her natural instinct to grab her throat to try and stop the blood gushing from the wound gave Al the chance to take back control of his limbs.

The bigger of the chimeras roared in rage and kicked Chester in the gut, literally sending the big cat flying and slamming into the wall. Ed's entire torso groaned with pain and his breath came in pained huffs for a few moments as Chester picked himself up. Al was able to get the injured woman out of his armour and get himself up in time to engage the chimera who attacked Chester. Ed felt every single ache Chester did as the leopard shook himself off and moved to help his human.

Since their vision was still linked, Ed was able to help Chester with the fight by giving the leopard warnings and ideas, which he found irritating until Ed saved him from a blow that surely would've resulted in a broken bone. Though he hadn't told him, Chester knew that Ed was aware of the fact that something had happened to him when he was kicked into the wall. He didn't feel right but he refused to stop fighting. Ed wasn't stupid enough to ask him to, he just resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to distance heal the leopard.

Alphonse was fighting the homunculous, who was somehow turning his skin into some sort shield since Al's blows weren't resulting in any injuries, while Chester was doing his best fighting the two chimeras. The third one, the woman, was being tended to by a newcomer, a small man who looked vaguely like a lizard and Ed shuddered as he remembered what Chester had said about how they were created. That was something he was not going to think about right now. Chester's movements were getting sluggish and Al was finally noticing something wasn't right. A loud noise sounded and Chester wasn't the only one who paused in their fight to see who the newcomer was. Ed had to actually remind himself that he wasn't physically there as Teacher and Koda strode into the room.

"Sorry to barge in like this." Teacher dipped her head towards the homunculous before turning to Al and Chester. "DO YOU TWO THINK IT'S FUNNY TO LEAVE THE BROOM OUT?! I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" Al and Chester both jumped and hung their heads.

"We're sorry!" Al cried. Ed startled as Chester's vision suddenly blurred and he cried out in pain alongside the leopard as he collapsed.

"Alphonse, get Chester out of here. I'll deal with this," Teacher ordered, a rare show of concern that Al didn't bother questioning. He scooped Chester up, causing the leopard and Ed to groan in pain and headed for the same door Teacher had gone through.

"Teacher, he's a homunculous," Alphonse warned and Teacher shot him a glare.

"You think I don't know that?!" She thundered and Al squeaked out an apology before he disappeared with Chester.

"End sight," Ed said and Chester willingly let the connection drop. Ed found himself blinking rapidly as he leant up against the now-familiar alleyway. Ayala was there and Archer was limp against his restraints though Ed could see he was breathing.

 _"Are you okay? Is Chester? Al?"_  Ayala demanded as she looked him over for a new injury, even though she knew he wasn't actually hurt.

"I'm good and so is Al. Chester is hurt. I'm gonna heal you then him," Ed told her. "I need you to contact Nala and tell her what happened while I do this."

 _"If you heal Chester from this distance, you'll lose consciousness!"_  Ayala argued. There was even the risk of serious injury. If a human used more Animal energy than what was available, the human could end up in a coma or worse and the Animal would die.

"I'm pretty sure I'll only be out for a few hours, if that. His injury is bad but it's also an easy fix." At least, that's what he hoped. "You ready?" He asked, not giving Ayala the chance to argue anymore. She growled her protests but nodded. He clapped and dug for her energy. "Heal!" The green glow lit up the alleyway and Ayala squirmed as her chest wounds knitted themselves together. Sensing no other injuries, Ed stopped the healing shortly after it began.

 _"Are you okay?"_  Ayala asked before he could start healing Chester. She couldn't help it.

"Yup. Please tell Nala what happened," Ed reminded her and she nodded a little sullenly. "Chester? I'm gonna heal you now. Tell Al to put you down, okay?" He felt the leopard receive the message and pass it along. He forced himself to wait until Chester told him it was okay. It took a little longer than he expected and he was starting to worry.

 _"Al says you better not die healing me or he'll be so mad,"_  Chester told him, a little weaker than Ed was comfortable with but he managed to chuckle.

"Tell him I'll be fine. You ready?" Ed asked as he prepared himself for what he was about to do. Honestly, this could be one of the riskiest decisions he'd made and that was saying something. Chester gave him the okay and Ed took another deep breath to calm himself before he reached for his and Chester's connection.

Once he felt it, he dug for Chester's energy like he'd just done for Ayala and started the flow. He had to maintain precise control over the flow of the energy. Since he was having to heal from such a great distance and heal an injury that could be massive, he needed to be able to stop the flow the second Chester was no longer in danger of dying so that he didn't exert himself more than necessary. Once he felt completely ready, he opened his eyes and activated the healing energy. "Heal!" He called out for the second time today and felt the energy leave him and flow to Chester. He mentally apologised when the healing began because it was so slow. He could feel the energy draining at a drastic rate and, for the first time since he started, he was worried the energy wouldn't be enough to completely heal Chester. That fear only increased when black spots overtook his vision before it blackened completely.

* * *

Ayala had given Nala the short version of what had happened and was assured by the lioness that they were on their way. Once she received a response, Ayala shut off all communication with anyone and focused on monitoring Ed. She could sense Chester's energy and she could sense the rate the energy was disappearing and she was worried, to say the least. The energy level kept shrinking and the effect it was having on Edward was becoming more and more pronounced. At first, his forehead was covered in sweat then he became unsteady on his feet, swaying slightly where he stood. His breath started becoming heavy pants and his face screwed up in pain before he let out a sudden gasp and Ayala sensed the energy being shut off.

From what she could sense, Chester had maybe another few minutes' worth of healing energy left and she relaxed tremendously. Ed didn't run out of the leopard's energy so he should recover after a lot of sleep. She felt a sudden shift in Ed and watched in horror as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed. She barely managed to get herself under him so his head didn't hit the unforgiving ground. His weight hit her and forced her to the ground but she didn't care. She repositioned herself so Ed was laying on her like he would were they simply getting in some sleep at the library or something. She focused on how Ed was breathing while keeping her eyes and ears open for the Colonel or in case Archer or Drew managed to escape.

* * *

Mustang hadn't noticed Ed had even left the office until he heard his Lieutenants talking about him in worried voices. Evidently, the blonde had left nearly an hour ago to get himself some lunch and they were concerned because he should have been back by now. Mustang huffed in annoyance. If he had gone to get lunch and was taking too long to get back, Hawkeye would be accusing him of trying to avoid his work. He was finishing up with organising his desk when Nala suddenly shot up, scaring the crap out of Mustang, though he would deny that until his dying breath.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked but Nala ignored him for a few moments, obviously listening to something only she could hear. The next he felt was panic coming from her as she pulled herself up.

 _"Ed's been attacked by a soldier on base!"_  She cried and Mustang swore. Of course Edward could find trouble in the middle of Central Command. He followed his lioness out of the office as she passed on the message from Ayala and the three members of his team spun to face him. Hawkeye had opened her mouth, whether to reprimand or question him Mustang wasn't sure, but he stopped her before she could.

"It appears Fullmetal has managed to get himself attacked by a member of the military. Ayala didn't pass along the name but she mentioned something about Chester and I'm not sure what happened. Ayala was apparently not interested in giving us details. They're halfway between here and the mess." He'd barely gotten those words out when Falman and Havoc disappeared out of the door, Nala in the lead.

Without any words, he and Hawkeye followed them quickly, moving fast but not fast enough to alarm anyone who happened to see them. They followed the barely familiar path but were all forced to a sudden stop by Havoc. Mustang moved so he was standing next to his Second Lieutenant to ask what his problem was when he saw the unusual addition to the hallway; a vulture who was struggling weakly against the thick stone clamp holding its neck to the ground. The more disturbing thing was the drying blood splattered all over the back of the bird and trailed away from it, heading further down the corridor. Mustang and Nala let out a simultaneous growl as they realised who they were looking at. "That's Archer's Animal. We need to find Fullmetal, now."

It didn't take them long to find their missing team member and his Animal. Surprisingly, they also found Archer, right where Ed had trapped him. Mustang allowed his smirk to crawl onto his face as soon as he saw Archer. The restraints Ed had alchemised on him forced him to stay kneeling with his hands at his throat. Right now, the other man was not conscious, something Mustang was kind of annoyed with. Movement in front of and to his left drew his attention to his fallen subordinate. Ayala's fur was bloodied on her chest and down the front of her legs, explaining the blood trail, and Edward was sprawled on the ground, head resting on Ayala's torso, braid and clothing a complete mess. He almost looked like he'd just laid down and gone to sleep except for the way he was actually laying. Havoc was already kneeling next to Ed and checking his visible injuries and looking for internal ones. Ayala's golden eyes followed his every move. Falman had disappeared as soon as they saw Ed and Archer but Mustang wasn't concerned with that right now. He and Hawkeye approached Havoc and knelt down next to him while Nala curled up next to Ayala, simultaneously offering the wolf support and keeping an eye on Edward.

"How is he?" Mustang asked, kneeling next to Havoc as the man took Ed's pulse.

"Physically? He's okay. Minimal injuries and the ones that he does have are nothing to worry about. He does have a head injury so we need to keep an eye on that but it doesn't look severe enough to knock him out." Havoc sounded frustrated as he looked up at Mustang. "None of his injuries explain him being unconscious. Even if the head injury is more severe than what I think, which I doubt, he shouldn't have been able to restrain Archer  _and_  be this far away from him before passing out. Something else had to have happened." Both men and Hawkeye looked at Ayala but none asked the question. They didn't have to. With a huff, the wolf spoke directly to Nala and Nala relayed the information to Mustang who then told Hawkeye and Havoc.

"According to Ayala, Fullmetal and herself were able to dispense of Archer and Drew with relative ease however Fullmetal started feeling sympathy pain from Chester." He paused, listening to Nala again before continuing. "Ayala says she's not actually sure what happened to Chester and Al but Chester got seriously hurt so Fullmetal was forced to distance heal him after she was healed herself." Both Havoc and Hawkeye didn't need to ask why their Colonel looked both worried and exasperated. They all knew what the consequences of distance healing were and they got why Mustang was exasperated. Only Edward could find himself fighting someone at the same time Al and Chester were fighting someone hundreds of kilometres away then have to heal both Animals one after the other. Havoc swore.

"Did he use all of Chester's energy?" He asked and Ayala shook her head. He sighed, relieved. "At least that's something." Falman chose that moment to return, this time with some soldiers and their Animals in tow. Mustang felt pride for his subordinate's quick thinking and he gave him a nod of thanks. Standing, he addressed the three military police officers as Falman assumed Mustang old position next to Havoc.

"One of you will assist me and Warrant Officer Falman in releasing and escorting Lieutenant-Colonel Archer to the jail cells. The other two are to find some way to release and restrain his Animal before taking it to the Animal-holding cell," Mustang instructed and the three nameless officers nodded their agreement before separating themselves to do as they were ordered. "Lieutenants Hawkeye and Havoc, you will move Fullmetal and Ayala to my office and await further instructions." While she didn't look overly happy about leaving Mustang by himself, Hawkeye nodded before she and Havoc did as they were told. Havoc picked Edward up bridal-style, cautious of his injuries and automail, grunting slightly at the unexpected weight. Ayala immediately picked herself up and followed the two Lieutenants, sticking close to Havoc.

* * *

Mustang and one the officers walked over to Archer and observed him for a moment while Mustang figured out the best way to get the man out of the stone cuffs Ed had expertly transmuted over his wrists. He knew very little about any alchemy other than fire but he did know the basics so, with a sigh, he pulled out some chalk from a pocket and quickly sketched out the array he needed on the place the cuffs joined up. A flash of blue later, he'd successfully destroyed the cuffs and Archer fell face first onto the ground.  _Whoops_. The fall did have the desired effect of waking Archer up, something he did comically.

"Ah, Colonel Mustang," Archer said as he picked himself up and smoothed out his uniform as best he could. Falman stepped up to stand behind Mustang. "How's your little subordinate? Our discussion turned rather unpleasant after the brat turned down my very generous offer," Archer drawled. Mustang nodded to the MP standing next to Archer and he immediately cuffed Archer's hands behind his back. Archer had the audacity to look completely shocked. "What do you think you're doing?" He snarled at Mustang, stepping forward threateningly despite the hold the soldier had on him. Nala immediately stepped protectively in front of her human and snarled at Archer, forcing him to re-evaluate that decision. Falman's fingers twitched towards his weapon.

"You attacked my subordinate with no provocation from him. You're under arrest for assault, at the very least," Mustang informed him before he read him his rights as he and the soldier escorted Archer to the holding block. "I really suggest you execute your right to remain silent," Mustang requested. If Nala hadn't been worried about Ed, she'd have offered more than an eye-roll and snort of amusement as she trotted in front of their group, the soldiers Animal, a pretty Bengal cat, trotting next to her. Rachel and Falman were walking slightly behind Mustang, just in case. Naturally, Mustang's luck wasn't that good.

"Where's Drew? That bitch of a wolf injured him. I need to heal him," Archer demanded and Mustang had to tell Nala that no, she wasn't allowed to eat him. Yet.

"Your vulture is going to the Animal holding cell as we speak. You will be permitted to distance heal him once you're in your cell," Mustang told him, following the military's protocols to the letter, though he'd be lying if he said he didn't get a small amount of satisfaction out of denying Archer his request.

They finally reached the holding cells and Mustang filled out the necessary paperwork while the soldier and Nala escorted Archer to his new home. It was the only paperwork he was happy about doing. A few minutes later, Nala and the soldier came back. Falman took his place next to Mustang as Mustang addressed the third member of their party.

"Thank you for your assistance, Officer..." Mustang realised he didn't know this man's name but he didn't seem offended.

"Officer Daniel Marks, Sir," he introduced himself. "This here is Serena, my Animal." Serena blinked at Mustang and Nala.

"Well, thank you, Officer Marks and Serena." Mustang dipped his chin down in a nod of thanks. "You may resume your normal duties now." Marks snapped a salute and left. Mustang turned his attention to Falman. "Wait here for Archer's Animal to be placed in the holding cell. Once he's finished healing him, report back to the office." Falman nodded his compliance. Mustang and Nala walked past the two other soldiers carrying Drew between them in a cage. He nodded to them and reminded them to fill in the appropriate paperwork before he and Nala continued on their way. He didn't want the headache of having to do that paperwork.

* * *

Mustang finally got back to his office and Nala was more than eager to go inside and check on her favourite blonde. Mustang mumbled something about favouritism but opened the door for his outer office for her. His inner office door was still open and Nala wasted no time entering it. Mustang was close behind her, eager to make sure his subordinate was still breathing. He was not surprised to see Hughes and Leo already waiting in his inner office. Havoc was still patching Ed up while Mark watched. He did have a lot of wounds but they were minor. The biggest concern was his head wound and the energy depletion. Surprisingly, Ed was not resting his head on Ayala but on Hawkeye's lap, his wolf instead laying curled up next to his feet. Soren was perched up on the back of the couch, just behind Hawkeye's shoulder but so he was still able to keep his sharp eyes on the surrounds and Ed. Nala had made herself comfortable on the back of the couch, next to Soren, and Leo was sitting next to his human's feet.

"How is he?" Mustang asked as he strolled in. Hughes had that twinkle in his eyes, the one that Mustang knew meant he was about to say something at Mustang's expense. Mustang shot him a look that told him now was not the time. Hughes took the hint.

"Resting. Ayala's been keeping her eye on Chester's energy level. From what she's told Mark, Ed has depleted nearly two thirds of Chester's energy healing the leopard before without feeling any side effects beyond the usual. My hope is that once Chester's energy level is up to about 40%, Ed will regain consciousness. Right now, Ayala says it's at about 15%. Considering she says he damn near used all of the energy, the fact that it's risen so much in such a short amount of time is really promising. Hopefully, he'll be up in the next couple of hours," Havoc told him, standing and gathering up his rubbish so he could dispose of it. "Once he wakes up, I'll know how severe his head injury is." Mustang nodded his understanding and Havoc left the room to throw the rubbish away. He greeted Falman and Rachel as they re-entered the room, causing Mustang to turn and watch his oldest subordinate walk in. A quirked eyebrow was all Falman needed to start talking.

"Someone from Investigations is already talking to him. Navaro, I believe. I didn't stick around to listen but from what I did hear, it'll be an open-and-shut case. Archer isn't holding anything back from him." Mustang looked at Hughes when the name of the interrogator was mentioned and he gave Mustang a small nod. The man could be trusted.

"Thank you, Falman." The grey-haired man nodded and Mustang spoke to the rest of them. "Alright, we need to get back to work. We can't do anything until we know what exactly happened and we won't find out until Fullmetal wakes up. Hughes, go and talk with Navaro once he's finished with Archer and take a few MP's to document the scene, just in case." Hughes nodded and, with a final glance at Ed's sleeping form, left with Leo on his heels. Falman and Havoc went back out into the outer office, though they weren't exactly pleased with it. Hawkeye went to hop up but Mustang stopped her. "No, you stay here with Ed. I'll help those two once I've finished up in here." Hawkeye didn't look totally convinced he'd do any work, something Mustang was slightly offended by, but nodded and settled back down.

Mustang kept his word. He'd only had another half an hour worth of unpacking in his office to do and once that was done, he headed out into the main office and helped the two men. Once he got the hang of Hawkeye's preferred sorting system, he and the other two really got into a solid routine. He couldn't quite stop himself from finding any little excuse to walk past his office door or actually go inside to get a glimpse of Ed. He just had this overwhelming desire to keep him in his sight at all time. Havoc and Falman exchanged knowing smirks and Mustang scowled at them before they continued their work. Nearly three hours had gone by before Hawkeye called Havoc back into the inner office. Naturally, the other two followed him.

* * *

Hawkeye had been passing the time monitoring Edward's breathing and carding her fingers gently through his hair. It was an instinct she always caved to on the rare occasions Ed fell asleep on or within arms reach of her and they were by themselves. She could only remember two such instances. She wasn't sure how long it had been since Colonel Mustang had gone out into the outer office to help her teammates but she had to guess it was over the two-hour window that Havoc had tentatively guessed Ed would resume consciousness in. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did Ed actually start stirring and Ayala sat up. Stopping her ministrations, she called out for Havoc to get himself back into the office and naturally saw all three of them answer her call. Havoc knelt so he was directly in front of Ed.

"Ed? Can you hear me?" Havoc asked and Ed half opened his eyes and stared at Havoc.

"Havoc?" His name came out kind of slurred and Ed sounded confused but Havoc didn't seem worried.

"That's right. You think you can sit up for me?" Ed seemed to mull that over before nodding and carefully began sitting himself up. One of Havoc's hands hovered next to his right arm, just in case he needed the help but he didn't. Once he was completely up, Ed seemed to notice Mustang, Falman and Hawkeye for the first time. Instead of looking angry at Mustangs presence, he just looked more confused.

"What happened?" He eventually asked as Havoc started checking his pupils.

"What do you remember?" Havoc countered, seemingly satisfied with his findings.

"Ayala and I," Ayala quickly sidled up to Ed's side and relaxed against him, "we were getting lunch and Archer grabbed me. Threw me into a wall before Ayala or I could do anything. Fucking bastard," Ed scowled.

"That's how you got your head injury?" Havoc interrupted and Ed reflexively raised a hand to feel the injury himself, wincing as his flesh fingers found the tender skin.

"Yeah. The frigging psycho then offered me the 'opportunity to work under him'. I told him to stick it. He did not appreciate that." Ed's brow knitted in concentration. "Drew went after Ayala. They wanted to separate us and it worked. Ayala got torn up by Drew's talons and Archer went after me. For a nutjob, the dude can fight. But I was able to trap Drew with Ayala's help, and she came back to help me with Archer. I took him down with well-aimed jab to the throat and restrained him," Ed recalled, face pinched as he tried to recall the events. "Everything after that is a little foggy but I remember I had to contact Chester. He was hurt and I needed to know why. Al had been kidnapped by a homunculous and restrained so he couldn't fight but Chester wasn't restrained. I helped him with getting Al loose but Chester got hurt really badly. He and Al managed to get out of there after Teacher entered the room. I had to distance heal Chester and I'm assuming that's why I was unconscious?" The question was aimed at Ayala and she nodded. Havoc was happy Ed remembered so much. It told him that his assessment on the head injury was correct.

"How do you feel?" He asked next.

"Tired. Bruised. Annoyed Archer managed to get the drop on me and that someone kidnapped my brother," Ed told him, too tired to try and lie about his injuries, and Havoc was pleased to hear the typical Elric attitude seeping into his words. Mustang was less happy to hear it.

"That's about what I expected. Take it easy for a couple of days, if you can. I suggest you contact Chester and tell him and Al that you're still alive," Havoc told him and Ed nodded. "There's some painkillers there if you need them." Havoc indicated to a little bottle next to him and Ed thanked him.

"We'll leave you alone to talk to Chester," Hawkeye said as she climbed to her feet and Soren perched on her shoulder. Mustang opened his mouth to argue but a glare from Hawkeye cut him off. "I'm sure Chester and Alphonse would appreciate knowing Edward is alright as much as Edward would appreciate the same," she informed him in a carefully calm tone. One look at the expression on her face told him not to bother arguing.

"Thanks, Miss Riza." Ed gave her a smile and she returned it before giving Havoc, Falman and Mustang a look that cautioned them against forcing her to draw her weapon. They took the hint. Hawkeye closed the door behind them and Ed suddenly found himself in blissful silence, alone except for Ayala and Nala. He didn't even question the lioness's presence anymore. Laying himself down on Ayala, Ed shut his eyes and brought up his and Chester's connection. "Hey, Ches, how you feeling?" The leopard answered immediately.

 _"I'll live. You?"_  Chester asked, worry bleeding into his voice. Ed released the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Same." Chester's relief was extremely evident through their bond. "I know I didn't heal all of your injuries. How are you really holding up?" He asked straight to the point and he felt Chester's slight embarrassment at being caught.

 _"Well, I still have cracked ribs and a lot of bruises but I swear I'm okay. I can wait until we get back to Central for you to heal me,"_  Chester swore and Ed could feel his honesty.

"You're in pretty much the same shape I am," Ed chuckled. "When is Al planning on coming back?" Now that he knew Chester wasn't gonna die, he let himself relax.

 _"Actually, we're about to board a train bound for Central now,"_  Chester nervously chuckled and Ed barely resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Of course you are. I should've known you were. Al is such a worry-wart," Ed sighed, resigned. "When do you arrive?" He asked.

 _"We should arrive tomorrow morning providing there aren't any delays."_  Ed nodded. He'd still be able to give the Hughes' a heads up.

"Good. Now, what happened with Teacher and the homunculous? Al carried you out before I could see," Ed asked now that the important things had been discussed.

 _"She told us that she figured out his ultimate shield and after a few rounds, he took off. She wasn't in the best of health at the time so she left it, knowing she and Koda would be able to sense him now. She would've almost killed Al if he'd been flesh and blood for getting himself kidnapped. I was spared thanks to the fact that I'd only just been healed and you were unconscious,"_  Chester told him and Ed winced in sympathy for his brother. No one liked Teacher when she was mad. She was scarier than Miss Riza  _and_  Winry put together.

"Jeez, poor Al. At least he'll have some distance between himself and her once he gets to Central," Ed joked and he felt Chester hold something back. His stomach dropped. "Chester? What are you not telling me?"

 _"Well, you see, the thing is that she might not be as far away as you'd hope."_  Dread filled Ed and Ayala perked up, carefully watching her human.

"Don't tell me." Chester's apology was raging through their bond.

 _"Sorry, Ed. She's on the train with us. She wanted a word with you about your abilities as well as other things,"_  Chester told him solemnly and Ed felt like he was now living on limited time.

"She is going to murder me," he said seriously and Chester chuckled a little.

 _"I'm fairly certain she doesn't want to kill you. Just hurt you a lot,"_  he said cheerfully and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, Ches. I feel a lot better," Ed said sarcastically and got himself a real laugh from the leopard.

 _"I'm here to help,"_  Chester told him and Ed was the one to laugh this time.  _"You should get some sleep while you can,"_  Chester told him using their bond to check on his health.

"You mean before Teacher kills me?" Ed joked. Sort of. He felt the eyeroll from the leopard before he responded.

 _"Yeah, before that happens,"_  Chester laughed.

"I feel the love, man," Ed snorted. "Have a safe trip. Say hello to Al for me. Tell him I'm not dead." Chester agreed and their connection was broken a moment later. He didn't need to look at either Animal in the room to know they were staring at him inquisitively. So he decided to just answer their question before they asked. "Al, Chester, Teacher, Koda and probably Sig and Suna are all on their way to Central. Apparently, Teacher wants to  _talk_  about my abilities," he told them and he felt a physical tremor of fear run through Ayala. Nala just looked confused about their reaction. "I'll probably end up beaten to a bloody pulp, if not killed outright," Ed informed Nala and she looked horrified.

 _"I'm sure she's not that bad. Besides, Ayala and I would protect you if she was,"_  Nala told him, completely serious.

"Thanks, Nala." He gave her a gentle smile, honestly touched she felt that protective of him. A massive yawn from Ed interrupted anything any of them were about to say.

 _"Get some sleep."_  Ed's head echoed with both Nala and Ayala's voices and he huffed out some laughter before he did as he was told. He was completely asleep within a minute of shutting his eyes and, even though she knew it was because he was still recovering from healing Chester, Ayala was still a little concerned he listened with no arguments.

The door creaked open after a few minutes and Mustang's face peeked through the crack. Ayala's lips lifted in a silent snarl, warning the man of the consequences should he wake her human. The door was swiftly and quietly closed as Mustang retreated. She saw Nala's lips lift in a slight grin of amusement and she copied her after a moment before she decided a nap wasn't a bad idea.

* * *

They were left alone for a couple of hours before Ayala was awoken by the door being opened again. She cracked an eye open and saw Hughes walking in. She was automatically on the lookout for his camera but Hughes gave her an amused smile and slight head shake. He wasn't there to take photos of Ed while he was asleep. Instead, he carefully placed a hand on Ed's flesh shoulder and gently shook it. Ayala didn't miss the fact that the others were waiting just inside the doorway.

"Ed? Time to get up, kiddo." He used a coaxing voice to try and get Ed to wake up. Mustang snorted softly.

Hughes had come back only a few minutes ago and gave them the short version of what Navaro had been told by Archer. It was a little more detailed than the version they'd gotten from Ed. It wasn't until Havoc remarked how late it was that any of them had even realised the sun had practically set for the day. Mustang made the executive decision for them to call it a day and get some rest. They'd practically finished the unpacking anyway, only another couple of unpacked boxes and rubbish remained. Hawkeye looked like she wanted to protest when Hughes had piped up and said it would be a good idea to get Ed back to his before dark.

That comment had caused a few moments awkwardness since everyone in the room knew how much Ed hated being woken up by anyone. Hughes eventually grinned and volunteered before he headed for the inner office. The rest of them followed, curious as to the outcome, even Hawkeye. To their surprise, Ed didn't startle awake, fist already swinging to take out the perceived attacker. Instead, he opened his eyes and blinked blearily up at Hughes, looking confused for a few seconds before he recognised the man in front of him.

"Hughes?" He asked, pulling himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. Hughes' hand on his shoulder followed him automatically.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?" The bespectacled man asked, not even bothering to hide his concern.

"I'm fine. I just need a good night's sleep and Chester's energy should be back at 100%," he told him and Hughes gave him a look that made Ed roll his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I said I'm fine and I am." Hughes held his hands up in surrender. Mustang was disappointed in the way Ed was acting. If it had been Mustang who'd woken him up, Ed would've hit him. Granted, Ed would hit him for any reason but still.

"Okay, well we need to head back home. It's a lot later than when we said we'd be back. I did call Gracia so she knows why but I'm sure my precious Elysia wants her big brother home in time for dinner." Hughes used his secret power of making a guilt trip not seem like a guilt trip. Judging from Ed's expression, he could see right through Hughes' bullshit.

"I'm sure you just want to avoid being lectured by a five-year-old because we weren't back for dinner." Ed smirked and Hughes laughed before standing, offering Ed his hand which the blonde accepted readily. Ayala and Nala leapt off the couch and joined their respective humans. That's when Ed finally noticed they had an audience. "Oh. Hey, guys," he said, somewhat lamely.

"Hey, yourself," Havoc said. "Glad you're up and about. I shouldn't really be surprised with how quickly you're recovering. Just another surprising Elric trait, I assume."

"What can I say? It's hard to kill us Elrics." Ed grinned at him and Hughes let out a bark of laughter as he clapped a hand down on Ed's shoulder.

"Gracia has asked me to invite you all over for dinner tonight and she warns that Elysia overheard her and is excited to see everyone tonight." Again with the secret power. Ed and Mustang rolled their eyes while the others all eventually gave in to Hughes' pleading and agreed to go over for dinner.

Hughes was even more obnoxiously happy than usual as he led them out of the offices. Hawkeye handed Ed his two jackets they'd recovered from the scene and Ed gave her a grateful smile as he mended them and shrugged them both on. He didn't want to look like he was in a fight when he walked through their front door so he yanked his hair tie out of his hair and shook out the remainder of his braid before tossing it back up into a very messy ponytail. There wasn't much chatter as they headed for the car park so they could take Hawkeye and Havoc's cars instead of walking. Falman, Havoc and Ed all took Havoc's car leaving Mustang to suffer Hughes by himself while Hawkeye drove. Ed did feel some pity for Nala but she told him she'd perfected the art of shutting Hughes out years ago so she didn't mind.

* * *

They pulled up in front of the Hughes' house and Ed wasn't the only one looking forward to dinner though he knew he needed to have shower first. He hadn't seen his reflection yet but he knew he was covered in grime, sweat and blood and that was not a pleasure mixture to have on yourself if you could help it. Hughes opened the door up and they were immediately greeted by a tiny missile of excitement in the shape of a five-year-old girl. Elysia seemed to stop for a moment to weigh up her options before deciding to go to her all-time favourite person; her father. However she didn't stick to him for very long. She gave his legs a squeeze before moving on to the next person immediately in front of her. She'd managed to hug Havoc, Hawkeye and Falman before she made it to Ed and he couldn't stop himself from hissing slightly as she collided with several painful bruises and scrapes.

"Big brother?" She asked knowing exactly what that noise meant. It meant her big brother was hurt. "You okay?" Hughes damn near melted at how cute his daughter was, all concerned for her big brother.

"Of course I am, El. I just got in a small scuffle, that's all." He gave her his best smile but for a five-year-old, she sure could see through Ed's bullshit. She frowned at him and pursed her lips in a clearly disbelieving manner and the resemblance between her and her mother was uncanny. "I swear," he added for good measure and she eventually accepted his word and gave him another hug around his legs before glomping onto the only person who managed to escape her greeting. Ed moved with the others and Gracia made herself known by poking her head through the kitchen doorway.

"Hello, everyone. I'm glad you could join us. Dinner will be ready in 15." The pointed look she gave Ed was enough for him to get his butt in the shower. After he finished cleaning himself up, he headed back out into the rest of the house to hunt down everyone else. Or at least, that's what he intended to do. Instead, he almost trampled over the top of Elysia as soon as he opened the bathroom door.

"Elysia!" He gasped as he managed to right himself without hurting her. He saw her eyes fall on his flesh arm where he had a bruise in the shape of Archer's hand from where he'd grabbed him to swing him into the alleyway wall plus a bunch of other small scratches, cuts and bruises.

"You did get hurt! You said you were okay!" She accused him, pointing a small finger at him and he sighed before crouching so he could look her in the eye. He glimpsed a golden figure lingering in one of the doorways further up the hall and knew Ayala was watching them.

"Yes, I did get hurt. I am also okay. The hurts I got are small. You remember when you burnt your fingers on the toast this morning?" She nodded her head, eyes looking awfully watery as she looked at his arm still. "Elysia, look at me." She did and he gave her a smile. "You remember that it didn't hurt anymore after a couple of minutes?" Another slow nod. "These hurts are like that. They don't hurt anymore. They just look like they do, okay?" Sniffling slightly, she gave another nod. Ed ruffled her hair lightly with his flesh hand. Before he could stand up, he was crash-tackled onto his butt by Elysia throwing her arms around his neck. She buried her head into the crook of his flesh shoulder and neck and squeezed tightly before she let go.

"I'm glad you're not badly hurt," she told him as she unravelled her arms from his neck and gave him a big smile.

"Me too, kiddo," he told her as he got up from the tiled floor. He was glad he was wearing a t-shirt instead of his tank top. She might not have reacted well to the large bruises on his neck and back.

"Mummy says dinner's ready, by the way," she told as she grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the kitchen with all the might she could gather. Ed had no choice but to follow and dump his dirty clothes on his suitcase as they went by. Ayala didn't do anything to help his predicament either as she joined their journey to get food.

Extra chairs had been grabbed but Ed and Elysia's usual ones had been left vacant. Gracia gave him a visual once over, frowning at the bruising she could see but Ed gave her a reassuring smile and she let it be for the moment. It was spaghetti and meatball night and Ed was more than happy to serve himself, Ayala and Elysia some up. He didn't fail to see the anger flick across Mustang's face every time he saw the hand-shaped bruise on his arm. Part of him thought Mustang was angry at him for getting hurt. Another part of him berated himself for caring about what Mustang thought.

* * *

Dinner was a rather lively affair. Everyone was talking to everyone else. No one acted like their boss was in the room. Ed and Falman found themselves listening to the chatter more often than joining in but neither were upset about it. Elysia seemed to be trying to chat to everyone at the same time and was loving having so many people in the house. Once everyone was finished, Gracia started clearing plates and Ed hopped up to help her. She did kick him out of the kitchen once everything was cleared off the table. He'd learnt his lesson about arguing with her and left without a fuss, joining everyone back in the dining room. Gracia followed him back out and took Elysia upstairs to have a shower, leaving the adults to discuss anything that needed discussing without a child present. Hughes seized the opportunity immediately.

"So, Ed, what happened today?" He asked as soon as they heard the shower start running. Ed's brows scrunched together in confusion.

"I'm fairly certain I already told them," he pointed to Mustang and his team, "and you heard it from whoever interrogated Archer." Hughes shook his head.

"I only got the condensed version from Navaro and your version wasn't very detailed either, from what I've heard. Then there's what happened with Al and Chester," Hughes told him and Ed actually had to think back to what he'd told Mustang and the others before he realised Hughes was right. Sighing, he started talking.

"I was heading to the mess hall to get some lunch when Archer grabbed me and threw me into one of the alleyway walls before Ayala could even warn me. She tackled him off of me and I asked him what he was doing. He proceeded to offer me a job working under him." Even though he knew they already knew about the job offer, he still saw some surprise on some of their faces. "He took my silence as interest rather disbelief that someone could actually be that wacked out their brain because he tried to tell the pros of working under him. His main selling point was that I'd be out from under you." He looked at Mustang directly. "Gotta say, that was almost tempting but I have a strict policy about not accepting job offers from people who throw you into a brick wall," Ed said.

"Anyway, after I told him to shove it where the sun don't shine, he got really pissy and Drew made himself known. He offered again, I told him to go screw himself and we fought. Drew went for Ayala to keep her away from me while I dealt with Archer. We almost had them at one point. Ayala had managed to pin Drew on his back by his wings and was so close to tearing out his throat but the feathery bastard remembered he had talons and tore open her chest, forcing her to let go of him. Drew managed to drive Ayala out of the alleyway but we finally figured out a way to win. I knocked Archer into a wall hard enough to leave him dazed for a few seconds and we linked our sight. I used our bond to transmute a cuff around Drew's throat and keep him on the ground. Archer recovered enough just as I ended out sight share to land a solid kick to my chest and draw his gun but Ayala got to him first. Then I felt Chester get injured and decided to wrap things up quickly by punching him in the throat and used the same alchemy trick for his wrists that I used on Drew." That was certainly much more descriptive than what they were given before.

"And Chester and Al?" Hughes prompted after giving Ed some time to catch his breath after that report.

"I don't actually have all of the details on that," Ed said, tapping his finger on the table. "From what Chester told me while he was fighting and after I woke up, he and Al were attacked by one homunculous and three of his minions. They, by the way, were chimeras and they were mixed with their Spirit Animals." He saw open disgust on everyone's faces. "Yeah. The homunculous had kidnapped Al to learn how his blood seal worked so he could do the same thing. Joke's on him because Al has no clue how it works. Only I do."

"Anyway, one of these chimera's was controlling Al from the inside somehow but Chester was standing between Al and the others, preventing them from getting to Al. I linked our sight so I could see what exactly was happening and I had Chester cut Al's chest plate off and severely injure the chimera inside of him so Al could get her out and join the fight," Ed told them. "Unfortunately, biting that chimera made the one of the others so angry that Chester got kicked clear across the room by the biggest one and that's how he got so severely injured. Al was in the fight for all of two seconds before our teacher kicked down their door so she could yell at Al for leaving the broom out. She told Al to get Chester out of there while she dealt with the others and Al did as he was told. Last thing I saw was the hallway they were going through before I disconnected our sight and healed Ayala then Chester. I lost consciousness and woke up in the office," he finished up before glancing down at Ayala. "That reminds me, you're getting a bath some time tonight," he told her telepathically and she whined her displeasure.

 _"Did you forget about something?"_  Ayala asked and Ed looked a little confused before he clued on to what she was trying to remind him.

"Also," he got their attention again. "Al and Chester are on a train back here right now. My teacher, her husband and their Animals are also on that train. Is it cool if Al crashes here? Teacher and Sig will probably get a hotel room," he asked Hughes, who nodded immediately.

"Of course it's okay! You know both you boys are welcome here anytime. Elysia will be thrilled to have both her big brothers stay here." He grinned and Ed relaxed a little. He hadn't really thought Maes would say no but there was still that little bit of doubt.

"Your teacher is coming down as well?" Havoc asked and Ed nodded.

"Yup. She'll be here to kill me," he told them and both Havoc and Falman blanched at that statement. They were the only two who hadn't been told stories about his and Al's lessons. "Well, Ches said that she just wanted to talk but Teacher doesn't know how to talk without violence."

"Why would she want to kill you?" Falman asked, genuinely concerned for his safety.

"Well, I went and committed the ultimate taboo and almost killed myself, my brother and our Animals in the process. I got these abilities and never told her. Al and I are being hunted by homunculi because we committed the taboo which was my fault. Oh, and I joined the military." Ed ticked each reason off a finger. "There's probably more reasons but those are the main ones." Ayala's head cocked to the side slightly and Ed mimicked her to see what she was listening to. He couldn't pick anything up and the others had noticed what he was doing and were looking at him in confusion before the sound of footsteps reached them. Elysia was done with her shower and was coming back down to join them. All talk of murderous teachers was put on hold as the five-year-old rounded the corner and took her seat once again.

"What are you talking 'bout?" She asked as soon as she settled next to Ed. Five pairs of eyes flicked to Hughes to take the lead with this.

"We were just talking about how your other big brother is coming back tomorrow and that he's bringing some friends with him." Elysia's face lit up with unbridled joy.

"Big brother Al's coming here?!" She squealed and looked at Ed for confirmation.

"Yup. Chester told me himself," he said just as Gracia came down the stairs, figuring that's where her daughter had ended up.

"Mummy! Big brother Al is going to be here tomorrow!" Elysia shouted as soon as she saw her mum.

"Really?" She asked, soft smile on her face and Elysia gave her an enthusiastic nod. "It's been a while since we've seen him. It'll be good to have him back in the city. Maybe he can keep your other big brother out of trouble." She winked at Ed who let out a bark of laughter.

"I wouldn't bet on it," he chuckled and Ayala nodded her agreement. The joke went over Elysia's head but it caused the vast majority of the dinner guests to roll their eyes. All of them knew trouble followed the Elric's like a persistent and dangerous puppy.

"Let's head into the lounge room. You guys can tell me what your move was really like then I can bring you guys up to speed on what I told Ed and Roy," Hughes suggested. He knew Elysia would be going to bed shortly anyway so he wasn't worried about her overhearing anything she shouldn't. They could save that talk for after she left the room.

* * *

So they all relocated to the lounge room and claimed a spot each. It was a bit of a squeeze but everyone managed to get a spot on the couch while Hughes claimed the armchair as his own. Elysia decided to situate herself in her mother's lap. The Animals had to make do with what they had. Ayala managed to squeeze herself next to Ed while Nala lounged across the back of Mustang's couch and the others were all small enough to actually sit on their humans laps. Falman started them off with his version of the move which was uneventful. They got a much more entertaining story from Havoc who had to break up with his girlfriend at the time. Falman caught Ed's eye and rolled his eyes, making Ed have to struggle to keep a straight face as Havoc wove them a story of devastating heartbreak. By the time Hawkeye was wrapping up her story (dragged out by the fact that Ed had no clue who Black Hayate was), Elysia was yawning more often than not and it didn't take much coaxing from her parents to get her to follow her mother up to bed.

Maes had disappeared as soon as his daughter was out of sight to go and grab the map and pins again. Ayala spread herself out a bit more now that Gracia had moved. Hughes reemerged to see his coffee table cleared off to make room and his Animal stealing his chair. The half-hearted glare he sent Leo's way went unnoticed by the fox. He spread the map out but he didn't have to do much in the way of placing the pins since he never took them out when he packed everything away. Ed and Roy were the only ones who didn't bother getting up to check out what he was showing them. Unsurprisingly, none of them understood what they were looking at. Mustang would've been surprised if they had. He hadn't recognised it for what it was for a few minutes. Surprisingly though, one of them did manage to hazard a guess at what they were looking at.

"That's a transmutation circle, isn't it? An incomplete one but that's what they're building, right?" Unsurprisingly, it was Hawkeye who managed the guess. Mustang figured it was only logical that out of the non-alchemists, she'd be the one to figure it out. Her father was Mustang's teacher after all.

"Yes. We believe the homunculi are going to do something to Fort Briggs to complete it," Mustang said as he joined the group around the table. He pointed to the general area he was talking about. "None of us could think of anywhere near there that would be targeted to complete this circle."

"What's so special about these places? Why were they targeted?" Havoc asked as he stared at the map like it might give him the answer.

"Each place that has a pin in it is the location of major bloodshed, be it a war like Ishval or the uprising in Liore," Hughes told him. "While there have been skirmishes at the border, we don't believe they've been big enough to count." Gracia interrupted them momentarily as she slipped back into the room and she and Lilith joined Ed and Ayala on the couch.

"So you think they will somehow be able to orchestrate an attack at Fort Briggs, without it looking out of place, that's large enough to be used to complete the circle?" Again, Havoc was the one to ask. "How?" He questioned and everyone was quiet before Ed spoke up a couple of minutes later.

"The Drachmans." Six pairs of human eyes were suddenly trained on him. He decided to expand on his answer. "If a sizeable platoon of Drachmans were to suddenly attack Fort Briggs, who would question the Briggs soldiers being forced to wipe them out?" Mustang was already shaking his head and Ed found himself growing angry that he was already shooting down his theory.

"No, that wouldn't work. Fort Briggs has a reputation as being impassable. The Drachmans would never mount an attack they knew they would lose," he told them.

"What if I told you I knew its weakness?" That got their curiousity piqued. "A sure-fire way to take it down with minimal loss of life?"

"So tell us," Mustang smirked but Ed could see the curiousity raging in his eyes.

"Actually, I don't know any weakness. I'd never heard of this Fort until you brought it up the first time!" He reminded him and Mustang wasn't the only one who looked confused. "Now imagine I'd said that to a Drachmann General. What do you think his reaction would be if I told him that I knew of a way to take out Fort Briggs and it required less than 500 men?" He raised a brow and watched as comprehension made its way onto everyone's face.

"That's actually brilliant," Falman said and Ed tried not to take any offense to how stunned he sounded. "All they'd need to do is send a soldier, or someone pretending to be one, to act as a traitor and lay the bait."

"And they'd lead them like pigs to the slaughter. Everyone knows how ruthless Major General Armstrong is. She'd cut them all down like they were nothing and complete the circle without even knowing it," Havoc finished Falman's train of thought.

"Someone's going to have to talk to Major General Armstrong," Hawkeye announced and Mustang groaned internally. He'd already thought about that but the idea of going and talking to the Ice Queen was very unappealing. "I highly doubt she would be a willing participant in this plan. I believe the best course of action is sending someone to Fort Briggs to explain everything we've learnt to her so that she is aware that she is being manipulated. We may even be able to prevent this final bloodshed from happening." Hawkeye had a very good point. Even Mustang had to admit that talking to the Major General would be better than leaving her in the dark.

"Who would you even send?" Hughes asked and Mustang's eyes fell immediately on Ed. Ed didn't raise the expected fuss Mustang expected.

"Fine. But I'm not leaving until Al is here and Teacher has gone home or at least finished with me." He lay down his terms. Ayala had been listening carefully before she frowned in apparent confusion.

 _"Isn't Fort Briggs a freezing climate? Like, constantly snowing?"_  She asked Ed.

"Yeah. What's your point?" Ed asked out loud, making Mustang pause in accepting the blonde's previously laid out terms.

 _"Then you'll need to get fitted for cold climate automail, won't you?"_  Ayala asked, even though she already knew the answer. Comprehension flooded Ed's face and he turned back to Mustang.

"Oh yeah and I need to get cold-climate automail fitted. That could take a week. I'd have to ask Michella to ask Winry how long exactly," Ed told him before turning back to Ayala. "Could you contact Michella for me? Tell her to tell Winry it's a rush job and that we'll let her know when we're travelling down her way once Al and I talk." Ayala nodded and shut her eyes. Ed looked back at Mustang. "Once Winry gives me a time frame, I can talk to Al about when we leave."

"So, what? It'll be nearly a fortnight before you're at Fort Briggs," Mustang said after doing the math mentally.

"Thereabouts. Could be sooner if Winry can get my automail ready sooner." Ed caught sight of Mustang's unimpressed look. "I guess I could go into a frozen climate with the automail I've got now and risk frostbite. That would mean I'd be hospitalised because of it and we all know what happens if I get stuck in a hospital, especially if it happened because someone decided to chuck a fit and stopped me from getting the appropriate automail because it would take too long." His tone was defensive and snarky. Havoc and Hughes tried not to grin at Mustang's face as he shrunk under Hawkeye's reprimanding look. Falman's face was completely straight though Hughes thought he saw a glint of humour in his eyes.

 _"Winry says she can have a complete set ready within a week and that she'll start on them tomorrow morning. Garfeil has already okayed it,"_  Ayala suddenly spoke up and Ed looked a little surprised and suspicious.

"Is that all she said?" He asked, keeping the conversation telepathic and effectively blocking everyone else out.

 _"Well, there was the promise of making your bank account bleed and that if you so much as complained about the time it takes, she'd brain you with her new favourite wrench,"_  Ayala informed him and he nodded sagely.

"That sounds more like a message from Winry." He chuckled, far too used to Winry's threats to be scared of them anymore. Unless he actually saw the wrench in her hand, in which case he used Al as a human shield and felt no shame in doing so.

"Wouldn't the snow affect Al's seal, though?" Hughes' voice broke through Ed and Ayala's little bubble. Ed considered that for a moment.

"I don't think so. Rain doesn't affect it, though we usually don't go out in the rain anyway," Ed said a little hesitantly. They'd never travelled through the snow before, especially not somewhere with as much snow as the north end of the country. Central didn't get much snow and they were always off on one mission or another so they never really noticed if East City got anything. But it had been raining when Scar attacked them and they were out in it all day so snow shouldn't be an issue for it. "We will be fine," Ed decided. They always were. Hughes didn't seem overly convinced and he wasn't the only one.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you two to go there by yourselves. You should have someone who's been to the Fort with you. Someone who can help just in case something goes wrong." Hughes imploringly looked at Mustang who sighed and caved in. Ed's bitching about having a babysitter was much more enjoyable than Hughes' sulking, especially now they were in the same city.

"I'll assign someone to accompany you and Al to Fort Briggs." As he thought, Ed did not take kindly to that.

"I don't need a babysitter! No offence, guys, but Al and I are perfectly capable of looking after ourselves! We've done pretty well for the past four years!" He protested vehemently and Ayala was just as unimpressed as he was, though she couldn't really vocalise it.

"I wasn't asking your opinion, Fullmetal. Consider this an order. As soon as your mechanic has your automail ready, you are to head down to her to get it fitted before heading straight back to Central. Whoever I assign will be waiting at the train station to board then you'll leave immediately for Datepul. It's the last town with a train station closest to Fort Briggs." Ed and Ayala both growled and Mustang was almost surprised at how similar they sounded. Ed's eyes flicked to Nala, who was still laying on the back of the couch, lazily watching the ongoing discussion.

"I hate your human." If he couldn't argue against Mustang's orders, he'd bitch to the one closest to Mustang. Nala's lips curled up into a slight grin.

 _"I don't think you do,"_  she told him and he glared daggers at her. She wasn't overly phased. He turned his attention back to Ayala, studiously ignoring the smug look on Mustang's face.

"Maybe we could ditch the babysitter? What if we told them the day we were heading back to Central but left a day earlier?" Ed suggested and Ayala hummed it over. She didn't think they needed someone else to join and was rather outraged by the unspoken notion that she and Chester weren't good enough to look after their humans.

 _"It could work, unless they tell your brother about the escort. You know Al wouldn't let you ditch them."_  Ed groaned. That was a very good point. Al had this thing where he thought Ed should obey all the orders he was given without trying to wiggle his way out of them.

"What do you think our chances are of Al not finding out about the escort?" Ed asked, already knowing what Ayala would say.

 _"Slim to none."_  She didn't even hesitate with her answer. Ed nodded glumly. That's about what he figured too.

"Stop plotting how you're going to ditch your escort," Mustang called and Ed's glare landed on him.

"For your information, we're not. Ayala was just commenting how wonderful it was; the level of faith you have in her and Chester's abilities to keep me and Al safe." So it was a white lie covering a full lie. Ayala didn't even mind being used as an excuse. She just huffed haughtily at Mustang and placed her head on her paws and shut her eyes. Mustang eyes widened slightly as he realised how his order had been perceived by Ayala. Being on the wolf's bad side was not a place he wanted to be. He said the first thing that came to mind to defend himself.

"It was Hughes' idea!" Childish? Yes, but Mustang had no problems with that. Maes made an offended noise as he realised his best friend just tried throwing him under the bus.

"Hughes  _suggested_  it. You  _implemented_  it," Ed pointed out, almost sadistic glee in his voice. Hughes was grateful for the save. He'd rather Mustang be on Ayala's bad side than himself. Everyone else seemed either amused by the situation or exasperated by it. Hawkeye decided to call it a night as she didn't need to watch her boss flounder as he figured out the best way to apologise to the golden wolf.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Gracia, and thank you for the invitation, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes," she said as she stood. Gracia and Maes mimicked her movement, as did Havoc and Falman.

"Please, it's Maes or Hughes when we're not in public." Hughes smiled at her and she nodded. Ed and Mustang hopped up off the couch and escorted the others to the door. While Havoc and Falman were busy saying goodbye to the Hughes', Hawkeye managed to get herself next to Ed.

"Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight. Don't think you're fooling anyone. We can see how tired you still are from healing Chester. And try not to fight with the Colonel, okay?" Her expression was professional but Ed could see the slight concern there, especially when she placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly.

"I'll do my best," he promised and she gave him a slightly grateful grin before saluting Mustang and following her fellow teammates out of the door with a final thank you and goodbye to the Hughes'. Mark, Rachel and Soren had all wished Ed a goodnight as they left and he returned the sentiment before the door was shut behind them. Everyone moved back into the lounge room but Gracia and Maes hovered in the doorway while the other two made themselves comfortable.

"We're gonna head to bed. Night, guys!" Hughes proclaimed and headed for his room while Gracia also wished them a good night, leaving once Ed and Mustang had done the same. Ed was about to go to bed when he remembered he still hadn't given Ayala a bath and after much complaining from the wolf, he got her in the bathroom and cleaned in no time. Teasing her for making such a big fuss over nothing, they both headed back into the lounge room, Ayala sulking slightly.

Once Ed had got himself comfortable on the couch, Ayala snuggled into Ed's chest and he curled around her, back facing his boss, and placed her head on his rib cage so she could make sure nothing snuck up on them. Hawkeye was right about how tired he still was. He fell asleep almost immediately. She watched Nala pretty much slither off the back of her couch and curl up on Mustang. He was camped on his back but Ayala saw his eyes flick her and Ed's way a few times before she finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

_Ed found himself standing in his childhood home. It was open and bright and smelled like the freshly picked wildflowers he and Al would sometimes gather for their mum. It looked like it always did on a typical summer day, the windows opened and Ed could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. But when he peeked around the corner, no one was there._

_Confused, he headed upstairs for his mother's room. He was halfway up the stairs when he realised he didn't have any automail. He pulled off his right glove to check and was greeted with flesh where metal should have been. Shaking his head to clear the confusion, he called out for Ayala but the wolf didn't make an appearance. He passed his old room and then Al's before he reached his mother's room. As he reached for the handle, he had the sudden urge to get out of the house, to do anything except open that door. His hand was on the doorknob and he relished the feel of the metal under his right hand. All of his instincts were screaming at him to just turn around and leave the room untouched but his insatiably curious side demanded to know why he shouldn't go in and that was the side he gave into._

_The door opened smoothly and Ed frowned at that. His mum's door always creaked when you opened it. She'd always refused to get it fixed because it always woke her if he or Alphonse had come into her room because they couldn't sleep or had a bad dream. It was dark in the room and a quick glance at the windows showed the curtains had been drawn shut. His attention was drawn by movement in the direction of his mother's bed. Someone was curled up in it, covers drawn over their face so all that peeked out was their hair. The lack of light showed that it wasn't blonde hair and Ed realised it had to be his mother. Excitement flooded through him as he headed towards and he almost missed the change in light as he passed the doorway. The silhouette of a small girl and large dog stood prominently in the doorway. He didn't need to see their faces to know who they were._

_"Nina? Alexander? What are you two doing here?" He asked as he changed his course over to them._

_"Wanna play, big brother Ed?" Nina asked, her voice as sweet and cheerful as it had ever been and Alexander let out a big bark of excitement._

_He took another step towards them when he heard a small thud and dripping coming from the other end of the room. He looked back and saw that monstrosity he and Al had created on the floor, one_   _of its arms lay separate from its body and thick, gluggy, black blood fell from the wound. Ed turned so his back was to Nina and Alexander, shielding the little girl from the sight, his left arm thrust back so he could push her out of the room when his fingers touched a mixture of long, soft hair and short, poofy fur. Snatching his hand back as though he'd been burnt, he spun to face Nina only to be faced with the chimera made from them. "Ed-ward? Wanna play, big brother Ed?" It asked in that slow, horrible voice and Ed backed away from it._

 _The sound of something being dragged along the ground made him remember the other thing in the room and he turned so he could keep both creatures in his sight. The sight of their failed transmutation pulling itself across the floor made him want to throw up._  Ed.  _He felt the back of his leg hit something behind him and he slowly looked down to see a black military boot_. Ed.  _His eyes moved from the boot to the military pants then to the military jacket before landing on the big, red stain blooming on the chest of the jacket_. Ed!  _Finally his eyes lifted to the face and met the blank, dead stare of Hughes._

_"No, this isn't right," Ed whimpered as he looked at the face of his dead friend. "You're alive. I saved you!" Those dead eyes just looked back at him before they suddenly blinked and Maes was pulling himself to his feet._

_"Did you? Or did you just delay the inevitable?" His voice rasped and Ed flinched._ Ed, wake up!  _Fur_   _and hair brushed against his hand and he threw himself away from the chimera, the dead Hughes and the failed transmutation and backed up until he was in the corner of the room before he sank to the ground, tears streaming down his face as the three of them approached him._

 _"Big brother Ed, you wanna play?" - "Did you really save me?" - "How come you couldn't make mummy better, Edward?"_  EDWARD, WAKE UP!

* * *

Ed's eyes snapped open as Ayala's voice finally broke the nightmares hold on him and he sat up, gasping for air. Ayala was sitting on his lap still but watching him with worried eyes and nudging his face. To his embarrassment, he felt tears still slipping down his cheeks and Ayala licked them away. He didn't even complain about how gross that was.

She waited as calmly as she could while he worked to get his breathing and heartbeat back to normal. He stole a glance at Mustang and saw the man was still asleep. He thanked every god he could think of for that small mercy. Wiping his tear stained and slobber covered face, he finally got himself calmed down enough for Ayala to stop her fretting. With a sigh, he laid back down and Ayala immediately curled herself next to him and let him bury his face in her fur.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her and he felt her nuzzle his hair causing him to relax slightly. "I didn't wake anyone else, did I?" He assumed he hadn't since neither Gracia or Maes had come down to check on him and Mustang hadn't gotten up him for disrupting his sleep but you never knew.

 _"Only Nala but I told her you were fine."_  Ayala briefly considered telling him the truth, that the Colonel had woken up and even half rose from the couch to check on him before Ayala growled at him, but she knew he would be mortified. Mustang had sat there watching them as Ayala tried to get Ed to wake up before he woke himself up screaming. He only lay back down once Ed had bolted upright and, for all intents and purposes, looked asleep. Nala had been almost as worried as Ayala and had considered refusing to listen to the wolf and check on Ed herself but managed to hold herself back.

Ed nodded into her fur, relief rolling through their bond and she knew she'd made the right choice. She didn't bother asking what the nightmare was about or if he wanted to talk about it since she already knew, thanks to their bond. So, she sent a nice, calm, safe feeling through the bond and waited until Ed had eventually fallen back asleep before following his lead. The last thing she saw before sleep claimed her was two pairs of dark eyes full of concern watching Ed from across the room.

* * *

Ed awoke the next morning to a lot of noise coming from the kitchen. The first thing he realise upon waking up was how late it was. The second this he noticed was the lack of Elysia in the room and his brain immediately came to the conclusion that the noise was being caused by the five-year-old. Climbing out of bed, he noted the empty second couch as he made his way into the kitchen to rouse on the would-be miniature chef only to find Mustang rifling through the cupboards while Nala sat unhelpfully next to the doorway. He felt Ayala reach his side and her shock once she realised what she was looking at. A quick look around showed no Elysia nor adult Hughes' before a loud clatter and curse brought his attention back to his boss.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked, causing Mustang to startle and spin on his heel to face the threat. Ed was slightly amused to see Mustang's cheeks had a pink tinge to them as he relaxed his stance.

"Trying to make myself breakfast," he ground out and Ed sighed before considering his choices here.

"Give me five minutes and I'll give you a hand," he eventually said and, not waiting for Mustang's answer, disappeared to get his clothes and get dressed. When he returned, he found the kitchen in the same mess it was before and Mustang leaning casually against the counter. "What do you want to eat?" He asked as he walked through the doorway.

"Ah, French toast was what I was trying to make but I couldn't find anything," Mustang said, sounding a little confused. Ed ignored him and grabbed everything he needed from the fridge and cupboards and put things that Mustang had pulled out that were unnecessary. Ed heard Elysia running down the stairs and had Ayala head her off. She came back with the little girl in tow.

"Morning, El," Ed called, smiling brightly at her and she grinned back before hugging him around the legs.

"Morning, big brother. Whatcha making?" She asked immediately and Ed let out an amused snort. The kid had her priorities straight; food before anything else. She made a small noise when she noticed Mustang for the first time. "Oh, morning, Uncle Roy!" She said sweetly.

"Good morning, Elysia. What are you doing up so early?" Mustang asked and she looked slightly confused before answering her uncle.

"I'm not up early, Uncle Roy!" She insisted and looked at Ed for back up.

"It's true. Normally we have brekky ready by now, don't we, El?" Elysia nodded emphatically and Ed ruffled her hair. "Wanna learn how to make French toast?" He asked her and she answered by getting her little stool and setting it up next to him. "Okay, you can crack the eggs into this bowl, okay?" He watched her carefully as she did as she was instructed. Once done, he checked for any stray pieces of shell before giving her a fist bump for getting no shell in the bowl. Her grin was so wide it almost split her face in two.

"What's next?" She asked, eager to do more and Ed wasn't the only one smiling softly at her enthusiasm.

"Okay, now we need to add vanilla and cinnamon. Do you wanna do that then I'll mix it all together?" He asked and she furrowed her brows as she considered the question.

"Can I mix?" She eventually asked.

"I dunno. You think you mix everything together without spilling any?" He asked her seriously and she slowly shook her head, looking sadly at her bare feet. Ed tickled her under the chin, coaxing a giggle out of her and making her look back up at him. "What if I mix these together and you can do the mixing when we add the milk?" He offered as a compromise and she lit up again.

"Okay!" She said and made grabbing motions for the vanilla and cinnamon so they could get a move on. Ed handed her the ingredients and measuring tools she needed and told her how much of each and waited patiently as she carefully measured out each spoonful. Once she was done, she watched as Ed scooped it up and expertly whisked the ingredients together.

"Right. Now, I'll pour the milk in while you whisk everything. Ready?" He asked as he placed the bowl back on the countertop and handed her the whisk. Movement on the edge of his vision reminded Ed that they actually had an audience outside of Ayala this morning. Mustang was watching the whole scene with an expression Ed couldn't place yet seemed so familiar. While Elysia was busy mixing the milk in the mixture, Ed got himself busy turning the hot plates on so the fry pans were ready to cook the toast. Turning back to his mini apprentice, he had her stop the whisking. "Alright, now we need to coat the bread. Ready?" Elysia took the piece of bread he handed her and watched as he placed his piece in the mixture and, using the tongs, drowned the bread before transferring it to the fry pan to get it cooking.

"Do I have to touch it?" She asked, looking at the liquid apprehensively.

"Did I touch it?" Ed asked as he flipped the toast before looking back at her, amused expression on his face.

"No," she said thoughtfully.

"There you go. Get yourself some tongs and start drowning some bread, kiddo." Ed pointed to the second pair of tongs and smirked at Elysia who giggled delightedly at being able to play with the food without getting the mixture on her fingers. Ed was in charge of transferring the dunked bread to the fry pan and cooking them until they were crispy and golden.

"Did you actually want me to do anything?" Mustang spoke up for the first time since Elysia arrived in the kitchen. Ed and Elysia both looked over at him, one more calculatingly than the other.

"What do you think, boss lady? Do you think there's anything Mustang can do?" He nudged Elysia as he kept up with the cooking and she hummed thoughtfully, even going so far as tapping a finger on her chin.

"He can get drinks! We should have coffee!" She exclaimed delightedly. She heard Ed clear his throat pointedly. "I'll just have orange juice," she tacked on, grinning sheepishly.

"Good try, El." He smirked before facing Mustang again. "You heard the boss. Cups are over there, juice is in the fridge, coffee is over there." He pointed in the directions of each thing before turning back to the toast. He heard movement behind him and some muffled muttering but he paid no attention to it. Soon they heard more footsteps coming downstairs and Elysia jumped off her stool to greet her parents with a morning hug, leaving Ed and Roy in the kitchen by themselves.

"You do know I could have cooked breakfast myself?" Mustang said the second Elysia had disappeared. Ed nodded. "So why did you decide to take over?" Ed seemed to pause for a moment before he continued with cooking. He was nearly done. For a moment, Mustang thought he wasn't going to answer but he eventually did.

"Elysia and I have been cooking breakfast together since the morning after the park." Ed didn't need to be more specific than that. "It just, it reminds me of when Al and I were kids and we'd make mum something for breakfast. Plus, it's nice being able to do some cooking. I don't usually get the chance considering how much we move around." Mustang didn't say anything and Ed didn't look at him, embarrassed at what he just said. Mustang was just stunned Ed was being so honest. He didn't realise how much Ed enjoyed cooking. Ed cleared his throat self-consciously. "Besides, I figured Gracia wouldn't appreciate her kitchen being destroyed." And with that jab, Mustang saw Ed put his walls back up just as Elysia came back into the kitchen with her parents.

"Wow, I didn't think you two could be awake in the same room together and not start an argument," Hughes commented dryly as he spotted them. Gracia swatted his arm as she moved past him to help Ed with plates and cutlery. Mustang and Ed both shot him an unamused look that made him laugh before they headed for the dining room, Mustang and Hughes being forced to carry the coffee Mustang had brewed. Ayala, Nala, Lilith and Leo happily trotted into the dining room for breakfast, following the delicious scent of French toast. Once everyone was seated, the food was handed out and the Animals chowed down, giving Ed and Elysia their due praise that Ed happily passed on to the little girl.

 _"Morning, Ed. Just letting you know we were delayed overnight in Nefkaum for mechanical reasons. We're leaving their station now so we should be in Central in a couple of hours,"_  Chester suddenly said, causing Ed to jump a little from the unexpected contact.

"Okay, thanks Chester. We'll see you soon," Ed said back and the connection was cut off again. "Ches says they'll be here in a couple of hours," he helpfully passed along to everyone, knowing one of them was about to ask.

"So, we'll get to meet this infamous teacher of yours soon," Hughes said casually and Ed nodded slowly before he actually realised something.

"Do you guys have a side gate?" A little startled by the seemingly randomness of the question, Maes nodded and Ed sighed in relief. "Good. That means Koda will be able to get to the yard without wrecking anything. If the gate's not big enough, one of us can widen it with alchemy." He seemed to be saying that last part to himself.

"Who's Koda?" Gracia finally asked after a moment, much to the relief of the two men at the table.

"Oh, yeah. I should have probably given you a heads up," Ed said, a little apologetic. "My teacher, Izumi, has a Black Bear for an Animal. That's Koda. Sig, her husband, has a Golden Retriever, Suna," he explained and three pairs of eyes widened in surprise.

"Your teacher's Animal is a bear?" Mustang asked incredulously.

"Yeah, she's great. A good fighter," Ed remarked casually and went back to his toast, effectively ending the conversation.

The Hughes' and Mustang decided to leave it for the moment. Elysia hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation until the subject of Koda had popped up. She asked Ed dozens of questions that he provided answers for until she was satisfied and extremely excited to meet Koda. Gracia explained that they didn't know many people with Animals larger than Nala or Ayala and Elysia hadn't met any of them. They finished up their breakfast relatively quickly, any extra pieces of toast going to the Animals who wanted them. Gracia shooed them away from the kitchen and they did as they were told, knowing arguing was a waste of breath.

They ended up in the lounge room and Elysia demanded stories of Koda to pass the time until she got to meet her and Ed was happy to oblige. Mustang and Hughes listened intently, both eager to learn anything about the blonde's past, though Mustang would claim he was just listening to pass the time. Both men didn't know much about the Elrics past before the night they committed the taboo and Elysia was really the only person who could ask and get a proper story instead of a limited response. Gracia joined them after finishing in the kitchen and time seemed to fly by as Ed and Ayala recounted story after story during the time they spent training under Izumi.

They didn't even realise how much time had passed away until they were interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Climbing to his feet, Ed followed the rest of the adults and Elysia to the front door to greet their guests and he forced himself to relax as Maes opened the door with a beaming smile. As expected, Teacher, Al, Sig, Koda, Suna and Chester were all gathered on the other side. As Ed locked eyes with his teacher, he knew he was in some deep trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are adored immensely!


	23. Chapter 23

Ed would never be certain whether Maes always greeted his first-time guests immediately and with a lot of enthusiasm or if he'd noticed the 'you're dead' look Teacher was giving him but he'd always be grateful for his quick greeting nonetheless.

"Alphonse! Chester! Good to see you two again!" Maes grinned at the two of them but didn't give them a chance to return the greeting as he focused on the strangers. "Hello! You must be Izumi and Sig! Ed and Al have told us lots about you! It's a real pleasure to finally meet you in person. This is my stunning wife, Gracia, and my adorable daughter, Elysia," he said, gesturing with a casual wave to both his girls. "I'm Maes Hughes. I do believe Koda is a little too big to fit through our front door but if you'd like to follow me, I'll show you our side gate and we can have lunch in the backyard." Maes didn't really give them much of a choice as he stepped through his front door, forcing them to take a step back. Teacher and Sig both looked a little shell-shocked. Obviously, Al hadn't warned them about how over-the-top Hughes could be. Gracia shut the door behind him as he started leading them to the side gate. Ed and Ayala let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"We best go get lunch ready," Gracia said, giving his flesh arm a squeeze as she walked past. Elysia looked a little confused about Ed's reaction but she was too excited about the new guests to worry about it for long. Mustang didn't really get a chance to question or comment because Ed immediately followed Elysia to the kitchen to help her mum. Lilith had already gone into hiding, choosing the lounge room as it was closest to the back door. Ayala and Nala followed Ed and Mustang really had no choice but to do the same. It was that or go out and meet Ed's teacher without Ed there to be a distraction.

Gracia decided to just keep it simple and, with Ed's help with who ate what, made sandwiches for everyone. Ed and Elysia helped her with the actual construction of the sandwiches while Mustang found himself yet again tasked with getting drinks. They could hear talking outside and Ed could only hope Hughes hadn't had enough time to find one of his many photo collections and annoy Teacher with them. He'd be the one she'd vent her annoyance on, after all.

Once lunch was finally made (Ed was beyond sick of making sandwiches by this point) the three of them carted them out on platters while Mustang took the drinks out and Ayala and Nala were coincidentally in front of Ed in the perfect position should anyone try and attack him. They made it outside to find everyone seated at the large outdoor table, chatting amicably amongst each other. There were no signs of any photos and Ed was pleased to see that Teacher was as relaxed as she ever was around friendly strangers. Koda struck almost as imposing a figure as Sig did, sitting behind Izumi while Sig sat next to her and Suna was happily exploring the yard. Al and Chester were obviously waiting Ed to show up because as soon as he did, they were up and heading for him.

"Brother! You're still in one piece!" Ed was kinda offended that Al actually sounded surprised but he let it slide because he was so fucking happy to have his little brother back next to him.

"I'm glad to see you are too!" Ed exclaimed once Al was standing next to him and, once he balanced the sandwich platter on his automail hand, knocked his flesh hand gently against Al's armour. Al returned the gesture by gently bumping his fist against Ed's shoulder once the platter was safely back in both hands, making his brother sway a little on his feet. "Between that homunculi and Teacher, I was almost afraid how you'd look when you got back," Ed added in a low enough voice that Izumi wouldn't be able to overhear them.

"Oh, yeah, speaking of that..." Al nervously started saying and Ed shot him 'go on' look, forcing him to cough up whatever he was trying to say. "Teacher says she's no longer our teacher. We've been expelled as her students because of what we did." Ed's immediate reaction was disbelief before it turned into a mixture of sadness, humiliation at disappointing her enough to make her expel them and shame at being expelled.

"Wait," he said as something occurred to him, "if we've been expelled, why is Teacher here?" Hope started unfurling in his gut. Maybe he wouldn't be beaten into a bloody pulp today.

"She's here to talk to you. Since we aren't her students, we're now her equals. That's what Sig told me when I went to leave after she told me we were expelled," Al told him and Ed nodded his understanding.

"Hey, Ed? Are you gonna bring those sandwiches over here or just stand there chatting all day?" Hughes called out teasingly and Ed shot him a flat stare but headed over to the table anyway.

Al and Chester followed him happily and they both gave their Animals a couple of sandwiches before Ed dug into his own pile of sandwiches. Gracia and Maes were the ones doing most of the talking, spending the time talking with Teacher and Sig. Ed and Al were talking quietly amongst themselves about small things that had happened while Elysia was busy talking to Koda and Suna. Mustang was keeping to himself for the most part, content with just listening and gaining information about the newest arrivals but found himself drawn into the conversation between the grownups every so often. So far, everyone was getting along great and Ed wasn't bleeding yet so he counted it as a good day so far.

"So," Izumi said once the last sandwich had been eaten, "you're the man who decided to offer an injured 11-year-old a job as a military dog. Just when I thought the military couldn't sink any lower. Are you people that desperate for more human weapons that you'd resort to enlisting children?" She faced Mustang and Ed had the urge to both facepalm and see if it was possible to make the ground open up and swallow him whole. The stunned-mullet expression on Mustang's face told everyone that that was one question he hadn't expected to be asked. Even Nala was stunned.

"Uh..." Ed was kind of surprised that the smooth, unshakeable persona Mustang usually put forth was obviously failing him. The awkward tension was so evident, Elysia was able to pick up on it and stopped playing with Koda and Suna in favour of watching the others.

"He was looking for our useless excuse of a father." Ed surprised even himself by speaking up. Izumi's attention turned to him immediately, eyes narrowed in a way that let him know he was one word away from getting in trouble for inserting himself in this conversation. "The military knew about our father and they'd heard rumours about a powerful alchemist in Resembool and assumed he'd returned. He and Hawkeye found us a few days after what we'd done." He flicked a glance at Elysia and saw she was listening to him talk and knew he'd have to word things carefully from that point on. "He saw what we'd done in the house, even after Granny said she'd cleaned up, and tracked us to her house to confront us. He offered me a job but that's all he did." Ed refused to break eye contact with his teacher. He needed her to realise this was his choice. As much as he didn't like Mustang, he wasn't one to let others take blame for his decisions. Al was the only person who didn't look stunned at him coming to Mustang's defence. Even Izumi and Sig weren't surprised. Al had mentioned Ed didn't like his CO but the three of them knew the boy the best. So if Ed said if it was his decision than it was his decision.

"So it your idiotic decision to let someone put a leash on you?" Izumi said as she turned to focus her attention on Ed and Ed saw Mustang almost sag with relief the attention was off him.

"Yes," he said simply before saying something else no one, except Ayala and maybe Al, expected. "It was the best worst decision I've ever made and I'd make it again." That made Izumi quirk her brow in surprise.

"Really? Tell me, what good has come out of you signing your life over to the military?" Izumi spat and Ed realised in that moment that she was a lot angrier about his joining the military than him committing the taboo.

"For one thing, we wouldn't be able to prepare for this ongoing threat because we would never have uncovered it," Ed pointed out and even Mustang had to admit he had a point there. "For another thing, the access we get because of my title is ridiculous. The things we've found out from books we'd never have been able to read otherwise is almost worth it. And we'd have been screwed trying to reach our goal without the pay cheque and perks that come with a State Alchemist title."

"And you wouldn't have met us!" Elysia exclaimed, startling just about everybody as she jumped up and stood in front of Ed, grinning up at him so brightly that he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"That's true. Best reason to become a State Alchemist is so we have you as our little sister." He ruffled her hair fondly and Hughes awww'd before grabbing his camera. Elysia scrabbled up into his lap before looking up at him.

"And mummy and daddy?" She asked sweetly and Ed nodded.

"And knowing your mum. I guess your dad's not that bad either." He winked at her and she giggled at her father's indignant protest. Something in Izumi's face softened watching their exchange but Ed didn't notice straight away. "It may not be ideal, Teacher, but my becoming a State Alchemist was the only choice I had to make up for what I did to Al and to Chester."

"Brother," Al said softly but Ed silenced him with a wave. He wasn't willing to go into that discussion again, especially not in front of Elysia.

"The military still shouldn't have accepted a 12-year-old into the State Alchemist program! He should have told you to consider joining when you were of age!" Izumi exclaimed, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder in Mustang's direction. Ed shook his head.

"It wouldn't have mattered if he did. The military would've sent someone else to try and coax me into joining! There's no way the Fuhrer would've been okay with me and Al running around without a leash on one of us! And believe me when I say this because I'll only ever admit this once; there could be worse bosses," Ed said and multiple jaws figuratively hit the floor. Izumi looked at him as though trying to gauge how truthful he was being. Sig's eyes glittered with amusement. He was the one who listened to Al's stories from the military when Izumi had been bedridden. Ed glared at Mustang. "Don't get the wrong idea; you're still an arsehole but you're not Archer, at least," he grudgingly admitted.

"I'm flattered, Fullmetal. I do believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Mustang drawled and Ed flushed a little.

"Shut it, bastard, or I'll tell Miss Riza where you hid that paperwork you unpacked when I was asleep and she had her back turned," Ed threatened and Hughes almost died choking down his laughter. Gracia did a much better job stifling her laughter while Mustang shot Nala a betrayed look. The lioness, who was seated near Ed, just smirked before going back to sleep. Something about the exchange seemed to have made Izumi relax a little and Ed couldn't figure out why.

"Speaking of Archer..." Al let that trail off since it didn't really need completing for Ed to know what he was asking. Ed shook his head and looked pointedly at Elysia, who had his automail hand in her lap and was looking at it closely since Ed rarely left his gloves off.

"After dinner. Right now, I gotta finish healing your leopard. Don't think I've forgotten," he told the leopard who simply rolled his eyes and sat himself on Ed's left.

 _"And you call Al the worry-wart. You do realise I can live with these injuries?"_  Chester said as Ed placed his hand on his head.

"Yeah, no. What if when we get attacked next, you get killed because you couldn't dodge in time thanks to your ribs? I'm healing you. Deal with it," he told him and Chester rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Ed did have a point. The blonde shut his eyes and used the energy to do a quick scan before actually healing him. It only took a minute before Ed opened his eyes again, a little tired, but pleased now that the leopard was fully healed.

 _"Thanks, Ed,"_  Chester said as he shook himself of the residual effects of the healing process. Izumi's eyes had narrowed in a scrutinizing manner as she watched this process. Sig and their two Animals just watched interestedly.

"You're welcome," Ed said as he scratched him behind the ears. Elysia leaned over in his lap to give Chester a pat as well. The leopard couldn't even pretend he wasn't enjoying the attention given to him by the five-year-old.

"Explain your abilities," Izumi ordered and Ed decided telling her would be a good idea. After all, he couldn't talk about Archer or the country-wide array in front of Elysia.

"Okay. I can communicate and sight-share with any Animal I want. With Chester, I can heal him and we both feel each other's pain though it's dulled down immensely. That's pretty much it," Ed summed up somewhat lamely. Izumi didn't look impressed. "What?" That came out a lot whinier than he expected or wanted and, for the second time in the last ten minutes, flushed from embarrassment as he saw Mustang smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't you take that tone with me, you insolent brat!" Izumi didn't yell but Ed still flinched back from her. Elysia looked at him curiously but didn't comment about the movement. There was probably rant or lecture coming his way but Izumi suddenly coughed up blood.

"TEACHER!" Both Edward and Alphonse shouted in alarm as they stood, Ed depositing Elysia on the ground as they both took an instinctual step forward. Sig was immediately by her side as Gracia, Maes and Mustang were all in various states of panic. Izumi waved off their concern before slouching back in her chair, Sig and Koda kneeling next to her.

"Are you alright, dear?" Sig asked as he handed her a clean handkerchief that she accepted.

"Of course I am. Thank you, love," she said, giving him a big, sappy smile that used to gross Ed and Al when they were living with her. Seemingly satisfied, both Elrics sat back down, Ed bending down to the pouting Elysia, who hadn't actually seen Izumi throw up the blood, and apologize and letting her climb back in his lap. Gracia, Maes and Mustang were either looking at them like they couldn't believe what they saw or were looking at Izumi with worry.

"Are you okay, Mrs Curtis? Do you need me to call someone?" Gracia asked, clearly at a loss of what to do. Izumi shook her head.

"There's nothing to worry about. It's just a medical condition I have. Travelling must have aggravated it. I just need some bed rest and I'll be fine. And please call me Izumi." She smiled reassuringly and Gracia offered her a weak one back.

* * *

Once she was satisfied Izumi was okay, Koda decided it was high time to give Edward a proper greeting. Sig and Izumi were talking quietly to each other about something while Maes and Roy were obviously discussing what just happened. Gracia was busy watching Izumi with an eagle eye to make sure she was okay. None of the adults seemed to notice Koda moving in on Ed. As she always did (partly because it was good training for Ed but mostly because it was fun) Koda snuck up behind Ed with the intent of scaring the teenager while he was busy listening to his brother and adopted sister talk. Elysia had migrated onto Al's lap so she could talk to him better a few minutes ago.

Ayala was all too familiar with this and Chester had heard the stories so neither bothered to warn Ed. Koda stood on her hind legs and stretched herself to full size. Ed still hadn't noticed but the others were starting too. Ayala had sent their Animals the message that this was nothing to worry about so they were more than happy to watch someone get one over on Ed. Koda took a deep breath in so she could roar in his ear (her favourite way to startle him) and the group watched with bated breath and half-smirks as they waited for the inevitable.

"Hello, Koda." Ed's voice rang in her head and he smirked as she made an undignified startled noise before stumbling back. Turning in his chair, he caught one look of Koda's face before bursting into laughter at her. Mustang wasn't the only one to mutter about the unfairness of their entertainment being taken away. Izumi and Sig both let out a bark of laughter at Koda's expense.

 _"That's so unfair!"_  She complained as she swatted his shoulder lightly.  _"I even prepared myself for that to happen but it's just so weird!"_  Ed had managed to get his chuckling under control now as he patted her furry arm sympathetically.

"Don't worry. It's still weird for me as well." She looked at him unconvinced and he just shrugged a shoulder in response. She watched him for a moment more before she dragged him all the way out his chair and, quite literally, pulled him into a bear hug.

 _"You're an absolute idiot. Why did you have to do something so stupid?"_  She asked and Ed stiffened slightly before realising she wasn't truly angry at him and relaxing into the hug, returning it after a moment.

"I'm sorry, Koda," he whispered softly and felt her tighten her grip, hair prickling uncomfortably through his clothing. After a moment, she let him go and dropped back to all fours and did a slow walk around him that made Ed roll his eyes at her. Once done, she sat back on her haunches before giving him a final visual once-over. He quirked a brow at her in amusement.

 _"You've definitely grown. And you're holding yourself better; more assured of yourself,"_  she said observationally.  _"It suits you. Al's told us all about your missions and, though she may tell you differently, Izumi and I are both very proud of you. Not overly thrilled about the military leash though."_  Ed let out a chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders in a 'what can you do' manner.

"I know but it's done and I'm not explaining myself anymore," Ed warned and Koda nudged into his side, sending him stumbling slightly.

 _"I know and you know we won't be bringing it up anymore. Except to tease you, of course,"_  Koda told him and he rolled his eyes as he righted himself and shoulder nudged her back before he sat back down and was immediately assaulted by a golden retriever. Letting out an 'oof' as his breath was forced out of him by the dog accidentally hitting him in the gut before he could defend himself.

"Hey, Suna." He used the same trick to get Suna to stop his persistent attempt to lick his face. Suna had always been overly affectionate, especially towards the two of them but that didn't mean Ed liked getting slobbered all over. Ed could hear a couple of them laughing at his predicament and he silently vowed to get back at them. Hearing Ed's voice in his head caused Suna to stop and look at him almost comically. "Would you mind not headbutting me in the gut in the future?" He asked as the pain caused by Suna aggravating his bruises and ribs finally dulled down.

 _"Sorry, Ed. I was just so excited! Sig and Izumi wanted to talk to you first before we could actually greet you,"_  Suna explained, keeping himself eye-level with Ed by standing with his front paws on Ed's knees. Suna was, hands down, one of the friendliest Animals Ed had ever met. He had always been worried that the retriever was too friendly and would get hurt one day because of it but had been assured by Sig one night while Al was helping Teacher that Suna may act care-free and friendly but it still took a lot of time for him to truly trust someone, a lot like Sig himself.

"So tell me, what's been happening at the shop? Mason up to his usual crap?" Ed asked the excitable blonde dog and was rewarded with all sorts of stories. You could always count on Suna to have the interesting stories. The dog observed so much more than anyone else, except maybe Teacher herself, did and was always more than willing to repeat the stories to anyone. Ed definitely got his fill of blackmail material on Mason for the next time he ran into the apprentice butcher. However, the story time only lasted ten minutes before Teacher and Sig stood up, Sig supporting Teacher a bit.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality and I'm sorry we couldn't stay any longer but I need to get some rest after the travel," Izumi said as everyone else climbed to their feet. Koda and Suna moved so they were next to their humans.

"It's no problems. We understand and it was a pleasure to meet the four of you. Thank you, Koda and Suna, for being so patient with Elysia. She hasn't had the opportunity to meet an Animal bigger than Ayala or Nala and she always loves meeting new Animals." Gracia smiled sweetly as Elysia ducked her head, a little embarrassed at the mention of her name. "If you're feeling up to it, you're welcome to join us for dinner. It would give Maes, Roy and Ed the opportunity to discuss things they didn't get around to today." This was something she and Maes had obviously already decided on offering the Curtis' since the things they really needed to talk about couldn't really be discussed in front of a five-year-old.

"We would be delighted. I'll let Edward know if I'm feeling well enough to join you. We'll be in Central for a couple of days so I'm sure there will be a time we can manage to meet up," Izumi informed them and Ed was torn between relief that they'd still have the chance to talk to her about everything and concern for his own well-being. Ayala nudged him comfortingly. It soothed him a little.

"I'll walk you out," Maes offered before he stepped around Mustang. "Do you have some way of getting to your hotel or would you like a lift?" He asked as they headed towards the gate. Gracia started clearing plates away and glaring at anyone who was silly enough to try and help.

"Thank you for the offer but our hotel isn't far. The walk will do me some good anyway," Izumi assured him and Koda made a muffled grunt of agreement before they disappeared through the gate and both Ed and Al sagged with relief.

"Thank Truth that's over," Ed sighed and Al enthusiastically nodded his agreement.

"That could've been so much scarier. Do you think we could convince her to not attack us tomorrow though? You know once she gets some rest, she is a lot more violent." Al shuddered at the mere thought.

"You know, maybe she won't attack us at all since we're in someone else's home? She never has before, except for the odd backhand," Ed pointed out and he elected to ignore the amused look on Mustang's face he spotted as the black-haired alchemist watched their conversation. Al seemed to brighten at that thought before sagging again.

"Yeah but that means she'll be even angrier next time we see her," Al reminded him and Ed winced at the mere thought. They were in a lose-lose situation.

 _"What if we offered to show her around town tomorrow? Maybe take her to the smaller park and she can fight us there?"_ Ayala suggested suddenly and Ed perked at that idea before sharing it with Al and Chester.

"That could work. It's less popular so not much risk of hurting anyone if you two go all out. It'll help her get her anger at you out so you don't die next time we run into her. I think that's our best bet," Al rationalised the plan and Ed nodded. Tonight he'd offer to show Teacher and Sig around Central and hopefully won't die. Mustang let out a chuckle.

"I think you two are overexaggerating your teacher's fear factor," Mustang said in response to the unasked, yet obviously posed, question. Ed gave him a flat look.

"Says the person who froze at the first question she actually directed at you," Ed shot back while Al gave him a nod that said his brother had a point. Mustang scowled at them while Ed grinned at Nala's laughter.

 _"He's got you there,"_  she told him and his scowl deepened.

"I'd offer to arrange a showdown between you two but a) I don't the whole city destroyed and b) I don't think your ego, let alone reputation, could handle your defeat," Ed smirked and Mustang shot him an unamused look.

"You really think your teacher would win a fight against me?" He asked disbelievingly.

"I  _know_  she'd win a fight against you," Ed said confidently. "You couldn't beat me except  _maybe_  in an alchemy-only fight since you're a long-range attacker and I'm mid-to-short range, however there's no way you'd beat me hand-to-hand or hand-to-hand and alchemy. Since you couldn't beat me, Teacher would wipe the floor with you. I've only won one fight against her and that was because she didn't expect me to use alchemy via Ayala," Ed informed him in a no-nonsense tone. Mustang still didn't look like he believed but Ed was done with this conversation anyway.

"He's got a couple good points there." Mustang startled slightly having obviously not heard Maes approach them.

"No one asked for your opinion, Hughes," Mustang scowled, feeling somewhat ganged up on.

"And yet you got it." Maes shrugged, aiming a wink at Ed and Al. Ed rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips twitched upwards slightly in amusement.

"Why don't you tell us what happened to you in Dublith, Alphonse?" Mustang asked, deciding a change in subject was necessary. Al looked towards the door Elysia and Gracia had disappeared through only a few minutes prior.

"Gracia will keep Elysia entertained for quite a while," Hughes promised as he reclaimed his seat and let Leo climb up on the one next to him. Ayala sat up next to Ed so she could pay more attention to what Al was about to say.

"Okay. Well, Chester and I were outside, cleaning the alley near Teacher's when Chester started getting antsy," Al said, starting the story off. "We spotted a chimera, this one was part lizard, part human, watching us. We didn't realise why but Chester didn't like it and chased him away. We got back to work but an hour later we were ambushed and I was captured. They separated me and Chester. Martel used her snake-like flexibility to keep me from moving while Greed, that's the homunculous, questioned me. He wanted to know how I became like this so that he could become like me. He thinks this is the key to immortality." Ed felt himself grow angry.

"I can't wait until I run into him. I'll beat that dickwad senseless," he growled out and Ayala agreed with him. In no way is being a soul-bonded suit of armour better than being flesh and blood and it really pissed him off that there was someone out there who thought so.

"What makes you think you'll even run into him?" Mustang asked incredulously. Ed looked at him like he was an idiot though that wasn't really anything new.

"Because Al would've told him he didn't know how to bind souls to armour and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it would've been me who performed the array," Ed pointed out as though it was obvious and, in retrospect, it was.

"Brother's right. I told Greed I didn't know how the alchemy was performed, hoping that would make him leave me alone but he started questioning me about who performed the array and where he could find them. Chester found me at that moment and attacked Greed and the two other chimera who were in the room. I think that's when you felt him get hurt, Ed," Al said and Chester nodded his head.

"So that's when I found out you'd been captured and wrapped up my fight with Archer," Ed said, piecing the timeline together and Chester once again nodded.

"Before you linked your vision with him, Greed was trying to convince Chester to move so that he could keep talking to me. He had the two chimeras try and physically move Chester when he refused to budge but they retreated when he almost severed their hands from their arms," Al said proudly and Chester puffed out his chest. "When they retreated, Greed seemed to look completely intrigued by something Chester was doing. I guess that's when you two linked your vision and he could see the tell-tale blue rings around Chester's eyes," Al was talking directly to Ed right now.

"Probably. Once we connected our vision, I helped Chester figure out a way to get that chimera out of you so you could join the fight and even the odds. I stayed linked until Teacher and Koda showed up and you got Chester out of there after he got injured," Ed told him and Al nodded.

"Yeah, I figured you would've disconnected soon after we got out. Chester's eyes were pretty much closed but I could see the blue disappear once you stopped the sight-share. We got back into the alley when Chester said you were about to heal him," Al said with a nod. "Teacher came out just as the green glow disappeared and Chester woke back up to tell me you'd lost consciousness but that Ayala said you were alright. She didn't even ask anything, just told me to get my butt and Animal back home so she and Sig could pack and we could leave on the next train for Central," Al finished up his version of events.

"We did ask what had happened with Greed but all she said was they fought and he got away once she figured out a way through his 'ultimate shield'. We were about to board the train when you contacted Chester to tell him you were alright. After that, it was just a boring train ride and we made it to Central without any major issues," Al told them, finishing the entire tale. His audience was quiet for a few minutes as they processed what they'd just been told. Much of it, Ed had already known but there was some information in there that got his attention.

"I'm assuming that from the way you said it, you don't know what that ultimate shield was?" Ed asked and Al nodded.

"I was a bit more worried about you than what Teacher had said so I didn't bother asking." Ed rolled his eyes at that. Of course his brother was too busy worrying about him. "We can ask when she comes over tonight," Al pointed out quickly to stop Ed's oncoming 'I was totally fine' rant before it could start. Ed knew that Teacher would be feeling well enough to join them for dinner. Even if she wasn't feeling 100%, she and Sig would still come over. Teacher wanted to know what they'd found out and she wouldn't let something like her health stop her.

"Well, we have a few hours before we have to worry about that," Ed said as he stood up. "How about we spar? We haven't done that for ages." Al jumped at the opportunity.

"Team spar or one-on-one?" Al asked and Ed looked around with a critical eye at the backyard.

"One-on-one. I don't think the yard is big enough for the four of us fighting at the same time," Ed decided and both Ayala and Chester lay back down to sulk. "Sorry, guys. We'll head to the gym area at base once Teacher leaves and have a proper sparring session there, okay?" Neither Animal was impressed but they eventually agreed. The backyard really wouldn't survive the four of them and both boys only knew so much plant alchemy to help fix their garden if it came to that.

* * *

Hughes watched as they both left the deck area and wondered if maybe he should start mourning his backyard yet as they proceeded to face each other, assuming their fighting stances and mentally recalled where his first aid gear was. Mustang was leaning forward on the table, ready to assess his subordinate's skill. But they relaxed out of their stances as Ed seemed to say something. They were talking too low for either adult to overhear but Ayala and Chester both perked up. Al nodded and Ed called out for their two Animals to get their butts over there. The leopard and wolf didn't need to be asked twice.

"Okay, so Al and I had this idea and I can't believe we haven't thought of doing this for so long," Ed said as soon as they joined him. "We should sight-share and you two will direct our movements." It was something that Teacher had taught Ed while he and Ayala had their separate lessons. It helped the bonded pair develop more trust in each other. They'd done it once or twice when they were in Resembool once Al got Chester but before  _that_  night.

 _"Oh, that's a good idea. Let's do it!"_ Ayala agreed immediately and Chester gave a nod as well. Ed shooed them back to the sidelines and he and Al resumed their fighting stance before he gave them the okay to go ahead.  _"Edward, sight!"_  Ayala called and Ed accepted it. His vision didn't change from looking at Al but he could feel the link had been successful.

"Call it when you're ready, Chester," Ed called out. They'd agreed having Chester start the fight was the best option. He could talk to both humans simultaneously after all.

 _"On three,"_  Chester called and Ed and Al both tensed in preparation.  _"1, 2, 3!"_  He'd barely called 'three' when Ed and Al leapt at each other and he and Ayala were busy calling out instructions for their humans to follow.

 _"Go left! Duck down! Now get in close and kick his legs out with your automail,"_  Ayala called out and Ed obeyed her instructions, dodging Al's fists and a roundhouse kick before sweeping his leg out to unbalance Al.

Unfortunately, Chester must've called out for him to jump because the move failed and Ayala was forced to instruct Ed to roll out of the way. Ed rolled forward, through Al's legs and came up standing before Ayala had him try and force Al to the ground by kicking the back of his knees. Chester had Al spin out of the way and Ed was forced to backflip to avoid the punch Al threw his way. Ed and Ayala grinned simultaneously. This was getting good.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Chester decided it was time for them to call it quits and both Animals cut off the sight-share. Ed had to blink a couple of times. Even though he wasn't the one looking through someone else's eyes, he still had to adjust to no one looking through his eyes again. He was panting slightly and had a new collection of minor bruises and cuts on his body but it was a good spar. He grinned up at Al and knocked a fist gently against his breastplate while Al clamped a hand down on his shoulder and gently squeezed before they headed back for the deck where the two men still sat.

"That was a good spar. You and Chester did really well compared to the last time we fought like that. Glad to see that happen," Ed praised as he flopped back onto his seat, stretching slightly to ruffle Chester's ears. "You two have definitely improved your communication." Chester grinned smugly at the praise.

"Thanks, brother," Al said as he carefully sat down. "You and Ayala had us beat though. Your teamwork was amazing! You were completely in sync!" Al praised them and Ed and Ayala shared a grin.

"Yes, I'm surprised to see you can actually follow someone's orders without blowing something up," Mustang quipped immediately and Hughes threw him a 'please don't' expression.

"I always listen to orders. I only follow them if they aren't stupid," Ed snapped back and Hughes intervened before something caught fire and someone got hurt.

"Okay! How about you go for a shower, Ed? You're covered in grass," Hughes pointed and Ed had to concede that his black outfit had quite a bit of green on it. "We'll go inside and see what my beautiful girls are up to. Al, you haven't seen the new photos yet!" Hughes realised and Ed grinned as he clapped his brother on the shoulder as a show of pity before he escaped into the living room so he could get in the shower, passing Elysia on his way and promising to be back real soon to play with her. Using alchemy, he cleaned off his clothes so he could wear them again and climbed into the shower to get all of the dirt and grass out of his hair.

He headed back to the living room once he was done and found Ayala curled up with Elysia, listening to the little girl read. He settled down next to them and Elysia grinned happily before starting the book over again for Ed. A quick listen confirmed that his brother and the two men were still outside and that Gracia was in the laundry. He turned his attention back to Elysia and listened carefully, interrupting only to correct her pronunciation of some words. He only had to correct her a couple of times and Ed silently remarked to Ayala how impressed he was with her level of reading. He knew she was smart, neither of her parents were idiots after all, but he still found himself amazed sometimes by how quickly she caught on to things. Ayala agreed with him.

* * *

At some point, Mustang managed to find relative safety in the living room, leaving Al to fend for himself against Hughes' photos. Ed barely spared him a glance as Elysia continued her storytelling. Ed hadn't actually realised how much time had passed before he was startled out of his stupor by Koda's voice in his head, warning him they'd be joining them for dinner.

Sighing, he sent back a reply with a time and warned Gracia. Smiling amusedly at his demeanour, Gracia assured him she'd have dinner ready for the lot of them in time and Ed thanked her before offering her his help. She told him, in slightly more polite terms, to bugger off. Ed retreated back to the living room, bypassed Elysia and went outside to rescue his brother from the never-ending pile of photos Hughes seemed to have produced from god-knew-where.

They were in the middle of discussing the finer points of Al's kidnap; any alchemy the boy or leopard had noticed, things Greed or the chimera had said, etc, when a knock sounded at the front door and Koda made her way around through the side as soon as Gracia greeted their guests. Koda joined in on the boys conversation, offering any bits she'd noticed when she and Teacher had fought the homunculous themselves. There wasn't much they could talk about or theorise more on. Elysia finally came out to hurry them along and they headed in for the dining room, Koda following carefully behind so she joined them.

They made it to the table with no incidents and Koda happily seated herself next to her human, who offered her a quick scratch before turning to the food in front of her. Suna and Sig were sitting next to Izumi and next to Maes while Mustang was stuck on Izumi's other side. Ed almost felt bad about his boss's predicament before he realised he didn't. Nala had decided to stick by her human for the night, carefully monitoring Izumi just in case she initiated some sort of attack.

"This looks absolutely amazing, Gracia," Izumi complimented as they helped themselves, Ed helping Elysia when she needed it, to the small feast spread out in front of them. Gracia had pulled out all the stops and made roast pork for dinner, complete with roasted vegetables and garlic fried asparagus.

"I hope you enjoy it. It's so rare we have enough guests and I get enough warning to do a roast. Hopefully, Roy's transfer to Central means his team comes around more often and I get more chances to do these sorts of dinners," she said almost wistfully, bending over slightly to give Lilith some food.

Ed almost cried when he took his first bite and he nodded slightly to Al who whipped out his journal and wrote 'Gracia's roast pork' on the page. Ed's eyes fell on the spotless dinner setting that Gracia had laid out for his little brother and he felt a small pang of gratitude for the woman. She always set a place for Al even though Al had insisted she needn't worry about it. Al had eventually stopped arguing about it and accepted the woman's silent way of reminding him he was still part of their family.

Dinner was about as lively as lunch. Izumi and Gracia were the main talkers while everyone else pitched in when, and if, they found an opening. Ed was happily talking to Nala, Ayala, Suna and Koda about the team and whatever else had been happening to them since they last saw the blonde alchemist. Koda and Suna soon found themselves wanting to meet the rest of the team, especially Hawkeye once Ed had compared her to Teacher. Ed had a slightly bad feeling he knew what Koda and Suna would ask to see on their grand tour of Central. Koda had been nice enough to give him the head's up that Teacher and Sig wanted Ed and Al to show them around. Soon, everyone had cleared off their plates and the last of the food had disappeared from the centre of the table.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal," Sig's deep voice sounded, slightly startling some of those gathered at the table. He hadn't spoken an awful lot since they'd arrived and the Hughes' and Mustang weren't used to it. Suna yapped his thanks and a murmur travelled it's way around the table as each human and their Animal repeated the praise.

"You're very welcome. If you'd like to follow Maes through, he'll show you to where you can sit. I'll be in shortly with refreshments." Gracia basically dismissed them and they had no choice. Elysia stayed back to help her mother, a fact that Maes could not stop cooing over, even though he'd seen her do it a million times, according to Mustang's impatient growl. He ended up grabbing his best friend by the upper arm and physically pulling him away from the adorable sight. Izumi looked torn between amused, annoyed and envious. As soon as his girls were out of his sight, Maes turned more serious and pulled the map and pins out from where he'd hidden them.

"Okay, while my beautiful munchkin is distracted with her mother, we can talk about what I found then we move onto whatever you want to discuss," he said in a hushed whisper as he spread the map out and placed the pins in their places. It took Izumi and Al exactly two seconds to realise what the pins were showing and both let out some impressive expletives, though they did keep their voices down enough that Elysia couldn't overhear them.

"That's a transmutation circle, right, brother?" Al asked sounding like he was hoping Ed would tell him he was wrong but knowing he was right.

"Yeah. It's not complete though. We think they're going to try and bleed Fort Briggs to complete it," Ed said, pointing it out on the map. "That's why, as soon as I've been fitted with cold-weather automail, you and I are heading north," he said to Al. "Winry has already started work on my new set. She'll hopefully have them ready by the end of the week. Michella said she'll let me know the day before they're done so we can head for Rush Valley straight away."

"That's nice of her," Al commented and Ed snorted.

"She's already promised it won't be for my bank account." Al laughed and Ed scowled at his little brother but there was no heat behind it.

"How are they drawing the circle? You can't tell me there's no way  _someone_  hasn't mentioned seeing someone carving a massive circle through towns," Izumi snapped, causing Ed and Al to jump and pay attention again. Both Elric's knew that tone of voice. This was a test.

"Underground. Someone or a team of people must be digging the circle underground where no one could see them," Ed said after a few moments of mulling over the question with Al via Chester. The slight dip of Izumi's chin and small twitch of her lips let him know he'd said what she'd be thinking. He felt a small surge of pride at that and, judging from the way Al shifted, he felt it too.

"At least becoming a military dog hasn't dumbed you down." Ed barely bit back his sigh, knowing the backhand he'd get wouldn't be worth it.

"What if it's just one someone?" Al piped up and five sets of eyes swung his way. He shifted self-consciously before continuing. "I was just thinking... we've gone up against three homunculi now and all of them were extremely different except for the immediate healing and near-immortality. What's to say there isn't one who's capable of digging a series of tunnels under Amestris?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Izumi said as Ed rapped his knuckles against Al's chest plate, giving him a quick grin. "So you two idiots are going to Fort Briggs? What do you plan on doing there?"

"We're gonna talk to the Major-General. She's Armstrong's oldest sister, by the way, Al," Ed added before continuing. "If we all agree she's on our side, we're gonna tell her the truth and we'll hopefully be able to at least help her prepare Fort Briggs for an attack," Ed finished up. He realised it wasn't much of a plan but why start planning shit out completely now? Going in with a half-arsed idea was how he normally tackled things and so far, his track record was pretty good.

"Knowing our luck, we'll arrive just as it all starts going down anyway," Al sighed and Ed had to give him that.

 _"Maybe our luck will hold out this time,"_  Ayala said wistfully and Ed snorted in amusement.  _"Yeah. You're probably right,"_  she conceded. Elysia and Gracia chose that moment to appear with the promised refreshments.

"What are you guys talkin' 'bout?" Elysia asked, heading for the map but Maes swiftly packed it away before she could get there.

"Just boring adult stuff, honey," Maes told her before distracting her with a slice of cake Gracia handed him to give to her.

* * *

They chattered about many different things, Elysia being left in charge of making conversation as only an inquisitive five-year-old could. When she started yawning more often than not, Gracia and Hughes coaxed her into saying goodnight and heading for bed, leaving everyone free to move onto the next topic they wanted to talk about without a small child present; Ed and Archer's fight.

Ed gave them a thorough recap, knowing Teacher would not accept any details missing and not wanting to keep talking about it more than necessary. He already had to repeat this story more times than he wanted to in the last 24 hours. After he finished, Izumi ended up asking Mustang more questions than Ed. She berated Ed for falling into the trap in the first place but she didn't enforce that point with a beating so he considered it a win. Al fussed over Ed, wanting to make sure his brother really wasn't as injured as he claimed. Ed could see why Al wouldn't take his word for it completely but that didn't mean he had to like it. In the end, he pointed out how well he did in their sparring session and Al had to concede to his point.

Maes and Gracia came back down to their living room and Ed and Al helped Gracia clean up the dishes and cups before retreating from the kitchen so she didn't attack them for trying to wash up. She thanked them both as they fled and Ed could hear the smirk in her voice. Sig and Maes were in a deep conversation, surprisingly enough, about Sig and Izumi's butcher shop. Ed had no clue that Hughes was interested in the workings of a butcher shop but he was almost avidly hanging onto every word that came out of Sig's mouth. Teacher and Mustang were kinda acting standoffish to each other. Once the boys' re-entered the room though, the tension between the two became almost guilty, like they'd been caught stealing a cookie. Ed was very curious about what had happened.

"I've got a couple of suggestions for when you get to Briggs," Mustang said, voice not quite as authoritative as it usually was. Ed, for once, didn't call him out on it.

 _"Does he really think you're going to follow any suggestions he comes up with?"_  Ayala asked and Ed didn't quite stop his laughter in time.

"Something funny, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, voice a little terse. Izumi pursed her lips slightly at the use of his military title but she didn't say anything.

"Nah, Ayala just thinks it's funny that you think we'd actually listen to you," he told him.

 _"Ed's got a point. He's rarely listened to you before,"_ Nala pointed out, talking to both Ed and Mustang.

"Yeah, because my plans always work out better than anything he comes up with," Ed said and Mustang snorted derisively. "What?" Ed snapped, feeling his skin prickle with the familiar anger he always felt whenever he spoke with Mustang and he did something to annoy him.

"Need I remind you that the last time you decided to go against orders, you and Chester had a building come down on you and were hospitalised for over two weeks," Mustang pointed out and Ed scowled.

"Yeah but I didn't go against your orders that time. Any time I do things my way instead of following your orders, it turned out better," Ed pointed out defensively.

"You and Chester caused a building to collapse while you were still in it?" Izumi demanded and Ed winced slightly.

"Yeah. That's how we found out about the homunculi and everything. Didn't Al tell you?" Ed asked, shamelessly hoping to redirect the heat off of himself.

"He told us you fought some homunculi but he didn't tell us you caused a building to collapse while you were still in it," Izumi told him, somehow managing to glare at both of them at the same time.

"Well, that technically wasn't my fault. The homunculi I killed when he went after Hughes triggered some explosives while we were still inside. I got me and Ches under some cover before it came down on us completely though." Ed was never going to admit that he was the one who activated the trigger and especially not to his teacher. He may as well shoot himself in the foot.

"Are you okay?" Sig was the one who asked and Ed nodded, giving him his most convincing smile.

"Almost completely healed up," he said, sighing when no one looked completely convinced.

"That wound on your left shoulder? Your doctor was worried about it and you've been in two more fights since your release," Mustang pointed out and Ed rolled his shoulder subconsciously.

"It's fine. I've got full range of movement. It's practically healed anyway," Ed said, annoyed slightly that Mustang brought it up. Part of him felt a little touched that he'd even remembered that injury. He dismissed that feeling quickly, telling himself to stop being ridiculous.

"Maybe we should listen to what Colonel Mustang has to say about Fort Briggs? He might have some good ideas," Al piped up, putting the conversation back on its original track.

"Fine. Let's listen to Colonel Bastard," Ed said, throwing his arms up theatrically as he flopped onto his couch, disrupting Ayala and Nala slightly before they curled up around him. Ed's nickname for Mustang got Izumi to smirk a little before her normal expression was back. Mustang didn't comment, long since resigned to the fact that Ed probably wouldn't call him anything else.

"I was going to suggest that you should talk to Major Armstrong before you leave. See what he has to say about his sister, whether he thinks you should tell her about everything. Although I'm fairly certain the Ice Queen is loyal to the military, I doubt she would willingly serve this military. Plus, she would never endanger her men at Fort Briggs. Everyone at that fort is closer knit than most families and she would not put them in unnecessary danger. Major Armstrong may have some suggestions about how to deal with her," Mustang told them and Ed was almost tempted to admit that he had a good point. Nala and Ayala huffed with amusement and Ed mentally scowled at them, causing them to chuckle even more.

"That's a good idea. What do you think, brother?" Al asked innocently but Ed knew what he was up to. Sneaky little bugger.

"Ugh, fine! We'll go talk to Armstrong before we head to Rush Valley." Ed gave in to his brother's silent begging. If Izumi wasn't paying attention, Ed would've flipped Mustang off for that irritating smirk he could see out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't think there's anything else we wanted to talk about tonight so we'll be heading back to our hotel. You're showing us around tomorrow, Edward?" Izumi always managed to make a question sound like an order.

"Yeah. Did you want to meet us here or at your hotel?" Ed asked, sitting up so he wouldn't get in trouble.

"You can meet us at our hotel. We'll meet for breakfast," Teacher said decidedly and Ed and Al both nodded their agreement to the plan. Not that they really would've argued against it.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner. I hope we get the chance to see you before we leave for home," Izumi said, smiling as she faced Gracia and Maes. She flicked her eyes over to Mustang and he face turned slightly less pleasant. "I doubt we will run into each other again. It was nice meeting you. I hope we don't have to continue our discussion from before."

"It was a pleasure to finally meet you as well. I'm sure we won't have too," Mustang said in the same tone of voice he used when talking to someone he was scared of but didn't want to show it. Ed really wanted to know what they talked about now.

Koda and Suna both came up to the Elric boys to say their goodbyes, which resulted in a tongue bath from Suna and a surprisingly gentle hug from Koda for the both of them though Al was less affected by the tongue bath than Ed. Sig clapped a massive, meaty hand down on Ed's automail shoulder before doing the same to Al and heading outside to join his wife and their Animals so they could leave via the side gate. Izumi called out a reminder to meet for breakfast, like she really expected them to have forgotten since they discussed it five minutes ago.

"Do they still have breakfast at the same time as they did when we were training?" Ed asked as soon as the Curtis' were gone.

"Yup. So we need to meet them by 7:00am," Al confirmed and Ed nodded.

"Great. I hope you know where they're staying 'cuz I didn't ask," Ed mentioned offhandedly. Ayala and Chester managed to roll their eyes simultaneously and Ed poked his tongue out at them, ignoring the fact that Hughes, Gracia and Mustang were still in the room.

"Yeah, they pointed it out to me when we went past it," Al told him and Ed gave a small sigh of relief. He could've asked Koda but that would mean a possible earful from Izumi in the morning about being unprepared so it was excellent his brother already knew.

"Thank fuck for that," Ed said, collapsing back on his couch as Gracia cleared her throat pointedly. "Sorry, Miss Gracia," he said, smiling at her sheepishly. She gave him a warning look before her usual smile graced her features once again. She didn't appreciate him treating her furniture so roughly and he'd been trying really hard to be a bit nicer. Automail was a bit rough if you weren't careful, after all.

* * *

It wasn't long after Mustang had returned after his shower that everyone decided to call it a night. Hughes pouted when Gracia announced they should go to bed until she pointed out how late it was and that he and Mustang had to go back to work the next day. Judging by Mustang's face, he'd forgotten about that little fact. Ed was kinda upset Gracia had reminded him; however unintentional it may have been. Though Nala probably wouldn't have let Mustang forget he had to be at work in the morning. At least not on his first day at the new office. The sleeping arrangements had Maes and Gracia in a momentary panic before Al reminded them he didn't sleep and was more than happy to sit next to Ed and read all night. Gracia wasn't overly happy with the fact he'd be awake all night while everyone else slept, unintentionally making Ed feel guilty again, but Al swore up and down he'd be okay. She finally relented when Ed chimed in with his own reassurances and both the Hughes' left them alone to get some sleep.

Ed, Ayala and Chester all arranged themselves comfortably on the couch. Ed ended up using Chester as a pillow so he could still be close to Al while Ayala wedged herself between Ed and the back of the couch so she could rest her head on his side. Mustang clambered into his own 'bed' and Nala leapt up so she could curl up in almost the same position as Ayala. Ed and Al were muttering away to each in voices high enough he could hear them but low enough he couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. He was about to ask them to keep it down when Al spoke up.

"Um, Colonel Mustang?" He asked a little nervously and he could see Ed glaring at him from across the room.

"Yes, Alphonse?" He asked, focusing his attention on the Elric who was actually speaking to him.

"Is it okay if I leave this lamp on so I can read or will it bother you too much?" He asked, fidgeting a little. Mustang now understood the hostility in the older Elric's stare.

"It's no worries, Alphonse," Mustang told him sincerely and Ed's glare softened a little bit.

"Thank you, sir." That gained an eye roll from his brother. "Good night, Colonel." At least one of them had good manners.

"Good night, boys," Mustang said and turned over so he could get some sleep. He heard some more muttering and a stifled yelp before someone sighed. He would've bet money that it was Ed.

"Night," Ed grumbled and Mustang's brows raised in surprise, not that either Elric could see them. He did not expect a response back and he found himself unreasonably happy he'd gotten one, though he suspected the response had something to do with Al's persuasive technique and the yelp had something to do with that. It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep despite the light that was still on. Ed followed him shortly after once he made sure Al was okay and didn't need anything.

* * *

Like he always was, Ed was awoken the next day by his favourite five-year-old, only this time he was woken by her and Al talking to each other next to him in low voices. Ayala and Chester were still asleep, far too used to sleeping in noisy areas to let some quiet chatter wake them up. Ed gathered from a quick glance that Mustang was waking up as well. Nala was already awake and, upon seeing he was as well, jumped down to greet her favourite blonde.

"Morning, brother," Al said, voice as cheerful as always once he realised Ed was up.

"Morning, big brother!" Elysia greeted a lot more enthusiastically than Ed thought was possible for a human at this hour in the morning. A quick glance at his pocket watch told him they had half an hour to get ready to leave so they could meet up with Teacher, Sig and their Animals for breakfast.

"Morning, Elysia, Al," he said, breaking the greeting as he yawned and stretched. "Al, we've got half an hour," he told him and Al nodded as he watched his big brother get up so he could grab a change of clothes.

"Half an hour 'til what?" Elysia asked, looking between the two of them for an answer.

"We've got to leave in half an hour so we can meet up with our teacher and her husband for breakfast this morning. We're gonna show them around town before they have to go home," Al explained as Ed rummaged through his washing for clean stuff.

"So we're not gonna cook brekky this morning, big brother?" Elysia asked, voice wavering slightly and Ed paused in his retreat to the bathroom.

"Sorry, kiddo, but you're gonna have to eat whatever your mum or dad makes you. Don't let your uncle cook, though." He winked at her, making her grin and chasing away the tears that were threatening to form.

"I heard that," Mustang grouched as he sat up and Ed quirked a brow at him.

"So?" He asked before he disappeared to the safety of the bathroom and leaving Al and Elysia to deal with Mustang before he managed to get some coffee in his system.

Gracia and Maes were just wandering in when Ed left the bathroom with ten minutes to spare. Deciding they might as well head off, Ed and Al said their goodbyes to the Hughes' and Nala (Mustang had taken over the bathroom) and promised Elysia they'd be back tonight before the four of them left to meet up with Izumi and Sig. Al was leading since he knew where they were going and they were taking their time getting there. Ed and Ayala were certainly happy to stretch their legs after the last few days.

* * *

They made it the hotel by quarter to 7 and were unsurprised to see the four of them waiting for them in the lobby. Suna was the first to spot them and loped over to them happily. Koda lumbered behind and was followed by Sig and Izumi. Some people were watching Koda with a nervous eye but they were far too used to that to care. Pleasantries were exchanged before Izumi told them it was up to the two of them to decide where they were eating. Ed decided on a decent-sized cafe that he went to regularly and was only a few minutes away. He left most of the small talk to Al, listening closely though when his brother asked them what they wanted to do while they were here.

They reached the restaurant after a few minutes and were immediately seated as there weren't that many people. It didn't take them long to order food for themselves and their Animal, Al ordering two of what Chester wanted so he could just feed his serve to the leopard and avoid the possibility of the waitress asking why he wasn't eating. Their food arrived shortly after their drinks and they ate in relative silence, saying the odd thing now and then.

Once they were done, they paid their bill and Izumi complimented the waitress on a job well done which the young woman thanked her profusely for before they headed for the city centre. Sig needed new butcher knives for his kitchen since they were planning on hiring a new apprentice now that Mason was almost finished his training and Teacher wanted to visit any bookshop she could find. Since she spent a vast amount of her time bedridden, she read a lot and the Dublith bookstore didn't always have a lot to offer. Before they knew it, it was nearly lunchtime and the Elrics' were once again in charge of finding somewhere to eat.

"How do you feel about food trucks?" Ed asked as he thought of a place.

"As long as it's good food and won't give us food poisoning, I don't care if it's served from a food truck," Izumi snapped at him and Ed instinctively moved out of arms reach.

"Okay well there's this one food truck that does amazing nachos. It's next to one of the quieter parks so we can eat there. It's this way," Ed explained, gesturing for them to follow him. It took them nearly fifteen minutes to reach the park and another ten to find the truck but they finally managed to get some food and get a good, shady spot in the park.

"Wow, these are amazing!" Sig exclaimed as he ate them and Izumi was quick to agree, though she was less vocal about it. Ed quickly devoured his and went halves with Chester for Al's share. They people-watched for a little while, just enjoying the pleasant day, after the finished their lunch. All of the Animals took the opportunity to soak up the sun. Ayala and Suna's fur glittered in the sun almost blindingly. Ed had his arms stretched out behind him, eyes closed and face turned up the sun, mimicking the Animals and soaking up some sun for himself.

* * *

The only warning he got that he was about to be attacked was the sound of a singular clap and Al's gasp. He immediately launched himself into a somersault and rolled away, rolling onto his feet and taking up his fighting stance. Ayala was by his side instantaneously, snarling at the threat that was his teacher. Izumi stood with Koda at her back and a solid staff in her hands.

"Your brother already got his punishment for his part in the idiotic decisions you two morons have made in the time you've been away from me. It's time for yours." Izumi's eyes flashed dangerously and Koda roared behind her. Ed managed to clap and create his automail blade and tell Chester to stand down once he spotted the leopard trying to decide whether he should join the fight before Izumi launched herself at him. He blocked the first attack from the staff with his blade and was pushed back. Now that he'd seen it up close, he realised the staff was made from rock. It wouldn't damage his automail but it wouldn't be easy to stop either. Koda and Ayala were engaged in their own fight and Ed noticed that both he and Ayala were on the defensive. Not a great position to be in but he was used to it when fighting against Teacher and Koda.

Izumi pushed Ed hard. She could tell he'd improved since leaving her tutelage but he wasn't quite at her level yet. Ayala had improved just as much, if not more, and their team fighting had improved the most. She was, all in all, proud of how much he'd grown, they'd both grown. That pride was still drowned out by the horror and anger that they'd gone against her explicit order not to perform human transmutation. Not only that but Edward had gone and joined the military even after all her ranting about them. A sting on her left leg told her Ayala had managed to get through Koda's defences somehow but she also saw Ed flinch for no apparent reason and knew Koda had gotten the wolf back for it. She'd managed to land a few hits, no doubt causing more bruises, while Ed had only managed one or two.

Even though he knew he still wasn't on the same level as her, Ed didn't think it would still be this hard to win against Teacher. Only a couple of his blows had made it through her defences and he was proud even though she returned the blows twice as much. Ed felt pain lance through his right shoulder, at least the part that wasn't automail, and knew Ayala had been hit though it didn't feel too bad. He could see Sig, Suna, Al and Chester watching from the sidelines. All of them were watching avidly and Chester still looked like he was wound to spring into action any time. Ed decided maybe a change in tactics was necessary.

"On the count of three, we're gonna switch, okay?" Ed said telepathically as he was forced to flip out of the way of one of Izumi's blows. Ayala agreed, knowing what he was planning. "1, 2, 3!" He called and immediately rolled away from Izumi while Ayala broke away from Koda. Clapping just before he got to his feet and slamming his hands into the ground when he dodged one of Koda's swipes, he created twin staffs. These were shorter than Teacher's one but that's what he needed. He quickly crossed them to catch Koda's paw as it went to slam down on him and pushed it away before launching a series of his own attacks.

The surprise change in opponents worked but only for a few seconds before Izumi and Koda adjusted to who they were fighting. Ed still had his automail blade but after he nearly cut himself with it, he quickly transmuted it back to normal. One of Koda's swipes landed and he thanked his lucky stars it hit his automail leg, shredding his pants but causing no damage to the actual automail. Koda roared with pain and surprise as her claws almost snapped from the impact. Ed used this to his advantage and went on the oppressive.

Ayala and Izumi weren't doing much more than dodging each other's attacks. Neither of them had managed to land a single blow as yet and they were basically circling each other. They kept at it though, knowing one of them would slip up and that was all the other would need to turn this fight to their advantage. Unfortunately for her, Ayala was distracted for a split second by Koda managing to land that blow to Ed's leg and Izumi jumped on that distraction immediately and Ayala found herself on the defensive once again.

The fight was finally decided when Izumi managed to land a blow hard enough to daze Ayala and turn Ed's focus to her, giving Koda the opportunity to knock him flat on his arse. After keeping him pinned until Izumi gave her the okay, Koda eventually let him up and he ruffled her fur before heading for his still-dazed wolf.

"You okay?" He asked, crouching in front of her so he could look at her eyes. They were slightly unfocused for a moment but once they locked onto his, her vision stopped spinning.

 _"I'm good. Gonna have a killer headache though,"_  she half-joked and Ed grinned, happy that she was still able to joke.

"If it gets too bad, let me know so I can heal it," he told her before wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug. "That's the longest we've ever lasted against those two with so little injuries. Good job, Aya." She hadn't realised and she felt a huge swell of pride build up in her and she responded to his praise by licking him up the side of the face and laughing as he complained.

He straightened up to face the rest of the lecture only to find himself suddenly wrapped in Izumi's arms as she hugged him. To say he was surprised was an understatement. He could count on one hand the amount of times Teacher had hugged him. She didn't say anything but she didn't have too. Ed wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Neither one mentioned the few tears that managed to escape Ed as Koda and Ayala joined in on the hug. Neither one of them let go for as long as they possibly could before they both pulled away and Izumi kindly pretended not see Ed wipe his eyes dry from any remaining tears before they all headed back over to the rest of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit on the shorter side but here's some Izumi for you all! Let me know what you thought to how I wrote her because she is one of the characters who I adore and am so worried about doing her justice in this story!


	24. Chapter 24

The rest of the afternoon was spent with no more physical fights between anyone in the group. It was, for the most part, downright relaxing. Ed and Al showed them a few more shops that seemed to get their interest and both Sig and Izumi were able to purchase things they needed or wanted. Koda and Suna even managed to get a few things after some begging and really excellent puppy-dog eyes from the Retriever.

By the end of the day, Izumi was noticeably lagging, apparently not as recovered from her relapse yesterday as they thought. Sig was hovering around her, ready to catch her at any moment should she collapse, constantly asking if she was okay. The love and adoration that seemed to exude from their very skin would've made Al blush if he could've and Ed nearly groaned in typical teenage disgust at the sappiness displayed in front of him. Ayala and Chester decidedly ignored their humans less than mature reactions.

By the time night fell, Teacher had decided they'd had enough shopping for the day and they all headed back to the Curtis' hotel, much to Koda and Sig's relief. The brothers helped them carry all of their shopping up to their room and dumped the bags in the corner, out of the way of everyone. Sig and Izumi were talking the entire way up and had come to the agreement that they'd be catching the afternoon train back to Dublith tomorrow. Sig was antsy to get back to his butcher shop. Apparently they were getting massive amounts of customers and Sig was worried about how Mason was handling running the entire shop with only his Animal to help out, though it was handy for Mason to have a chimp as an Animal for that reason. The boys were ready to head back to the Hughes', they'd be just in time for dinner, but Izumi had a different plan for them. She demanded they have dinner together in the hotel's restaurant and the boys knew better than to argue.

"Can you let Gracia know I won't be back in time for dinner? Teacher wants to have dinner out with us. Hopefully we'll be back before El has to go to bed," Ed asked Lilith sending her a message through their connection. The smaller grey fox immediately answered.

 _"Of course."_  There were a few seconds pause where Lilith passed the message along to her human before she got back to Ed.  _"Gracia says to have fun and that she'll see you when you two get home."_  Ed's heart kinda stuttered when she said that word. Home. That was something he hadn't had for a long, long time and Gracia had gone and said that like it was no big deal. Ayala whined in concern at the swirl of emotions flooding through him. This hadn't been a conversation she was looped into so she didn't realise what had been said.

"Brother? You okay?" Al asked sounding slightly worried. Izumi looked impassive to the casual passer-by but there were certain tells you could spot if you truly knew her. Sig was frowning, evidently concerned with the look that must have crossed Ed's face and Ed wasn't sure he wanted to know how he'd actually looked to garner these reactions.

"Of course, Al. Completely fine." He smiled lightly, lying through his teeth. "I was just speaking to Lilith so she could let Gracia know we wouldn't be there for dinner. You really don't want Hughes hunting you down because he's worried," he lightly joked. Al shuddered at the memory that was summoned by Ed's words. A worried Hughes was not a fun Hughes. Still, Al wasn't completely buying his big brother's assurances.

"If everyone's finished, let's head for dinner," Izumi ordered and they followed her quickly. Koda bumped shoulders with Ed and gave him a meaningful look. Obviously she hadn't bought what he'd said either.

 _"Are you sure you're okay?"_  Ayala asked, still worried about what he'd been feeling. She really wanted to know what Lilith or Gracia had said to cause that reaction.

"I'm okay. Gracia just said that she'd see us when we got home. Guess I wasn't expecting that," Ed commented casually and silently but Ayala didn't need to be his Animal to see right through his act. She understood what it would mean for Edward to have a home again. Someplace he would always feel welcome, loved and wanted. Some place he didn't have to be afraid, constantly looking over his shoulder or reminded of what he'd done.

She also knew that there was no way in the world Gracia or Hughes hadn't picked up on that. They'd have been blind not to see the faraway looks on his face when he was looking at their family photos or the soft smile that sometimes snuck up on him when he was watching the three of them interact as a family. She ended up sending a disbelieving hum through their bond but she didn't press the issue. She didn't need to, after all.

* * *

Dinner was actually surprisingly fun. Normally, dinner with the Curtis' was a cautious affair. Izumi didn't talk much. She was content with just observing her two ex-students and seeing how much they'd grown up. They were so different to when they first came to her as little snot-nosed brats and she couldn't help but compare them to how she remembered them. Koda was doing the same thing. Sig and Suna were happy to pick up the slack in Izumi's conversational skills tonight and, aside from a worried and semi-calculating glance from Ed, the boys didn't seem to mind or notice she was a little quieter than normal. She found herself reminiscing about the first few months of their tutelage, specifically dinner time. It was the only meal of the day where she wasn't fighting them, quizzing them or not physically there.

The boys had to behave a different way when dining with them than they would have by themselves or with the Rockbells. It wasn't like they had to be quiet or perfectly well-behaved at the dinner table. No one could expect any child to act like that but they had to be careful not to be too rowdy, too rough or too loud. They could still have fun, joke about, talk excitedly about what they'd done that day but they had to stay within Izumi's limits. For the first couple of months when they first came on as her students, after the island, it was a learning curve for both the boys and Izumi.

Izumi had never had her students around her all day, every day and she did have her days where her patience wore too thin. She remembered one time she'd snapped at Al so harshly she made him cry. Ed had immediately jumped to his little brother's defence and yelled right back at her. If she hadn't been so impressed, and more than a little shocked, Ed probably would've copped a beating but both boys and Ayala escaped to their room right after Ed realised what he'd actually done and he was smart enough not to stick around long enough for her likely violent reaction. However, Ed had said some very choice things that had metaphorically knocked her on her arse and there would've been no retaliation from her, even if Ed had stuck around.

She'd gone to bed that night after Sig had checked on the boys to make sure they had completed their bedtime routine. She didn't even have to ask her husband to do that and when she thanked him, he'd dismissed it with a wave of his meaty hand and kissed her temple good night before rolling over to get some sleep. Izumi was tired as well but Ed's words and Al's tear-stained face had bounced around in her head, preventing her from sleeping. The worst part was she couldn't even remember what Alphonse had done to warrant her anger. It had happened merely an hour ago and she couldn't remember. Koda was of no help either. She hadn't been paying attention until Ed had started yelling at her human.

Ed had yelled a lot of things at Izumi but one thing had struck her the most. He'd told her that he was glad they weren't her real kids if that was how she'd treat them. Ed, of course, hadn't known how deep that comment would actually cut when he said it but he'd seen her expression and that was enough for him to realise he may have overstepped the line and made him retreat to his room, dragging Al and Ayala with him, leaving her standing in stunned silence at the dining table. Sig had immediately checked on her and it took a long time to assure him she was okay before he stopped his fussing. That night had changed a lot in her and the boys' relationships. Ed had immediately apologised in the morning and Al had apologised for upsetting her. She in turn had apologised to Alphonse for yelling at him and praised Ed for standing up to her. She wasn't soft enough to take it easier on them during training but they only grew closer after that.

Laughter at the table forced her out of her memories and she found herself watching a very irate and wet Chester. Somehow a glass of water had been knocked over on top of him and he was the only one who didn't find the situation funny. She could tell that Al was trying to contain his laughter as he used a napkin to try and dry his leopard off with. Izumi managed to crack a smile at the expression on his face and the genuine laughter that glittered in Ed's eyes as he listened to Chester's grumbling and the teasing expression that crossed his face as he silently spoke to him. Even Sig had made a couple of jokes at Chester's expense, causing the leopard to glare at him though it's effectiveness was lost behind the napkin draped over his head. Sig's large hand wrapped itself around hers under the table and he brought their clasped hands up to his lips to kiss it, his eyes finding hers and silently asking if she was okay. She let her smile answer and he seemed pleased enough with it. Some muttering at the other end of the table caught her attention and she immediately snapped into teacher mode.

"Wanna repeat that, you little brat?" She snapped and caused Ed to jump back in his seat and away from Al, fear shining from his very skin and he vehemently shook his head and stuttered out an apology. She leaned back in her chair, smirk in place. "That's what I thought." Chester must've teased him because Ed sent a scowl his way which just made the leopard's eyes glint in amusement. Ed seemed to jolt a little as he remembered something because he was facing Izumi again, none of the previous fear evident in his features. It amused her sometimes how quickly these two boys seemed to recover from these sorts of moments.

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask you something, Teacher. Ayala just reminded me," he said, giving the wolf a scratch behind the ears before continuing. "You've seen Al's seal, right?"

"Of course I have. What about it?" She asked in her usual grouchy manner. Ed didn't seem as phased by it as he normally did.

"I was gonna ask if you think it'd be alright up north in all that snow? We both think it will be since rain doesn't affect it but I've been thinking and I've realised we've only ever been caught outside in light rainfall and I've heard that Fort Briggs gets some really intense and heavy blizzards. I just want to be absolutely sure before we head up." His voice was beyond concerned and the way Al shifted had made it evident that they'd been talking about this for a while,

"Brother, I really think I'll be okay," Al said, sounding like it was the fiftieth time he'd said it. Ed simply responded with a pointed glare before turning back to face their teacher. She was thinking about it, taking what they'd told her about their travels and using the knowledge Truth had given her to try and get an answer. Finally, she looked back up to catch Ed's eye.

"I think he'll be fine." Ed let out an obvious sigh of relief and relaxed back into his chair to listen to anything else she had to say. "I doubt the snow will be able to reach his seal no matter how heavy it fell unless he was idiotic enough to take his helmet off." She sent Alphonse a pointed glare that put Ed's to shame and Al was quick to assure her he would not be doing that anytime soon. "If you're really that worried about it, I'm sure you two morons could figure out a way to protect the seal from damage." Ed was too happy at having his worries put to rest that he didn't even react to the insult. He just grinned up at Al and rapped his knuckles against the kid's armour.

"Thanks, Teacher," he said gratefully when he turned his attention back to her for a moment before the desserts Sig had ordered for them arrived. Izumi didn't protest the title and she didn't glare reproachfully at her husband for buying them dessert. This was a special occasion so dessert was permissible.

 _"You're getting soft in your old age."_  Izumi could hear the smirk in Koda's voice. She shot her bear an unimpressed look.

"Be careful what you say, Koda. This old lady will still kick your arse." There was no bite in her silent words and the bear just laughed at her. A slight cough from the other end of the table made Izumi stop her attempts at shooting daggers with her eyes at her Animal to find Ed looking at Koda, engaged in their own silent conversation. Izumi couldn't help the small amounts of jealousy that flared up inside her momentarily at the fact that another person could talk to her Animal like that before she stamped it out mercilessly. It was a ridiculous feeling and Ed's ability would save them so much trouble when it came to passing along sensitive information about this nationwide array and the homunculi. A small flash of embarrassment and a large amount of amusement made its way from Koda through the bond. "What'd the kid have to say?" Izumi was curious. Sue her.

 _"He was just reminding me to make sure he was blocked from hearing any private conversations between us,"_  the bear chuckled and Izumi sighed internally before facing Edward who was seemingly trying to both avoid and hold eye contact with her. It was hilarious to her, not that she showed it.

"So do you think this housewife is getting soft in her old age too?" The question was asked in an almost teasing manner with an almost imperceptible threating undertone that Ed most definitely picked up on as he vehemently shook his head and stuttered out a 'no'. The way Al's armour shook slightly at the shoulders told Izumi he was either holding back his laughter or trembling in fear. If the massive grin on his face was anything to go by, Sig was extremely amused by Ed's reaction. She gave Sig a lovingly exasperated look before turning her attention back to the boys. Ed and Ayala were both glaring at Chester for something the leopard must've said. It was almost eerie how identical their expressions were. Both pairs of golden eyes were unnerving and having them both looking at you with the exact same expression would be unsettling, to say the least. "So, Edward. Your brother has told us about a few of your missions. Why don't you tell us some of the things you've been up to since you decided to become a military dog?" Izumi asked demandingly and Ed knew better than to refuse.

He spent the next hour regaling them with tales about his missions. Izumi interrupted every now and then with critiques and observations about them that Ed made sure to listen to. Every word from Izumi was worth listening too. He and Al both knew better than to dismiss anything she said. Any of it could come in handy in the future. There were only a couple of stories where she didn't have anything to say, instead simply staying quiet and nodding her head slightly. That was as good as her saying 'good job' and all four Elrics silently preened at the praise. A few retellings had Izumi yelling at them for their stupidity and if they weren't in a restaurant, the critiques would probably be accompanied by a beating. As it was, the wait staff and fellow customers were looking at them with either curiousity or annoyance at the disruptions to their evenings. Izumi paid them no mind.

Sig was the first one to notice how much time had passed. Ed was in the middle of telling them about their mission before Liore, the one that involved the alchemist who was intent on targeting peoples Spirit Animals, when he pointed out the time to the rest of them. Ed swore softly under his breath though not soft enough that Izumi could miss it. She immediately backhanded him and reprimanded him for his language. He scowled and rubbed the back of his head before mumbling an apology. Izumi glared at him for a moment longer before raising a hand to signal they were ready for the cheque.

Ed immediately dug for his wallet and reached for the bill but Izumi snatched it before he could. For a moment he looked like he was going to argue but he seemed to think better of it and put his wallet away, a confused expression flitting across his face before he followed Al's lead in thanking Sig and Izumi for dinner. Once the bill was paid, the boys and their Animals followed the Curtis' and their Animals back out into the lobby before coming to a stop so they could part ways.

"What time is your train leaving tomorrow? We want to see you off," Al asked once they made sure they couldn't be overheard. Al blamed his brother's and teacher's paranoia for that. Sig and their Animals just rolled with it.

"It's leaving at 9 in the morning," Izumi answered curtly like she was trying to discourage them from accompanying them. Ed nodded but didn't say anything, leaving that up to his much more polite little brother.

"We'll meet you here at-" Al cut himself off at the exact moment Chester, Ed and Ayala all stiffened. A millisecond later, Al realised why they'd reacted like that. He could sense it through Chester. There was a homunculous nearby. A second later, Koda, Izumi, Suna and Sig were noticeably on edge and Al figured Ed must've told them. A pointed look from his brother made Al keep talking. "Sorry. We'll meet you here at, what, 8:00am? Or did you want to get breakfast first?" Al asked while Ayala and Ed looked around the room carefully and discreetly. The other Animals were doing their own check or their surroundings.

"You expect us to eat train food? No, we'll get breakfast beforehand. Your shout," Izumi told them and Al nodded before Ed caught his eyes and shook his head minutely. None of them could see the homunculous which either meant it was gone or it was outside waiting for them. Ayala couldn't sense them anymore and, after a quick check, Ed realised none of the Animals could sense it. He was leaning towards being cautiously optimistic they'd caught a lingering scent, like at the First Branch, so he re-joined the conversation.

"We'll see you here for breakfast?" Ed confirmed and Izumi nodded, head slightly tilted towards Koda, obviously listening to what the bear was saying. Ed and Al said their goodbyes and, after a near bone-breaking slap on Ed's shoulder by Sig, they headed for the street. Izumi and Sig watched them carefully until they were out of sight before they headed up for their room with their Animals.

"They'll be alright, love. They're strong boys and they know to contact Koda or Suna if something happens before they make it back to the Hughes'," Sig murmured just loud enough for Izumi to hear and she sighed before looking up at him with adoring eyes.

"I know, dear. I'm not worried about those two brats. They were trained by me so I expect them to be able to handle a small problem like a homunculous. If they can't, they'll have me to answer too," Izumi said fiercely, eyes burning with a promise of violence that would've put both Elric's on edge if they'd been there to see it. Sig just smiled lovingly at her. This was his wife's way of showing how much she worried and cared. Despite her nonchalance towards the matter, he knew she'd be up until Koda heard if they'd made it back safe.

* * *

Ed and Al were pleased with their ability to act like they weren't on edge as they walked home. Ayala and Chester were walking slightly behind both of them in case someone snuck up behind them but overall, they felt like they looked like they didn't have a care in the world. They discussed things they'd seen during the day that they would've liked to have bought or shops they were never going to visit again while keeping all of their senses alert and utilising all of their training in case they were ambushed.

Ayala had told Ed, who'd passed the message onto Al, that this wasn't a homunculous she recognised, which ruled out the Fuhrer, the woman from the Fifth Lab and the second scent they'd picked up outside of the charred remains of the First Branch. Chester piped up and told them the scent wasn't similar to the one in Dublith and Ed had killed the only other one they'd seen or sensed which meant this was a whole new one and Ed scowled with that realisation. For all they knew, there could be 60 homunculi running around Amestris and he hated not being certain.

They kept it up with the light chatter all the way to the Hughes' front door and were relieved to have reached it without sensing the homunculi again. They didn't relax until they were let in by Gracia and the door was shut behind them though, just in case. Gracia greeted them like she normally would, asking about their day and making general small talk while Ed removed his shoes and jackets, but Ed had been staying with them for too long not to have picked up her tells and he could see she knew something was up with them. A pang of guilt passed through him at the realisation he was making her worried.

He felt Ayala send Koda the message that they got back safely while they were walking down the hall and he was grateful for that. He knew he would've forgotten otherwise. They rounded the corner into the living room and Ed managed to realise Mustang and Hughes weren't in the room before he found himself suddenly under attack by Elysia, who somehow managed to look tired, scolding and excited all at the same time. Ed knew he was about to get dressed down by the five-year-old and decided to head her off before she could start.

"I'm sorry we're so late, El. Teacher and Sig wanted to have dinner with us since they're going home tomorrow and we got busy talking." He knelt down so he was eye level with the blonde and used the most apologetic expression he could muster. Ayala offered her own apology by giving the little girl the most dramatic puppy-dog eyes she could muster. Chester finally made her forget her anger by unleashing his kitten eyes on her and causing her to giggle at them.

"It's okay, big brothers! Mummy said you'd be home late but that you'd be here for dinner tomorrow night instead! And if I was on my bestest behaviour, she was gonna ask if you could make brekky in the morning!" Elysia told them delightedly and Gracia was able to shoot Ed an apologetic look that he waved off.

"Well, were you on your bestest behaviour tonight?" Ed asked, deadly serious and Elysia nodded so enthusiastically, he couldn't help but grin a little. "Then I guess I'm making breakfast. You've gotta be up really early though 'cuz we have to go to the train station to say goodbye to Teacher and Sig." Gracia pursed her lips slightly and Ed sent her a questioning look.

"I didn't realise they were leaving so soon. How about Ed cooks breakfast for you the morning after so he can say goodbye to his teacher?" Gracia asked Elysia, who pouted her displeasure but nodded after a moment. Ed ruffled her hair.

"Thanks, kiddo." He smiled at her and she gave him a toothy grin back. Mustang and Hughes decided to enter the living room at the moment Ed was straightening up from his crouch.

Maes' face immediately lit up upon seeing them both and Nala was only slightly less enthusiastic as they both greeted them. Maes came over and wrapped Ed up in a bear hug that the blonde allowed for precisely one second before he tried to squirm his way out of it. Mustang hung back in the room, amused, and offered as much help as Al did which was none. Hughes finally let him go after a solid poke in the ribs by his automail and turned his affectionate attention Al which let Ed take the chance reacquaint his lungs with air. The fact that Al couldn't feel hugs, or any sort of contact, didn't stop Maes from trying to give him the same treatment as his brother.

"I'm glad you boys are back safe and sound," Hughes said as he grinned at both of them, relinquishing his hold on Al. "We were starting to get a bit worried about you." He told them and Mustang rolled his eyes at Hughes definition of 'a bit worried'. The bespectacled man had been slowly working himself into a frenzy the second Elysia's bedtime had passed, convinced Ed and Al had managed to get kidnapped. Mustang had to acknowledge it was a legitimate concern considering the unnerving amounts of times one of them, usually Ed, had been kidnapped. Gracia had helpfully calmed her husband down by pointing out that Ed, Ayala or Chester would've contacted one of their Animals if something had happened and that it was exceedingly unlikely someone or something had managed to knock all three of them unconscious at the same time.

"We weren't that late," Ed frowned. They were only half an hour late which, considering their track record at being on time, wasn't that bad. "Besides, we can take of ourselves," he pointed out and Al made a noise that told Ed he was rolling his eyes.

"What Ed meant to say is that we're sorry for making you worried," Al told them and Ed looked at him incredulously. Mustang snorted in disbelief and somehow managed to make it seem like a cough. Hughes paid no attention to the apology.

"Don't worry about it. But now that you're here, it is time for a certain someone to go to bed so they don't wake up cranky," Hughes said, looking at Elysia pointedly.

"Mustang?" Ed quipped before Elysia could whine and both Hughes and Gracia snorted in amusement at the look on Mustang's face. Nala cackled at her human's expense and Al simply sighed resignedly. "Sorry. Couldn't resist." Ed shrugged unapologetically though he didn't sound overly sorry. It was enough that Al didn't lecture him on respecting his superior officers. After they'd collected themselves, Maes and Gracia managed to get Elysia to say goodnight to everyone and up to bed. Ed managed to escape to the shower and finally wash off all the sweat and dirt that he'd accumulated thanks to his fight with Izumi.

"So Al says you were followed by a homunculous tonight." Ed jumped as he dumped his dirty laundry on top of his suitcase. He had not been expecting to be spoken to as soon as he entered the living room. Mustang was still looking at him for an answer and both Gracia and Hughes looked concerned. Ed shot Al a half-hearted glare before he flopped down next to his brother and Animal on the couch.

"That's not strictly accurate," Ed said. "Technically, Ayala and Chester picked up a new scent while we were still in the hotel lobby Teacher and Sig are staying at. They couldn't sense anything once we were outside and nothing was out of the ordinary on our way back." Ed shrugged nonchalantly. "I would've told you myself once I got out of the shower. I'm not stupid enough to keep that sort of thing to myself." He glared at Mustang, mainly for the tone of voice the man had used. Mustang did not seem phased by the glare and, if Ed didn't know better, he even looked worried.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" Maes asked, evidently concerned about the danger possibly posed to his family if the way he squeezed Gracia's hand was any indication.

"I promise we saw no sign we were followed. Ayala nor Chester caught their scent again and we kept watch the whole way back. If we thought there was even a chance we were followed, we wouldn't have come back here." Ed was pretty proud of how well he kept the hurt out of his voice. "Besides, I really don't think they'd be stupid enough to go after you again." Maes was not the only one who was shocked by that statement.

"What do you mean, brother?" Al was eventually the one who asked.

"Well, think about it. The only reason they were going to kill Maes was to prevent him from telling us what he found out. Maybe to send us a warning or something as well but mainly to stop him from telling us about the array and they failed miserably at that," Ed said. This was something he'd been thinking about since they decided to go up north. He didn't want to put them in danger and he didn't want to leave them exposed. He didn't want something like Nina to happen again. "There is no reason to go after you guys now since they will have realised you've told us everything by now. They're gonna be too busy making sure Al and I don't cause them any problems. Plus, we might have an added bonus. I'm not certain they know I was there when Hughes was attacked so hopefully they think he has figured out a sure-fire way to kill them with one hit. They have to have noticed Palm Tree didn't survive by now," Ed finished speaking and looked up to meet Maes' eyes. The worry seemed to have dissipated a lot but there were still some underlying concerns. Ed made a gesture that told him just ask whatever was obviously bothering him.

"What if you're wrong? What if the only reason they haven't gone after me again is because you've been staying here and they know you can kill them? I can't stay here to protect them all the time without people asking questions." Ed frowned. There was always the possibility he was wrong. He was hopeful they didn't know about his involvement in what happened to Palm Tree but his luck was never that good.

"I can trap your house," he offered. "I can place alchemic traps around the house that'll go off if someone with a Philosopher's Stone steps into them. I can do it so it either traps them or destroys the stone completely. If it's a homunculous, it'll kill them at the same time." It'd be taxing and a big job to set up an array that covered the whole house but he could do it. He'd just have to have one hell of a nap afterwards.

"You could do that?" Gracia asked, cautious hope in her voice. "You could create an array that big?" Ed nodded.

"Yeah. You just have to decide whether you want the array to trap the person with a stone or destroy the stone," Ed told her. "The downside is that it can only be used once but all that means is if it's triggered, I'll have to come back to re-set it," he explained. "Though Mustang might be able to re-set it as well. It's not flame alchemy but it's not that hard to understand," he added. Mustang was about to make a comment when he realised Ed wasn't teasing him.

"We don't want the array to trap them. I won't risk Elysia or Gracia being home and stuck in the house with a trapped and pissed-off homunculous," Maes finally said.

Ed nodded his understanding. He figured that would be the call they'd make. It would've been the call he would've made as well. He thought of his Philosopher Stone destroying array and pictured any changes he thought he needed to make before he went and fetched some paper and a pencil to sketch out the array. He needed to make sure it was perfect before he placed it over the house. He sat back in his spot and quickly sketched it out before showing Al. They made a few more changes before they were both happy with it.

"Where's the centre point of your entire house, yard included?" Ed asked, standing up, array clutched in his hand. Maes stood as well, a little surprised.

"You wanna do it now?" He asked incredulously. Ed frowned at him in confusion.

"Yeah. Is there a reason I can't?" He asked, suddenly unsure but Maes shook his head.

"No, I just assumed you wouldn't set it up until before you left to go see your pretty mechanic," Maes said, familiar teasing making its way into his voice.

"Sister, Hughes. She's basically my sister." Ed rolled his eyes. "Centre point?" He asked again, shoving Maes back onto the original topic. The teasing did relieve some of the unrealised nervousness in the room. Hughes gestured for Ed to follow him, the blonde obeyed immediately and wasn't surprised when Ayala, Nala and Mustang followed him.

* * *

Once they reached the point Hughes had deemed the centre of his home, an indiscriminate part of a hallway, Ed crouched down and smoothed out his sketch. He studied it carefully, paying close attention to all the changes they'd made and once he was 100% confident he'd memorised it; he clapped his hands together. The sound rang out and he felt the energy build. He let it grow, the pressure straining against him, demanding to be let out but he refused until he had enough energy built for the job at hand. As soon as he reached that point, he slammed his hands onto the floorboards and let the energy out with an almost pained gasp. The released energy ruffled their clothing and hair as it rolled passed them and Ed watched it carefully, making sure it covered the entirety of the area before he stopped the energy flow and completed the array.

He was pretty proud of himself for managing to pull it off so perfectly and even more proud when he barely stumbled when he straightened up from the sudden lack of energy. Ayala nudged her head up under his flesh arm and he sighed before silently assuring her he was completely fine and repeating himself to Nala when she butted her head on his thigh. He felt a hand on his flesh shoulder and looked up to see both Hughes and Mustang looking concerned. Judging from the way Hughes questioningly said his name just now, they must've been said his name a couple times before and Ed had completely missed it. The array may not have been at the same level, energy-draining wise, as the human transmutation array but it was still one of the tougher ones he's had to pull off, if only because of the precision needed.

"Yeah, sorry. It's all done. Once a Stone comes into contact with the circle, it'll destroy it. Like I said before, it works once and then an alchemist will need to re-arm it," Ed told them and his temple throbbed slightly with the headache he had known was coming. He nearly missed Mustang's eye-roll and Hughes' soft, yet slightly exasperated, sigh. His brows furrowed with confusion. "What?" He snapped. Hadn't he just answered their question?

"I was asking if you were okay, Ed," Hughes explained and Ed's face turned surprised before softening a little. Mustang frowned a little at that. Surely Ed didn't really think they weren't concerned with his well-being?

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, unconvincingly if Hughes' flat stare was anything to go by. "Fine. I've got a headache and I'm a bit tired. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix and certainly nothing to be worried about," Ed told them matter-of-factly.

Ed would never admit to anyone the warmth that ran through him momentarily when he'd realised that both men were genuinely worried about him, though confusion certainly wormed it's way through him at the realisation that Mustang was worried about him too. That didn't compute with the last three years of interactions with the man. Unless Ayala and Nala were right all along and it was merely an act? He was jolted, literally, out of that thought by someone pushing on the small of his back and making him stumble a couple steps forward. A glance over his shoulder proved that it was Maes trying to make him move back towards the living room.

"I'll get you some painkillers for that headache while you go lay down," Maes told him, removing his hand so Ed didn't have to.

"Don't bother. I don't need them. It's just a small headache," Ed flippantly waved off their concern as he finally made it into the lounge room and was immediately greeted by an anxious Al. He barely had time to register Al's behaviour before he suddenly had a seven-foot-tall suit of armour hovering over him.

"Are you okay, brother? Chester said you felt dizzy," cue dirty look at the completely unfazed leopard "and I felt that wave of energy. It was massive! So I knew there'd be something up with you even before Ches said anything so please stop glaring at him," Al requested and Ed did as he was asked, rolling his eyes and huffing, before he bypassed his brother and collapsed on the couch Ayala was already waiting on.

"Headache, tired, that's it," Ed told him gruffly as he made himself comfortable, grumbling slightly when Ayala licked his forehead in concern. Al made a concerned, humming noise but, thankfully, didn't press him for a more detailed report.

The next thing Ed registered was the feeling of a small hand pressing something into his flesh hand. Opening his eyes revealed Gracia was kneeling by his side and was giving him some aspirin, glass of water ready to be passed over once he sat up. Just as Maes had suspected, Ed muttered about not needing it but sat up and swallowed both pills for Gracia with minimum fuss. Ed must've heard his light chuckle because he flipped him off as he lay back down, causing Maes to laugh a little more.

Gracia bent in front of Ed and was telling him something, voice too soft for Maes to make out but Ed gave a small smile and nod in response before she stood back up, Ed's gaze following her carefully. Al moved to go sit next to his brother and Ed gave him his trademark grin before they delved into an almost silent conversation. Chester was there, curled up against Ed's legs and appeared to be dozing though Maes could see the small twitches of his ears betraying he was listening.

A pointed head tilt from Gracia has the two other adults heading towards the kitchen and sitting at the table while Gracia bustles around the kitchen before joining them with freshly made cuppas. It didn't escape either of their notices that they could hear the two boys talking in the lounge room, low enough they still couldn't hear it though. Roy looked around and noticed his Animal had joined the Elrics and couldn't even pretend to be surprised. Nala seemed to have decided that if he couldn't show how much he truly cared and worried about them both, she was going to do it enough for the both of them. Leo and Lilith were curled up next to each other, in between the chairs their humans were sitting at. They chatted quietly amongst themselves until they'd finished their drinks, the conversation turning from Gracia assuring them Ed was definitely okay to them discussing the things they needed to do to ensure Gracia and Elysia would be okay when they left the house. After all, the array only defended them when they were within the circle.

By the end of the conversation, Maes looked much more relaxed than he had since before the boys left the house that morning. Al's quiet laughter floated through the walls and they assumed it was safe to head back into the lounge room, diverting to the kitchen to deposit their dirty mugs in the sink. They walked in to see Al sitting cross-legged in front of the couch while Ed lay propped against Ayala with Chester curled at his feet and Nala lazing on the back. The brothers were talking about something that had happened during the day while they were out but they stopped talking once the adults came back in the room.

"We're gonna head off to bed. Do you need anything?" Gracia asked as Mustang gathered his things up to head for the bathroom.

"Nah, we're good, thanks," Ed told them. "Good night." He smiled and Al echoed his words. Maes and Gracia returned the sentiment and Maes headed for the bathroom to shout 'good night' to Mustang through the locked door, causing the other man to angrily curse him before he gruffly said it back and Maes followed his wife upstairs, winking at the Elrics before he disappeared out of view.

"No wonder you and the lieutenant-colonel get along, brother. You both take way too much pleasure in annoying Colonel Mustang," Al said somewhat disapprovingly. Ed laughed softly and petted his brother's arm a couple of times.

"I'm sure he's used to it by now," Ed pointed out and Al would've rolled his eyes if he had them. "Let's move onto something a bit more intriguing. Teacher hugged me!" Ed reminded him and Al nodded. "She doesn't hug people unless they're Sig! Why did she hug me?"

"I dunno. She hugged me when I explained what had happened that night. Maybe she was telling us she cares and that she's happy we're not dead?" Al suggested and Ed considered that for a moment but didn't look overly convinced. "You could always ask her tomorrow when we see them off," Al pointed out and Ed gave him a scandalised look.

"And getting beaten halfway to death for asking something stupid? No way! You ask her," Ed almost shouted and Al cackled at him, causing Ed to scowl slightly, especially when both Ayala and Chester laughed inside his head. "This is serious! Teacher has never hugged us before. What if something's wrong?" Ed asked, the concern in his voice causing Al and the Animals to stop their laughing.

"Ed, I'm sure she's as fine as she always is. If something was wrong, Koda would've told you and Sig would be more worried than usual about her. I think the hugs were her way of showing she understood why we did it and that she is happy we survived," Al said rationally and Ed slumped further in his spot while he thought it over. Of course his brother had a point. Sig definitely wouldn't be this calm if Izumi wasn't as healthy as she normally is and he knew Koda would tell him. That bear had always told them if Izumi wasn't feeling well though she did have to go through Ayala to do it.

"You're probably right," Ed eventually said and Al snorted. Ed ignored him in favour of arranging himself more comfortably on the couch, stifling a yawn his brother still spotted.

"You should get some sleep, brother. That array really took it out of you," Al fussed as he watched Ed struggle to keep his eyes from drooping.

 _"Your brother's right. Get some sleep, Ed,"_  Ayala injected before Ed could argue with Al about how tired he was.

"M'not tired though," Ed pouted, voice dripping in exhaustion.

 _"I can literally feel how tired you are. Stop arguing and go to sleep. Unless you want Izumi to yell at you when you fall asleep at breakfast in the morning."_  Ayala smirked knowing she had won from the way Ed glared at her but couldn't stop the slight shiver of fear at the thought of that happening.

"Fine," Ed scowled, knowing he'd lost and burrowed further into the blankets Al had thrown over him. "G'night." He yawned and even Chester was impressed by how quickly he managed to fall asleep.

"'Not tired'. Yeah, right," Al scoffed fondly as he grabbed his book and leant against the arm of the chair his brother was facing. Ayala let out an amused snort that could have also been a sneeze before she closed her eyes and dozed until she was tired enough to fall asleep herself.

* * *

Nala lifted her head up and watched the doorway and Al wasn't surprised to see the Colonel walk back into the lounge room slash temporary bedroom. Al saw Mustang's expression soften as his eyes fell onto the sleeping blonde before he turned the main light off and got himself comfortable on his couch-turned-bed. Nala waited until he stopped his movements before leaping clean over Ed's sleeping form and landing with barely a sound before she padded over to her human and curled up on his legs. Al was quite content to sit there in the comfortable silence and read his book when Mustang's whispered voice broke it.

"Is he alright?" Al looked over at the older man and saw him watching Ed with worry before is dark eyes flicked over to Al, waiting for his answer.

"Yeah. He's just tired. Some good sleep will do him a world of wonders," Al reassured him. Hopefully Ed was so deeply asleep the nightmares that plagued him wouldn't find him tonight. Al knew his brother had woken up a few times since he got back to Central from his sleep because of nightmares, no matter how much Ed denied it the next morning.

"That's good. I didn't realise the array would take so much out of him. I'm surprised Hughes didn't say anything considering he must've seen how tired Fullmetal was when he destroyed that homunculous," Mustang frowned. It wasn't like his best friend to not have noticed that sort of thing and to have not brought it up tonight when Ed offered to prime the array.

"I doubt the lieutenant-colonel noticed," Al's tinny voice broke him out of his thoughts. A questioning hum prompted the armour to continue. "Brother was in a pretty nasty fight beforehand and he had just been released from hospital so I wouldn't be surprised if he'd just assumed the tiredness was from all of that, not just the act of destroying that stone," Al pointed out and Mustang was kind of embarrassed he hadn't thought of that. "Plus, Ed is really good at hiding that sort of thing if he wants too," the young boy reminded him and Mustang snorted in agreement. He was well aware that his youngest subordinate had probably hidden the vast majority of his injuries and exhaustion over the years.

"You've got a point there," Mustang conceded. He sighed as he felt his own brand of tiredness catch up with him from his own busy day. Just because they'd finally unpacked the entirety of the office didn't mean his 1st lieutenant was going easy on the paperwork. He'd been pretty sure he'd signed at least half a forest's worth of paper before lunch and that was on top of house hunting so he didn't have to sleep on Maes' couch anymore.

To wrap up Mustang's day, he'd spent the night dealing with Maes' growing worry about the boys not being back until Gracia got a message from Ed telling them they would be back before Elysia's bedtime which had then come and gone with no sign of the Elric brothers or their Animals, causing Mustang to start worrying as he also tried to stop Maes from sending out a search party, before they'd finally gotten back only to be told that they'd possibly been stalked by a new homunculous. Then Ed had to end the night by nearly collapsing from overexerting himself, causing Mustang's concern to finally bleed through his usual mask and Ed had noticed, if the look of confusion and cautious happiness was anything to go by. He was going to have to ask Alphonse about that second emotion when Edward wasn't nearby to overhear them. Deciding that getting some sleep would be more productive, if only so he didn't get shot by Hawkeye for falling asleep on his paperwork again, he bade the youngest Elric a good night before shutting his eyes and eventually drifting off to sleep.

Al wished the colonel a quiet good night and watched the man until his breathing evened out before he checked on his older brother who was still sleeping nice and peacefully with no sign of an approaching nightmare. Once he was happy they were both asleep, he turned back to his book. Chester helped keep him from getting bored once he'd finished the alchemy text he was reading by chatting to him about anything and everything. Ayala soon joined the conversation when she woke up sometime in the early hours, having Chester work as a messenger. Eventually he made them both go back to sleep while he grabbed a new book and waited for his brother to wake up and the new day to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a short chapter this time but I promise future chapters will be up to my usual word length. Kudos and comments are wonderful things and this author loves them immensely so please leave some?


	25. Chapter 25

Ed, Ayala, Al and Chester's morning all went by fairly quickly and before they knew it, they were watching the train bound for Dublith leave the station with their teacher, Sig and their Animals aboard. The morning had been rather uneventful, Ed and Al getting cuffs behind the ear when they said something stupid or misbehaved in front of Izumi while they had breakfast, and none of the Animals picked up any scents indicating a homunculous was nearby. Sig hugged them hard enough Ed was sure his ribs were just about to crack and that there was a new dent in Al's armour.

Koda and Suna extracted a promise out of Ed and Ayala that they would keep in contact with them and not just to pass along information about the homunculi's plans or the nationwide array. Ed had a feeling Chester and Al were asked to promise the same thing as they clambered aboard, Koda taking up as much room as Sig, forcing the four to split between two sets of benches. Ed, Al and the two Animals watched in amusement as they tried to figure out the seating plan and the glare sent their way by Izumi told them they weren't as discreet with their amusement as they thought they were. The glare made them thankful there was a train separating them from each. The train whistle blew, announcing its departure and they exchanged final goodbyes and threats from Teacher about staying in contact and not doing something stupid, like getting themselves killed. The Elrics watched until the train had completely left the station before they headed back for the Hughes' place.

"I can't decide whether I'm happy or sad that they've left," Ed broke the pleasant silence. "I am surprised neither of us were injured or killed though." Al seemed to hum in agreement.

"I'll miss them. It was fun catching up with them in Dublith and having them here for a little while." Al sounded a little melancholy before his demeanour changed. "Who would've thought Koda would've been such a mother-hen to us?" Ed looked at him bemused.

"What are you talking about? Koda was always like that. She just couldn't tell us directly like she can now," Ed reminded him and Al let out a confused noise.

"I don't remember her being so protective though. I thought she was going to eat the man who nearly knocked you over this morning!" Al exclaimed and Ed felt a minor pang of sympathy for the stranger.

"Yeah, poor bastard. He was just running late to work. Imagine having a bear standing over you and snarling because you bumped into a random person? I bet the adrenaline high doesn't wear off any time soon," Ed snickered. As bad as he felt for him, the dude was threatened because of him after all, his expression had been hilarious. "Koda had always been that protective of us though. Don't you remember? Like that time we were at the lake and you almost fell of the pier? She managed to grab you by the hem of your shirt and pull you back before you fell in and then roared at you? Teacher told us she had been angry because you hadn't listened to her telling us to be careful but Sig took us aside later and told us she'd 'yelled' because she was afraid for you," Ed recalled the memory.

He and Ayala had turned back and had been halfway down the pier when Al's startled yelp had grabbed their attention. They'd turned back and, for a heart-stopping moment, Ed had thought Koda was attacking his little brother. It was made clear a split second later that wasn't the case as she pulled Al back from the ledge and let go of his shirt just as Ed had reached him. She hadn't even torn the fabric of his shirt, a fact that had stunned Ed momentarily before he fussed over Al, making sure he was alright. The roar that Koda had let out was in such stark contrast to that proof of gentleness, Ed was sure he wouldn't have believed they came from the same Animal if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes.

"Oh! I remember that now!" Al's exclamation pulled Ed from his thoughts. He was shocked to see Maes and Gracia's home was already in view. "I can't believe I forgot about that." Something in Al's voice made Ed look up at him concerned. It was like he really hadn't remembered until Ed had described the memory to him. The older Elric looked away, deep in thought.

 _"You okay?"_  Ayala's soft voice broke through his thoughts and Ed sent her a reassuring feeling. He felt her curiosity and desire to push the subject but she didn't and he was thankful. He was too busy thinking about Al's memory problem to be trying to talk to her right now.

It wasn't the first time Al had forgotten something from their childhood. Ed couldn't remember exactly how many times this had happened since that night but it couldn't have been more than a dozen. He'd written it off as Al having been too young to remember. There were things Winry, Granny or Al had brought up from their childhood that he couldn't remember but Al should've been able to remember that moment with Koda. Even if he'd been a lot younger than 9, that roar should've been seared into his memories for life. It certainly was for Ed. Something was wrong and it frustrated Ed that he couldn't figure it out.

A squeal of delight broke him out of his thoughts this time and he came back to himself just in time to brace himself as a small figure launched itself at his legs and nearly knocked him flat. "Argh! Elysia! What's this all about?" Ed exclaimed as he stumbled back enough to collide with Al. Elysia looked up at him with her big, doe eyes and grinned ecstatically.

"Mummy said we're gonna go to the shops! If I'm real good, she said she's gonna buy me some new colouring things so I can draw more pictures for you two and daddy and Uncle Roy!" She let go of his legs and backed up slightly to jump up and down as she squealed excitedly. Gracia had made her way to the front door to watch the scene with a soft smile.

"You're welcome to join us, if you'd like. We need to do our big shop for food and everything else we need so we'll be out the whole afternoon once we've had lunch," Gracia told them and Elysia immediately turned her puppy-dog eyes onto them.

"Please, big brothers? Come shopping with us? It'll be so much fun and mummy might take us to the candy store!" Elysia begged and Gracia tried to muffle her laughter at her daughter's bribery tactics. She definitely took after her father.

"I dunno," Ed said, seemingly unconvinced. He nudged Al slightly. "What do you think, little brother?" Al pretended to contemplate while Elysia turned up her puppy-dog eyes to max effect.

"Hmm, I don't know, big brother. We've just spent all morning at the train station. Do you think this candy store is worth it?" Al asked, mock seriously, after a moment and Elysia started jumping up and down again.

"Yes! Yes it is! It's got all sorts of candies! It's got sour ones and sweet ones and ones coated in chocolate and all sorts! There's  _millions_  of candies in there!" Elysia informed them and resumed her shameless silent begging. Ed was able to hold off for nearly a minute before he grinned.

"Course we'll go with you, El. You can't keep us out of a candy store." He winked at her and she giggled with delight before wrapping her arms around each boy and Animal in joy before darting back into the house, shouting about how she was going to get ready.

Gracia rolled her eyes fondly at her enthusiasm before shooing the boys inside so she could go and remind her daughter they were leaving after lunch, not right away. Ed and Al laughed and wished her luck before they headed into the lounge room to relax after their morning. Ayala and Chester joined the both of them on the couch and Lilith soon made her appearance and curled up on Ed's lap, much to Ayala's chagrin.

* * *

Once they'd eaten lunch and cleaned up the kitchen, the four humans and their Animals headed downtown. Gracia wanted to get the small shopping done, including the promised visit to the candy shop, before the big grocery shop so they didn't have to lug the food around with them. Elysia was holding her mother's hand and enthusiastically pulling her from store to store up until she spotted the candy shop. She let go of her mother and latched onto Ed and Al and began dragging them down the street with all of her strength so they could look through the window while waiting for Gracia and the Animals to catch up. Elysia was pointing out all of the lollies she liked and not-so-subtle hinting at what ones she wanted. Once Gracia had caught up with them, Elysia started pulling them into the shop before realising the three of them wouldn't fit through the door at the same time. Al helped her make the choice about whose hand to let go of by gently extracting his from her death-grip, leaving Ed to suffer the tour by himself. The glare he received from his older brother was worth it.

Ed wasn't sure who was more excited, Elysia or the shopkeeper. The kind-eyed woman behind the counter had soon realised that Ed would pay for a small amount of each lolly Elysia recommended and the five-year-old certainly had a lot of recommendations. Gracia finally took pity on the teenager and told Elysia she needed to choose some candy for herself so they could leave. The little girl had pouted until her mother informed her that she either chose five types now or they left. The threat had the intended effect and they were soon being ushered out of the store by Gracia while the lady told them to come back anytime they wanted. A Rainbow Lorikeet they hadn't noticed initially mimicked the shopkeeper's goodbye from its perch.

They took their time walking up the street to the big grocery store and they all indulged Elysia in her excitement and babble. The afternoon reminded Ed and Al of trips into Resembool with their mother and Ed felt a sharp pain in his heart. Elysia was just as curious as they were when they were her age and Gracia was just as gentle and patient with her as their mother was with them. They didn't let their pain show any more than Al catching and squeezing Ed's hand when the sadness that always came with thinking of their mother showed in his eyes. Ed gave him a small, grateful smile before squeezing his hand back just before he released it. If Gracia had noticed, she didn't show it and Ed found himself silently thanking the woman for it. It took them almost three times as long as it should've but they finally made it to the grocery store Gracia wanted to shop at.

"Can one of you boys grab a second trolley, please?" Gracia asked as she pulled one out of the trolley bay and Ed nodded as he grabbed the requested trolley and followed her into the store.

Elysia seemed to have a game she liked to play where she tried to sneak in some sort of junk food into one of their trollies without them noticing. Ed realised that Gracia sometimes pretended not to notice when she slipped something in, making the little girl grin with delight at her apparent sneakiness. Al was roped into being her accomplice, grabbing whatever item she not-so-subtly pointed at and giving it to her to place in the chosen trolley while she tried to smother her giggles. They'd neared the end of the shop when Gracia asked them if there was anything they wanted.

"No, Miss Gracia. We'll be in Rush Valley by the end of the week. Thanks anyway," Ed told her and she frowned slightly.

"I know but that doesn't mean you can't get anything while we're here. You'll still be staying with us for a few days so if there's anything you want, go get it," she told them, not budging on the issue.

"There really isn't anything we need, Miss Gracia," he told her and added an 'I swear' when she didn't look like she believed him. She finally decided he was telling the truth and sent him first through the checkout.

Once Gracia had paid for the groceries and their delivery, they made their way out of the store. They stopped in an arts and crafts place for Elysia's promised goods since she'd behaved herself before heading back to the house, making it just in time to meet the delivery driver and help him unload the items before packing them away in the kitchen. Well, Al, Ed and Gracia did the actual unpacking while the Animals distracted Elysia long enough for them to get everything done.

* * *

Later that night, after Mustang and Hughes got back from work and they'd had dinner, Ed contacted Michella to see how long they'd be with his cold weather automail. She didn't sound pleased about being spoken to, something Ed took to mean they were in the middle of work, but she did respond after a few minutes, telling him Winry thought they'd be done in three days' time. She did remind him he'd to take it easy for a day or two so he could adjust to the weight difference since this set was made from lighter materials. He thanked her and she huffed in response before cutting their connection so she could get back to helping Winry. Ed took a moment to reflect how well Michella suited his mechanic before he told the others what she'd told him.

"So you'll be heading for Rush Valley in three days' time?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Hopefully I can get the automail fitted straight away, assuming Winry is finished when we get there. If not, we'll just hang around until she does. You never know, we might be able to find some information about everything out there. There are a lot of automail mechanics and they may have heard stories from clients that could help us." Ed shrugged as he sank back into the couch. He smirked at Mustang. "That means you have about six days to figure out a legit reason to send us north so we can talk to the Major-General, if you haven't already," he reminded him. Mustang sighed. Apparently, he hadn't already thought of an excuse. Gracia decided to change the subject before Ed could tease him, like she could see him about to do.

"How's the house-hunting going?" She asked Mustang and that was answered with an even bigger sigh.

"I think I found one that's suitable. I'm going to look at it tomorrow on my lunch break," he said, sounding rather miserable. Ed figured there were only so many houses you could look at before you get sick of it enough to just pick something completely random. "If it's suitable, I'll be out of your hair soon," he added and Gracia gave him a soft smile.

"You know we don't mind you staying here with us for however long it takes for you to get a place of your own. Just make sure it's a house you can be happy living in," Gracia told him, sounding almost stern.

"I'm grateful for that, I really am. But there's only a certain amount of time I can hang around him," he jerked a thumb in Maes' direction, "before I start questioning why he's my best friend." His eyes had a slight twinkle in them, the only indication that he was joking.

"Hey!" Maes spluttered indignantly while Ed and Gracia laughed. Even Al couldn't hold back his chuckle and, judging from their expressions, most of the Animals were laughing silently at his expense as well. Elysia was the only one who wasn't laughing, though that was probably because she hadn't been paying that much attention to the adults, too busy fighting to stay awake.

Gracia was quick to realise her daughter wasn't going to last much longer, whether her stubbornness let her stay awake or not, and took her up to her room with surprisingly little fuss from the little girl. Hughes trailed after them, complaining about the unfairness of Roy's comment and how everyone was being mean to him. Leo rolled his eyes from his newly acclaimed spot on Hughes' vacated armchair. Al nudged Ed carefully so he could get his attention.

"You need to go for a shower," he told him in response to the quirked brow. Ed glanced at himself and saw that he hadn't yet gone for a shower and looked mildly surprised before doing as his brother suggested.

It didn't really hit Ed how tired he was until he was in the bathroom. Sure, he wasn't as tired as he normally was thanks to his brother, Animal and commanding officer making him go to sleep every night and he knows he has nowhere near reached his limits and that, if he wanted to, he could last another four nights, five if he pushed himself, of no sleep. No, what surprised him was that he even felt tired after a fairly laid-back day like today. Apparently, running around after a five-year-old on a sugar high is a rather demanding job.

Ed left the bathroom and semi-watched Mustang leave to go for his own shower as soon as Ed sat back down on his couch, getting himself comfortable so Ayala and Chester could do the same. He chatted quietly with his brother and the Animals until Mustang came back from the shower and the Hughes' came back downstairs once Elysia had fallen asleep. They weren't long before they were bidding everyone a goodnight and heading to their room, leaving Mustang and the Elrics downstairs by themselves. Ed noticed Mustang fall asleep pretty quickly, Nala was stretched out on top of him so he couldn't turn onto his side if he wanted too.

"We should go see Armstrong tomorrow," he whispered to his brother and, judging from the slight clanking noise, scaring him in the process.

"Why?" Al whispered back once he placed his book aside.

"To talk to him about his sister. Get his take on what she's like and see if we can get any insight on whether she's likely to side with us or not," Ed told him and Al made a soft noise of understanding.

"You also need to go back and see Doctor Overland before we go to Rush Valley," Al remembered suddenly and Ed had to bite back a groan of annoyance. He'd forgotten about that and spared a fleeting wish that Al had never remembered.

 _"I would've reminded you anyway. I also would've told Chester so he could tell Al if you didn't listen to me,"_  Ayala informed him, obviously having sensed his thoughts and Ed muttered something unsavoury under his breath about that. He could feel Chester's amusement through their bond and it simply deepened when he told the leopard to shove it.

"I'm totally fine. I don't need to go back and see that doctor. I've completely healed and I have full range of movement in my arm so I really don't need to see him," Ed said it out loud, mainly for Al's benefit but he knew the two Animals knew it was directed at them as well.

"I'm not going to convince you to go, am I?" Al sighed, already sounding resigned to that fact. Ed grinned smugly.

"Go to the doctor's and get yourself checked out." Mustang's voice suddenly sounded, causing both boys to jump slightly. Ed could just make out his dark eyes glinting in the darkness and opened his mouth to argue. "That's an order," Mustang added on, obviously realising Ed was about to argue. Ed didn't need his brother to have a flesh and blood body to know the little shit was feeling extremely smug and amused right now.

"You heard the colonel. We'll go to the hospital before we track down Major Armstrong," Al happily planned and Ed grumbled something he'd never repeat in front of Elysia.

"I hate you all," he sulked and Al patted his head a couple of times, making him bat his hand away.

"No, you don't," Al told him cheerfully, evidently not fazed by Ed pushing his hand away. Ed could've sworn he heard Mustang chuckle but he wasn't sure, though that didn't stop from sending a glare towards the man. No one spoke for the rest of the night, the quiet eventually lulling Mustang and Ed to sleep while Al continued to read his book next to his brother.

* * *

Ed was awoken by one very excited little girl the next morning. Elysia had barely let him open his eyes before trying to drag him to the kitchen so he could start working on breakfast. He eventually escaped long enough to go to the toilet and get himself dressed and semi-awake before he headed back to the kitchen.

This morning's request was chocolate-chip pancakes, chocolate-less ones for the Animals, and hot chocolate. Ed didn't bat an eyelash at the normally winter-morning food and drink. He just gathered the ingredients and got started cooking. Elysia helped with mixing the dry ingredients and she managed to persuade Ed into letting her pour the batter into the pan so she got to determine how big each pancake was. Once Ed heard the shuffling noises that indicated most of the humans were awake, he whipped some cream up and caramelised some fresh bananas while he waited for the pancakes to cook.

Al ventured into the kitchen once he realised Ed was nearly done cooking. Since he'd come back from Dublith with Teacher and Sig, he'd taken over table-setting duties. He found out pretty quickly after the night he was bonded to the armour that he wasn't very good in the kitchen anymore. Not being able to smell or taste meant a lot of food got burnt or tasted funny so he and Ed came to the unanimous decision that Ed was in charge of his own food. By the time he'd placed the last of the cutlery down, the others had finished getting ready for their day and ventured into the kitchen for breakfast, which Ed, Elysia and Al placed on the table once they'd sat. Murmured 'thank yous' made their way to Ed as they all helped themselves and their Animals to some food.

Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester left the same time Mustang, Nala, Hughes and Leo all left to head into work. They walked together some of the way but soon had to part ways since the hospital was in a different direction and Al still insisted they go there first. Hughes ruffled Ed's hair, earning himself a glare from the blonde, before telling them to find him at lunchtime, assuming they were done by then, so they could get lunch together. Ed rolled his eyes in apparent annoyance but they spotted the small, pleased smile he tried to hide as Al agreed.

The walk to the hospital was quiet except for Ed's half-hearted attempts to try and escape the inevitable every few minutes. Ayala eventually pointed out that they would be done so much sooner if he stopped complaining and dragging his feet and then he wouldn't have to go back again. Ed didn't think the 'until you do something stupid and get hurt again' needed to be tacked onto the end of that statement.

They entered through the front doors and Ed was kinda pleased to note the weary expressions some of the staff were wearing upon spotting him. Al approached the counter and asked the man sitting there about whether Doctor Overland was in today and, in true fashion, Ed's luck was not good enough for the nurse's response to be 'sorry, no'. Once Al was assured that the doctor had been notified of Ed's arrival and would be with them as soon as he was able, the four of them headed for the waiting room seats and made themselves comfortable.

 _"I still don't understand your aversion to doctors or getting yourself help when you're injured,"_  Chester said after a few minutes of quiet and caused Ed to jump slightly.

"I get myself help when I'm hurt," Ed argued, pouting slightly. Ayala looked at him curiously but he shook his head slightly, telling her not to worry. So far, he and Chester were keeping this conversation completely silent and private.

 _"You get yourself help when you're either unconscious or you've got literally no choice. If you get seriously hurt but it's not fatal or you can patch it up yourself, you don't seek help. You usually don't even tell anyone you've been injured, minor or not,"_  Chester argued back. It was something that the leopard had been thinking about for a while.

The first few times Ed had been injured and hospitalised for it, the boy had chucked a fit and he continued to try and squirm his way out of going to see any kind of medical professional, though he wasn't as opposed to Havoc helping him out whenever the man was observant enough to notice Ed holding himself differently. At first, Chester thought it was part of his act to try and prove he was as tough, if not tougher, than everyone else. Lately though, he's been starting to think it's something else altogether. Ed didn't look overly impressed that Chester hadn't dropped the subject yet.

"I just don't like hospitals. I hate the way they smell. It's too clean, too white," Ed told him and, while Chester could tell he believed what he just said, Chester could tell there was something he was still omitting.

 _"That might be true but that's not the main reason, is it?"_  The leopard prodded and Ed looked mildly surprised he was able to tell. The teen sighed silently and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"You're right," he eventually admitted, not that Chester needed him to since he knew he was. Ed didn't speak for a few minutes and Chester didn't push him. He didn't know if she knew what they were talking about but Ayala could sense Ed's distress and was nuzzling his hand. "Part of the reason I despise hospitals is because they're so white. Every time I wake up in one of those rooms after I've been knocked out or too hurt to think properly and I see all of that white, my brain immediately thinks I'm back in front of Truth and the Gate and I panic," Ed explained and Chester felt his heart tighten in response to the emotions in Ed's voice. Chester realised something he said and questioned it.

 _"You said 'part of the reason'. What's the other part?"_  Chester almost hated himself for pushing the topic. Part of his mind was begging him to drop it, leave it for another day but the logical part of his mind knew that Ed would likely never admit the other reason after today. He knew the blonde hated showing any sort of vulnerability and he knew Ed would just clamp back up and refuse to answer. Chester had also realised how much better Ed did whenever he admitted something he saw as a weakness to someone else.

When he'd finally told Al that the cold weather wreaked havoc on his automail joints, Chester could tell that he expected his younger brother to tell him to suck it up or start treating him like he was fragile or something he knew Ed knew was ridiculous but Chester could also see the relief on his face when he'd admitted it out loud. Al did fuss but there was no blaming and Ed ended up having to console Al when Chester's human had apologised for not noticing sooner. So Chester wanted Ed to tell someone why hospitals terrified him and he selfishly wanted that someone to be him. He needed to know if Ed had that much trust and faith in him.

"You're too observant for your own good, you know that?" Ed chuckled dryly, breaking Chester from his thoughts. He made eye contact with Ed and almost flinched at the calculating look those golden eyes were emitting. It took a couple of minutes and Chester knew without needing the bond that Ed was tossing up whether telling him or not was a bad idea. Whether the pros outweighed the cons. Finally, Ed seemed to come to a decision and he let out a sigh. "It's stupid, completely irrational and definitely insane amounts of unhealthy."

 _"So, it's basically like every decision you make in a fight?"_  Chester teased him lightly, hoping it would alleviate the atmosphere between the two of them. Al had yet to show any outward sign he knew something was up. Ed graced him with a small, amused smile before his face fell again.

"I don't tell anyone I'm hurt because," he paused, mulling over his words, "because I see every injury as a punishment. At first, it was punishment for pushing Al into performing that transmutation with me and for what happened to him. Then it was for what I let happen to Nina and Alexander. Now it's punishment for every stupid decision I've made where someone had either been almost killed or killed as a direct result of my actions. I'll never forgive myself for what I did to Al and I'll keep paying for my sins by fighting bad guys and homunculi and whatever else gets thrown at me. Every injury is not only punishment but it's a reminder of why I'm still fighting. I don't get them treated because my pain is nothing compared to what Nina must've gone through, what Al went through and still goes through. My suffering is nothing compared to that. This is just my way of trying to even it out," Ed finished talking and Chester is completely shocked. He had no clue what kind of answer he expected but he sure wasn't expecting that.

The way Ayala's golden eyes shone, like she was daring Chester to yell at Ed, tell him how completely insane and idiotic he was, made him actually stop and think about his reaction before he mentally opened his mouth. He realised that that was exactly what he was about to do. What his mind immediately told him was the right and appropriate course of action. One of his best friends just told him the reason he avoided medical attention was basically because he thought he didn't deserve it, that it was righteous punishment for things that he blamed himself for and his first instinct was to berate him for feeling that way. Now that he'd thought it through, he realised there was only one way to react to that statement but before he could, a nurse appeared to escort them to Doctor Overland's office. Chester felt the relief and apprehension go through his and Ed's bond and he wasn't sure if that was because he wasn't able to talk to the blonde straight away or if it was because of the impending doctor visit.

"Ah, Major Elric. I'm glad to see you remembered your check-up," Doctor Overland said in a way of greeting while ushering the four of them inside and gesturing to the chairs. Ed sat down immediately, poised to escape as soon as possible while Al stood behind him and the Animals on either side. Doctor Overland sat himself down in his chair while flicking through Ed's medical records. "How has your recovery been? Your shoulder should be just about healed now," he asked and Ed nodded.

"I'm fine. None of the injuries got infected, I've got full range of movement in my shoulder and everything else has healed," Ed told him, a little snappishly but the doctor either didn't notice or he ignored the tone.

"Excellent. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at that shoulder again. As long as it's fine, you can be cleared for missions again," the doctor informed and Ed sighed.

 _"Remember what I said about this going quicker if you cooperated?"_  Ayala asked and Ed nodded, which the doctor took as permission to look at the shoulder. Ed shrugged his arm out of his jackets and Doctor Overland moved his tank top's sleeve to get a full view of the scar. A couple of minutes and a few prods and requested movements from Ed later, the four of them were walking out of the room with Ed cleared for duty.

* * *

"Told you I was fine. Complete waste of everyone's time," Ed grumbled as they left the building. Chester barely heard him. He was still thinking about how he was going to manage to talk to Ed alone about what he said.

"And now we know for sure and Colonel Mustang can manufacture a mission to get us up north to Fort Briggs. If anyone tries to use your injuries as an excuse to stop you from going, you'll have the doctor's letter saying you've been medically cleared," Al pointed out and Ed gave him a side-eyed glare as he muttered something unflattering again.

"I hate it when you're right," he grumbled childishly as they wove their way through the semi-crowded streets and up towards the base.

Chester was still trying to figure out what he would say when he picked up a scent at the same time as Ayala. Both Animals paused just for a moment before they continued on like nothing had happened but both their humans knew something was up.

"What happened? What did you sense?" Al's worried voice sounded in his head and, judging from the way they were holding themselves; Ayala and Ed were having the same conversation.

 _"A homunculous. The same scent we picked up outside Izumi and Sig's hotel room, only a lot stronger this time,"_  Chester answered him and Al picked up the confused undertone in his voice.

"Why do you sound confused?" He asked cautiously, like he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.

 _"It didn't smell... hostile, like the others. It smells almost familiar. Like I've smelled an extremely weak trail somewhere before but I can't remember where. But it also doesn't smell like the homunculi is intent on destruction, like that Palm Tree guy or the lady or even the Fuhrer. I can't explain it but it's almost like this homunculous is friendly,"_  Chester tried to explain it to Al but he wasn't sure he did a very good job.

"So is it still nearby?" Al asked but Chester shook his head. It was like the homunculi had noticed them pick its scent up and left quickly. Al hummed before tapping Ed on the shoulder. One look at the blonde's face and a quick read of his emotions told Chester Ed was as confused with what Ayala had told as Al was with the leopard himself. "What do we do now?" Al asked casually and, to anyone who may have heard him, it sounded innocent enough. Ed thought carefully before sighing.

"We leave it. They said it didn't seem dangerous so we leave it for now. Let's just get to the office. We can talk about it more there. Or, better yet, when we're back at the Hughes'," Ed whispered loud enough for Al to hear him but low enough the noise around them prevented anyone else from overhearing them. Al nodded his agreement and the rest of their walk was spent in silence, all of them on guard just in case they were wrong. The only thing they discussed the rest of the way was whether they should head to Mustang's office first or go get lunch with Maes. Again, Al won that argument by telling Ed it wasn't lunchtime yet anyway. Ed accepted defeat less maturely than Al would've liked.

* * *

They made it the office without getting spotted by too many people, which Ed was happy about because it meant less people sucking up to him. The level of noise that greeted them broke the record for greetings so far. Ed copped it a little worse since he had the teams Animals yelling in excitement in his head as well. In the case of Fuery and Breda, they hadn't seen the blonde and his youngest brother since before the transfer to Central so they were a lot more excited. Ed greeted everyone and allowed himself to be scooped up into a group hug they'd initiated before he'd managed to get through the door enough for it to be shut. Hawkeye, unsurprisingly, was the only team member out in the main office who didn't participate in the group hug but she did offer Ed a warm smile once he was released.

"It's good to see you, Edward. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you," Hawkeye said as she watched him straighten his mussed hair and clothing. Ed gave her his trademark grin.

"You know me. I heal quick. Besides, that fight with Archer was nowhere near as challenging as my sparring sessions with Teacher," Ed told her but Hawkeye didn't get the chance to respond to that because Al nudged Ed and hissed a reminder about what Ayala and Chester had picked up. Ed nodded his understanding before connecting with Soren and initiating a telepathic conversation with the bird. "Hey, Soren. Can you ask Miss Riza if this office is bugged?" There were a few moments of confused silence before Hawkeye nodded her head. Ed sighed. "What about Mustang's inner office?" He asked the bird and received another nod from Hawkeye. He almost growled in frustration before sighing resignedly.

 _"What's all this about, Ed?"_ Soren asked almost as soon as Hawkeye had answered the second question.

"Fuck it," Ed said out loud but continued before Al could reprimand him for his language. "Audio, visual or both?" Ed asked and Hawkeye narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Just visual for now," she answered shortly and Ed nodded. At least that worked in his favour.

"Okay, I'm gonna tell your Animals what's up and they'll pass the message onto you. I'll be linking with Nala as well. Ask them any questions and they can ask me. Got it?" The men on the team looked slightly confused, their Animals having not been part of Soren and Ed's conversation thus they didn't know what Ed had been asking. He sent a quick message to Nala explaining what was about to happen and, once he got her go-ahead and permission from the team, he explained what had happened and the unusual scent. As he predicted, there were a lot of immediate concerns that they had gone after it alone and queries about what the lack of animosity the scent gave off meant. Ed answered as best as he could but he was starting to find himself struggling to keep up with the questions when Mustang opened his private office door and interrupted the silent interrogations.

"I was wondering why I couldn't hear any work being done out here," he drawled. "If you've finished disrupting the rest of the team, go and find Hughes. He keeps calling me about whether you've turned up yet or not," Mustang ordered casually and Ed took the escape he was given, not arguing since he knew he was only a minute or so from snapping at the team's Animals out of annoyance from all the questioning. He'd almost made it through the door when Mustang started speaking again. "Once you're done with him, come back here. I have a new mission for you, assuming you've been cleared to work by your doctor." Ed didn't bother replying, aside from a huffed 'whatever' and dismissive wave of his hand, before he fully escaped, Ayala on his heels. Al and Chester only followed once they'd given the Colonel and his team an apology for Ed's behaviour.

"Brother, that was kind of rude," Al scolded as they walked. "The team were just worried about us and you know they were just curious about why that homunculous was so different to the others. There was no reason to leave like that." He looked down to see Ed looking slightly abashed but his jaw still had that stubborn set to it.

"I know but they were just so loud and they were talking over each other and not listening to me. I couldn't even make sense of what each Animal was asking, they were that loud," Ed admitted after a moment of silence as they turned the corner and headed up some stairs. "Next time I have something I need to tell everyone; I'm doing it when I'm not in the same room and I'll be doing it one at a time. I'm pretty sure my head is still spinning from having so many Animals talking in it at once," Ed complained and Ayala winced in sympathy. She could feel his budding headache through their bond. Thankfully, they made it to Hughes' office with no distractions or diversions.

"Miss Sheska!" Ed and Al chorused in greeting as they spotted the mousy brunette. A small, grey bundle looked up at the same time as his human. "Sam!" Ed called out happily as he spotted the little Chinchilla as they approached the pair. Ed was forced to think quick as Sam launched himself off Sheska's shoulder at Ed with a squeal of the blonde's name echoing in his head serving as his only warning. He caught the fluffy projectile but it was a near thing.

"Sam!" Sheska gasped out as her heart almost gave out as she watched her Animal fall to the floor only for Ed to scoop him up at the last second before she could even move. "I am so sorry for his actions!" She apologised, bowing low with her hands clasped in front of her.

"It's okay, no harm done," Ed chuckled as he placed Sam up on his own shoulder and offered the woman a grin. "How you been, Miss Sheska? How's your mum? Has Hughes been nice?" He asked as he and Al approached her desk and Sam clambered down his arm to rejoin his human. She absentmindedly gave him a scratch before giving Ed a small yet sunny smile.

"I've been really good! Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes has been giving me a lot of work but I don't mind. I enjoy keeping busy and this is a job that lets me read most of the time, even if the reading material isn't always the most riveting," she chuckled a little. "My mum is doing really well, thanks for asking. She's so much happier in the hospital I was able to move her to thanks to you two. Oh! That reminds me!" She suddenly exclaimed, a lot louder than her usual self, jumping up from her desk and rifling through something in the corner. Ed, Ayala, Al and Chester watched her, amused and slightly perplexed. Sam was doing his best to help but he wasn't quite big enough to do much. Sheska soon came up with two boxes from her little pile of stuff and approached the boys, almost vibrating from her excitement.

"What's this?" Ed asked as he accepted the box Sheska gave him while Al looked over his curiously.

"My mum wanted me to give you these as her way of saying thanks for helping me find a new job. I meant to give them to Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes last Friday but I forgot. I'm sorry," she apologised but Ed didn't really take much notice as he was busy tearing off the paper.

The paper had been reduced to shreds and two small piles were soon formed at the boys feet to reveal identical boxes, the tops of which were soon on the floor with the wrapping paper. Inside were hand-knitted scarves with a matching beanie and pair of gloves. Sheska watched their reactions nervously. "She asked me all sorts of questions about you. I think she made yours red because of your coat, Ed. Since I didn't know if you were partial to any particular colour, Al, mum took a bit of artistic liberty, as she put it. I hope you like green," she explained, talking a little fast out of nerves, while Ed and Al pulled their new things out to look at them closer.

"I love green. Your mum is awesome!" Al exclaimed, ecstatic as he carefully lifted his scarf out while Ed tried on his lefthanded glove. Al's happy mood dropped slightly as he let the scarf slip through his gauntlet, not feeling the material and feeling a little upset he couldn't say much more about the gift. Ed picked up on the mood shift fairly quickly and felt the familiar aching guilt that made itself more prominent anytime he was reminded of what Al was missing out on because of him.

"This material is so soft and warm. We can use these up north, Al!" Ed practically gushed, using the compliment as a way to describe the material to Al.

"You're right, brother," Al knew what Ed was doing and he was immensely thankful for it. Sheska had no clue about what the exchange really meant. She was just glad the boys really liked their present. Ed turned to face her and gave her a beaming smile.

"We didn't really do much to help you get a job. We just introduced you to Hughes. But we really appreciate the presents. Please tell your mum 'thank you' from us." Ed and Al both bowed their thanks to the semi-flustered woman. Al echoed Ed's request to pass along their thanks as they straightened back up.

"If you didn't find me and request those notes, you couldn't have introduced me to Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes and who knows what my life would be like right now," Sheska argued her point. She was, thankfully, saved by Hughes finally realising something was happening and emerging from his inner office. Ed had banked on his uncanny ability to sense gossip happening within a 10km radius to bring him out sooner.

"Hey there, Elrics. Are you distracting my team? Hey, where's the rest of my team?" He asked suddenly as he looked around the nearly empty office, surprise on his face.

"They're out following up on leads and working on their various cases, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes," Sheska reminded him and he nodded as he recalled his morning.

"That would explain it. Are you two ready for lunch?" Hughes asked before spotting the knitted goods in their hands. "What's that?" Ed rolled his eyes at Hughes' inability to let people answer one question before asking another.

"Yes, we are and they're presents from Miss Sheska's mum," Al answered before Ed could say anything snarky in response. Ed realised this and poked his tongue out while Al wasn't looking.

"Child," Hughes teased, eyes twinkling good naturedly.

"Because you can talk," Ed shot back sarcastically, causing Sheska to giggle slightly before she managed to stifle it.

"I have no idea what you're implying there, Ed," Hughes informed him and Ed gave him a smirk.

"Would you like an alphabetical list or a consecutive one of your more infamously childish moments?" Ed asked him, still smirking.

"I thought we were having lunch sometime today?" Al mentally rolled his eyes as he interrupted the two of them. He was sure Hughes would know not to challenge Ed in these types of arguments but the man might also not realise just how stubborn and petty his elder brother could be. It astonished him sometimes, the length his brother would go to prove his point or to prove someone wrong.

"Oh yeah. Can we go? I'm starving," Ed asked, his demeanour changing completely at the reminder of food. Al could hear Chester's huff of laughter and see Leo's rather impressive eye-roll, both actions reflecting exactly what Al had felt in his very soul at that moment.

"Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Hughes drawled before making 'shooing' gestures to the door. "Would you like to join us, Sheska?" The brunette startled slightly at the invitation but shook her head.

"Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, but no. I have too much work left to do here," she declined politely though she did look a little devastated she couldn't go. Sam's comforting nuzzles seemed to brighten her mood a little.

"Are you sure?" When she nodded, he frowned a little but accepted it. "Did you want me to bring you some lunch back then? We'll be eating at the little Cretan diner," he asked instead and Sheska thought for a moment before answering.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd really appreciate it. I forgot to bring mine in today." She smiled sheepishly and Sam let out a small sigh of exasperation that Ed wanted to laugh at.

 _"I wouldn't laugh if I were you,"_  Ayala warned.  _"The amount of times I've had to remind you of simple things like eating is ridiculous."_  That shut Ed up quick smart and Ayala allowed herself to feel slightly smug. Hughes managed to assure Sheska that it was fine before they were finally on their way to get the promised Cretan.

* * *

Lunch was a delicious and uneventful affair. Ed proclaimed the restaurant to be one of the best Cretan places he'd tried during his travels so far and ate both his and Al's orders before trying to steal some of Maes' whenever the man was distracted. He was caught more often than not but Al just appreciated the fact that Ed was acting like the child he should've been rather than the adult he was forced to. They were on their way back to Hughes' office after a slight argument about who would pick up the tab (Hughes won but only because he managed to pay when Ed was distracted) when a familiar someone made themselves known with a very familiar voice.

"LIEUTENANT-COLONEL HUGHES! ELRIC BROTHERS! HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE YOU ALL IN ONE PLACE!" Major Armstrong called as he and Gary headed towards them from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Well, that's convenient," Ed muttered as Hughes let out his own greeting. Leo looked like he was contemplating escaping back to their office. That fox really wasn't a social butterfly like his human. Al nudged Ed, reminding him manners were needed more that sarcastic comments.

"Hey, Major Armstrong. Hey, Gary. How you been?" Ed asked, giving them a little wave. The gorilla gave him a careful clap on his flesh shoulder, probably still concerned about his injury.

 _"Hello, Edward. How are you?"_  Gary asked as he removed his hand after a moment.

"I'm all good. Nice to you two again. What are you doing here?" Ed asked, not believing Armstrong and Gary's appearance was merely a coincidence.

"Colonel Mustang ran into us earlier this morning and passed along a message from the two of you. You wished to meet with me after lunch at Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes' office. Was this incorrect?" Armstrong informed them and Ed blinked in surprise. He hadn't asked Mustang to do anything like that and he doubted Al had as well. So Mustang had done something nice for him? He was so confused. Mustang didn't do him favours without asking for something in return and Ed really doubted he'd have ever found out Mustang had sent Armstrong over if he hadn't asked why they were here.

"No, this is great. We wanted to ask you a couple of questions," Al reassured him a moment before the silence became weird.

"Excellent. What can I help you two young alchemists with? Helping people is a trait that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" Armstrong boomed, causing Ed and Al to physically flinch at the sudden increase in volume. Hughes seemed to be used to it since he didn't even blink. Leo just looked more annoyed than usual. Ayala and Chester weren't pleased by the volume increase either.

"Uh, thanks. We just wanted to ask some questions about your sister, Major General Armstrong. We've been warned that we're probably heading north soon and will more than likely end up at Fort Briggs. There's certain things we need to talk to her about and we'd appreciate any information you can tell us about her," Ed said out loud before adding quietly to Gary "It's related to the Fifth Lab." He saw Gary nod slightly as he passed along the message.

"Ah my eldest sister! She's a fierce and loyal woman, more than worthy of the Armstrong name! She's a shining jewel in the military's crown! All of her subordinates are fiercely loyal to her. She comes across a little tough but she really is a warm person once you get to know her," Armstrong waxed poetic about his sister, painting an entirely different picture of his sister than the one Ed had of her.

"We've heard she's more than a little tough. Rumour has it, she attacked the last person who got near Fort Brigg's entrance without her permission," Ed casually said, making up the rumour. At the same time, he sent a question to Gary. "If we were to reveal the truth behind the Fuhrer and the array, would she side with the military or us?" Judging from Armstrong's face, he'd gotten the message and was contemplating his answer.

"My sister is a little harsh on those she doesn't know and it's no secret that she doesn't like people she doesn't trust. I'm sure you've heard she's earned herself the moniker 'Ice Queen'. However, once you've earned her respect, she's as loyal as any other member of the Armstrong family. After all, loyalty is a trait that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" Armstrong once again boomed loud enough Ed swore the walls shook.

 _"We believe she will not side with the homunculi. Whether she will fight with us depends on what she thinks of you,"_  Gary said, using their bond to pass along the message. Ed nodded. The fact that they believed she wouldn't side with the homunculi was what Ed needed to hear the most. It was possible they'd have an ally up north after all.

"Thanks, Major Armstrong. Hopefully Mustang will pass along the message that I'm to be expected. That would certainly save us a headache or two," Ed said and Al shook his head.

"Of course he's going to let them know. He has to make sure the Major-General is there to meet with us," Al reminded him and Ed shrugged noncommittedly. He wouldn't put it passed the man who regularly forgot he could end up with a bullet hole in him if he kept sleeping on the job to forget to place a phone call.

"Can I help you with anything else, Elrics'?" Armstrong asked.

"No, thank you. This was all we needed to know. Thank you, Major," Ed said as he shook he head and gave the two of them a smile.

"I'm glad we could help you boys out. If there truly isn't more we can help with, we should be on our way. We have a fair amount of work to catch up on," Armstrong said and they exchanged their goodbyes. Hughes, the boys and their Animals watched the pair walk away before they continued on their original journey. Leo was very happy to see the office door and beat them to it before he realised he couldn't open it by himself. Sam must've sensed them or Leo had passed along a message because Sheska opened the door for him to slip through.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, Ed, Al! I didn't expect you back so quickly!" She exclaimed, hurriedly opening the door wider for them. "I was wondering why Leo asked Sam to get me to open the door up for him," she explained as they moved into the room and she shut the door behind before squeaking in surprise as Hughes thrust the take-out bag in front of her face.

"I hope you like pasta. I can't remember what this dish is called but it's a garlic-y type dish," Hughes explained as the slightly startled woman took the bag presented to her.

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it. How much do I owe you?" She asked as she moved towards, Ed assumed, her purse but stopped short when she saw Hughes shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. Think of this as a 'thank you' for all of your hard work," Hughes told her and held up a hand, effectively stopping any of her protests.

"Thank you," she said quietly after a few moments as she realised she wouldn't be winning this round.

"Don't mention it." He smiled at her before turning back towards the brothers still hanging in his office. "What are you lot going to do now?" He asked.

"Unless Al has a different plan, I figured we'd head back to your place. I'm hoping Michella or Winry will contact me to give me a definite day my order will be ready so we can organise our trip to Rush Valley," Ed told him. He wasn't going to initiate contact with the easily irritated monkey, not after how stressed she sounded last time. He may not be amazing at figuring out emotions or knowing where to draw the line in most cases but he wasn't completely stupid in that area. Annoying the monkey and Winry would not do him any favours.

"Actually, yes, we do have other plans," Al said and Ed raised a brow at him. "Colonel Mustang wanted us to go back to his office, remember. He has mission details for you." Ed groaned as he remembered that Mustang had indeed asked for them to return to the office. The blonde shot Hughes a glare as the man's chuckles broke through his annoyance.

"Fine. Let's go get my orders then we can go back to the Hughes'," Ed grumbled as he stood back up from the chair he'd collapsed in. Al was smart enough to walk behind his brother as they gathered their presents from Sheska's mother and headed for the door.

"I'll see you at home, boys!" Hughes called out as they made it the door. "Say 'hello' to my girls for me!"

"You'll see them in a few hours." Ed rolled his eyes at the same time as Al assured the man they would.

"It was lovely to see you again. Thank you for coming by." Sheska bowed to them.

"It was great seeing you again, Miss Sheska. Please thank your mother for our gifts. Hopefully, we can catch up after our mission," Ed said as he and Al bowed back, showing their gratitude. Al also said his own thank you, the sincerity of their thanks seemed to make the brunette flustered a bit. Ed decided to do her a small favour and take the attention off of her slightly. "It was nice to see you as well, Sam. Keep working on your jumping, though." He winked at the little Chinchilla who grinned at him and even gave a small salute. With a final wave goodbye, the boys and their Animals finally left the office and made their way back to Mustang's.

* * *

As they entered the outer office, the team half-stood out of their chairs to greet them but seemed obviously hesitant and Ed figured it probably had something to do with how he left. He normally wasn't so angry at the team whenever he left. Angry at Mustang, yes, but not at the team. He guessed that was probably a nasty surprise to them and he knew he should apologise, especially to the Animals because he wasn't even sure what they heard before he cut off his connections to them all. So when he felt their concern and guilt pressing through his connections, he was understandably surprised. It wasn't their fault he hadn't been able to answer their questions or been able to handle that many Animals in his head at the same time. He should have been able to. He should have been strong enough.

"Finished with Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes already, boys?" Hawkeye's voice broke through his self-deprecation spiral before it could really get started.

"Yup. Gotta discuss what will surely be absolutely riveting mission details with Mustang now before we can leave to finish getting prepared," Edward said with obviously fake enthusiasm. That garnered a few smiles and lessened the obvious tension still in the room.

"Brother." Al sighed in resignation. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he bothered protesting his elder brother's behaviour anymore. It wasn't like he listened often enough for it to make a difference.

"I'm sure you'll find that he's already expecting you four," Hawkeye informed them. "I just got off the phone to him. He called to say you could go on through immediately." Ed rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure he thinks it's impressive he knew when I'd be here but I know for a fact that Nala was the one who told him. She told me they were waiting," Ed snorted and heard at least three other snorts of amusement echo his. Hawkeye didn't join in on the amusement but she didn't lecture them for it so they counted that as a win.

"Come on, Brother. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we can leave," Al cajoled, using his usual bribing technique. It had the desired effect, like it always did; Ed moving towards the inner office door with the goal of leaving as quickly as he can. If Al had a flesh and blood body, he'd have rolled his eyes. A resounding 'BANG!' informed Al his brother had already entered the office and, with a small wave to the rest of the team, headed after his brother to try and put out any fires (hopefully not literal fires) the two started.

"Glad to see your abuse of my door wasn't limited to East City. Have a seat," Mustang drawled unimpressed with the treatment of said door. Al closed it softly before heading over to stand behind the couch his brother was sitting on. Nala was happily lapping up the attention Ed was giving her in the form of head and ear scratches.

"Of course it wasn't. Now, Nala only told us the bare minimum of what our mission is and we've gotten more information about Major-General Armstrong from Major Armstrong. So what else do we need to discuss?" Ed made himself comfier on the couch while Ayala clambered up and joined him. Chester decided to take the second couch all for himself.

Mustang didn't look surprised that Nala had told him some of the details already. They really weren't all that much. Just things he'd already known and stuff like when they expected Ed to start heading for Fort Briggs. He still didn't know who was supposed to be travelling with him or what the whole plan was.

"Let's start with what Armstrong told you then we can work out the details for the mission from there." Mustang leant forward on his desk, focusing on Edward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be very appreciated! I hope you enjoy the new chapter!


	26. Chapter 26

"Brother, you're scowling again." Al's tinny voice forced Ed to focus back on the present again. For a split second the rocky movements and metallic noises of the train had him panic before he remembered they were heading to Rush Valley after Winry and Michella had finally gotten in contact with him.

Mustang, the paranoid bastard he was, had made it an order that contacting Ed via their Animals was to only happen if absolutely necessary so they didn't attract any unwanted attention to Ed's abilities. This would help Ed avoid awkward questions about how he got information so quickly which in turn would avoid the revelation of his abilities and demands to know how he got them, something the blonde was suspicious and grateful about, and they would be able to potentially use the surprise of revealing them to their advantage in the future, something that made the aforementioned blonde roll his eyes because  _of course_  it was about him controlling the situation. Mustang had also taken Ed aside and asked him to consider minimising his telepathic conversations with Animals outside of the team, with the exception of Ayala and Chester.

It was the fact that Mustang had  _asked_  instead of ordered that had Ed actually consider it and decide that his commanding officer may have had a point in being a bit more careful about how he got information. He didn't have contact with many Animals outside of the team's, mainly just Den, Michella, Suna, Koda, Sam, Ajax, Kaia and Gary. Out of those seven, only one really needed to be contacted and that was Michella. He realised that it would start looking suspicious to anyone who paid close enough attention that his mechanic would somehow always be right there to fix whichever limb he damaged without him, or anyone, having to make a phone call. So, after clearing it with Hughes, he gave Michella their home phone number and asked her to have Winry ring when the day before the new limbs were ready to be installed. The blonde mechanic had done so the previous night and so the boys were now on their way to Rush Valley. Al's voice yet again dragged him out of his thoughts. "Are you thinking about the Colonel's plan for Fort Briggs?" That had Ed scowling once again, causing Ayala to huff in slight amusement.

"You mean 'lack of plan'? Because what he came up is a mockery of what a plan should be. I could've come up with a better one when I was six," Ed grouched as he recalled that conversation.

"You're so melodramatic, brother," Al sighed, scratching Chester behind the ears. "It's a good plan. You just don't like it because there's no part that involves fighting," Al pointed out and it was Ed's turn to sigh, though his was with childish petulance rather than the simple resignation Al's held.

 _"It's like he knows you,"_  Ayala's sarcastic comment had Ed glaring at her.

"That was rude," he informed her but the wolf was unsurprisingly uncaring about it. Ed turned his attention back to his brother and their conversation. "But what sort of idiot plan was that anyway? Even you have to admit I've come up with better." Al tipped his helmet as if acknowledging his point.

 _"Admittedly, you've had your moments,"_  Chester smirked at Ed's low growl.

"I'm feeling rather attacked right now. How long until we get to Rush Valley?" Ed asked sulkily as he leant back against the train bench back, arms crossed against his chest. He knew that if his brother was able, he'd have been rolling his eyes, the little shit.

"Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours," Al told him and Ed groaned, a little theatrically if he was being honest, and stood up, Ayala hot on his heels.

"I'm gonna go stretch my legs. See if I can find some food or something," Ed said as he stretched slightly, barely biting back his groan of satisfaction as his spine cracked back into place. "You two want anything?" He asked casually. It was a pretense they both kept up just in case someone was eavesdropping. Al would tell him no and Chester would tell him whether he did so Al could pass the message along to Ed. When Chester didn't make any requests, Ed and Ayala left for their walk with assurances they'd be back before they pulled into the station.

The walk was pleasant and, much to their delight, no one recognised or tried to talk to Ed or Ayala. Ed scowled when he'd mentioned it to Ayala and she'd quipped back that maybe it was because Al wasn't with them, knowing how much it irked Ed that people thought Al was him because of the armour. They'd barely been gone an hour when the conductor announced they were only twenty minutes away from Rush Valley's station so Ed and Ayala headed back for their seat to get ready to deboard. Aside from Al asking if Ed had all of his stuff, the last few minutes were silent as they watched the scenery zip by before it became less of a blur as the train slowed.

* * *

 _"The fresh air is so good!"_  Chester exclaimed as the four of them left the train station and stood on the platform, both Animals soaking in the sun as much as they could. Ed rolled his eyes at them both before assessing their surroundings. Neither boy nor Animal were expecting the blonde mechanic to be waiting at the station for them. She'd informed them during the phone call that she'd still be in Garfiel's shop working and had given them directions from the station. After letting Ayala and Chester soak in the sun and fresh air for a few minutes, they started following Winry's instructions.

The town was small, dusty and noisy. Ed was surprised at the amount of noise since the town was barely bigger than Resembool until they rounded a corner and he found the source of all the noise. Dozens of stalls and shops, all dedicated to auto-mail, lined the streets, their vendors calling out offers and deals to attract the unexpectedly large crowds attention. The sheer amount of people walking around the town centre was nearly overwhelming and the four of them stopped gape momentarily at the enormity of it all before they fought their way through the crowd to try and find Garfiel's shop.

Ed was nearly accosted on his way through the crowd when someone noticed his automail. The only thing that stopped him from being swamped by the fanatic crowd was Ayala. Thankfully, all they really wanted to do was gush about how amazing his automail was and ask who the mechanic was who had created them. Ed had been more than happy to give them Winry's name and tell them to look for her at Garfiel's shop. The fact that he'd mainly done so to get rid of them was something no one other than he and Ayala needed to know. Alphonse teased him until they finally made it out of the crowd and Ed had the room to move to hit Al on his shoulder, even though he knew it wouldn't hurt him. It was the principle of the thing.

When they finally arrived at Garfiel's shop, they were relieved to find that the crowd hadn't managed to make it all the way over to them. The shop wasn't overly large, maybe a similar size to the Rockbell house but, unlike the house, the shop was only one story high. It had a yellow overhang above the open store front, to protect customers from the rain or hot days and a white sign that proudly proclaimed 'Atelier Garfiel' in purple writing with a rose painted next to the store name in the same shade of purple. After taking a couple of moments to size up the shop, the four of them headed inside.

"Hello? Mr. Garfiel? Winry?" Alphonse called as they entered.

"One moment!" An unknown voice responded to them, sounding from the back of the shop.

Although Ed had been told all about Al's first encounter with Winry's boss, he was not quite prepared for the man who appeared from the back of the store. He was a large man, not quite as big or muscly as Armstrong or Sig, but still big enough that Ed would've made sure to avoid his fist if they'd ever gotten into a fight. He wore black pants held up with grey suspenders with a tight purple shirt underneath them. Garfiel had short black hair with locks that sat curled in front of his ears, styled to lay flat on his jaw. He had dark lips until Ed realised he was likely wearing lipstick and when he spoke, he had a very effeminate voice.

"Alphonse! How delightful to see you again!" Garfiel greeted, eyes lighting up as he recognised one of his guests. "And the beautiful Chester, as well, of course," he said, giving Chester a smile.

"Hello again, Mr. Garfiel," Al greeted him. "This is my brother, Edward Elric, and his Animal, Ayala. We're here to see Winry, if she's got some time."

"A pleasure to meet you both!" Garfiel exclaimed genuinely as he gripped Ed's offered hand and shook it. "I believe she is working on your order right now but if you give me a moment, I'll duck out back and check to see if she'd at a point where she can stop," he offered, never losing his smile.

"We'll be here," Ed said, giving the man a nod. Garfiel left them and headed the same way he'd come from.

"I thought Winry had finished your order," Al said, confused. "Why did Mr. Garfiel say she was working on it?" Ed sighed as he leaned against the front counter.

"You know what Winry's like, Al," Ed sighed. "She probably thought of half a dozen things to do to my new set when she woke up this morning." Al hummed in agreement once Ed finished speaking.

"You're probably right," Al conceded and Ed flashed him a smirk.

"Of course I am," Ed grinned, causing Al, Ayala and Chester to shake their heads at him. Before Ed could say anything snarky, something caught the Animals attention.

Looking around, Ed and Al finally spotted what had caught Chester and Ayala's attention and watched as a massive, male pied peacock walked into the shop, eye them up for a moment before walking through the door Garfiel had disappeared through. Since neither Animal reacted to it or said anything to them, they assumed the peacock was someone's Animal; presumably Garfiel's as Al hadn't mentioned anyone else who worked for Garfiel when he told Ed about his visit to the shop and they knew it definitely wasn't Winry's Animal.

"Ed! Al!" Winry greeted them as she rushed through the door, nearly running over the top of the peacock. "Oops, sorry, Logan," she said as the disgruntled Animal squawked at her and Michella. She finally reached them and threw her arms around Ed before releasing him and wrapping her arms around Al and releasing him just as quickly. "It's good to see you two," she said, beaming at you before glancing at Ed. "It's especially good to see you, Ed, with my precious automail intact," she sniped and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I can look after  _my_  automail just fine, Winry," Ed told her. "How's my new set going?" He asked, ignoring Michella's glare.

"They're nearly done. I know," she said before Ed could say anything, "I told you they  _were_  done last night but when I came in this morning for work, I checked them over and found things I could improve on so they will be done very shortly," Winry told him and Ed grinned victoriously at Al before focusing back on Winry.

"How much longer do you need?" He asked. "We promised we'd be back in Central in a couple of days," he informed her and she shared a look with Michella.

"It shouldn't be more than a couple of hours," Winry told him. "Why don't you guys go and explore Rush Valley for a bit? Maybe you'll learn to appreciate the wonderful art of automail while you're here," Winry said, very obviously talking to Ed.

"Just because I don't have an unhealthy obsession with it like a certain blonde teenager I could mention," Ed snarked back. Winry puffed up like an angry blow-fish, as did Michella from where she sat on Winry's shoulder but Al intervened before she could retort.

"Thank you, Winry," he said, grabbing Ed by his arm as Ayala pressed against his side, herding him away from the shop. "Can you have Michella contact one of us when you're ready to fit the limbs?" Al asked as Chester and Ayala kept Ed away from the counter so he wouldn't antagonise Winry further.

"Of course I will, Al. You two have fun. There's a really good restaurant a couple of blocks over from here if you guys want food before I'm finished," she told him, all anger gone from her body now that she and Ed couldn't continue their snipe-fest.

"Thanks, Winry. We'll see you in a couple of hours," Al said before heading for his brother, grabbing him and leading him away from Garfiel's shop. Winry watched them until they disappeared from her sight and Michella chattered in her ear.

"You're right, Michella," Winry said, straightening from her slight slouch and giving her monkey a pet on the head, "we should finish up our work. Let's head back."

* * *

The four of them spent nearly two hours exploring what Rush Valley had to offer. Though predominately a town dedicated to automail, the boys and their Animals still managed to find a few shops that weren't. They even discovered a decent sized bookstore hidden only a few minutes away from Garfiel's store and proceeded to spend almost an hour inside, searching through the shelves for any books about the stone or looked like they might offer another way for them to get their bodies back so their only option wouldn't be committing mass murder. They left the bookstore with half a dozen books each and headed for the café Winry had recommended, a decision made by the almost simultaneous growls let out by Ed, Chester and Ayala's stomachs.

"What's going on, little brother?" Ed asked on the way to the small café when he looked over and realised Al and Chester were no longer with them. He spied them sitting in front of an alley mouth and glared at them. "If that's another cat…" Ed let the threat trail off as he and Ayala approached the two of them.

" _Not exactly,"_  Chester told him as Al held up a semi-conscious man by the back of his jacket. A small Animal launched itself at Al, causing him to yelp slightly and drop the man in shock. Even Ed couldn't stop his wince as his face hit the ground none-too-softly.

"I hope that didn't hurt them," Al fretted and Ed almost rolled his eyes at his younger brother's mother-henning.

The figure was of a young, lean man dressed in grey pants that while tight around his ankles, were loose around his legs, offering far more freedom of movement than Ed's tighter pants afforded him with his feet clad in black slipper-like shoes. He wore a black tank top, similar to Ed's own, but a yellow jacket whose sleeves and waist ended with white fabric styled in a way that reminded Ed of flames that ended at his waist over the top of it. Strapped under his jacket was a sheathed sword, hilt pointed down and to the stranger's left. Though his face was half-hidden by the long black hair the man had tied back into a ponytail, Ed knew he was of a different ethnicity than himself. Ed saw what looked like white bandages wrapped around the man's wrists, peeking out from under the white sleeve end of his jacket. The man was muttering something weakly and Ed crouched down next to him in an effort to make out what he was saying.

"So… hungry…" the man moaned and Ed found himself rolling his eyes at the man's dramatics when he reached out weakly for Ed. A small animal – no longer than 70 odd centimetres – was standing protectively on the foreigner's back and Ed made the educated guess that this was the man's Animal. It gave its human the most unimpressed look Ed had ever witnessed before going back to baring its tiny, needle-sharp teeth at Ed in warning. Ayala took offence to the bushy-tailed creature and bared her own teeth in warning. Ignoring the yellow-bodied, black limbed, tailed and faced creature, Ed stood up and backed up until he was standing next to Al.

"We could let him starve," Ed said before Al could say anything and Al managed on of those impossible sighs.

"Brother, we should at least invite him to join us for lunch," Al said and Ed groaned in annoyance. At Al's words though, the young man jumped up, all of his previous lethargy forgotten and dislodging his Animal with a yelp.

"You're much too kind, metal man," the foreigner proclaimed with a grin. "I'll accept your generous offer to join the two of you for lunch!" His Animal glared at him reproachfully and Ed was finally able to place what species it was, a Yellow-Throated Marten.

"Fine," Ed glared at him before giving Al a glare for good measure. "Follow us." Ed didn't wait to see if the man listened or not. He, Ayala and Chester were starving and they would wait for no man. He elected to ignore Al's reprimanding lectures about how rude he was being as they walked and a sneaky backwards glance told him the man and his Animal were happily following along.

"So, what's your name?" Ed heard Al ask and kept an ear on the conversation.

"Ling Yao," the man – Ling, apparently – answered promptly. "This is my Animal, Laika." Ed filed the information away as they entered the café, preventing the Elrics from introducing themselves, and asked the waitress for a table for three.

There wasn't much in the way of conversation as they took their seats and perused the menu offered. Once their drink and food orders were placed, Al claiming he'd eaten earlier when Ling questioned why he didn't order, they waited in silence. Ayala and Chester were seated next to their humans, watching Ling with open suspicion while Ling seemed oblivious to their gaze. Laika sat on Ling's lap, tail curled over Ling's left forearm as he watched the other Animals in turn. Before the silence could get too awkward though, their food arrived and Ed almost raised a brow out how much Ling had in front of him before he realised he really had no place to judge.

"You guys are lifesavers!" Ling exclaimed once he'd polished off his plates. "Thanks a lot! This is your treat, right?" Ed almost choked on the mouthful of food he was chewing.

"When the heck did I say I was shouting you?" Ed asked demandingly once he swallowed the food he was chewing on.

"Let's not quibble over something so small!" Ling said, flapping a hand at Ed dismissively before speaking over anything Ed was going to say. "To think, I found such hospitality so far from home!" Ling went on saying. Ed felt regret at ever stopping to check on this man grow the more he spoke. Ayala and Chester chuckled in his head, which Ed did not appreciate and mentally grumbled at them.

"'Far from home'?" Al repeated, a small amount of confusion and realisation in his tone. "So, you're not from here?" Ling nodded.

"That's right!" He exclaimed, as though it was truly amazing that someone figured it out. "I come from Xing!" Ling told them and Laika nodded, assuring them Ling was telling the truth.

"Xing? That's the country to the east of the desert right?" Ed asked and Ling nodded. "Why are you here in Rush Valley than?" Ed asked curiously since they were currently in the southern area of Amestris, nowhere near the East desert.

"Yeah, and crossing that desert was rough, let me tell you," Ling laughed as his Animal levelled the flattest look on the seemingly unfazed man.

"Why in the world would you take that route?" Al asked, disbelief completely evident in his voice. Chester, Ayala and Ed were very curious about the man's answer as well.

"Oh, I wanted to see the ruins of Xerxes and the route goes by them," Ling explained, as though it was completely normal for someone to cross the desert from Xing, seemingly with no one other than their Animal by their side, just to check out centuries old ruins.

"The Xerxes ruins?" Ed repeated. "I heard there's next to nothing out there," Ed said, brow furrowing slightly.

"I wanted to see for myself," Ling told them simply and Ed was almost impressed with his dedication. "Anyway, I ended up here to try and get some research on alkahestry done." That definitely got Ed and Al's attention.

"Alkahestry?" Ed asked, obviously wanting Ling to explain what it was.

"Yes, I believe it's what you in this country call alchemy," Ling explained. "You see, in Xing, it's known as alkahestry. It's usually used in the medical professions." Al hummed contemplatively as Ling spoke.

"Different countries, different customs, I guess," Ed said as he leaned back, letting the waitress who served them access to the table to she could start clearing it of the dirty plates and cutlery. "Here, alchemy is used mainly for the military and it's not really hard to see why." Ed's eyes turned slightly morose and Ayala leaned into him for comfort. "Even now we still have skirmishes with Aerugo to the south and Creta to the west. North of us is the huge country of Drachma, of course, and although we have a tentative non-aggression pact with them and Briggs mountain stands between the two of us – making invasion difficult, to say the least – our relationship is still dicey at best," Ed told Ling, who gave him a sympathetic look.

"Sounds like your country has its hands full alright." Ed and Al nodded in agreement.

"Things began to move more towards the," Ed paused, mulling over his words, fully aware he was in public, " _militaristic_  when the current Fuhrer – King Bradley – first came into power."

Al decided to move the subject from their military and relations with other countries to something different. "I have to say, I'm curious about alkahestry," he told Ed. "A branch of alchemy that's medically specialised? That's certainly intriguing." Ed nodded in agreement and he got that familiar spark in his eye that told Al and their Animals that they'd likely be researching it soon enough.

"I'm curious too, Al," Ed said, giving his brother a grin. They didn't notice the way Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as the two exchanged words. Laika looked just at them with just as much scrutiny and it wasn't lost on Chester or Ayala, both of whom snarled warningly at the pair, bringing Ed and Al's attention back to Ling and Laika.

"By any chance, are the two of you alchemists?" Ling asked, ignoring the looks on the wolf and leopard's faces.

"Oh, yeah, we are," Ed said before realising they hadn't actually introduced themselves to Ling yet. "I'm Edward Elric, a State Alchemist with the Amestrian military. This is my wolf, Ayala."

"And I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric," Al said before he gestured to Chester, "and this is my Animal, Chester." Ling leapt to his feet and grasped their hands in his own, forcing Laika to think quickly and leap onto the table, glaring at Ling.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you!" Ling beamed brightly and Ed couldn't help but return it, though not quite as brightly.

"So, Ling, what can you tell us about alkahestry? We'd sure love to learn more about it," Ed asked, Al nodding enthusiastically next to him.

"Hmm, nothing," Ling told them, completely unabashedly. "Yeah, sorry, but I'm not actually an alkahestrist," he told them and Ed was sure his jaw nearly hit the table in front of him. Both Chester and Ayala seemed just as shocked by the revelation as he was.

"If you don't practise alkahestry, why come all the way out here to research it?" Ed almost shouted in his disbelief. Ling didn't seem to care about his attitude.

"I'm looking for something," Ling admitted. "It's possible the two of you may have heard of it before. The Philosopher's Stone." Both Ed and Al froze at the mention of the stone and their Animals couldn't stop the curl of their lips. Ling watched their reactions with interest. "I'm very eager to find it so do you know anything about it?" Ling asked and Ed contemplated his options quickly.

"No," he said decisively, "we can't help you." Ling's eyes narrowed even further.

"You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?" Ling asked, raising a hand and snapping his fingers. At his summons, two people appeared seemingly out of nowhere, dressed head-to-toe in black and faces covered with masks. The younger of the two managed to get in between Ayala and Ed before Ed felt the cold tip of the kunai against his throat. A glance showed him that a sword held by the other masked person was pointed to take advantage of the weak spot of the armour – the armpit – ready to slice through it to skewer the person inside. Ed almost snorted at the thought. Ayala and Chester had taken up defensive stances, annoyed at themselves for not sensing the danger to their boys, but they couldn't do more without risking Ed, since he was the one in actual danger. Ling grinned at them and Ed thought he saw Laika roll his eyes. "So, do you have something to tell me?" Ling asked, a slight gloating tone to his voice.

"Why the interest in the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked, ignoring Ling's question and the kunai at his throat. It wasn't the first time he'd been held at knife point and he was almost positive it wouldn't be the last.

"I want to achieve immortality!" Ling exclaimed, adding a slight pause in between 'achieve' and 'immortality' as if to shock the brothers. Ed barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Out with it. What do you know?" Ling asked and Ed scoffed.

"Immortality? Please," Ed said dismissively. "What a bunch of nonsense." Ling's eyes narrowed even further and Ed felt the tip of the kunai dig in just a touch harder but he didn't so much as twitch.

"Not to me it isn't," Ling said seriously but Ed ignored him.

"In any case, I don't much care for the way you ask your questions," Ed told him, bringing his automail arm up and shoving it in between his neck and the kunai, pushing it away. "It's rather rude," he informed Ling as Ayala held the kunai-wielder at arm's length so they couldn't try threatening Ed again. Ed noted a small black cat sitting on the person's shoulder, hissing ineffectively at Ayala.

" _Winry's finished your automail. You better be here shortly or she won't be happy."_  Michella unintentionally interrupted them and Ed sent her a silent confirmation that they'd be there in a few minutes. He felt the monkey grumble in acknowledgment before she pulled away.

"Well, it seems my mechanic is ready, Al," Ed said, ignoring Ling and the younger of his guards as he faced his younger brother who was still being held hostage. "Are you gonna deal with that or do you want me too?" Ed asked, raising a brow at him.

"No, I'm okay," Al told him before he grabbed the blade of the sword and pulled on it just as Chester leaped for the man, tackling him away from Al. Al made sure to let go of the blade before the guard lost his grip and Chester took up a similar stance as Ayala. Both Ed and Al noted that the guard who held Al hostage didn't have an Animal on or near them.

"I'm surprised someone who can afford two personal attendants decided to freeload off the two of us," Ed commented drily as he faced Ling, who looked mildly surprised and impressed that the two boys managed to get the drop on both his guards.

"Well, I am the Emperor's son, after all," Ling said, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly. Both boys looked at each other and their Animals.

"If you're the Emperor's son," Al said thoughtfully as Ed's voice joined his to finish it.

"That means you're a prince?" They said, laughing jovially. Even Chester and Ayala had a glint of amusement in their eyes, though they stayed focused on the masked guards.

"I'll admit, that wasn't the reaction I anticipated," Ling said, a little disbelievingly as he shared a glance with his guards.

Al managed to pull himself together first. "Sorry," he apologised, "we just didn't see that coming!" He giggled and set Ed off on another round of laughter.

"Yeah," Ed gasped for breath as he straightened up. "Who would've thought the guy who collapsed on the side of the road and mooched off of us is the son of an Emperor?!" Ed exclaimed, finally getting control over his laughter and wiping his tears of mirth away. The guard Ayala was holding backed tried to step forward, a growl emitting from their throat, but Ayala stood her ground and snarled louder. Ling signalled for the two to hold their positions.

"Okay!" Ling said, drawing attention back to himself. "The Philosopher's Stone? What do you know?" Any laughter still coming from the brothers died off at the question and Ed levelled Ling with a hard look.

"No," Ed said simply. "Now, as much fun as this has been – right up until you decided to threaten us, anyway – we have to go. My mechanic doesn't like to be kept waiting," Ed said, gesturing to Al to start walking. He wasn't cocky enough to think the two guards weren't as good as they were in combat, maybe even better, but he refused to show much more than respectful caution. After all, they had managed to move quick enough to not only avoid their Animals but to also not set off Ayala or Chester's protective instincts.

"We're not done here!" Ling snapped, showing something other than the cheeriness he'd displayed while eating or the neutrality he'd shown once they'd gotten on the topic of the stone. "What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?" He demanded and Ed wondered if he'd actually had to physically restrain himself from stamping his foot.

"The only thing you need to know about the stone is that it isn't for some political game," Ed told him, meeting his eyes and refusing to break eye contact, trying to show Ling just how serious he was. "Now, we," Ed gestured to himself, Al and the Animals, "are going to leave. If you try and stop us, we will fight back. We might very well lose that fight but you can't guarantee the winner any more than we can and I have the added motivation of needing to get to my mechanic before I piss them off." Ed didn't wait to see what Ling or the guards' responses would be. Instead, he grabbed Al by the elbow and nodded to the Animals before they headed back for Garfiel's automail shop. He could feel five sets of eyes watching them as Ling, his guards and the two Animals kept their eyes locked on the boys and their Animals until they were out of sight but Ed didn't turn back to confirm it. As a result, he didn't see Ling nod to his guards nor did he see the guards take positions on the closest rooftop as they prepared to follow the blonde.

" _You know they're following us, right?"_  Ayala asked as they rounded the corner and Ed sighed.

"Yeah, I figured they would be," Ed admitted. "I didn't think Ling was dumb enough to miss the fact that I was lying through my teeth nor did I hold any hope that he would give up on the idea in light of my warning. Even if Ling had missed the fact I was lying, I'm positive his guards would've noticed and told him." Chester looked over at him in amusement.

" _Who else do we know of that's smart enough to see through most lies but stubborn enough to ignore other's warnings?"_  Chester teasingly asked and Ed stuck his tongue out at him while his traitor of a brother laughed.

"He has a point, Brother. Even you can't argue with it," Al said and Ed flipped him off just as Garfiel's came into view. They dodged the few people on the street as they slipped into the store and were greeted by Winry.

"I was wondering how much longer the four of you would be," Winry said. "I was about to ask Michella to check on you." The monkey didn't look happy about being used as a messenger and Ed didn't really blame her. He was just grateful that he didn't have to take up the role of messenger as much as the Animals seemed to be.

"Sorry if we worried you, Winry," Al said. "We found someone nearly unconscious in the street and bought them lunch." Winry quirked a brow in amusement.

"Seriously?" She asked as she gestured for them to follow her into the back of the shop where there was a patient room for fittings and consults. "Where is he?"

"He turned out to be a prince from Xing searching for the stone to try and become immortal," Ed told her casually and she almost dropped her wrench in shock. "When we told him we knew nothing about it, he decided we were lying and tried to sic his guards on us. Michella contacted me just in time so I guess I should thank you both for the fact that I managed to avoid a fight that likely would've ended in my automail being destroyed," Ed said, grinning as Winry tried to be angry that they almost got in a fight and pleased that Ed was thanking her and Michella.

"Be that as it may, you shouldn't be picking fights with foreign princes!" Winry scolded, settling on lecturing Ed. "What if you'd caused an international incident because of your behaviour?"

"First off,  _he_  started it," Ed said, scowling as he sat on the bed as Winry's gesture, "and secondly, I'm fairly certain he's here illegally so even  _if_  I had started something, he wouldn't have done anything about it since he would've been arrested, prince or not," Ed told her and she seemed slightly mollified at his response.

"Whatever," Winry said dismissively. "Take your jackets and pants off." Ed did as he was told, leaving himself sitting on the bed in just his boxers and tank top, as she fussed around her workshop, grabbing the limbs she'd built for him and any tools she might need to connect them. "Now, since there's only me here, we'll have to connect your limbs one at a time. You alright with that?" She asked and Ed nodded. "Like I told you guys over the phone, these are limbs built specifically for cold weather climates, like North City. The upside to these limbs is that they're lighter and more resistant to rusting however the con to them is they aren't quite as strong as the ones you've currently got so you will need to be more careful if you get in a fight. Because they're designed specifically for cold weather, they won't increase your chances of developing frostbite at the joints as quickly as your current ones would  _but_  that doesn't mean you won't develop frostbite because of them if you decide to go out into a snowstorm without other protection," Winry warned him and Ed nodded in acknowledgement. Satisfied that he wouldn't go running into a snowstorm thinking he wouldn't get frostbite any quicker than a human with no automail, Winry started prepping the limbs for attachment as Ed made himself comfortable on the bed. "You happy for me to start with the arm?" She asked and Ed shrugged.

"Go for it," he told her, not caring either way and Winry took it as the permission she needed.

"Alright, I'm disconnecting the arm now," Winry warned as she positioned herself to do just that. Ed nodded, giving her the go-ahead and moments later, Winry was handing the old arm to Al with instructions to place it on the workbench. She lined the new arm up with the joint, double-checked it would fit before placing it millimetres away from the connection. "Ready?" Ed nodded, keeping his body purposefully lax and Winry got the arm connected in a matter of heartbeats. Ed couldn't stifle the groan, just as Ayala couldn't quite stifle her whine from the sympathy pain, and Winry murmured apologies to both of them as she adjusted a couple of parts, ensuring a perfect connection before stepping away. "Do you want to wait to do the leg?" She asked, knowing full well what Ed would tell her. Sure enough, Ed shook his head after glancing at Ayala and obviously getting permission.

"You alright, Brother?" Al asked as Winry moved down to the foot of the bed and around the other side to disconnect Ed's leg.

"Yeah, Al," Ed told him, voice betraying only the slightest hint of pain as his nerves flared with pain.

"You ready, Ed?" Winry asked and Ed once again gave the nod to go ahead. She disconnected the leg as smoothly as she'd done the arm and gave Al the same instructions as she fetched Ed's new leg and went through the same motions as she'd done for the arm. She didn't ask if he was ready, merely looked up and got a nod. She connected the leg and Ed and Ayala's vocalisations of pain were slightly louder than before as she and Michella got to work making sure the connections were perfect. Since the leg was wider than the arm, Michella was certainly an asset for Winry when it came to checking the inner side of the limb without jostling the patient and accidentally causing a flare up of nerves. "All done," Winry announced, giving both boys and their Animals a reassuring smile. "How you feeling, Ed?"

"Same I always feel after a connection," Ed told her as he pulled himself into a sitting position, ignoring Winry's frustrated orders to not do that. He rotated his right shoulder, loosening the muscles and trying to settle his nerves as he adjusted himself to the new automail. "Wow, Winry, Michella, you can definitely feel the difference in weight. This is amazing!" Ed said, eyes lit up in amazement as he glanced over at the mechanic. "Is there any reason I can't stick to this kind of automail?" He asked, already thinking of how the weight difference would benefit stealth missions. He'd, of course, have to adjust to the difference in weight first but he was sure he'd get that done in no time.

"No, not that I know of," Winry told him, cheeks flushed slightly by the genuine praise Ed had given her and Michella. Even the monkey felt a little chuffed.

"Well, if there isn't, I think I might stick to cold weather automail," Ed told her, making a fist and wiggling each finger to check everything was working as it should be. "Of course, we'll have to see how this set lives up to the standards your last few sets have created in a fight." Ed grinned at her and Winry rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should try avoiding getting into a fight all together!" Winry exclaimed and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll just  _ask_  all future criminals I'm ordered to hunt down to surrender without a fight because my mechanic said so," Ed drawled. "There's no way they wouldn't listen to that," he tacked on sarcastically and Winry felt the familiar urge to hit him over the head with her wrench. The only reason she refrained herself was because she knew he'd been in two major fights in the last week or so and she didn't want to add to his extensive injuries. Michella still chittered angrily from her shoulder and she knew her Animal would be on board with trying to knock some sense into her idiotic childhood friend.

"Hey, Winry," Al's voice pulled her and Michella out of their debate about whether a wrench to Ed's head would be beneficial to his recovery, "I was wondering where Paninya was? I haven't seen at all since we got into town."

"Oh, she's actually not in Rush Valley right now," Winry told him and Al made a surprised noise. "She's cleaned up her act and gone straight, no more being a petty thief, so she's actually started working around town, doing odd carpentry jobs for the townspeople. She's left to purchase supplies on behalf of her current employer so you likely won't see her during your trip this time."

"I'm really glad she's got her head on straight now but I'll admit I wish Chester and I could catch up with her this trip," Al said. "I was looking forward to introducing Brother and Ayala to her this time." Winry snorted.

"I'm not sure we should ever introduce them, Al. Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into if we do?" She chuckled as she imagined it.

"I am right here, you know!" Ed exclaimed indignantly. Winry gave him an unimpressed look, one that was echoed by Michella.

"We know," Winry said before giving him a once over. "Have your nerves settled down yet?" Ed glared at her but nodded. "Good. Walk through the store a couple of times. I want to know how they feel and if you think anything needs improving. Remember to adjust for the weight difference," she added as Ed swung his legs off the bed and stood.

"Yeah, I know," Ed said, flapping his hand dismissively as he took a slightly cautious step forward. Al, Ayala and Chester all hovered around him until he sent them a pointed look, getting them to back off a little and give him some breathing room. His first couple of steps were a little worrying but he seemed to adjust quickly to the weight difference because he was walking out of the room as quickly and sure as he normally would've.

"He refuses to take it easy, doesn't he?" Winry asked rhetorically as she glared at the teenagers retreating back.

"Be thankful he agreed to go for the walk instead of asking to spar with me immediately," Al said and Winry sighed as she realised he had a point. Ayala and Chester were both watching the doorway Ed had vanished through. "What will you do with his old limbs?" Al asked curiously. Ed had never had a set of limbs removed intact and in working condition to be replaced with a new set. He'd never managed to outgrow a set before he got them destroyed in a fight.

"Oh, I'll dismantle them, figure out ways to make them even better and likely cannibalise some of the parts for other limbs," Winry told him as she packed away the tools she'd used. "I can learn a lot from my previous works that'll benefit future clients, especially when I use all the tricks and tips Garfiel has taught me." She sounded excited about the prospect of learning new things and Al wished he could smile so she could see he was excited for her as well.

"I didn't feel anything off with the limbs, Winry," Ed said, startling both humans as he entered the workroom unexpectantly. "Is there somewhere Al and I can spar? It'd probably be a good idea to know how these limbs hold up in a fight before I go up against someone who actually wants me dead," Ed said and Winry exhaled loudly through her nose as she glared at the blonde.

"Garfiel has a small yard out the back. If you don't break anything – including yourself or my new automail – you can use that area," Winry told him, pointing a wrench threateningly at him. Ed held his hands up in surrender before looking at Al.

"You good to go?" He asked and Al nodded. After assuring Winry they'd keep the fight to a minimum, just long enough for Ed to learn the limbs' limits, and would stay aware of their surroundings, the boys and their Animals headed for the back of the shop.

"Just us against each other, Brother?" Al asked and Ed hummed as he took in the size of the yard.

"Yeah, I don't think there's enough room here for Ayala and Chester to join in. Sorry, guys," he apologised to the put-out Animals.

" _Try not to break those limbs. I don't think we really need to know just how angry Winry would get if you busted your automail within an hour of getting it installed,"_ Ayala said as she and Chester picked a spot in the shade to watch their humans.

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," Ed laughed as he and Al took up their fighting stances. "Call it, Ches."

" _On three,"_  the leopard said and the boys shifted minutely.  _"1, 2, 3!"_

Both boys sprung into action when Chester said '3' and Ed ducked under Al's swing, bringing his new arm up and smashing it into the back of Al's swinging arm, sending his brother stumbling a couple of steps before Ed was forced to jump back to avoid the leg Al had kicked out with. Ed slid on the ground and between Al's legs before jumping up and forcing his younger brother on the defensive. The two Animals cheered on their respective humans as Ed kept up the offensive moves but, as always, Al managed to get the upper hand when he stepped out of the way of one of Ed's punches and deprived his older brother of the moment he needed to recover. After a few minutes of Ed trying to regain the advantage in the fight, Al laid him out on the ground, fist hovering inches in front of his face.

"One of these days," Ed panted, grinning up at Al, "I will win one of our spars." Al laughed as his fist opened up for Ed to grab and he helped his older brother up on the ground.

"When you do, it'll be the same day I best you at alchemy, Brother," Al told him as Ed dusted off his clothes and their Animals joined them.

" _How did your automail hold up?"_  Ayala asked and Ed wriggled his right fingers.

"Good. I can tell they're not as strong as my last set but I think the advantage of them being lighter and not rusting as much if it rains or I take an unexpected dip in a lake or stream again makes up for them not being able to take as many hits as my last set. Besides," Ed said with a shrug, "it's not like they're as weak or weaker than my flesh arm and leg so they'll still hold up in a fight far better than I would." He grinned at them and knew that Al would've rolled his eyes if he could've.

"Well, at least that's something," Al said drily. "Come on, we'd better go find Winry and report back to her. Are you sure you're alright?" Al asked, worried the sparring session might've reopened or aggravated some of Ed's injuries and then he'd have to deal with an annoyed Winry and angry Ayala, neither of which were things he wanted to deal with. He didn't think Chester's amusement was called for.

"I'm fine, you worry-wart," Ed said. "Seriously, I didn't even injure my ribs further," he added when he realised Al was still worried.

"If you're sure," Al said though he didn't sound like he believed him entirely.

"Come on. Let's go find the wrench-wielding witch before she hunts us down," Ed said, rolling his eyes at Al and ignoring his mutter of 'brother' as they headed back inside Garfiel's store. "Winry?" Ed called as they headed back to the workshop only to find it empty.

"I'm in the front of the store!" Winry called back and the brothers exchanged a glance.

" _The Xingese prince is there as well,"_  Chester told them both before they'd taken a step.  _"His guards are outside on the rooftop of the building next to this one,"_  he told them and Ed groaned in annoyance before taking a deep breath.

"Fine," he huffed. "Let's go see what his royal majesty wants now," he grumbled, causing Ayala and Al to try and stifle their amused giggles. Chester didn't even bother hiding his.

"There you two are," Winry said as she served Ling some tea. Ed glared at the prince before looking at Winry. "How'd your automail go?" She asked, casting worried eyes over the limbs in question.

"Yeah, they're good. Like you said, not as strong as my regular automail but it won't take me long to adjust to the difference," Ed told her, giving her a genuine smile before looking back at the prince. "Why are you here?" Ed asked, giving the grinning man an unimpressed look he knew both Chester and Ayala were echoing from either side of him.

"We didn't finish our previous conversation and your mechanic here was nice enough to invite me in for tea while I waited for you," Ling told him and Ed glared at Winry who only glared right back.

"He's a prince! What did you expect me to do?" She exclaimed and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Throw him out on his arse? He's not a prince in Amestris and he's here illegally," Ed said flatly. "You wouldn't have gotten in any trouble for doing so. In fact, you likely would've been praised by the military police for helping them catch someone who'd snuck into Amestris." Winry glared at him but Ed ignore her, focusing on Ling once more. "We're not telling you shit about the stone so if that's why you're here, annoying my mechanic and any customers she or her boss get, you might as well get your princely arse out," Ed told him none too kindly and, thanks to Ayala's warning, he didn't so much as twitch when a kunai came flying past his face, courtesy of the smaller of Ling's two guards. "That reminds me," Ed said as he plucked the kunai from where its blade had been buried into the wall behind him, "your guards are shit at being stealthy." Ed tossed the kunai back to the guard who'd thrown it. "Our Animals were able to sense them after your little attempt at trying to intimidate us before." Ling didn't look offended one bit by Ed's words, the grin still wide on his face.

"Now, now, we're all friends here, right?" Ling laughed, spreading his hands in a placating gesture. Ed, Ayala and Chester looked unimpressed.

"That's how you treat your friends?" Ed asked, nodding to the kunai in the smaller guard's hand.

"Ah, that reminds me that I've neglected to introduce them," Ling said, waving a hand and the door entered the room. The smaller guard's Animal sat on her shoulders and glared at them. Another gesture had the guards remove their masks and the Amestrians were shocked to find out that the smaller guard was a woman. "The girl's name is Lan Fan and her Animal is Onyx." Lan Fan gave them a stiff nod. "The old man is her grandfather, Fu." The grey moustached and haired man barely inclined his head and the lack of introduction to the man's absent Animal wasn't missed by any of them. "Their family has served mine for generations and they're quite good at what they do," Ling said, a hint of pride tingeing his voice.

"I still can't believe you're the son of an emperor," Ed sighed as he leant against the counter. "I can't imagine it would've been such a hardship on your coin purse to pay for your own food instead of scavenging off of us."

"Do not speak badly about Master Ling," Lan Fan growled, taking half a step forward before halting at Ling's gesture.

"My being the son of the emperor is not that big of a deal," Ling told them. "The emperor has lots of sons. It's like this; my country, Xing, is broken up into 50 clans with the emperor on top, reigning over them," Ling explained. "The daughter of each clan's chief becomes one of the emperor's wives and bears his children. The current emperor has 19 daughters and 24 sons." Ed was sure his and Winry's jaws hit the ground. "I come in at number 12 in that line up."

"43 kids?" Ed gasped, glancing at an equally shocked Ayala. "That's unbelievable!"

"Yeah," Al agreed. "The issue of succession must be a tricky one."

Ling nodded emphatically. "Indeed it is! That's the problem we're facing at the moment," Ling told them. "The emperor's health has begun to deteriorate recently," Ling revealed. "Each clan is doing everything they can to curry favour and I'm no exception."

"You wanna up your chances by uncovering the secrets of immortality," Ed stated, crossing his arms over his chest and daring Ling to try and deny it. The Xingese prince didn't.

"Exactly!" Ling chuckled slightly. "So any information about the Philosopher's Stone would be greatly appreciated." Ed and Al were already shaking their heads while Winry looked concerned.

"Not happening," Ed said, giving the Xingese a hard glare. "Like I told you before, the stone isn't a tool for some political gain."

"Aw!" Ling moaned before brightening suddenly. "Then I guess I'll have to stay with you until you tell me!" He exclaimed, leaping to his feet unexpectedly and grabbing Ed in a tight hug, much to the blonde's horror.

"Oh no, you won't be!" Ed yelped, struggling to get out of Ling's clutches. Ayala and Chester offered no help and Ed vowed vengeance on them both as Al finally managed to get the clingy prince off of Ed.

* * *

"Young Lord, if I may have a word in private?" Fu whispered as the Xingese watched Ed rouse on the two thoroughly amused and unhelpful Animals. With a nod from their prince, the three left Garfiel's shop through the open window and climbed onto the roof. "Young Lord, why do you put up with this boy?" Fu questioned, making sure to keep his tone respectful. "There's no need to bow to someone so far beneath you."

Ling hummed contemplatively before he answered, focusing on the sunsetting over Rush Valley more than Fu's question. "If all it takes is a little bowing," Ling finally said and the two guards straightened slightly, "I'll consider it a small price to pay. The fate of 500,000 Yao clansmen rides on this. We cannot worry so much about appearances right now," Ling told them. Though he wasn't looking at them, Ling knew his guards weren't happy with his decision but, just as they were trained to do, neither of them questioned his answer. Ling settled slightly where he sat on the roof of Atelier Garfiel's, staring at nothing in particular. It certainly wouldn't be a massive price to pay to allow the Elric brothers a bit more leeway than most people would be afforded in how they treated him if it meant he could save his clansmen.

* * *

Winry and Michella had none too kindly ordered Edward to sit in the chair Ling had just vacated and stay there as they went and fetched a few tools to double-check the automail joints now that Ed had thoroughly tested them to make sure they were as perfect as Rockbell automail should be, as well as Ed's clothes. Ed was still muttering about freeloading Xingese princes – much to his younger brother and both their Animals amusement – when Winry and Michella returned.

"So, where are you off to again to break my precious automail?" Winry snarked as she tightened something in his arm.

"I love the fact that you just assume I'm gonna break it and in case you forgot, I didn't break the last set!" Ed sniped back with a glare.

" _It's like she knows you,"_  Ayala faux gasped and Ed glared at her, not that the wolf cared.

"We're heading back to Central," Al decided to interrupt before they could devolve into their normal fighting, "but we won't be staying in there for more than a night or two. Once we get our escort, we'll be heading for Fort Briggs to speak with the major-general in charge of it. That's why Brother needed cold weather automail installed." Winry looked worried as she adjusted something else.

"Will you be alright with all that snow, Al?" Winry asked, pausing in her motions to look at him. Michella didn't seem fazed as she wielded her own wrench and fiddled with Ed's leg.

"Yeah, we think so. The snow shouldn't affect me," Al assured her and, while she didn't look overly convinced, she did drop the subject.

"I'd love to come with you guys to Central and see the Hughes', especially after what happened with you and Mr. Hughes, Ed, but Mr. Garfiel needs me here to help with the influx of customers we'll get in the next couple of days," Winry sighed.

"Maybe Mr. Garfiel will you give you some time off once everything calms down again," Al said hopefully and Winry gave him a grateful smile.

"I hope so," she said, getting back to her work. "I'd really like to show Mrs. Hughes how good I've gotten at making her apple pie!" Even Ed couldn't hide his grin as her enthusiasm.

" _Softie."_  Both Chester and Ayala whispered in Ed's mind and Ed mentally flipped them off.

"Did I hear that we're going to Central?" Ling's voice caused them to startle and Ed whirl around to glare at the prince from where he was looking in through the open window. "How exciting!" Laika made a noise of agreement.

"I told you that you're not coming with us!" Ed screeched at the man, causing everyone in the shop to laugh as Ling looked completely unfazed by Ed's ire.

* * *

"ED! AL!" A familiar voice grabbed the boys' attention as they stepped of the train in Central station. Hughes was standing in the middle of the crowd and waving at the four of them like a lunatic but they couldn't help but return the greeting as enthusiastically as the four of them made their way through the crowd. "How was your trip? And hello to the two of you as well, Ayala and Chester," Hughes said, giving the two Animals a smile. Leo was as close to Hughes' legs as he could manage to avoid being stood on by the bustling crowd.

"All good. Got the automail I needed installed so we're ready to go to Fort Briggs whenever Colonel Bastard gets his act together and assigns us an escort," Ed grumbled, still peeved about being assigned a guard.

"Brother, you know he just wants to make we don't get in any trouble," Al said, trying to calm Ed before he could break into another rant.

"Well, I'm glad you had no problems," Hughes said before clapping his hands loudly and shooing them in the direction of the car park. "Now, I have several new photos of my darling girls but you'll have to wait to see them because Roy has asked me to pass on a message. He'd like for you to drop by the office before coming home for the night to receive the rest of your orders." Ed groaned at the idea of having to see Mustang so soon.

"Why is he like this?" Ed muttered under his breath but not quietly enough since Hughes chuckled. "Wait, wouldn't we see him tonight anyways?" Ed asked, looking confused but Hughes shook his head.

"No, he's found a house of his own. Actually, he signed the paperwork for it the day the four of you left for Rush Valley and started moving in that night. He's sleeping there now," Hughes told them and Ed looked surprised.

"Why are you asking, Ed? You gonna miss him?" Al asked, unable to resist teasing Ed and was rewarded by a snort.

"As if. If anything, I'm gonna miss having Nala around," Ed told him and Al hummed as if he didn't believe him, causing Ed to punch him with his automail fist while Hughes and the Animals laughed at him.

" _I heard my name,"_  Nala said, startling Ed enough the others noticed.

"Eavesdropping on conversations again?" Ed teased and was rewarded with Nala's laughter. He made a calming gesture to the two humans with him as he climbed into the car Hughes had procured and assumed Chester and Leo were telling their respective humans who he was talking too. "Besides, didn't your human order me not to talk to Animals who weren't Ayala unless it was an emergency or really important?" Ed asked and Nala seemed to grin through their bond.

" _Oops,"_  she said unconvincingly and Ed shook his head fondly.  _"Are you back in Central yet? I thought I could sense you were close,"_  she said and Ed nearly nodded before remembering she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, we just left the train station and are heading to Central Command now. We shouldn't be too long," Ed told her and she seemed happy with his answer. After exchanging quick goodbyes, Nala disconnected the bond and Ed leaned back and rested his head on the headrest in the car.

"What did Nala want, brother?" Al asked and Ed sat back up.

"Ah, she could sense us approaching Central and wanted to know how far away we were," Ed told him.

"I thought Roy had ordered you not to speak to any Animal that wasn't Ayala unless circumstances forced your hand?" Hughes asked and Ed snorted.

"He did," Ed confirmed with a smirk, "but he can't do shit about it if the Animal contacts me first. It'd be rude of me to ignore them, after all," Ed said with a shit-eating grin that had Hughes let out a bark of laughter.

"I hope you tell him that exactly," Hughes said and Ed nodded.

"I already planned on it," he told Hughes.

"Mr. Hughes, please don't encourage him," Al requested, voice long-suffering.

" _I'm all for it,"_  Chester said, amusedly.  _"At least we're guaranteed some entertainment."_

"Chester, please don't encourage Ed either," Al asked, though his voice told them he held no hopes that he would actually be listened too. Chester's sharp grin just had Al groan in resignation while Ed, Ayala and Hughes laughed at him.

"Hello, Lieutenant Hawkeye, Soren. Where is literally everyone else?" Ed asked as he, Al, Hughes and their Animals entered Mustang's outer office. He'd noticed on their approach that most of the team's Animals weren't in the office so it wasn't a big surprise to him, even if he was still curious.

"Hello, Edward and everyone," Hawkeye said, nodding her head. "I'm afraid most of the team is busy running errands for Colonel Mustang. Sergeant Fuery, on the other hand, has been forced to take sick leave as he was unfortunate enough to catch a bug working its way around Central presently."

"I hope Fuery is alright," Al said, sounding like he wanted to storm Fuery's military-issued dorm room and ply him with soup immediately.

"He will be fine in a couple of days. This disease seems to affect people for 3 days on average and he's been off work since yesterday," Hawkeye assured him with a gentle smile. "How was your trip?"

"Yeah, it was good. I got my cold weather automail almost as soon as I got off the train but Winry wouldn't let us leave Rush Valley until this morning. Apparently it's her decision when I've properly adjusted to the differences between the two sets," Ed scowled as no one in particular. "Oh, we also ran into a Xingese prince and two of his guards. I'm 97% certain he's here illegally," Ed told her and she raised a brow.

"You couldn't wait more than a couple of minutes before bringing Ling up, could you?" Al almost sighed and Ed glared at him.

"He was an arsehole and he deserves it," Ed stated before looking back at Hawkeye. "He likely smuggled himself and his guards on our train so if someone of Xingese origin turns up looking for us, feel free to shoot him." Hawkeye almost cracked a grin at how serious Ed was.

"BROTHER!" Al admonished, sounding scandalised that his brother would even ask that of Hawkeye. "You can't ask Miss Riza to do something like that!" He lectured sternly.

" _At least ask her to aim for a non-fatal spot,"_  Ayala suggested and Ed grinned.

"Brilliant idea, Aya," he praised. "If he turns up looking for us, feel free to shoot him somewhere _non-fatal_ , Miss Riza," Ed amended, shooting Al a scathing look. Al muttered something under his breath that had Chester chuckling but before Ed could demand him to speak up, Hawkeye cleared her throat.

"I'll be sure to let the team know about this Ling and his guards so they can keep an eye out for them just in case they stir up any trouble," Hawkeye told him but Ed didn't hear anything that told him she wouldn't put a bullet in Ling for him so he counted it as a win.

"Thanks, Miss Riza," Ed said, giving her a smile before glaring at the inner office door.

"Colonel Mustang is inside and he did tell the team that if you arrived before the end of the workday, you were to be permitted inside," Hawkeye said and Ed sighed like someone would if they were about to something they really didn't want to do.

"Yeah, alright," Ed said before he headed for the door with Al, Hughes and their Animals following him. Al beat him to the door, knocking on it so Ed was deprived of the pleasure of kicking it in and Ed knew this was his little brother's retaliation for the stuff about Ling.

"Enter," a slightly muffled voice said from the other side of the door and Ed smirked as he felt Nala's amusement at her human.

Upon entering the office, Ed saw why. Mustang was sitting at his desk with a decent amount of paperwork stacked neatly next to him and an irritated look on his face, telling everyone present that he'd been forced to do his paperwork properly all day. The fact that the remaining paperwork was still in such a neat pile told Ed that Hawkeye had been checking up on him far too often during the day for Mustang to risk hiding or destroying it.

"ROY!" Hughes bellowed, causing the boys, Animals – except for Leo and Nala, who had been expecting it – and Mustang to jump slightly and Hawkeye glare a warning at the man, who grinned sheepishly back, before she closed the door for them.

"Hughes, why are you here?" Mustang asked tiredly. "Don't you have your own team to annoy?" Hughes smirked at him.

"I don't know what you mean by 'annoy' but to answer your question, I'm only here to say a quick hello before I go back to Investigations since I am technically on my lunch break so I'll be leaving now," Hughes said, already backing up towards the door. Leo just shook his head at Ed's questioning brow. "I'll see you at home, boys!" Hughes said to the Elrics before he disappeared back into the outer office in a blur of movement.

Mustang shook his head, whether in exasperation or fondness, Ed didn't know, before he turned back to the group in front of him. "Take a seat. I'll join you once I'm finished," he ordered and Ed rolled his eyes but did as he was told, flopping gracelessly on the couch Nala was lying own. Ayala and Chester both joined him while Al took a seat on the floor in front of the couch.

"How's my favourite lioness?" Ed asked, out loud so Mustang couldn't accuse him of breaking orders. Nala situated herself so her head had joined Ayala's in resting on Ed's lap before she grinned up at him.

" _Thoroughly bored. Roy hasn't tried anything to get out of paperwork yet and it's utterly tedious,"_  she complained and Ed chuckled as he petted her soothingly.  _"How's my favourite blonde?"_

"You know that Al's technically blonde too, right? So I guess it depends which one of us you're talking about," Ed asked and Nala hummed thoughtfully.

" _How's my favourite Edward?"_  Nala amended her question.  _"Is that better?"_  She smirked as Ed rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, until you meet another Edward and then we'll have this argument again," Ed told her with a grin.

" _No other Edward would be able to take your place,"_  Nala reassured him and Ed rolled his eyes even though he felt a flush of warmth at her sincere tone.

"You say that now," Ed said but decided to leave the emotions alone for today and move the subject along. "I'm good, by the way." Nala gave him a look that told Ed she knew exactly what he was doing but she let it slide.

" _Good. Did something happen in Rush Valley? I thought I felt something through our bond but I couldn't identify it because of the distance between us,"_  Nala said and it didn't take Ed very long to figure out which emotion he'd felt most prominently in Rush Valley: annoyance.

"Fucking Xingese princes," Ed muttered lowly enough that Mustang, who had half an ear on the conversation, had to strain to make it out and was still uncertain about whether he'd heard right.

"Brother, stop insulting him," Al reprimanded and Mustang decided that he'd gotten enough paperwork done to warrant his pausing in signing it to talk to the brothers now.

"Well, I haven't had any reports from Rush Valley telling me that you've levelled half the town in some fight so I'm assuming your visit was peaceful?" Mustang said as he said on the unclaimed couch and glared at Nala when she didn't move. Nala made it very obvious that she was rolling her eyes before she hopped off the couch, stretched languidly and joined him on his.

"Yes, Colonel Mustang. We didn't run into any trouble while we were there," Al told him when it was apparent Ed was more focused on glaring a hole in Mustang's head than answering.

"So what was Fullmetal complaining about just now?" Mustang asked before switching subjects. "And didn't I order you to not to use your abilities unless it was an emergency?" Ed joined Nala and Ayala in their eyerolls. Mustang had a suspicion that if his eyes weren't closed, Chester would've done the same thing.

"In my defence, they started the conversations. I just answered." Ed shrugged a shoulder, a half-smirk on his face and Mustang sighed.

"Am I to assume that you'll be ignoring that particular order in the future?" Mustang asked and Ed just answered with a shit-eating grin. Mustang decided to drop the subject. It wasn't like he could actually enforce the order since he physically couldn't stop Ed from talking to the Animals and he certainly couldn't stop the Animals from talking to him. "You never answered my first question. What were you complaining about this time, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked again and Ed's mood immediately turned sour, though Mustang got a distinct impression of amusement from Al and the brothers Animals.

"Brother and I met a Xingese prince while we were in Rush Valley. He was collapsed in an alleyway and we offered to pay for his lunch before we found out who he was," Alphonse explained and Mustang raised a brow. "When he found out we were alchemists, he asked us for information on the Philosopher's Stone. Brother was very quick to tell him that we didn't know anything but Ling – that's the prince – doesn't believe him." Mustang could admit that he'd never imagined a scenario where either brother would meet a foreign royal, not even in a diplomatic setting with a meeting between the Fuhrer, select higher-ups and the foreign party. Especially not Edward.

"So what's the problem? You got asked about the stone and weren't believed when you denied any knowledge. I don't understand why you're still sulking about it, Fullmetal. Whether you realise it or not, you aren't that great at lying," Mustang said, a little unimpressed that Ed was acting like a child.

"The problem is that that Xingese bastard followed us to Central," Ed snarled, glaring at Mustang. "If he presses too much for information, he could find out why we're interested in the stone. Or was interested in it, I should say." Ed shrugged.

"So you're definitely not after a Philosopher's Stone any longer?" Mustang asked, seemingly unconcerned about the answer.

"Well," Al said a little hesitantly, looking up at Ed before continuing, "we're not  _not_  looking for a complete stone. We'll never make one ourselves and we are researching for something that could help us without being made of hundreds of souls but Brother and I did discuss what we'd do if we came across a stone that was already made," Al told him.

"We'd rather use the stone to complete our goal and set the souls still in it free than leave it for someone else to use or just destroy it without trying to barter with Truth," Ed admitted but Mustang could see how against the idea the older Elric was and Mustang couldn't blame him for it. "We wouldn't be able to bring all the souls in the stone back to life anyway but we can't take the risk of destroying our chance of completing our goal without a guarantee that we'll have another one." Ed still didn't look to happy and Ayala lifted her head to nudge his cheek in a show of comfort.

"Alright so you were followed back to Central by a Xingese prince who might try and confront you about the stone," Mustang said, trying to make sure he'd gotten that right.

"And his two flunkies," Ed muttered and Mustang couldn't quite suppress his sigh.

"Are they likely to disturb my team in their efforts to get information from you?" Mustang asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"I don't know if they'd risk showing up in the middle of Central Command since I'm positive they're here illegally but I also wouldn't put it past them. Ling is pretty adamant about getting a stone or any information he can find on it so he can take it to Xing and present it to the Emperor – who's apparently really sick – and be rewarded with being the first in line for the throne," Ed told him.

"Alright, I'll inform the team about this and have them keep an eye out," Mustang said, already feeling a headache forming. He had a feeling this Ling wouldn't be dissuaded easily from interfering with their day-to-day lives if it meant him getting what he wants. "In the meantime, I've decided on who will be escorting the two of you to Fort Briggs," he told them, switching the subject. Al leaned forward minutely and Mustang was amused to see that Ed still didn't look like he liked the idea of an escort. "Warrant Officer Falman used to be stationed at Fort Briggs and therefore has a familiarity with it and most of General Armstrong's soldiers. He has volunteered to be your escort and I decided to take him up on his offer. The six of you will be leaving on tomorrow's train bound for North City, providing Lieutenant Hawkeye is able to procure you tickets. If she is unable to, you will be on the next scheduled train." Mustang got up from his couch and went back to his desk, grabbed two sealed envelopes and faced a surprised and suspicious Edward.

"Major Armstrong has written a letter of introduction for the two of you to give to his older sister," Mustang explained, handing the first envelope over, "as well as a personal letter he has written to her that he has asked for you to pass along," Mustang said, giving Ed the second, thicker envelope. Unlike the first one, this one was marked with the Armstrong family crest so Ed would be able to tell them apart.

"That was nice of him," Al commented as Ed put the envelopes in a jacket pocket and Ed nodded in agreement.

"So what's the official reason we're heading North?" Ed asked and Mustang grabbed a file off his desk and handed it to the blonde before sitting next to Nala.

"There's been reports of disturbances from a few small towns near Fort Briggs. Witnesses have described feeling the ground shake only to learn their neighbouring towns, even the owners of rural properties outside of the town, haven't felt them. Some have reported that their Animals have sensed something moving underground but when asked by their human, couldn't give a more accurate description," Mustang explained as Ed read through the file. "Your task is to talk to the soldiers stationed at Fort Briggs and see whether they have heard about or felt anything similar to the events described in the reports." Ed handed the file over to Al and gave Mustang a look before nodding.

"Is that it? Can we go now? We got shit to do," Ed said brusquely and Al gave an aborted movement that Mustang suspected had been him either about to facepalm or hit Ed upside the back of the head.

"Have Lieutenant Hawkeye enquire about train tickets before you leave but, yes, you're dismissed, Fullmetal," Mustang said and it seemed that Ed didn't need any more encouragement in the matter. He, Ayala and Chester were all off the couch rather quickly, Al following close behind.

"See ya later, Nala," Ed said, ruffling one of her ears as he passed the couch.

"Have a good afternoon, Colonel Mustang," Al said with a small bow as Ed opened the door to the outer office and disappeared through it. "Brother! Stop being so rude!" Al admonished as he and the Animals followed the blonde before the door shut behind him. Mustang rolled his eyes at no one in particular before looking at the paperwork he still needed to do and groaning. Nala's amusement was something Mustang didn't think was warranted as he took his seat behind his desk once more.

* * *

"All done, boys?" Hawkeye asked the moment the inner office door was closed and Al's berating had stopped. She shoved down the urge to immediately check that Mustang was going back to his paperwork, instead choosing to focus on the two teenagers and Animals that had walked out.

"Yes, Miss Riza," Ed said. "The colonel said that you would be the one procuring us tickets up North. We were just wondering if you'd managed to get them and when the train would be leaving," Ed told her and Hawkeye bit back a sigh. She hadn't been informed of this, though she should've expected it.

"I'm sorry, boys, but I haven't received any orders to do that. If you're able to wait a few minutes, I'll place the call now however if you can't, I'm happy to call the Hughes residence later today with an answer for you," Hawkeye said apologetically.

"It's okay, Miss Riza. We're happy to wait," Ed assured her and Al echoed him.

She gave them a nod and picked up the phone to phone the station while Ed and Al took a seat at the vacant desks. Ayala and Chester both took up positions next to their human's feet while Soren clicked softly from his perch behind her. Knowing what he wanted, Hawkeye glanced behind her and gave her Animal a slightly amused look before nodding towards Ed once. Soren spread his wings and glided from his perch to the spot in front of Ed, though not before making sure the tip of his wing brushed against Hawkeye's cheek as a show of thanks. Ed's grin as the barn owl appeared in front of him was one of the genuine ones the team rarely saw in the office.

"Hello, this is 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye calling on behalf of Colonel Mustang's office," Hawkeye greeted once the line was picked up by the train station employee. "I need to purchase three tickets on the next available train bound for North City," Hawkeye told them before pausing to let them put the order through. "No, I'll send someone to pick them up this afternoon." Hawkeye paused again before unconsciously nodding. "Yes, the tickets are to be charged to Colonel Mustang's office." There was another pause as whoever was on the other end of the line asked something. "The tickets are for Warrant Officer Vato Falman, the Fullmetal Alchemist Major Edward Elric, and Alphonse Elric." Ed looked up to see a quick flicker of relief in Hawkeye's eye before she next spoke. "Thank you. I'll have someone pick them up before the end of business today. Have a good afternoon," Hawkeye said, allowing the employee to pass along their own well wishes before she hung up.

"Everything all set?" Ed asked, paying more attention to Hawkeye now that she was no longer on the phone. Soren ruffled his feathers slightly but Ed ran his fingers down his spine, in between his wings, and was forgiven.

"Yes, Sir." Hawkeye's lips twitched upwards slightly when Ed groaned at the use of the title. "The four of you and Warrant Officer Falman will be leaving on tomorrow's train, departing at 8:00am. Once in North City, you will need to head to the Northern Command Centre to procure a car and escort to Fort Briggs," she told them.

"We're not heading straight to Fort Briggs?" Al asked, tinny voice confused.

"Fort Briggs doesn't connect to the railway line. The only way to the fort is by car – if the roads are clear enough – or walking," Hawkeye explained. Ed and Al both nodded their understanding. "I'll have Warrant Officer Falman pick up the train tickets this afternoon and you are to meet him at the train station no later than 7:45am tomorrow, understand?"

"Yes, Miss Riza," the two boys chorused dutifully and immediately.

"Very good. Now," Hawkeye said, giving them a small smile, "I believe there is a very excited little girl waiting for her big brothers and Animals to go home, if what Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes has been saying is the truth so unless there's anything else you two need, I suggest you go home."

Ed gave her a big smile as he stood. "No, the train tickets were all we needed. Thanks heaps, Miss Riza," he said, giving Soren a small scratch as Ayala, Chester and Al moved towards the door.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Miss Riza," Al said, bowing slightly as Ed joined the group and Soren flew back to his perch now that Ed and the others were leaving.

"You're welcome, boys. I'll see you when you come back from Fort Briggs," Hawkeye said, giving them another smile. "Have a safe trip."

"We'll try," Ed said before they said a final goodbye and left the office.

* * *

"Where are we heading now, Brother?" Al asked as Ed led them through Central Command. "Don't we have to get your suitcase?"

"No, remember? Hughes said he'd keep the car until tomorrow so he can drop us off at the train station if we did leave tomorrow," Ed reminded him as they passed through the front gates, nodding to the guards stationed there. Ayala and Chester were trotting ahead of them, investigating the ever-changing scents of Central City.

"Oh, that's right," Al said, feeling a little sheepish that he'd forgotten about that.

" _Do you think we should ask Lilith to ask Gracia about whether we need to pick up anything for dinner?"_  Ayala asked and Ed's face screwed up a little in thought.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Ed said.

" _I'm full of good ideas,"_  Ayala huffed, faux offended at the imagined notion that he didn't think so.

"You also thought it was a good idea to see if cactus' tasted good and didn't give me the chance to remind you they had spines before you tried to eat one," Ed told her with a smirk.

" _I thought we agreed to never bring that up again,"_  Ayala snarled, turning back to face Ed who tried looking innocent.

" _I thought you were going to contact Lilith, Ed?"_  Chester butted into their conversation with a pointed tone as he looked around at their surroundings and Ed realised why. They were nearly halfway to the Hughes residence and would be passing the last convenience store in a matter of seconds so if Ed didn't ask now, they'd have to turn around if Gracia did need them to pick something up.

"Right," Ed said, nodding to Chester before finding his connection with Lilith and sending a message down it. "Hey Lilith, I don't know if Leo's already passed the message along but Al, Ayala, Chester and I are back in town and we were wondering if Miss Gracia needed us to pick anything up for her," Ed said to the grey fox.

" _Leo told us when Maes went to pick you up from the train station,"_  Lilith told him before there was a small pause.  _"Gracia has asked if you could pick up some more cucumber and tomatoes from the store please,"_  Lilith said.

"Sure can. We'll be about fifteen minutes before we're at the house," Ed told her.

" _Okay, we'll see you soon. Elysia doesn't know that you're back in Central, by the way. Maes wanted to keep it a secret and Gracia has instructions to take photos,"_  Lilith warned him and Ed laughed.

"Thank for the heads up. We'll see you soon," Ed said and allowed Lilith to break the connection. "Apparently Hughes is using his daughter as bait to get photos of us," Ed told the rest of them.

"He asked Miss Gracia not to tell Elysia we'll be home today when he found out we were on the train, didn't he?" Al said, light laughter in his tone and Ed nodded as he led the group on the detour to the grocery store they were about to pass to get the requested items.

"He also asked her to keep a camera handy so consider yourselves warned," Ed passed along the rest of the message, causing all of them to chuckle lightly.

"You know something, Brother?" Al said as they walked into the grocery store and nodded to the employee working at the register.

"I imagine I know a lot of things, Al," Ed said, unable to let the opportunity pass and was rewarded with a light punch from Al.

"Don't be a smartass, Ed," Al chided as Ed laughed and held his hands up in surrender.

" _What are we supposed to be getting?"_  Ayala asked and Ed told her before he and Al watched their Animals heading for the fresh fruit and vegetable section of the store to pick out the best of what Gracia asked for.

"Sorry, Al. What were you saying?" Ed asked as he and Al followed the two Animals at a slower pace. He watched as Al fidgeted a little with his hands before his younger brother seemed to get up the courage to say what he wanted to say.

"I was going to say how nice it was to be able to spend so much time with Elysia, Miss Gracia and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes. It's almost like what I imagine our home could've been like if dad hadn't left," Al said and Ed felt the familiar anger rush through his body at the mention of their father. He didn't know if Al had noticed or not but his brother didn't react to the angry flush that had likely overtaken his cheeks and continued talking. "If I'm being honest, the Hughes' home feels more like home to me than anywhere else has since Mum and Cleo passed away. Is that a bad thing?" Al asked and Ed felt the concern coming from Ayala and Chester but he paid them no mind.

"I don't think so, Al," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder. "If I'm being honest myself, I feel the same way," he admitted and was a little surprised to feel like he'd just shared something sacred.

" _Whenever you've thought of the Hughes' as home, you've always buried it,"_  Ayala said gently, inserting herself in the conversation.  _"I've never said anything about it because this was something you needed to admit without any outside pressure,"_  she told him before he could ask. He and Al could see their Animals waiting patiently next to the vegetables Gracia has asked for.

"You do?" Al asked, oblivious to what Ayala had just said.

"Yeah, I do," Ed said, giving Al a tight smile. "However, you'll never be able to make me admit that anywhere near Hughes so don't bother," Ed said, pointing a threatening finger at Al, hoping to move the mood of their talk to something a little less emotional. He was  _not_  going to have such a heavy talk in the middle of a random grocery store.

"Of course not, brother," Al said teasingly but Ed could tell that Al knew what Ed wasn't saying. Ed also knew there would likely be a talk about this in the future but that didn't mean he wouldn't do his damnedest to push the talk as far away as possible. Maybe until after whatever was about to happen to their country happened, if he could manage it.

" _You know that Al won't let you avoid the conversation forever once you start trying to avoid it,"_  Chester said, his amusement with the situation growing when Ed scowled in his direction.

"Come on, we should get what Miss Gracia asked for and get over to hers before she sics Elysia on us for being late," Ed grumbled as he grabbed the tomatoes and cucumber Ayala helpfully pointed out to him.

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want that," Al laughed as they headed back to the front of the shop to pay for their groceries.

"Have a good afternoon," the teenager behind the cash register said as Ed handed over the money.

"You as well," Ed said with a nod before the four of them left the store. "Come on, we've got a camera to destroy," Ed said, eyes lighting up at the possibility of destroying something and he gave them all a grin.

" _You're so dramatic,"_  Ayala laughed as Al shook his head fondly and Chester rolled his eyes at Ed's theatrics when he gasped in fake offense at Ayala's words.

"Rude," Ed said, sticking his tongue out at Ayala while flipping Al and Chester off at the same time. "Come on, let's get out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are the best things on the planet and I love them so much! Please leave one and let me know what you think!


	27. Chapter 27

"Hey, Falman, Rachel!" The grey-haired man's head shot up at the sound of his name being called from across the train station. He had picked up the tickets Hawkeye had booked for them and they were now placed securely in his military jacket pocket. Because of how pleasantly warm the day was, he'd forgone his military-issue winter coat but it was folded neatly over his arm as he knew he would need it the further north they went.

"Major Elric. Alphonse," Falman greeted as soon as he had managed to fight his way through the crowd and join them. Ed made a displeased face at the use of his title, which caused all of them smirk slightly, but he didn't try and correct Falman. He knew the only reason he was addressing him like that was because they were in public.

"Good morning, Warrant Officer Falman," Alphonse greeted from where he stood next to Ed. Both Ayala and Chester were sitting next to Ed's feet, with Chester sitting in front of Al. "Thank you for accompanying us to Fort Briggs."

"It's my pleasure, Al. I'm sure Colonel Mustang told you that I used to be posted there before I was transferred into his team. I'm looking forward to being able to see and speak with some of my old co-workers in person," Falman told them as Rachel hovered over his shoulder. "Rachel's looking forward to doing the same," he added when his stingray told him too. Ed grinned at her before turning his focus back on Falman.

"Did you want a coffee?" He asked, gesturing to the café they were standing next too. "Elysia got me up this morning to make breakfast so I've only had one so far and I need another one so I can deal with people," Ed said, glowering at the crowd around them. Falman's figure blocked most of the people from seeing his glare.

"I'm alright. Thanks, though," Falman said and after making sure, Ed disappeared into the café with Ayala and Chester hot on his heels. Rachel swam through the air to Alphonse and wiggled one of her fins in her version of a wave.

"Hello, Rachel. How are you today?" Al asked politely and her fins rippled in pleasure as being addressed.

"She says she's doing well and wants to thank you for asking," Falman told Al. "How are you? I bet everyone's tired considering you've only been back from Rush Valley for less than a day," Falman said, wincing slightly in sympathy. Though he did so rarely, he knew massive train trips with barely a night's rest between them was never any fun.

"We're okay. Thankfully, we all got an early night last night so Brother and our Animals got plenty of sleep," Al told him and they lapsed into silence for a moment. "Have you heard about how Fuery's feeling? We heard he was sick yesterday," Al asked.

"From what I heard when I finished for the day yesterday, Fuery was feeling a bit better. I'm sure he'll be back at work in no time," Falman told him with a small smile, secretly pleased that Al was worried enough to ask after an ill team member.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure Kara will be relieved when he's better," Al commented and Falman had to nod in agreement. Fuery's magpie was definitely one of the fussiest Animals the team knew when their human was ever sick or injured.

Now that Al's worry was soothed, their chatter devolved into nothing more than small talk and gossip. Al filled Falman in on everything that happened in Rush Valley while Falman returned the favour and told Al about anything he'd heard or seen on base, in the office or in the military in general. By the time Ed, Ayala and Chester joined back up with the three of them – Ed with several paper bags holding baked goods –, an announcement was broadcasted, informing commuters that they were permitted to start boarding the train bound for North City.

"Might as well find ourselves some seats before all the good ones are taken," Ed said as he sipped at his coffee. Falman and Al agreed so the group followed Falman as he led the way, trusting him to find the right train.

Once on board, Ed and Falman placed their suitcases securely under the seat and they settled on the train benches as best they could, with Ed, Ayala, Falman and Rachel on one and Chester and Al on the other. Ayala did her best to make sure Falman had enough room by laying mostly on Ed's lap while Rachel perched above Falman's shoulder. Chester had enough room to be able to almost completely stretch out next to Al and judging from Ayala's glare, Ed figured Chester was bragging about it.

"Don't be an arsehole, Ches," Ed scolded and Chester gave him a raised brow.

" _Pot calling the kettle black much?"_  Chester snarked and Ed flipped him and Al off when his younger brother laughed.

"So, did Colonel Bastard tell you how long he expected us to be gone for because he didn't tell me or Al anything about that yesterday," Ed asked as they waited for the train to actually leave the station.

"He asked me to call him tomorrow afternoon and give him a time estimate of our return," Falman told him after Ed had waved off Al's hissed 'Brother!' dismissively. Even though the younger Elric had no face, Falman knew he was glowering at his older brother.

"I suppose it would depend on how long it takes for General Armstrong to hear us out and how long our interrogation will last," Ed mused and Falman nodded in agreement.

"Major-General Armstrong will hear us out at the very least. It depends on how open her mind is as to whether she believes us and it depends on whether she believes us as to how many questions we're asked," Falman told them. "I imagine Major Armstrong and Colonel Mustang have already told you what to expect from her."

"Major Armstrong told us she's loyal to the military but she likely wouldn't be on board with what's going on. Mustang told us fuck-all," Ed told him and Falman hummed as Al once again reprimanded his brother. The announcement of their immediate departure interrupted Falman's response but it only took a minute or so for the train to pull away from the station and get underway and he was able to answer.

"Major-General Armstrong is not a fan of Colonel Mustang's. I don't know why as I wasn't there when they were first introduced," Falman said and Ed slumped in his seat slightly, pouting a little and Falman barely held back a grin. "Her dislike of the colonel might work against us though your attitude towards him might actually help us, Edward," Falman said and almost regretted it when Ed got a familiar gleam in his eyes.

"That doesn't mean you have permission to behave unnecessarily insubordinate, brother!" Al said immediately and Ed glared at him.

"I'm never unnecessarily insubordinate," Ed scowled and both Ayala and Chester gave him the most disbelieving looks Falman had ever witnessed. Rachel's soft laughter echoed in his head and from the side-eye Ed gave his Animal, she'd likely forgotten to make certain it wasn't heard through their own bond, though he wouldn't put it past his stingray to have made it so Ed did hear her laughing on purpose.

"Major-General Armstrong," Falman said, getting them back on topic and both boys turned back to him, "is extremely loyal to her soldiers and they are to her. Only the toughest soldiers, both physically and mentally, are able to survive Fort Briggs for long. She is a severe woman with a fearsome and commanding presence. She is merciless towards her enemies and any who don't live up to her personal code, 'survival of the fittest'. She doesn't tolerate fools and has been known to toss people out of Fort Briggs in the middle of snowstorms because they have crossed her or failed to live up to her high standards. General Armstrong is highly combative and it doesn't take much to set her off," Falman warned them and was pleased to note none of them seemed to be allowing their attention to wander from what he was saying. "I should warn you both that she isn't a fan of alchemists," he said, wincing slightly.

"How come?" Ed asked and Falman was relieved that there was only curiousity in his voice and no noticeable hostility.

"General Armstrong doesn't appreciate the code most alchemists live by. She is of the opinion that 'equivalent exchange' encourages handouts and unnecessary compromise," Falman said and Ed seemed a little taken aback.

"Well, it's certainly an interesting viewpoint on our code," Ed said bewilderedly, glancing up at Alphonse. Even Ayala and Chester seemed stunned by it. "It's certainly not like after what happened to us that night that we believe equivalent exchange is actually equivalent to both parties any more but I've never actually heard that as the reason someone didn't accept the alchemists code," Ed said, a slight scowl on his face as he unwillingly thought of the night they'd committed the taboo.

"It might be interesting to interact with someone who thinks that," Al said, forever optimistic. Ed and Falman didn't look like they were fully onboard with that viewpoint but they didn't argue against it either.

"Anything else you can tell us about her or her most loyal soldiers?" Ed asked after a moment and Falman considered the question.

"As I said, General Armstrong is loyal to her soldiers but I will stress that that doesn't mean she has a soft spot for them, or anything for that matter. While she is ruthless in her role as the commander of Fort Briggs and with her main task of keeping our border safe from Drachmann soldiers, she is just as callous with her men. However, she knows that she cannot succeed in her tasks without the support given to her by her subordinates and peers so she takes great care to gain it with her hands-on approach to leadership both on and off the battlefield. Her men understand that she will sacrifice them if the situation requires it but they also know that she would never allow a single soldier under her command to die unnecessarily," Falman said before either Elric could voice their opinion on that matter. "Every time she loses a man on the battlefield, she ensures that the weight and impact that person has had on the remaining soldiers lives and world as a whole is never forgotten. As I said before, she isn't known to have a soft-spot for anyone in particular – the only exception possibly being her Animal – but she has been known to take great risks to try and protect every soldier under her command, so long as those risks don't put the border or her fortress as a whole at risk."

"General Armstrong's second in command is Major Miles," Falman went on to say. "He is part-Ishvalen but has never shown any hesitation to work with Amestrian soldiers, so long as they follow the Fort Briggs way and aren't unnecessarily cruel towards anyone or anything they deem below themselves. He has a strong sense of justice and has never been known to hesitate to land a killing blow against an enemy. Having said that, he is compassionate towards his fellow soldiers and will do almost anything in his power to ensure their safety," Falman told them. "Like General Armstrong though, Miles doesn't tolerate fools and he is as loyal – if not more so – as the other Briggs' soldiers when it comes to General Armstrong."

"Captain Buccaneer is the only other soldier I can think of who General Armstrong is likely to turn to if she ever found herself in a dire situation that even she knew she couldn't make it out of without help," Falman said. "He is a massive man and is almost the personification of the Briggs code. Like you, Edward, he is missing his entire right arm and has had it fitted with automail, though I'm not sure of the story behind how he lost it. From what I remember, he is able to switch out the arm with different uses depending on what he believes he needs to use it for. Though he is a 'strike first, ask questions later' person, Captain Buccaneer is also brave and loyal, even being described as 'jovial' by people closest to him," Falman told them before pausing for a moment. "I think that's everyone I can think of who is still at Fort Briggs and close enough to General Armstrong to warrant discussion."

"Alright, so Buccaneer and Miles would be our biggest allies or obstacles, depending on whether they believe us or not, in convincing General Armstrong that we're telling the truth," Ed said thoughtfully. "What kind of Animals do they have?" Ed asked, hoping the type of Animal they had would help reveal the kind of person they were. Though, Ed also knew that they couldn't rely completely on that. After all, it wasn't like they hadn't met people before whose Animals weren't something completely different to what they'd expected.

Falman thought for a few moments, trying to recall both the Animals and their names. "General Armstrong has an Island Pit Viper named Anahlia. She's an unusual colour for a snake, even her own particular species. She's a vibrant but pale blue, if I remember correctly," Falman told them and all four of them were suitably intrigued. "Major Miles has a coyote called Amaya and Captain Buccaneer has a large dog, specifically a Cane Corso, called Eric." Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester mulled this new information over as the train steadily made its way through the countryside.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye mentioned that we would be stopping in North City and heading for the command centre there. Is that still the plan?" Al asked, breaking the short silence.

"Yes," Falman said. "Lieutenant Hawkeye informed me before I left the office yesterday afternoon that she would be calling the Northern Command Centre this morning once she was in the office and arranging a car and escort to take us the rest of the way to Fort Briggs."

Ed squirmed slightly in his seat next to Falman, slouching against the back of the bench seat. Ayala huffed slightly as she was forced to adjust with him while Falman and Rachel side-eyed the blonde and golden wolf in case they needed to move. However, all Ed did was grab the half dozen treats he'd purchased from the café before they'd left Central and tossed two to Al and Chester. "Want some?" Ed asked, offering Falman the choice of the other bags but, after looking at the options, Falman shook his head.

"No, thank you, Edward," Falman said politely. Ed gave him a scrutinising look before shrugging a shoulder and giving Ayala a chance to pick what she wanted.

"Your loss," Ed said just before he took a big bite out of the apple turnover in his hand, making a complete mess as icing sugar and puff pastry crumbs fell onto his shirt. Ed didn't seem to care and all Ayala and Al did was shake their heads at the blonde. "So, what do you wanna do to pass the time? We have a deck of cards," Ed suggested before taking another bite of the pastry.

"I wouldn't play against Brother unless you want to be cheated out of your money," Al said waspishly with a pointed look at his brother.

"I resent that insinuation, Alphonse Elric," Ed said with a glare of his own. It probably would've been more effective if he wasn't talking around a mouthful of apple, cream and pastry or if he didn't have icing sugar and cream around his mouth.

"Stop being a feral, Ed!" Al scolded and was answered with a stuck-out tongue from his older brother. Falman and Rachel watched in amusement as the brothers bickered at each other while their Animals looked like they were contemplating knocking them out. At least this train trip wouldn't be completely boring.

* * *

"Look at all this snow, Alphonse!" Ed exclaimed as he, Ayala, Chester, Falman, Rachel and Alphonse made their way out of the North City train station. Puffy, white flakes fell slowly from the grey clouds above and landed on Ed's blonde head as he took in the sight with excited eyes. "We've never seen snow like this before!" He pulled his winter coat closer to himself, trying to preserve as much heat as possible. His coat was exactly like his signature red jacket, only it was made of a thicker material, lined with extra material to make it even warmer and the hood was trimmed with faux rabbit fur. He was also utilising the gift Sheska's mother had kindly made him, the beanie firmly on his head while he had the scarf wrapped snugly around his neck and the gloves on over his white ones so he wouldn't ruin the knitted glove with his automail hand.

"Really? It snows in Central every winter and I would've sworn it snowed in Resembool," Falman said as they made their way down the station steps. Ayala was hovering next to Ed in case he slipped and Ed was trying not to scowl at her for it because he did appreciate her efforts to stop him from embarrassing himself in public.

"Yeah but we've never seen snow so," Ed paused as he tried to figure out the appropriate word.

" _Clean? Fresh?"_  Ayala suggested and Ed gave her a grin.

"We've never seen snow so snow-like, ya know?" Ed said and Falman looked a little amused at his description. "Whenever it snows in Central or even East City, it's always more like slush than anything and even when it does snow properly, it never snows this much!" Ed exclaimed, sweeping his arms out in front of him to gesture to all the snow in front of them.

"We did have that one really heavy snowstorm in Resembool, remember, Ed?" Al said and Ed screwed up his face slightly as he tried to think that far back before a big grin overtook his face.

"Yeah, there was! That was a great winter. We got with Winry and all the neighbourhood kids and got into a free-for-all snowball fight before we built as many snowmen as we could," Ed recalled and Al laughed.

"Winry accused us of cheating because we used alchemy to make our snowmen," Al said and Ed joined his younger brother in laughing at the memory.

" _When was that?"_  Ayala asked and Ed hummed as he tried to remember.

"I think I was 6 or 7," Ed told her and Al decided to give a more specific answer.

"I'd just turned 6 a couple of months before the snow fell so you would've been about to turn 7, Brother," Al said and Ed rolled his eyes fondly.

"Which is basically what I said," Ed teased and Al paid him back with a light punch to his automail arm. "So, Officer Falman, how do we get to North Command from here?" Ed asked their escort.

"We need to head that way," Falman said, pointing ahead of them. "Just follow me and watch your step," he said before he strode purposefully ahead, Rachel 'swimming' next to him. The four of them did as they were told and made sure to stay on his heels so they wouldn't get turned around in the unfamiliar city.

Most of the walk was spent in silence. The townspeople who were out and about didn't stop to bother them. In fact, they barely spared them a glance and Ed was quick to figure out why. Nearly a third of the people they spotted were dressed in the military uniform and, judging from the fact that most of them saluted Falman, were all ranked below Warrant Officer. Ed was only saluted when Falman introduced him and it took every ounce of self-control – little though it may be – that the blonde had to not scowl at the soldiers when they stammered out an apology for not recognising him and snapped him a salute.

"How's your automail, Brother?" Al asked as they continued on the way to Northern Command and Ed thought he saw Falman glancing back at them. Rachel had taken to floating around all of them, making small talk with Ed and the two Animals.

"Yeah it feels perfectly fine. No pain in the joints so that's good," Ed said, making a mental note to tell Winry about it when they were in Briggs. He wanted to make sure it still felt as good after a couple of hours spent in the freezing cold climate before he made any kind of report to her.

"That's good. I'm sure Winry and Michella will be happy to hear their hard work has paid off," Al said and Ed nodded in agreement. He certainly couldn't think of anyone who was as work proud as the two of them. Ed wasn't even sure that Hawkeye got as excited as the two of them did when they were told their work had been exemplary.

"It's not much further ahead but there's a coffee shop just up ahead if you want some coffee before we leave for Fort Briggs," Falman said, interrupting the boys' conversation. "Trust me when I say that the military coffee doesn't improve the further north we are." Ed grimaced before he agreed to coffee from the small shop.

They only stopped long enough at the coffee shop for their orders to be made and for the Animals to grab a drink out of the water bowls provided by the shop owners. Three steaming cups of coffee later, Alphonse having bought one because the woman serving them had looked worried when they'd said the guy in the metal suit of armour was perfectly happy walking around North City in winter without a hot cup of coffee, and they were on their way, Falman in the lead once again.

* * *

Northern Command looked almost identical to Eastern Command, except colder. When Ed had made that observation, it took Alphonse a lot of control not to swat his brother on the back of the head while Falman coughed suspiciously. A flash of Ed's pocket-watch was enough to get them through the gate but Falman introduced them as well so they could be directed to where their car and escort were waiting.

"Officer Falman? Major Elric?" The young, slightly nervous looking woman standing next to a car in the parking lot the group had been directed to asked. A lump on her shoulder moved and Ed realised it was a small black and white rat was perched on her shoulder. It was under the blue military jacket with only its head poking out to watch them.

"That's us. What's your name?" Ed asked as they got close to the woman, waving away her salute almost impatiently.

"Sergeant Miranda Kemp," she introduced herself before gesturing to the rat. "This is James." The rat's beady eyes blinked at them and Ed gave him a small wave.

"This is Ayala, my Animal," Ed said, gesturing to the wolf in question. "This is my younger brother, Alphonse, and his Animal, Chester," Ed introduced the two of them and Al gave the brunette woman a wave.

"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you," Al said and Kemp gave him a smile.

"The pleasure is mine," she told them before focusing her attention back on the other two. "I understand that you require a car and driver to Fort Briggs," she said, slightly questioningly and they nodded.

"We do. Major Elric has been tasked to investigate the reported tremors and isolated quakes, starting with the soldiers in Fort Briggs since it appears these tremors are moving towards the fortress," Falman said and Kemp nodded, causing her shoulder-length hair to bob with the motion.

"According to reports from the fortress this morning, our road should be clear. They haven't reported a snowstorm for nearly a week so if you're amiable, may I suggest we leave immediately? The weather in these parts is known to change rapidly and I don't think it would be a good idea for us to put off the drive until tomorrow in case a storm blows in overnight, sirs," Kemp said. Even though Ed could tell she was nervous that they might take offense to her suggestion, he had to give her credit for how she refused to let her voice waver and betray that worry.

"I'm happy to not risk getting stuck in a snowstorm. Falman?" Ed asked and the older man nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Let's go than," Ed said, giving Kemp a nod and almost frowned at the obvious slump of relief in her shoulders when neither of them argued. Surely military officers who weren't familiar with this area didn't actually argue with advice given by those who did know the area. Ed felt Ayala's raised brow and sighed softly through his nose. Of course some of the higher-ups would've done that. Ed almost hoped they'd suffered frostbite as punishment for their snootiness.

Falman and Ed placed their suitcases in the trunk of the car at Kemp's behest before they all climbed into the car. Falman opted to take the front passenger seat with Rachel so the two boys and their Animals could have the back seats to themselves. Alphonse and Chester took one while Edward and Ayala took the other. Once Kemp was certain everyone was in and ready, she started the car and carefully pulled out of the Northern Command Centre, nodding to the soldiers at the front gate as she drove through it.

* * *

The drive itself was long as Kemp took it slow on the snow-covered roads. There were a couple of times where she hit a patch of ice with a wheel and the car slid uncontrollably for a few heart-stopping moments before the wheels found traction again. She apologised profusely each time but Ed and Falman were quick to wave off her apologies since she couldn't control the roads or the weather. To pass the time, Ed and Al asked as many questions as they could think of about the North and Fort Briggs and Kemp did her best to answer them.

"Have you noticed any of the tremors that have been reported? Or heard of anyone who has?" Ed asked, sitting on his knees and facing the road, leaning his body weight on the seat back so he could face Kemp.

"I haven't felt any of the tremors personally, sir, but I know someone who told me about couple of the soldiers at the Northern Command Centre who have," she told him, keeping her eyes on the road.

"What'd they say?" Ed asked curiously.

"Well, that's the thing, sir," Kemp said. "Apparently, the soldiers had gone into Vodgy because there was a feud between two storeowners that was threatening to turn violent at any time so the military sent the soldiers to intervene before it could. The first soldier was standing in front of one of the stores with its owner, getting the report from him while his partner was only a couple dozen metres away with the second storeowner. The first soldier and the storeowner he was speaking too felt a tremor underneath them but when the soldier checked on his partner, he realised he hadn't reacted. Asking the store owner to wait a moment, the soldier went over to his partner to see if he had felt anything or not. The soldier was almost to his partner when his partner let out a surprised noise – as did the storeowner he was talking too," Kemp told them.

"When the first soldier got to his partner and asked what had happened, he found out that his partner and the second storeowner had felt the tremor he'd felt only a minute or so ago himself. When they reported back to Northern Command, they informed their CO of what they'd felt and found out that there had been reports of isolated tremors felt in the rural area between Vodgy and Fisk. Not only that but when they dug further into the history of the area to see if there was any natural explanation for the tremors, they discovered the incidents aren't isolated to that area," she revealed. "There are reports going back years about people feeling tremors that only affect a ten or so metre radius."

"So, whatever's causing this is moving?" Ed asked and Kemp looked unsure.

"I don't know, sir, but I'd say so with what I heard from the soldiers," Kemp told him.

"Hmm, alright," Ed hummed as he sat back on his seat properly. "Thanks, Sergeant Kemp," he said, giving the driver a quick glance and flashing a smile.

"You're welcome, sir," Kemp said. "We'll be in Datepul shortly. I need to fill the car up so we have enough fuel to be sure we'll make it to Fort Briggs. I'll also need to check in with the military outpost there and get the latest weather report for the area. I apologise if this is an inconvenience in any way, sirs," Kemp said, certainly looking apologetic.

"Nah, it's all good. I could go for a coffee anyways," Ed said dismissively. Falman gave his own easy acceptance of the plans and Kemp nodded once, though Ed thought he saw a flicker of relief and gratefulness on her face before the mask of passiveness all military soldiers seemed to learn was back in place.

"Are the two soldiers you mentioned still at the Northern Command?" Ed asked and Kemp nodded.

"I believe so, sir. I haven't heard of them being posted or sent anywhere recently," she told him.

"Cool. If they're still there when we get back, I might talk to them and get their accounts first-hand. Might even look over any evidence they found," Ed said and Al nodded, causing his helmet to creak.

"That's a good idea, Brother," Al said before he went quiet, as if he was thinking about something.

"What's got your brain working overtime?" Ed asked after a few moments.

"I was just thinking; how did the Northern Command end up with reports from the rest of Amestris? It's not like the military sends reports of what happens in, say, the Eastern area to the rest of the military command centres unless it's likely to directly affect the other areas," Al said. "If what Sergeant Kemp told us is accurate – and I have no reason to think otherwise – these tremors aren't actually hurting anyone or causing damage to the land so why would the Northern Command Centre have reports from other command centres?" Ed looked a little surprised at Al's question, mainly because he hadn't thought of it. Kemp cleared her throat lightly, getting attention back to herself.

"The soldiers made their reports roughly three weeks ago, sir," Kemp said. "When their CO looked further into their report to see if there were any similar reports and uncovered the other accounts near Fisk, he looked at other towns in the area and realised some of them reported similar tremors weeks or months earlier. When he realised these tremors seemed to be moving up from the East, he contacted the Eastern Command Centre and requested any reports they had. I haven't spoken to the soldiers' CO as he isn't mine so I don't know anything more than that. I only know what I've heard as rumours around the base," Kemp told them. Al didn't say anything in response to that but Ed nodded his thanks to the sergeant while his little brother thought the answer over.

" _Alphonse wants to know whether we should be concerned that the Central High Command will look into the officer investigating these reports,"_  Chester asked, voice resonating in Ed's head and his query made Ed's breath catch.

"I think we should question the Briggs soldiers first before we question the soldiers Kemp told us about. After that, we'll talk to their commanding officer and see what he's found out. If he hasn't found out anything too dangerous, we might be able to convince him that it's nothing more than a natural phenomenon," Ed said back, keeping the conversation telepathic so no one would ask questions they couldn't answer.

" _Al says it's a surprisingly good plan,"_  Chester told him and Ed glared at his brother then his brother's leopard for good measure.

"My plans are always good!" Ed snarled telepathically and glowered when all his assertion got was two Animals obviously laughing at him. He crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance and spent the ten minutes it took for Kemp to announce they were in Datepul ignoring all three members of his family.

* * *

It only took fifteen minutes for Kemp to get the most recent weather report and to fill the gas tank in the car up. To their relief, she reported that there had been no recent snowstorms between Datepul and Fort Briggs and the report was hesitantly optimistic there wouldn't be any for the next 24 hours. They climbed back into the car with almost-too hot coffees warming their hands. Al had once again ordered one when an obviously worried Kemp had asked if he was sure he didn't want one since it would be a long trip with no more stops. Ed was just grateful he knew an array that would warm Al's coffee back up when Ed was ready to drink it.

The drive was long and silent. Kemp was an efficient but careful driver and Ed had a feeling that if it had been Havoc or even Hawkeye driving, they would likely already be at the fort. Whether they would be there in one piece was a completely different question. Ed was staring vacantly out of the car window while Ayala dozed on his lap. A quick glance showed him that Al and Chester were doing the same thing and he could hear Falman and Kemp murmuring to each other, though the words were too low for Ed to make out even though he was right behind them. Rachel and James, Kemp's Animal, were happy to bounce between humans for the entire trip. Kemp had apologised when James first made his way over but both Ed and Al swore up and down that neither of them were bothered by him and neither were their Animals.

"We should see the fort in a few moments, sirs," Kemp said, her voice breaking Ed out of his stupor. "The snowfall isn't heavy enough to block it from our sight."

Sure enough, only moments later did the Elrics get their first look at Fort Briggs and Falman almost laughed when their jaws nearly hit the ground. Even though he'd been posted at the fortress for a little while, Falman's breath was still taken away by the sheer magnitude of the structure. Situated directly in a mountain pass, the fort stretched almost as far as the eye could see. Falman knew that the fort's position was purely tactical. Drachmann troops couldn't go over the mountain or through it any other way without risking more lives than they would if they tried to take Fort Briggs by force.

"It's massive!" Ed exclaimed, sounding far more like the fifteen-year-old child he was rather than the feared and powerful State Alchemist he was supposed to be. "I think it's even bigger than Central Command, Al!"

"Not quite," Falman said before Al could do any more than make an agreeing noise. "Fort Briggs may be massive in the sense of height and length but you'll soon see that it's rather narrow. It certainly couldn't comfortably hold all of the Central soldiers," he explained and Ed absorbed this information.

A set of large doors opened wide enough for Kemp to drive through them, which she did, and they immediately shut once more behind them. "The Briggs' soldiers will search the car and ask us for our identifications in a moment," Kemp said, turning slightly in her seat once the car was in park so she could speak directly to them. "It's standard procedure to ensure no Drachmann spies are trying to infiltrate the fortress."

As soon as she finished speaking, half a dozen soldiers entered the large room they were parked in. One of them caught Falman's eye immediately and he gently cleared his throat to get the attention of the brothers and their Animals. "The large man there with the automail arm and mohawk is Captain Buccaneer," he told them and the boys peered through the windshield and took in the sight of the man Falman was talking about as the five other soldiers outside the car moved at the big man's barked order.

"I don't see his Animal," Ed said before frowning. "I don't see any of their Animals." He sounded confused and a little wary. It was extremely rare for a bonded pair to not be as close to each other as possible. The only exceptions Ed could think of were for those in the medical or any other profession that required a sterile environment.

"They'll be waiting inside. Animals aren't allowed to help with this sort of thing just in case the person or people are Drachmann spies and manages to take one as a hostage. Plus, there isn't an awful lot of room in these rooms so having six extra bodies in here would make it very cramped," Kemp explained as James sat on her shoulder, cleaning himself as he watched the officers work.

Buccaneer approached the vehicle when the soldiers announced it was all clear and Ed immediately scowled in offence when he caught sight of the bluntly suspicious expression the massive man was levelling all of them with, even Kemp. Ayala huffed in amusement as she sat up and Ed's scowl was momentarily directed at her before he focused back on Buccaneer.

"State your names, business here and produce your identifications," Buccaneer ordered. His voice was as deep as expected and Ed wasn't surprised when his tone matched his expression though it still irked Ed slightly as he dug into his pocket for his pocket-watch and handed it over to Kemp.

"Sergeant Miranda Kemp. I'm tasked with escorting Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Warrant Officer Vato Falman and Major Elric's brother, Alphonse Elric to Fort Briggs in order for them to conduct interviews with the soldiers and civilians stationed at Fort Briggs in regards to some recent reports of isolated tremors that appear to be moving north," Kemp answered smoothly and professionally, handing over her identification as well as Falman's and Ed's.

Buccaneer scrutinised the produced identification with far more intensity than Ed thought was warranted. He would've snapped at the man but Ayala was quick to inform him that if he did, she would not be impressed. What was even more convincing was Chester echoing Ayala's words. Out of the two Animals, Chester was the one more likely to goad Ed into doing something like ticking off a complete stranger who looked like he could crush Ed's head with one hand so if the leopard was cautioning against doing something, it was probably a good idea to listen.

"Major-General Armstrong has been made aware of your visit and has ordered that you are to leave your vehicle with ours and report to her office immediately," Buccaneer said, handing the items back to Kemp, who passed them back to their owners before pocketing her own. "Drive through and be quick about it. The General doesn't like to be kept waiting," Buccaneer said in warning and both Kemp and Falman nodded. A gesture from Buccaneer had the sealed doors in front of them opening and Kemp was quick to follow Buccaneer's orders and park the car in the nearest available slot.

Ed climbed out of the car, followed immediately by Ayala and Chester, both of whom wasted no time smelling the air and letting their other senses stretch as far as they could to make sure this fort was safe from enemies. Alphonse was next out while Kemp and Falman got themselves out of the front seat; James clinging to Kemp's shoulder while Rachel floated slightly in front of Falman. The older man was quick to grab his and Ed's bags out of the boot before Kemp secured the car and grabbed her own overnight bag. Once Ed had his suitcase firmly in his automail hand, the group turned to face Buccaneer and the soldiers who had searched their car. Unlike before, however, the group had their Animals with them and Ed got his first look at the Cane Corsa dog that was bonded to Buccaneer. The only thought he had was that the Animal seemed to match the man.

"Follow me," was all Buccaneer said to the group before he headed to an elevator and gestured for them to get inside. A jerk of his head at the soldiers around him had them leaving to go back to their duties or whatnot. Buccaneer and his Animal joined them without another word and a press of a button had the elevator jerk heart-stoppingly before it smoothly moved upwards.

"It's good to see you in good health, Captain," Falman said, breaking the silence. "How has the fort fared since I last saw it?" Buccaneer turned to face Falman and, to Ed's surprise, flashed the man a jovial smile.

"It's good to see you too, Falman. The General's still annoyed at you for transferring to Mustang's command but to answer your question; Fort Briggs has faced many attempted invasions by those Drachmann bastards and has not so much as suffered significant damage to her outer walls thanks to our General's swift and merciless orders," Buccaneer informed him. The blue-coloured dog sitting next to the man looked just as proud as his human did.

"I'm glad and unsurprised to hear that," Falman said, sharing a inside grin with Buccaneer, who returned it in turn. "I've never seen that particular arm of yours before. New model?" Falman asked, nodding towards the automail arm. Ed peeked around Al's armour to take in a proper look at it as Buccaneer lifted it up to show it off better. To Ed's surprise, the two teethed parts that formed a 'jaw' not only separated and came together in a grabbing motion but they also acted as a chainsaw and Ed was suddenly glad he hadn't met this man without a proper escort.

"It is! It's the M1913A 'Crocodile' model. I think it's obvious why it's named that," Buccaneer said, laughing as he made the jaws of the arm gnash together. The elevator dinged suddenly and Buccaneer's jovial attitude disappeared immediately. "The General's office is just up ahead." He moved out of the elevator before the doors had fully opened and the others scrambled slightly to catch up with him.

* * *

They didn't have to walk far as the hallway leading from the elevator wasn't overly long. When they reached the door that obviously led to Major-General Armstrong's office, Buccaneer paused before levelling Ed, Al and their Animals with a glare that was filled with both suspicion and warning. Ed scowled back at the man before Al or Ayala could stop him and Buccaneer seemed a little taken aback at the blatant disregard for manners Ed was showing before something like approval flashed across his face before his expression reverted back to a slight sneer as he knocked.

"Enter!" A voice boomed from inside the office and Buccaneer didn't hesitate to open the door as instructed.

Ed hadn't even realised until he'd walked into the office and saw Major-General Olivier Mira Armstrong for the first time with his own eyes that he'd been expecting more of a female version of Major Alex Louise Armstrong. It was only due to the years he'd spent perfecting the art of hiding his surprise that stopped him from nearly stumbling through the door when his mental image of the general hadn't lined up with what she looked like in real life. He was not impressed with Ayala's amusement and made sure she knew it. The wolf didn't seem to care which was rude in Ed's opinion.

Olivier Mira Armstrong sat at her desk, watching the group with narrowed eyes. She, of course, recognised Falman and Kemp as soldiers from Fort Briggs or the Northern Command Centre so it was mainly the boy clad in red and black and the suit of armour that held her interest and her scrutiny. Unfortunately, she couldn't develop much of an opinion on the armour as she obviously couldn't make out any facial expressions or any other minute movements that would help her so her attention was mainly on the golden-haired teenager. Even if she hadn't been informed of who exactly would be visiting her fortress, it wouldn't have taken long for Armstrong to figure out it was the Fullmetal Alchemist standing before her. There weren't many State Alchemists who didn't wear the military uniform and there was only one who was a teenager.

"They didn't cause any issues, Buccaneer?" Armstrong asked, voice stern and eyes still narrowed as she watched the two Elric brothers and their Animals once she'd dismissed them from the salutes they'd been holding.

"No, Sir," Buccaneer said and Ed wondered if anyone else heard the slight disappointed tone in his voice. A flash of colour and movement caught Ed's eye and he zeroed in on the soft blue collar wrapped around Armstrong's throat. It took him only a moment to realise that it was actually the general's Animal and that the movement had been the snake lifting her head to watch the scene in front of her more clearly.

"Hmph," Armstrong huffed before focusing on Falman. "It's good to see you back at Fort Briggs, Falman. Changed your mind about being under Mustang's thumb yet?" Even though he knew from Hughes and Mustang's own accounts that Armstrong wasn't the Flame Alchemist's biggest fan, Ed still had to stop himself from snorting in amusement at the tone of disgust Armstrong's voice took when she mentioned Mustang's name. He made a mental note to ask Nala about why Armstrong didn't like Mustang later.

"It's good to see you, General Armstrong," Falman said with a genuine smile. "I regret to inform you that I am not here about transferring back to Fort Briggs. I've been assigned the task of escorting Major Elric, his younger brother, Alphonse, and their Animals while they complete the mission they've been assigned." Armstrong didn't look surprised at his answer and if she was disappointed by it, she didn't show any sign. Buccaneer had no problems showing his own disappointment from where he stood behind Armstrong's left shoulder.

"Why have you been sent to my fortress?" Armstrong demanded suddenly. The snake watched them idly as Ed and Al jumped slightly at the unexpected question.

"Colonel Mustang has assigned us to uncover the cause of isolated tremors reported by citizens in the east and south-east of Fort Briggs. According to the data gathered from the reports, these tremors seem to be slowly moving in the direction of Fort Briggs. I would like your permission to interview the soldiers and workers stationed here to see if they've felt the tremors yet or have any information about them," Ed said, using his most professional voice. He was sure if Al was in his flesh body, he would be gaping at him. Ed resisted the urge to gloat about how he did have manners to Al since he was certain Armstrong was not one who would tolerate that kind of behaviour from anyone.

"Why exactly has a field State Alchemist been assigned such a routine assignment? Surely this assignment would've been better suited to a research State Alchemist whose area of study is in this field," Armstrong asked probingly. Ed and Al glanced at each other before Ed spoke.

"As part of our training, alchemists are expected to know about what minerals and other elements the ground contains so we know what we have available to us when we transmute the earth," Ed said, keeping his voice respectful. "Because I am considered an alchemic prodigy capable of puzzling problems out far quicker than your average alchemist, I was assigned this mission to see if the cause of these tremors were what the higher ups in the military believe them to be caused by."

"And what would those theories be?" Armstrong asked impatiently. Her snake flexed some of her muscles, causing her scales to glisten under the light.

"They believe the tremors are caused by something such as a lack of a specific element or mineral found in the earth but only in the areas the tremors have happened. If that's the case, they believe they can use that information to figure out where the tremors may happen next." Ed let that one sink in for a moment before moving on. "Their other theory is that something is happening with the tectonic plates and they're worried that these movements might affect the alchemists and our power levels. Since confirming or dismissing either of these theories for certain would be difficult for most alchemists, they assigned the case to me in hopes that I would be able to give them a place to start any investigation they deem necessary following my report," Ed told her, lying through his teeth. He was honestly a little proud out how quickly he was able to come up with a plausible explanation for why he would be assigned to this investigation.

" _Ordinarily I would admonish you for being proud about lying to someone but considering you can't lie for shit and that actually sounded plausible, I'll give you a pass this time,"_  Ayala said and Ed shot her a nasty glare.

Armstrong observed them for a few moments before giving a sharp nod. "Very well," she said before facing her captain. "See to it that they have quarters for the duration of their stay and that they understand the rules of this fortress." Buccaneer immediately saluted and Armstrong turned back to the group. "Since I doubt it'll take all four of you to interview my soldiers and the civilian workers, two of you will be expected to work for the duration of your stay. You can't expect us to feed you if you're unwilling to pull your weight," she said, effectively cutting off any protest from Ed or Al.

"Thank you, General Armstrong. Since I am familiar with Fort Briggs, I'm happy to work alongside her soldiers once more," Falman immediately said and Armstrong nodded in acceptance.

"I'm happy to help," Al piped up. "I'm interested in experiencing how the soldiers of Fort Briggs operate in day-to-day life." Chester didn't do much more than twitch his tail but Ed could tell that the leopard shared Al's curiousity. They'd heard a lot about the rumours surrounding the Briggs soldiers on their trip to the fortress.

"Very well," Armstrong said with a sharp nod. "I expect the four of you to report back to my office once your investigation is completed." Her tone of voice informed them that this was not a request and that the consequences of them trying to weasel their way out of it would be severe.

"Yes, Sir," Falman said. Even Rachel bobbed in silent agreement.

"Now that that's settled, get out of my office," Armstrong ordered. "Buccaneer will show you where you'll be staying while you're here." This was said more to Buccaneer than the others and the mohawked man nodded.

" _The letters from Major Armstrong,"_  Ayala said as the group saluted the general and was dismissively waved out of it.

"Oh!" Ed exclaimed, having completely forgotten about them and dug around in his jacket pockets. Armstrong watched him with a judging expression. "Major Armstrong asked us to pass these along for him," Ed said in explanation, holding the two envelopes up. "One is a letter of introduction for us and the other contains personal messages from your family, General Armstrong." Ed was certain that the displeased curl of her lips that lasted only a moment wasn't his imagination. At her gesture, Ed approached the general's desk and handed the letters over before retreating back to stand in between Al and Falman.

Armstrong studied the envelopes in her hands. She could tell immediately by the seals on the back which one was from Alex and which one was from her other family members as that one was sealed with the family crest as opposed to Alex's personal seal. Placing the one from her family in a drawer for her to read later, mentally gnashing her teeth at the tedious thought of reading the letters and replying to them but knowing if she didn't, she might end up with a phone call or – gods forbid – an actual visit from her family to see why she hadn't replied and that was far worse a prospect than writing a reply.

The second letter, the letter of introduction for the Elric brothers, remained in her hands. Making eye contact with the eldest Elric, Armstrong tore the envelope in half and almost reveled in the surprised gasp from the brothers and the sergeant accompanying them. Falman didn't show his surprise as obviously but Armstrong knew he was still shocked by her actions as she continued tearing the letter into smaller pieces. She watched as Edward made an aborted move to confront her about it and suspected his Animal may very well have been the only reason he didn't follow through with his actions. "I don't care about letters. I don't let the opinions of others affect me," she informed them as she tossed the destroyed envelope and its contents in the bin next to her desk. "I decide with my own eyes. Now get out of my office."

* * *

After being led to the floor that contained the sleeping quarters they were being assigned, Buccaneer left them alone to get themselves sorted but not before he explained the rules of the fortress – interspaced with not-so-subtle hints that he would be watching them to make sure the brothers weren't Drachmann spies – and gave them a warning that there was plenty of daylight left so Falman and Alphonse would be expected to get started on working while Ed and Kemp started interviewing soldiers. When asked by Falman, Buccaneer revealed that Major Miles was currently on patrol at the moment and that his group was due back at the end of the day, providing the weather held.

As the boys had hoped, they were given a room with two beds for them to share. Ed and Al both assured Falman they wouldn't be long as the older man and Kemp slipped into their assigned quarters. After unpacking his suitcase and storing it on top of the cupboard in the room, Ed and Al sat on their respective beds, staying silent as their Animals investigated the room. It didn't take them longer than a couple of minutes before they joined their humans, satisfied nothing in their room would injure them or their humans in the night.

"What do you guys think?" Ed asked before receiving blank looks from the Animals. Even Al seemed to be giving him a blank look so Ed elaborated. "I think General Armstrong knows we're hiding something. I don't know if she fully bought my explanation about why I was assigned the mission. Do you think we should have told her?" Ed asked.

" _I know Major Armstrong and Gary assured us that the major's sister would likely side with us over the homunculi but maybe we should get our own read on the major-general before we tell her everything we know,"_ Ayala said and Chester nodded in agreement with the golden wolf.

" _It couldn't hurt to just observe how this base operates. What the people living here on a daily basis think to how the fortress is run and their opinions on the major-general and military as a whole,"_ Chester added and this time Al nodded as well.

"I think they're right, Brother," Al said. "Why don't you just use the time it'll take to interview the base to get a better understanding of Major-General Armstrong?" Al suggested, echoing Chester. "I rather liked her motto of not relying on other's opinions on people you've never met and forming your own based on what you've seen with your own eyes."

Ed hummed contemplatively before standing up and clapping his hands enthusiastically. "I think you're right, Al, and so are the two of you." Ed looked at both the Animals, giving them a massive grin. "Might as well get started on those interviews now and you did offer to help out around the base," Ed reminded Al, pointing a finger at him and causing him to laugh.

"Then let's meet back up with Officer Falman and Sergeant Kemp so we can get started," Al said, climbing to his own feet, the Animals doing the same and joining the boys. At that exact moment there was a knock on their temporary quarter's door.

"Hang on a sec," Ed called before turning back to the others. "So, we're in agreement? We'll use the next few days to come to our own decision about Major-General Armstrong then decide how much we'll tell her?" Three heads nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Let's go and get this started." Ed didn't wait for the others as he strode to the door and opened it. "Hey, Falman!" Ed greeted.

"Hey, yourself," Falman said with a slight grin on his face. Rachel gurgled from above his shoulder in her own greeting though her voice echoed in Ed's head. "You four ready?" He asked.

"Absolutely," Ed said, giving Kemp a nod from where she stood on Falman's left. "Let's do this."

* * *

It took them nearly four days from the moment of their arrival to complete the interviews. After the 20th interview going the same way of the soldier or civilian informing Ed and Kemp that they hadn't felt any tremors, they hadn't heard of anyone in Briggs who had and they had no clue about why these tremors would happen, Ed came to the conclusion that this would be an exceedingly boring investigation. He could tell from their faces that Kemp, Ayala and James felt the same way.

During the four days Ed spent interviewing, Al and Falman helped the Briggs soldiers and workers where they could. Al and Chester spent an entire day in the medical ward, learning all about the cold weather automail Buccaneer sported so they could give the information to Winry and help her perfect her designs. While they did eventually meet Major Miles and his Animal, Amaya, on the second day of their stay at Fort Briggs, he was only around long enough for Ed to ask him about the tremors and be told the same thing as he had by all the other interviewees before he had to report back to Major-General Armstrong for his next assignment.

Ed made sure to keep Nala, Soren, the other Animals on the team, Lilith, Leo and Michella informed of what they were doing and how they were going. Nala and the rest of Mustang's team's Animals were interested in whether he was making any progress and that he was looking after himself properly while the Hughes' Animals alternated between being more worried about his health and when he would be home. Michella was definitely more interested in how his automail was fairing than his health. Ed suspected that the only reason the monkey even enquired after his physical health was because Winry asked her too. He would've thought it rude but he knew the monkey wasn't his biggest fan so he let it slide. There was no reason for him to risk Winry's wrath because he and Michella got into a fight.

When Ed and Kemp interviewed the last person – a civilian assigned to the lowest level of Fort Briggs to help keep the pipes down there running smoothly – they both heaved a massive sigh that was both relief due to how tedious the last four days had been and disappointment as not one single person in Fort Briggs had felt a tremor, known anyone who had or had any insight to the possible causes. By mutual agreement, they headed out to find Falman and Al to tell them they were done and get their opinions on whether they should leave this afternoon or leave it until the morning, Ayala leading the way.

They found the other half of their group working together to knock down icicles that had formed on the walkways on the outside of the fort so the icicles wouldn't later break and injure or kill an unfortunate by-passer. Falman had been the one to answer them. "We should report back to Major-General Armstrong first. She'll have known the moment you interviewed the last person on this base and will be expecting us," he told them. "We can get the latest weather report from her office while we're there and that can help us decide whether we leave this afternoon or tomorrow morning."

"I agree with Officer Falman," Kemp piped up. "We'll need to see the weather reports before we make any kind of decision. We can't risk being stuck in a blizzard while on the road." The seriousness in her voice was what really tipped both boys in favour of Falman's idea. During their stay at Fort Briggs they'd been witnesses to one of their blizzards that had swept in with no warning. The snow and wind had almost frozen them to the spot and they couldn't see more than two feet in front of themselves.

"Alright, we'll talk to General Armstrong and get the weather report," Ed said as Ayala nodded next to him. "I need to help Al dry his armour off before we do. Don't want him dripping all over the general's office," Ed said nonchalantly and Falman gave a nod.

"If Sergeant Kemp isn't opposed to helping me finish this job, the two of you can head back to your assigned room and get dry. Might not be a bad idea to pack all your gear up if we do get the chance to leave this afternoon. We'll meet you back at the rooms when we're done," Falman said once Kemp had giving her agreement to help and had taken the pole Al had been using from him.

"No worries. We'll see you in a few. Thanks, Sergeant Kemp," Ed said, giving a nod to the woman who in turn gave him a smile as Al echoed his thanks.

The boys didn't linger any longer and left the two to their task as they made their way through the now familiar halls of Fort Briggs to get back to their dorm room. Once inside, Ed fetched a towel to help Al with his armour as he hadn't been kidding about drying him off, even if it wasn't the whole reason he'd wanted to talk to Al in their room. They worked in silence for a few moments – Ed drying Al and Al drying off Chester, much to the leopard's displeasure – before Al broke the silence.

"So, what do you plan on telling General Armstrong, Brother?" Al asked and Ed hummed.

"I think we should tell her about the homunculi and the threat to Amestris," Ed said, surprising himself. "Every soldier I asked about Armstrong and the fort all said basically the same thing: Armstrong is unwaveringly loyal to her men and dedicated to defending our border from Drachma. I get the feeling that she wouldn't join Bradley and the homunculi but having said that, I'm not certain she'd join us. She might decide that it's not her problem to deal with," Ed admitted as he dried Al's left arm.

"I think it's a risk we have to take, Brother," Al said after a moment. "Even if she doesn't join us in fighting, she deserves to know that we think Fort Briggs is in danger of being bled for the array like Ishval and Liore. She needs to know her fortress is at risk so she can ready her soldiers." Ed nodded as Al spoke.

" _I'm with Al,"_  Ayala said.  _"As long as you think the risk of her tipping Bradley off about how much we know is minimal, she should be told so she's aware of what's happening."_

" _I'm with them,"_  Chester said simply and Ed huffed out some laughter at that.

"Alright, so we'll tell her about the threat," Ed said with a nod as he stood behind Al to dry his massive back. "What about me offering to bond with her Animal?" Ed asked. It had been something he'd asked their opinion on during their first night at Briggs and he could tell from the Animals' expressions and Al's sudden stillness they still weren't entirely sure.

" _I think you should wait until you see what her reaction is to hearing about the country-wide array and military first,"_  Ayala suggested tentatively.  _"Just in case she is one of the higher ups involved in this plot."_  Chester nodded in agreement and so did Al once Chester told him what Ayala had said.

"It could also be a way for you to prove that you're telling the truth, Brother," Al pointed out and explained his statement when Ed hummed questioningly. "General Armstrong's Animal would be able to look at your memories about Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes' findings and everything."

"As long as the snake doesn't go digging into memories she shouldn't be looking at, I'll agree that that's a good plan to fall back on," Ed said before making a victorious noise. "There! You're all dry. How's your seal?" Ed asked as he moved in front of Al and narrowed his eyes as if he could see through the metal of his helmet.

"It's all good, Brother. None of the snow or ice made it inside my armour," Al reassured him. Ed looked relieved to hear that and took the opportunity to undo his hair tie so he could dry his hair. Even though he'd only been outside for a couple of minutes, it was enough to dampen his hair enough that it annoyed him.

By the time Ed had dried his hair and plaited it back, both Animals were also completely dry and Al had started packing Ed's gear up. Al was always surprised that Ed and the Animals managed to spread their gear so far in such little time. Eventually, Ed and the Animals started helping and in no time at all, their gear was back in the suitcase and sealed, ready for travelling.

However, once the suitcase was packed they realised they now didn't have anything else to do as the waited for Falman and Kemp to meet back up with them so Al carefully extracted a book from the suitcase while Ed entertained himself by talking with Nala and Ayala. Chester had opted to take the chance to nap next to Al rather than chatter with the rest of them when Ed asked if he wanted to join in. Ed had shrugged and left the leopard to his nap and found himself caught up in the gossip from Central.

* * *

Falman and Kemp had collected them after 20 minutes of surprisingly entertaining gossiping, especially when Soren had joined in on it. Al had even forgone his book to listen to Ed as he repeated what the other Animals were telling him. The knock at the door had cut the session short and Ed had dropped the conversations with promises to tell them how everything went with Armstrong the moment he could.

"Are you boys ready?" Ayala lifted a displeased lip at Falman who hastily amended his question. "Are the four of you ready? Sorry, Ayala," he said genuinely and the wolf gave a small huff before giving the older soldier a nod to show everything was forgiven.

"Yeah, we're good," Ed said, with Al nodding from behind him.

"Excellent because I just ran into Major Miles. General Armstrong is expecting us in her office," Falman told them and they didn't hesitate to move as Falman led the way confidently to the general's office. Both Chester and Ayala decided to stick next to their humans rather than travelling in front of the group as they ordinarily would've done while Kemp brought up the rear.

To their surprise, they were allowed in Armstrong's office immediately as the general hadn't even waited for Falman to finish knocking before she called for them to enter. As they had done the afternoon they'd arrived, all four of them saluted the general as soon as the door shut behind Kemp. She dismissed the salutes after a moment before fixing her gaze on Ed.

"I assume you've finished your interviews?" She asked though Ed knew she already knew the answer to her question.

"Yes, Sir," he told her and she nodded, completely unsurprised. Ed noted that instead of being draped around her neck, Armstrong's snake was wrapped loosely around her left wrist. Another difference was that it was Major Miles standing behind her with his coyote, Amaya, sitting next to his leg as opposed to Buccaneer and Eric.

"Were you able to develop any theories of your own about what the cause of those tremors may be?" Armstrong asked. "Do they pose a threat to this base?" At her second question, Miles straightened slightly as Ed shared a quick look with Ayala, who sent a wave of encouragement through their bond.

"As I'm sure you recall, Major-General Armstrong, the two working theories the higher ups had were either some kind of mineral deficiency or something was happening with the tectonic plates," Ed said, more for the benefit of Miles than Armstrong as Ed wasn't sure whether the major had been told that or not. He pressed on before Armstrong could snap at him like he could see she wanted to do. "At this time, we can't say one way or another about whether Fort Briggs is in danger of damage by these tremors as we don't know for certain what's causing them," Ed said and silently cursed at his wording when he saw Armstrong latch onto his slip about not knowing for certain.

"But you have a theory." It wasn't a question and Armstrong stood and moved from behind her desk, a large sheathed sword swinging lightly at her hip with the motion of her steps. "What is it?" Her tone heavily implied that the consequences if he refused to answer her this time would be extremely unpleasant for him.

"Yes, we have a theory  _but_ ," Ed stressed the word before Armstrong could demand to know what it was, "for you to understand our theory, there are some things you need to know about. Things about the Fuhrer and the military," Ed said, locking gazes with the general. He didn't know what her blue eyes saw in his expression but her body language relaxed from aggressive to impatient.

"Then explain," Armstrong demanded, eyes narrowing to show her displeasure at Ed not being immediately forthcoming.

"Firstly, I need a blank map of Amestris, if you have one, General Armstrong," Ed said. There was a moment as Armstrong glared at him before going back around behind her desk and retrieving a rolled-up map from the top drawer. "Thank you," Ed said as the general thrust it at him. However, all he did next was turn to Kemp and give her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, Sergeant Kemp, but would you wait outside? What I'm about to tell and show General Armstrong is extremely classified and you don't have the clearance." Kemp looked like she wanted to argue but she settled for nodding once and saluting Armstrong before leaving when Armstrong dismissed her.

"Do you need me for this, Major Elric?" Falman asked and Ed shook his head. "Then with your leave, General Armstrong, I'll wait with Sergeant Kemp." Armstrong gave him silent permission to do so and both he and Rachel left the office without another word.

Ed walked over to a spare desk and unfurled the map before grabbing a spare pen from one of his jackets, pulled the cap off with his teeth and quickly marked the places that had been burned into his mind. The Animals and Al stayed back as they'd already seen this before but Miles and Armstrong had no such inclination to give Ed any personal space. Ed finished marking Liore and proceeded to connect the dots, purposefully leaving Fort Briggs unmarked before he recapped his pen and stood back.

"What is this?" Armstrong asked, eyes never leaving the map.

"A few weeks ago, I was hospitalised after the Fifth Laboratory collapsed while I was inside," Ed started explaining. "Officially, I was investigating suspicious activity and the unstable building chose that moment to collapse due to its lack of structural integrity. I was just unfortunate enough to be inside when it did." Ed felt Ayala bolster their bond with confidence and he continued as Armstrong, and Miles looked at him. "Unofficially, I'd broken the code belonging to Doctor Marcoh, a research State Alchemist who'd disappeared before the Ishvalen Civil War had ended and went into hiding, and we," Ed gestured to himself, Chester, Ayala and Al, "uncovered the secrets to making a Philosopher's Stone."

"I've heard tales of the Philosopher's Stone," Armstrong said. "Apparently, an alchemist can use it to bypass the laws of equivalent exchange." Ed was certain he hadn't imagined the scoff when Armstrong mentioned equivalent exchange.

"With a true Philosopher's Stone, an alchemist can do whatever they wanted. Nothing would be impossible," Ed said, nodding at Armstrong's statement. "The secret to a stone is human life. An alchemist would have to sacrifice dozens, if not hundreds of human lives to create a stone." Ed waited as the gasps and cusses from the three in front of him faded before he continued. "When I told your brother of this, General Armstrong, he helped me figure out where in Central it would be possible for someone to continue this kind of research. We came to the realisation that the Fifth Laboratory would be ideal as it had been declared structurally unsound and off limits to everyone and it was situated next to a prison and would therefore have easy access to the main ingredient of Philosopher's Stone," Ed told them. "Al and I then ignored Major Armstrong's orders to leave it and snuck out of our hotel room that night to go and investigate the laboratory."

"I assume that's when it collapsed on you?" Armstrong asked, arms crossed in front of her chest. "What does that have to do with what I suspect is an alchemic array that you just drew on my map?" Ed heard Al release a nearly imperceptible gasp of surprise but Ed overly shocked that Armstrong had figured it out.

"I promise I'm about to explain," Ed said placatingly. "While Chester and I were inside the laboratory, we were confronted by a suit of armour who had had the souls of two prolific serial killers bound to it and we fought. Al and Ayala fought a suit of armour as well but they were outside," Ed told them. "Eventually we defeated the armour and were about to find out who was behind the illegal research when the array that bound the souls to the armour was destroyed by what I thought were two people before they could tell me anything."

"If they weren't people, what were they?" Armstrong asked while Miles gave him a disbelieving look.

"Homunculi," Ed told them, studying all three of them for their reactions. The word didn't seem to ring any bells for them, though they could've just been very good at hiding their reactions. "A homunculous is an artificially created human. In the laboratory, we were confronted by two of them; one woman and one man. The woman could extend her fingers so she could stab someone from a distance while the man could shapeshift, though I didn't find that out until later. We fought and they caused the building to blow up so they could destroy any evidence of their experiments. I created a shelter to protect myself and Chester and once the debris had settled, Ayala and Alphonse managed to find us and get me to a hospital.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes and Major Armstrong were there when I woke up and I told them what had happened. They ignored me when I asked them to not investigate the homunculi because I didn't want them killed for getting too close to their plans," Ed said, completely unashamed in the face of Armstrong's sneer she had on her face when he said that. "The day I was released from Central hospital, I got a message from Hughes' Animal, Leo, begging us for help because he and his human had been attacked by the woman who'd attacked me and Chester in the laboratory. Ayala and I got there in time to witness the person holding Hughes at gunpoint shapeshift to look like his wife. I managed to knock Hughes out of the way of bullet enough that the wound wasn't fatal while Ayala ripped the homunculous' throat out only for him to come back to life."

"If your wolf truly tore the throat out, it couldn't have come back to life," Miles said observationally and Ed dipped his head as acknowledgement of his point.

"Except we then found out from the homunculous itself that each of them is powered by a Philosopher's Stone. While none of the homunculi can use alchemy to transmute, they can use the stone inside them to heal from any injury dealt it," Ed told him and was a little disappointed that neither of them looked openly stunned by the information. "I was able to defeat it with an array I'd reversed engineered from Doctor Marcoh's array for creating a Philosopher's Stone. When the stone was destroyed completely and the souls trapped inside freed, the homunculous died as well," Ed told them.

"That information," Ed said, pointing to the map lying forgotten on the desk and their attention was brought back to it, "is what Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes uncovered before he was attacked," Ed revealed. "You were correct, General Armstrong. It is an alchemic array but it's not complete and it's the real reason Alphonse and I are here," Ed told her.

"So the tremors were nothing more than a ruse for you to infiltrate my fortress?" Armstrong growled and Ed shook his head.

"No, those were real and I do have to finish investigating them when I get back to North City but they were my way in to Fort Briggs so I could talk to you," Ed told her. "Is there anything you noticed about the towns and cities I marked on your map?" Ed asked and Armstrong glared at him before looking at the map once more.

"They're all places were wars or massive conflicts took places. Dozens of civilians and military officers were destroyed in each place," Armstrong said and Ed nodded.

"Each point of the array needs to be bled so they can serve as activation points when this array is completed and activated. The reason we're here, General Armstrong," Ed said, meeting her eyes once more, "is because we believe Fort Briggs is the last point needing to be bled for the array to be completed." There were several moments where no one dared to breath too loudly while Armstrong and Miles absorbed what Ed had just said.

"How?" Armstrong demanded, standing tall and hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to unsheathe it at a moment's notice.

"I don't know for certain," Ed admitted, "but I have a theory." Armstrong gestured impatiently for him to spit it out. "I don't think they'll attack the fortress. You've done too good a job building its reputation as impenetrable while you've been in charge of it, General Armstrong, and I think that the effort required for this fort to be destroyed in a believable way that won't leave people struggling to buy the story would be far more than the homunculi would be willing to expend." Ed paused for a moment before getting to the point.

"I think they would find a way to sneak into Drachma, find a general or their country's equivalent and pretend to be a turncoat. I think they'll trick that general or whoever into believing they know the fort's weakness and lead them for an attack where you and your soldiers will destroy them." Armstrong's eyes glinted in agreement with Ed. "Those Drachmann soldiers will be sacrificed to provide blood for the final activation point. The homunculi will use Fort Briggs and your reputation, General Armstrong, to ensure that final activation point will get the blood necessary in a way that no one would bat an eye at. At least, that's what I think they will do," Ed said, a little uncertainty in his voice as he finished speaking.

"What do the tremors have to do with this?" Armstrong asked, expression leaving no doubt that she didn't believe them about anything they'd said, and Ed almost shrugged before he remembered who he was talking too.

"That I don't actually know for certain but my theory is that the homunculi have someone or something underground that has been digging tunnels to create the array, connecting each point on that map since someone would've noticed someone carving an array aboveground," Ed told her. "If I'm right, my money would be on another homunculous since they're able to heal themselves if they're injured," Ed said.

"I know it's hard to believe, General Armstrong, but both Edward and I have fought against some of the homunculi. Ed even destroyed one!" Alphonse couldn't help but add his own voice into this discussion, trying to help Ed convince the two soldiers in front of them that this was a real threat.

"There's more than the possible use of Fort Briggs," Ed said, resisting the urge to fidget. This would be the crucial point. Either Armstrong would reveal herself to be on Bradley's side or not. "Fuhrer King Bradley is a homunculous."

"Major Elric, that is slanderous talk! Do you have any proof of your claims?" Armstrong demanded furiously, hand gripping the hilt of her sword so hard her knuckles were white.

"Not physical proof, no, but if you'll permit it, Ayala and Chester can pass on what they sensed when Fuhrer Bradley or another homunculous was nearby. They have a distinctive scent," Ed offered, trying to keep his worry at bay. Armstrong and Miles looked as though they were only a few words from him away from arresting or killing him on the spot.

"Do you take me for a fool, Major Elric?" Armstrong thundered and Ed was quick to stop both Ayala and Chester from getting into defensive positions. Miles and Amaya were the only ones who didn't react to Armstrong's outburst. "Do you truly expect me to believe a word you've just said? That artificially created humans are running around, manipulating entire towns and cities into destroying each other as part of some plot to what? Destroy the entire country? And then you go and spew that treasonous bull about Fuhrer King Bradley being one of them so they can manipulate the military!" Armstrong scoffed at him before she levelled him with a glare so frosty, it left no doubt how she garnered the nickname 'Ice Queen'. "Get the hell out of this office before I have you brought up on charges of treason and if I so much as hear a whisper of you continuing to spread this slander, you won't live to regret doing so."

"We'll leave the fortress immediately but please listen, general," Ed pleaded as he and the others backed up for the door. "You can't kill a homunculous by normal means. They won't be taken down by a bullet or any other weapons at your disposal. If one does come to Fort Briggs, send word to Ayala or Chester and we'll come as soon as we can to destroy it," Ed swore and Armstrong's ire only grew with his words.

Armstrong drew her sword and pointed it at them. The light that reflected off the metal emphasized the small roses etched precisely along the blunt edge of the weapon. Her eyes held no hesitation or mercy as she glared them down. "Get out of my fortress before I send you back to Central in a body bag," she snarled. Miles and Amaya stood behind her, ready to attack on behalf of their general if they needed to.

Ed and Al didn't linger, not that Al gave Ed the choice to try convincing Armstrong he wasn't lying. The armour grabbed Ed by his right upper arm and dragged him out of the office while Ayala and Chester bodily pushed them from the room. Kemp and Falman were standing, watching them concernedly as they closed the office door behind them quickly.

"She didn't believe us," Ed said before Falman could ask. "Actually, she accused me of slander and treason then ordered us out of Fort Briggs." He hid his humiliation at not being believed well but he had a feeling that Falman saw through it.

"I suggest we go and grab our bags and leave," Falman said evenly. "General Armstrong will not appreciate it if we linger any longer than necessary. We'll just have to risk the roads," he told them. Kemp didn't look thrilled about the idea but she didn't argue as Falman led the way back to their dorms.

Ed followed but didn't talk to anyone as they made their way through the corridors, too angry at himself for what happened with Armstrong.  _"It was a pretty unbelievable thing you told her, Ed,"_  Ayala said, interrupting his thoughts.  _"Would you have believed some stranger straight away if they'd come up to you with warnings of homunculi and a country-wide array that might pose a threat to the whole of Amestris without any physical proof of their claims?"_  It was a fair question and Ed sighed silently.

"Yeah, you've got a point," he admitted and almost rolled his eyes at the smugness he could sense coming from his wolf. "I just hope nothing happens to Fort Briggs before we can convince her that we are telling the truth," he said. Though he wouldn't call anyone at Fort Briggs a friend, he didn't want to see any of them hurt or killed because of the homunculi.

" _Maybe Major Armstrong included a personal letter in the second envelope that also tells General Armstrong about the threat. She might be more willing to believe family than us,"_  Ayala said and Ed hummed unconvinced.  _"We've done all we can do, Ed. You can't force her to believe us right off the bat. You knew there was a chance of her not believing us,"_  she reminded him and this time Ed did sigh out loud, getting the attention of Falman, Kemp, Al and Chester.

Ed shook his head at them, silently telling them he was alright before he continued his silent conversation. "I hadn't actually thought she wouldn't believe us. I thought she might not side with us or might be on the Fuhrer's side but I don't think I ever once considered her not believing us at all," Ed told her. "I hope you're right about Major Armstrong putting a personal letter of his own in that envelope. Though, what are the chances she doesn't read the first mention of homunculi and the array and tears the letter up instead of reading it through?" Ed asked cynically.

" _Even if she does, there's always the chance the fact that he mentions it at all might be enough for her to think about it later, when she's not so riled up,"_  Ayala said optimistically.

They'd finally reached their rooms and Ed followed Al into theirs while Falman and Kemp went into theirs. As they'd packed up before speaking to Armstrong, all they had to do was grab the suitcase and book Al had been reading and wait for Falman and Kemp in the hallway.

" _Ayala's right,"_  Chester said as they waited and Ed looked at him.  _"Maybe once Armstrong has had some time to think over what you've said, she might realise you were telling the truth and have Anahlia contact us or Gary for more information. Even if she doesn't, there's little chance this fortress won't have a homunculous visit it if we're right about them using this spot as a bleeding point and she sure as shit will believe us then,"_  Chester told him and Ed let out a huff of laughter.

"You're both right," Ed said as Falman and Kemp reappeared. "Though I really hope she doesn't wait for a homunculous to invade before she talks to us."

"All set?" Falman asked and the four of them nodded. "Then let's go. I don't think we want to risk running into General Armstrong right now."

* * *

As they drove out of the fortress the same way they'd entered, Kemp at the wheel and Falman nodding to the soldiers who'd opened the doors for them, Ed snuck a glance back at the imposing fortress. The metal walls gleamed dully in the weak afternoon sunlight but that didn't detract from the fortress' imposing look at all. Ed wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not when he saw a flash of blonde disappear from a balcony about halfway up the building as he turned to face Al, who had claimed the front bench, but when he turned back to look, there was nothing to be seen except metal. He frowned slightly but waved off Al's curious question as he settled further into the seat bench and readied himself for the drive back to North City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and reviews are certainly welcomed and encouraged by this author :D Please let me know what you think to the story so far!


	28. Chapter 28

Ed bit down the sigh he wanted to sound at the conductor's announcement that the train bound for Central would remain in North City station for another half hour as a mechanical issue was sorted. Falman and Al were sitting in seats on the other side of the aisle and both Chester and Ayala were curled up on the bench opposite Ed while Rachel bounced between Falman and Ed, chattering excitedly about going home. Falman got up from his seat after the conductor's announcement and his offer to shout coffee was enthusiastically taken up by Ed.

"Hey, Brother?" Al's voice stopped Ed from getting lost in his thoughts once more.

"What's up, Al?" Ed asked, wedging himself in the corner made by the train bench and window so he could face Al properly.

"Do you really think it was a good idea telling Colonel Moon to investigate the tremors?" Al asked, concern drenched in his tinny voice and Ed didn't bother suppressing his sigh this time.

They'd managed to get to Northern Command just on nightfall the day they'd left Fort Briggs. However, much to Ed's annoyance, the two soldiers Kemp had told him about had already left for the day and he couldn't talk to them about the tremors they'd felt in Vodgy. When he'd asked about their commanding officer, Colonel Trevor Moon, he'd been informed that the colonel was in a meeting at the time and his lieutenant didn't know when it would finish. She'd been nice enough to schedule him in for a quick 20-minute meeting the next day though so Ed couldn't be too mad.

He'd made sure that he and Ayala got to the meeting early so they could talk to the soldiers Kemp had mentioned before Colonel Moon. Unfortunately, Master Sergeant Dean Hardy and 1st Lieutenant Dereck Song hadn't been able to give Ed any more information on what they'd experienced, only repeating what Sergeant Kemp had said with a bit more detail. They'd been standing no more than 30 metres away from each other, each speaking to a different store owner. Song had been the one to feel the first tremor, telling Ed that it had been strong enough for him to feel it and throw him a little off balance but not strong enough for it to knock him off his feet and it had only lasted ten seconds at the most.

Hardy had backed up Song's claims, telling Ed he hadn't noticed anything happening with Song or the store owner the lieutenant had been interviewing. Kemp had apparently misheard or misunderstood the next part as Song claimed to dismiss the tremor as a small quake and proceeded to finish his interview before making his way over to Hardy five minutes after the tremor. It was when Song was within ten metres of Hardy that he'd felt a second tremor and this time, so did Hardy and the store owner the sergeant was talking with. Song then told Ed that after the tremors had stopped – this time they'd lasted nearly 20 seconds – and he'd checked on Hardy, he went back to the store owner he'd been talking to and when he asked, he found out the man hadn't felt the second tremor at all.

The lieutenant who'd scheduled Ed's meeting had then broken in to tell him Moon had ordered her to show him into his inner office and Ed had thanked her. After making sure neither Hardy nor Song had anything else to add, Ed and Ayala followed Lieutenant White into the inner office, thanking her when she'd left the office. Though Moon didn't cut an imposing figure, the way the man sat self-assuredly behind his desk and greeted Ed with a confident handshake told the alchemist that he could be someone he'd need to be careful of if he ever crossed him.

They'd started the meeting by exchanging pleasantries and introducing each other's Animals. Ayala hadn't been overly impressed with Moon's ferret but she decided to simply ignore it in favour of laying at Ed's feet and appearing to sleep as the two officers spoke. Since the meeting was such a short one, Ed decided to get right to the point and ask Moon whether he'd uncovered anything during his investigation of the tremors. Moon hadn't been pleased to report back that he hadn't but had been much more enthusiastic when Ed had asked him to explain why he was investigating these tremors at all.

Apparently, Moon had actually felt several of them in his earlier years when he'd been a teenager exploring Amestris and as a young soldier who was sent to whichever post needed a man. Of course, once he'd been made 1st Lieutenant, he'd elected to work from a desk under his commanding officer and had stayed out of the field entirely after being made Colonel and being assigned his own team. He'd never had much more than a passing curious thought about the tremors over the years however his interest had piques when Hardy and Song had reported back from Vodgy. Moon had then made a list of everywhere he could remember feeling a tremor and roughly what month and year before he decided to mark the places on a map on a whim.

To his surprise, the places he'd marked seemed to be following an invisible line so he'd gone digging further and uncovered more reports from sister cities and smaller military outposts dating from between the times he'd remembered and Vodgy to years back about isolated tremors. He'd ordered or asked for the reports to be sent to him where possible and on the rare occasions he'd been refused for whatever reasons, he'd asked for the soldier to recite the dates and places on the reports so he could mark them on his map. He'd then revealed he'd been doing all of this on his own time when Ed had asked why the military had ordered a colonel to investigate this, taking a leaf from General Armstrong.

Moon had been a little hesitant to show Ed the map he'd come up with so far but had done so when Ed assured him he was merely curious to see what he'd come up with so far. Ed managed to hide his relief well when he saw that all Moon had managed to trace the tremors from East Amestris to North Amestris. Moon went on to tell Ed about how he'd been tracking the tremors by calling the military outpost closest to the last one he'd gotten a report from and Ed had complimented the man on his thinking. Ayala had accused him of being a suck up but Ed ignored her as he moved the conversation along so they could wrap up the meeting by asking if Moon would be interested in sending a couple of geologists or pedologists to Vodgy and the places closest to it on his map to see if they could find the source of the tremors. The colonel had been very enthusiastic and had agreed to see if there were any in North City who'd be willing to go and report any findings back to Mustang. With his agreement, Ed had wrapped up the meeting and met up with Al and Falman back at their hotel.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Ed answered his little brother. "Yeah, I think it was. Technically, it was in my right to talk to Hardy, Song and Moon about the tremors since they had first-hand experience with them and Moon was interested in finding their source as well so it made sense to ask him to help me out," Ed reminded Al. "Plus, I doubt the scientists and soldiers sent to investigate will actually find anything, including the tunnel we think is there. It wouldn't made sense for the tunnels to be close to the surface just in case of a cave in or something," Ed rationalized and Al gave his version of a sigh.

"I suppose so," he acquiesced as he settled further into his seat. "I just don't want him to be in any danger because he got too close." Ed winced a little at the thought.

"I know, Al, but I don't think he will be, especially if he tells any higher up who asked that he was helping me with an investigation," Ed said, trying to reassure him. Al nodded but didn't say anything further on the subject and they lapsed into silence for the next few minutes until Falman and Rachel came back with two steaming cups of coffee. Both Ayala and Chester looked up as Falman approached before curling back up and ignoring the man.

"Here you go, Ed," Falman said as he handed one of the coffees over and Ed took it gratefully. The warmth of the coffee went a long way to helping him defrost slightly from the chilliness of North City.

"Cheers, Falman," Ed said, taking a sip and sighing slightly at the heat and caffeine. Falman nodded before taking his seat once more and letting Rachel settle in his lap.

"I spoke with one of the mechanics working on the train," Falman said after letting Ed get a few more sips of coffee into him. "The problem wasn't as severe as they'd feared so we should be leaving quicker than expected," he informed them and Ed let out a sigh of relief. As much as he loved the snow, he was looking forward to the warmth of Central. His feelings were echoed by the two Animals opposite.

"I don't know what the two of you have to complain about," Ed said silently to both of them. "You've been using your energy to warm the air around you, Chester, and Ayala, you're built for the snow," he pointed out and both Animals glared at him.

" _Just because I'm built for the snow, it doesn't mean I enjoy being constantly wet from it,"_  Ayala sniffed haughtily and Ed barely managed to hold back a giggle at that.

" _Same here,"_  Chester said, stretching and flexing his paws so his claws were on display before retracting them once more.  _"Using my energy like I did didn't stop the snow from clinging to me and getting into my fur,"_  he told Ed.

"Alright, I get it. You were both miserable and we'll never go north again unless we absolutely have to," Ed said, only half-serious but both Animals seemed very pleased with his decision. Thankfully, he was saved from them making sure he was serious by the conductor announcing that the problem had been fixed and the train would be immediately departing North City station.

* * *

Despite the delay at North City station, the train managed to make good time and they were soon pulling into Central station only a quarter of an hour after they originally should've. Ed and the Animals had kept themselves entertained by talking with the Animals still in Central, reading or playing cards with Falman and Al, at least until Al had declared Ed was cheating and refused to play anymore. Ed had accused him of being paranoid and got a slap up the back of his head for that. Falman had had the nerve to laugh at his pout and Ed had flipped him off before abandoning the game for his book, claiming he couldn't play with such rude people any longer.

"I'm so looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed tonight," Ed said, stretching his arms above his head and arching backwards slightly, feeling his back realign itself as he watched Al and Falman grab their overnight bags.

"We promised Elysia that we'd drop by for dinner if we got in early enough, remember?" Al reminded him and Ed couldn't stop the little groan from escaping as Ayala and Chester joined him in waiting for the aisle to clear of travelers so they could get out of the carriage.

"Alright but then I'm gonna get some proper sleep," Ed said in a tone daring them to argue with him.

"I'll head to the office and give Colonel Mustang a report," Falman said and Al perked up slightly.

"We'll go in with you so Brother can do the same," he told him and Ed glared at his little brother.

"I hate you so much right now," Ed hissed but Al flapped a metal hand at him dismissively as they were finally able to get out of the train carriage and start elbowing their way through the crowd at the station. Ayala and Chester helped them with more enthusiasm then Al thought was warranted but he decided to just let them have their fun.

They got nearly halfway to Central Command when Ed almost stopped short in surprise at who was in his head.  _"Pinako wants you to come to Resembool immediately,"_ Den said. Ed wasn't sure what surprised him more; the fact that Den had initiated a conversation or that he'd done so without any type of polite greeting first.

"Why?" Ed asked, not realising he'd spoken out loud until he noticed the looks he was getting from the Animals and humans he was walking with. "I'll explain in a minute," Ed said before turning his concentration back on Den.

" _She doesn't want me to tell you but it's important you come home, Ed,"_  Den said, a touch of pleading in his voice.

"Neither of you are hurt, right? Do I need to contact Michella?" Ed asked, brow creasing in worry as he continued walking. Ayala and Al had to make sure he didn't accidentally bump into anyone or anything as he walked but he barely noticed.

" _No, we aren't hurt,"_  Den swore.  _"Please, Ed, this is truly important. You need to come home on the next train possible,"_  he said and Ed sighed.

"Alright, Den," Ed said. "I'm just heading to Central Command to tell the bastard about my trip north so I'll ask about getting a few days off so Al and I can head to Resembool immediately." He went to say something else but Den interrupted him.

" _No! Al needs to stay in Central with Chester. Pinako only wants you and Ayala home,"_  Den told him and Ed felt his brows rise in shock. Granny Pinako had never asked one of them to stay behind while the other went home.

"Alright, Den," Ed said, confused but not wanting to dig into the 'why' of Pinako's reasons just yet. "I'll let you know what Mustang says once I've talked to him," he promised and felt Den's relief.

" _Okay. I'll talk to you soon then,"_  Den said before dropping the conversation as unceremoniously as he'd started it. Ed shook his head at the sudden loss before almost jerking back in surprise when he saw Central Command was only a couple of blocks away.

"Brother? Are you alright? Who were you talking too?" Al asked softly. They were still walking, Falman leading the way and for all intents and purposes, not listening to them but Ed knew better than to think that.

"I'm fine, Al," Ed assured him, voice just as low. "I was talking to Den," he revealed and Al gasped slightly in surprise.

"Really?" He asked, disbelievingly and Ed nodded. "What happened?"

"Nothing, as far as I know," Ed told him. "Granny wants me and Ayala back in Resembool. Den says it's something important but Granny wouldn't let him tell me what. He also said that Granny wants you and Chester to stay here in Central," Ed told him apologetically.

"Why?" Al asked and Ed winced at the hurt in his younger brother's voice.

"I don't know. That's all Den told me," Ed said. "I've gotta ask Mustang for some days off first so who knows if I'll even be going to Resembool yet," Ed told him with a sigh. He entertained the thought of getting Nala to pass along a heads up but decided it might be entertaining if he just surprised Mustang with the request instead.

"I hope it's nothing serious," Al said after a few moments of silence and Ed gave him his most reassuring smile.

"I'm sure that if it actually was something serious, Granny wouldn't have asked you to stay here. Honestly, I don't have any clue of why this thing is important enough for her to ask me to go to Resembool but not you," Ed said. "Maybe Granny's just showing her age," he joked, getting a small laugh out of Al.

"I don't think so, Ed," Al chuckled. Ed tilted his head in a gesture of conceding but the joke had had the intended effect of lightening the atmosphere a little so Ed still counted it as a win.

" _You didn't sense anything from Den?"_  Ayala asked and Ed shook his head.

"Only that he seemed anxious or uncomfortable," Ed told her. "Like he really wants me in Resembool right now to help him deal with something,"he said, knowing he'd probably just made no sense. Thankfully, his wolf seemed to be able to figure out what he meant.

" _Do you want me to see if he'll tell me what's happening? I can bring him up to date with everything that's happened lately as well,"_  Ayala offered and Ed let out a small sigh as he considered her offer. Central Command was finally in view and Ed nodded.

"Yeah. He probably won't tell you anything but there's no harm in trying, I suppose," Ed said. "Plus, it's a good idea if Den knows everything – including how to sense a homunculous so make sure you tell him about that – just in case," Ed said and Ayala hummed her agreeance before he sensed her attention waver from him and their surrounds. She sure didn't waste any time.

They finally got to the front gates and were immediately waved through them once they'd flashed their identification. Falman hadn't asked questions about what had distracted Ed during their journey and Al hadn't asked any more. Even Chester was staying silent, though Ed was under the assumption the leopard had already gotten the answers he wanted either from Ayala or Den. It wasn't long before he felt the team's Animals, their excitement almost palpable the closer he got to Mustang's offices.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen and Animals," Hawkeye greeted as Falman opened the door and the group walked in.

"Hey, Miss Riza," Ed said, giving the lieutenant a smile. "Hey, guys," Ed said to the rest of the team and their Animals, all of whom were saying hello to Ed via their bonds. The humans in the room returned the greeting but there wasn't any time for small talk as Hawkeye gave them a look that dared them to try and get out of their work. They didn't.

"How was your trip north?" Hawkeye asked and Ed grimaced a little at the reminder.

"Not as productive as we'd hoped," Ed told her and he saw a slight flash of sympathy in her eyes.

"That's unfortunate," she said as she stood from behind her desk. "Colonel Mustang was informed of your arrival and has asked that the six of you be permitted straight away," Hawkeye told them as she moved towards the inner office door.

"Nala totally sensed when our train pulled in, didn't she?" Ed asked, grinning as they crossed the outer office and Hawkeye's answer was in the form of a slight nod and half-smile as she knocked and opened the door.

"Major Elric and his group are here," she announced and Mustang must've given some sort of silent gesture to her because Ed didn't hear anything as Hawkeye opened the door fully and stepped politely to the side. Mustang was sitting at his desk, seemingly on top of his paperwork for once, while Nala was sprawled on her favourite lounge.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye," Mustang said, looking up at them and taken their appearances in. Nala had moved to a sitting position and looked moments away from tackling Ed with a hug if he didn't get to the couch soon. Hawkeye gave him a short nod, glanced at the paperwork still on his desk with a pointed look before she left the room. Ed immediately booked it to the couch and slumped next to Nala, letting the lioness nuzzle his face before she slumped in his lap. "Make yourself comfortable, Fullmetal," Mustang drawled as Falman and Al moved to join Ed.

"Cheers," Ed said, giving Mustang a smirk as he gave Nala the attention she obviously wanted. "Has Mustang not been giving you enough cuddles lately?" He asked and both Nala and Ed laughed at Mustang's choked splutter.

" _It's been utterly boring without you here, Edward,"_  Nala whined as Ayala jumped up on the couch next to Ed and slumped against him with none of the gracefulness expected of the golden wolf.

"You always say that when I come back from a mission. Am I that entertaining?" Ed asked as he scratched behind the lioness' ear while Falman gave a verbal report of their trip. Al had taken up his usual spot on the floor in front of the couch Ed, Nala and Ayala were occupying while Chester took the opportunity granted and made himself very comfortable on the other couch, stretching himself out completely.

" _You have no idea,"_  Nala said, twisting a little so she was almost on her back and Ed was now scratching under her chin. Her willingness to be so close to him never ceased to surprise Ed. It was extremely rare for someone else's Animal to let you touch them. Chester was much more tactile with Ed than he was with other people – Al being the obvious exception – and while Ayala didn't shy away from Al's touch, she'd never sought it, not even before the night of the failed transmutation.  _"You're overthinking something. What is it?"_  Nala asked and Ed huffed at her.

"You're way too good at reading me, you know that?" Ed could feel her proud smugness but the compliment wasn't enough to distract her from her question as he could also feel her prodding him mentally. "I'm just curious about why you're as tactile with me as you are, that's all," he told her.

" _Do you not want me to be?"_  Nala asked but Ed immediately shook his head.

"No, that's not it," he told her. "I'm just curious. Normally an Animal isn't like this with someone who isn't their human. Even Chester isn't as cuddly as you are with me and I have his energy inside me," Ed remarked, ignoring Mustang's curious look at his silence while Falman continued speaking. "Even the other Animals I've bonded with don't seek out pats and stuff as willingly as you and Ches do." Nala hummed a little under his ministrations as she thought how best to respond.

" _I don't know if I understand it either but I feel like our bond is stronger than it really ought to be considering you aren't my human. I feel far closer to you than I do any other human – except for Roy – and I've always loved cuddles but I don't have a concrete answer for you, Ed,"_  Nala told him, completely honest.

"Guess it'll just keep being one of those things with no absolute answer that we just have to accept," Ed sighed melodramatically and both Nala and Ayala laughed at him, causing him to swat them both lightly.

"Well, Fullmetal?" Mustang's voice brought him back to the fact that there were other people in the room and Ed raised a questioning brow that caused Mustang to sigh in annoyance and familiar flare of anger to rise in Ed before Ayala swamped their bond with a calm feeling. "I asked what happened with Major-General Armstrong," Mustang said shortly.

"She didn't believe me, that's what happened," Ed told him, sighing when Mustang gave him a look, telling him he'd need more details than that. "Didn't Lieutenant Hawkeye say there were bugs in these offices?" Ed asked Nala but it was Mustang who nodded after a moment. "Are they still just visual ones?" Ed asked Nala again and again, Mustang answered with a nod and Ed sighed in relief.

"Right, I told General Armstrong about everything from the Fifth Laboratory onwards. I even used one of her maps to show her the activation points that had been bled and warned her about the homunculi, the fact that the Fuhrer is one and that Fort Briggs could be the last activation point needing to be bled," Ed told him. "She accused me of slander and treason and kicked us out of Fort Briggs with the threat that if we lingered or if she heard of me telling anyone what I told her, she wouldn't be as merciful." Ed didn't elaborate any further, letting Mustang absorb what he'd told him.

"Guess it would've been too much to ask the Ice Queen to believe strangers she had no reason to trust about a country wide threat," Mustang muttered before leaning back in his chair. "At least we can't say we didn't warn her if this threat does come to pass," Mustang said before looking back at Ed. "What about the mission I sent you on? About the tremors?"

"Yeah, I questioned the Fort Briggs soldiers before telling General Armstrong about everything and none of them have felt anything but our driver told us about some soldiers she'd heard about who had felt tremors in Vodgy so when we went back to North City, I spoke with them and their commanding officer, Colonel Moon," Ed told him. "Moon has been tracking reports mentioning isolated tremors as he'd felt some in his youth and had always been curious about their cause. I've asked him to find some geologists and pedologists to investigate possible causes and keep me in the loop about any progress they make." Mustang didn't look overly surprised with his report.

"Colonel Moon is a decent soldier," Mustang said. "I'm sure he'll keep his word about keeping you in the loop. If he doesn't, you'll just have to go back north since this is still your assignment, Fullmetal," Mustang told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said as Nala grumbled at the lack of attention. "Oh, by the way, I need like, three days off to go back to Resembool," Ed told him and Mustang gave him a disbelieving look.

"You only just came back from medical leave for your automail. What possible reason do you have for needing more time off?" Mustang asked and Ed shrugged.

"I don't actually know," he admitted and Mustang gaped at him. "Den contacted me while we were on our way into the office and said that Granny needs me to come to Resembool immediately. He didn't tell me why or what was going on, just that it was important," Ed told him.

"What exactly am I supposed to put on your leave request, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, tone irritated and Ed scowled.

"I don't know. Family emergency?" Ed snapped. "The only reason I'm even taking this as something serious is because of how Den sounded and the fact that Granny doesn't want Al coming with me," Ed told him and that brought Mustang up short.

"The military wouldn't buy it was a family emergency if Alphonse doesn't go with you," Mustang sighed, leaning back as he seemed to mull something over. "You really believe this is something that can't wait?" He asked and Ed nodded vehemently. "Alright. I assume you're supposed to pay a visit to the doctor who installed your automail ports every now and then to check that they're still working correctly?" Mustang asked.

"Uh, yeah, every couple of years, I think," Ed said, a little surprised that Mustang even knew that. He'd managed to pay Pinako a visit with Al for a week's holiday during his first year of service and had the ports checked then. Technically, he wasn't due for another check-up for another few months though.

"That's what I'll put on your request leave," Mustang said, writing something on a piece of paper. "Go and see Hawkeye and have her book you a ticket to Resembool on the next train. I'm only giving you three days total," Mustang told him and Ed nodded as he stood, much to Ayala and Nala's annoyance.

"Sorry," Ed apologised to the disgruntled Animals. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't give me that look," Ed chided as Nala and Ayala pouted when he went to walk away. Mustang rolled his eyes at Nala as the blonde disappeared out into the outer office and the lioness returned the eyeroll with a glare before she curled up and proceeded to ignore everyone. Ayala huffed at her behaviour before doing the same, though she kept her eyes trained on the door, waiting for Ed to come back in.

* * *

"Hey, Miss Riza," Ed said the moment he was through the door. He could feel Ayala watching him, even after the door swung shut behind him. Ayala's protective instincts had still yet to die down after the confrontation with General Armstrong and Ed had decided it was better for his mental health if he didn't ask what Ayala had sensed the woman would have done if they hadn't left as quickly as they had. "I have a favour to ask," Ed said, giving the lieutenant a smile.

"And what would that be, Edward?" Hawkeye asked, giving the blonde most of her attention as she kept the rest on her work. Soren ruffled his feathers and hooted a hello at Ed from his perch.

"Hey, Soren, sorry I didn't get the chance to talk before," Ed said to the owl before focusing back on Hawkeye. "Can you find out when the next train to Resembool is, please?" He didn't offer any information about why he was heading to Resembool and Hawkeye didn't ask; just gave him a sharp nod and picked up her phone to do as asked.

"How come you're heading back east, chief?" Havoc, however, had no qualms about asking immediately and Ed almost grinned as he headed over to the desks and claimed the one kept aside for him.

"Glad to see you're back at work, Fuery," Ed said, nodding to the bespectacled man who flushed lightly at the attention.

"Thanks, Ed. It didn't take me too long to get over it," Fuery told him with a small smile that Ed returned before the blonde addressed the smoker.

"I'm heading to Resembool because Granny asked me too," Ed told him. "Something important has happened, important enough for her to have Den contact me and demand that only Ayala and I catch the next available train."

"Huh," Havoc said as he rolled a new cigarette. "Well, hopefully it's nothing too major if she isn't asking for Al as well," he said optimistically and Ed couldn't do much more than shrug.

"Hopefully," Ed echoed in agreement. He opened his mouth to ask something but Hawkeye interrupted him.

"Major Elric?" Ed turned, giving her a confused look since she never used his title unless they were in public or someone who wasn't part of the team or Hughes was in the room. His confusion cleared when he saw she was still on the phone. He gave her a nod to show he was listening. "There's a train departing this afternoon or one leaving early tomorrow morning. Which would you like, Sir?" Ed hummed for a moment before asking Ayala.

" _Den didn't say it was a matter of life or death and you did promise Elysia that you'd see her for dinner when you came from North City,"_  she told him and Ed nodded.

"I'll catch tomorrow's train, Lieutenant," he told her and she repeated it to the train station employee she was talking too. After a few moments, she was thanking whoever it was before hanging up the phone.

"You're booked on the 8:00am train, Ed," she told him and Ed gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Miss Riza," he said as he got up from the desk and headed back for the inner office to tell Mustang and the others.

"It was no problem, Edward," Hawkeye assured him, watching as he flashed her another smile before he disappeared into the inner office. Her gaze found its way to the rest of the team and she glared at them. "I sure hope the reason you aren't doing any work is because you've all finished it," she said pointedly, hand twitching ever so slightly towards her gun. A flurry of movement was her answer and she hid the small smirk on her face as she returned to her own work.

* * *

"I'm leaving tomorrow at 8:00am," Ed announced as he walked through the door. "I'll book my own ticket back since we don't know if I'll actually need the three days," he told Mustang before the older alchemist could ask.

"Alright," Mustang said, scribbling something on a piece of paper. "I'll still give you the three days, just in case. I'm sure you can find something to do in Central to occupy yourself for the remaining time if you do come back earlier though," he drawled and Ed rolled his eyes as he slotted himself between his wolf and the lioness once more.

"Have you told Den, Brother?" Al asked and Ed shook his head.

"No, I was about to though," Ed told him. He shifted further into the couch cushions as he focused on his bond with Den, initiating the conversation this time. "Hey, Den?" He called cautiously.

" _Ed,"_ Den said, sounding relieved.  _"Have you spoken to Mustang? What did he say?"_  he asked demandingly and Ed would've laughed if he hadn't sensed the tense nervousness in Den's voice.

"Yeah, I've spoken to him. I'll be on the 8:00am train tomorrow morning," Ed told him and frowned when he felt the relief coming from Den. It was almost suffocating. "Den, are you sure everything's okay?" Ed couldn't help but ask. Den sighed through their bond.

" _I promise everything's… well, nothing bad, per say, is happening,"_ Den told him, which didn't actually help Ed relax.  _"Pinako made me swear not to tell you anything so I can't but I promise, Ed, that it's nothing so urgent it can't wait for you to be here tomorrow to deal with. You're sensing my own discomfort. I swear Pinako is much more at ease than I am,"_  Den told him and that did help Ed relax a little but he couldn't help the concern he felt for the collie dog.

"Well, I'll be in Resembool as soon as I can," Ed promised. "Just let me know if something happens and I'll try and find a quicker way to Resembool if I can," Ed told him and he felt Den mentally nod.

" _Thanks, Ed. I'll let Pinako know when you'll be in. Talk to you later,"_  Den said and Ed offered his own goodbye before they disconnected from each other.

"Everything alright?" Mustang asked. His tone may have been disinterested but if Ed had actually been looking at him, he would've noticed the concerned look that flashed in the man's eyes.

"Yeah," Ed said, though he didn't sound like he fully believed what he was saying.

"Brother?" Al asked and that snapped Ed out of his thoughts.

"Everything's fine, Al. Den's uncomfortable with whatever it is but said that Granny's totally fine with it so there's nothing to worry about," Ed told him, giving his little brother a reassuring grin. Al seemed mollified by his answer for the moment and nothing more was said on it.

"ROY!" The door burst open, causing all the occupants in the room except Ed, Mustang and the Animals to jump in shock as Hughes and Leo walked through the door. "Hello, boys. How was your trip north?" Hughes asked, face having split into a massive grin once he spotted the brothers sitting there.

"Hey, Hughes," Ed and Al said in greeting.

"What are you doing here, Hughes? Don't you have something better to do with your time?" Mustang groaned, glaring at his best friend. His glare transferred to his 1st Lieutenant when all she did was get up to shut the door behind Hughes. Hawkeye didn't even bother to acknowledge the look.

"Can't a man check in on his best friend?" Hughes asked, pouting slightly and Mustang levelled him with a fiery glare.

"You don't," Mustang snapped and Hughes gave him a guilty look.

"True. I'm here because Leo sensed Ed was back and I was bored so I thought I should see what had happened," Hughes told him with a grin and wink at Ed, who only grinned right back.

"You would've found out tonight," Mustang pointed out, teeth grounding together in annoyance.

"I did mention I was bored, right?" Maes said without missing a beat and Mustang sighed.

"I'm sure Fullmetal will be happy to regale you with the details of his mission as the two of you leave my office," Mustang said, waving a hand towards the door dismissively. "Fullmetal, report back once you're back in Central for your next assignment. Now get out," Mustang said and Ed only hesitated long enough to give Nala a scratch behind the ear. Ayala and Chester had both hopped off the couches, eager to get moving again.

"Have a good afternoon, Colonel Mustang," Al said as the group moved towards the door. Hughes wrapped an arm around Ed's shoulders the moment the blonde was within reach and had already marched him out of the office with a shouted goodbye back at Mustang. Falman was next to leave, heading straight to his desk.

"You too, Alphonse," Mustang said with a slight dip of his head. Nala chuffed her own goodbye at Al as he waved at her before he shut the door.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes is waiting outside with your brother and your Animals," Hawkeye told Al when she realised he was looking for them. Al spotted Ed's suitcase where they'd left it and scooped it up with a nod towards Hawkeye.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye. Have a good day, everyone," Al said politely, giving them all a wave as he headed after his brother, their Animals and Hughes.

"You too, Alphonse. Tell Ed we'll see him when he gets back," Hawkeye requested and Al dipped his head.

"Will do," he promised and left the office to the chorus of everyone else wishing him a goodbye and his brother good luck on his next trip.

* * *

Ed and Hughes were standing only a couple of metres away from the outer office door so it took Al no time at all to catch up with them. Ed spotted his suitcase and groaned as he took it from his younger brother. "Thanks, Al," he said, giving him a grateful smile. He would not have enjoyed going back to the office to face the teasing from everyone and Mustang once he realised the suitcase was missing.

"You're welcome, Brother, though you really should be more careful with your things," Al chided as he handed the suitcase over. Ignoring Ed's muttered 'yeah, yeah', Al turned to Hughes. "How are you, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes?"

"Better now that my favourite Elrics are back in town," Hughes said, grinning widely up at him. "Ed was just telling me that your trip north wasn't as successful as you'd hoped. I wanna hear everything tonight," Hughes told them and they nodded. "However, you can walk with me back to my office and tell me why you're leaving us tomorrow, Edward," Hughes said before throwing his arm back around Ed's shoulders and dragging him towards Investigations, giving him no choice but to do as Hughes said.

Ayala, Chester and Leo – who had been further ahead – did nothing to help Ed when the blonde alchemist shot them a pleading look. That look turned into one that promised revenge when Ed realised no help would be forthcoming. Al started walking behind them but Hughes shuffled himself and Ed further into the middle of the corridor so Al could walk at Ed's side rather than being forced to the back of the small group.

"Granny Pinako contacted me," Ed was always cautious about how he worded his conversations with other people's Animals in public, "and asked me to come back to Resembool as soon as I can. Something's happened and she needs me out there to deal with it. Al and Chester are gonna stay here though," Ed told him and Hughes gave them both a scrutinising look that lasted only a moment before his grin was back in place.

"Well, Alphonse will obviously be staying with us while you're gone! He can help my darling Gracia look after my little princess so he doesn't get too bored by himself," Hughes exclaimed, ignoring their protests that a hotel room will be alright and Al's claims that he'll be okay by himself. "Come now," Hughes chided, "you wouldn't want to break my little angel's heart, would you? She'll be so excited to have one of her big brothers staying with us for a few days."

"Just so you know, you're an awful human being for using Elysia against us," Ed grumbled, still trapped under Hughes' arm.

"I know!" Hughes laughed as Al accepted his fate.

"Thank you for the offer, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes. I'm sure Chester and I will appreciate the company while Brother is in Resembool," Al said and Hughes clapped him on the shoulder, causing Ed to yelp as he was accidentally pushed into Al for Hughes to do so.

"Good man," Hughes said before abruptly releasing Ed as they reached the turn off that would lead them to the Investigations department. "Now, I have work I need to finish so I can knock off on time and get home to my beautiful girls and both of them are already aware you're back in town as I called Gracia before I left the office so you better get going," Hughes told them, pushing them both lightly towards the exit.

"We'll see you tonight, Hughes," Ed said, rolling his eyes at the man's behaviour.

"Yes, you will!" Hughes exclaimed before making shooing gestures at them. Leo looked like he was contemplating going home with them to escape Hughes. They waved goodbye to the man and his fox – getting an enthusiastic wave back from Hughes and Ed hearing a long-suffering sigh from Leo in his mind – before they headed down the corridor. Hughes watched them for a moment before he and Leo headed down the other corridor and back to Investigations.

* * *

The walk to the Hughes' had been quiet up until they'd gotten off the base and a couple of blocks away before Al was grilling Ed about everything Den had said in the second conversation. Ed had almost snapped at his younger brother when his answers didn't seem to satisfy him but Ayala was quick to point out that Al was only worried and it wasn't his fault. Chester had been kind enough to talk to Al while Ayala spoke to Ed and remind Al that his brother wasn't a mind-reader or a psychic and he couldn't tell him anything more than what he had.

It had almost been a relief when they saw the Hughes' house in front of them but Ed made them stop before they actually went inside the yard. Once he'd checked the array he'd laid to destroy any stone that crossed it and found it to still be primed, he let them walk through the gate and knock on the door. He hadn't thought Hughes or Mustang would intentionally not tell him if the array had been activated but he still wanted to make sure it was active and ready if a stone should cross it.

"Big brothers!" Elysia squealed the moment she realised who was standing on her front porch after she'd opened the door. "Chester! Ayala! You're home!" With her exclamations came hugs for everyone, whether they wanted them or not. Ed knew, however, that both Animals didn't mind the little girl's hugs, no matter what they claimed later.

"Hello, boys," Gracia said with a little more calmness than her daughter. "Maes called ahead to let me know you were back in town and would be dropping by. How was your trip?" She asked as she ushered them into the house and shut the door behind them.

"Hey, Miss Gracia," Ed said as he toed off his boots. "The trip was a bust," he told her as they followed her further into the house, Elysia clinging off one of Al's arms. "Hey, Lilith," Ed said once he spotted the grey fox lingering in the hallway. She returned the greeting warmly before disappearing back into the living room.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gracia said, giving them a sympathetic look and Ed's attention was drawn back to her. "Coffee?" She asked as Ed set his suitcase down in the lounge.

"Yes, please," Ed said gratefully. He needed some coffee so he could deal with Hughes' interrogation later tonight. Ayala would've shaken her head at him if she hadn't been a witness to Hughes digging for information before.

"I'll bring it in to the lounge room for you, Ed," Gracia said, giving a pointed look to the direction Al, Chester and Elysia had disappeared to. Ed nodded his head and made his way into the living room, Ayala tagging along behind.

They were greeted by the sight of Elysia standing on Al's metal thighs so she was almost high enough to look into the eyes of his helmet as she spoke. Al himself was seated in front of the couch that had doubled as Ed's bed ever since he, Hughes, Leo and Ayala had it made it back from the park in one piece. Chester had curled himself up on the middle cushion so he could watch the little girl chatter to Al, leaving just enough room for Ed and Ayala to sit next to him, so long as the wolf lay half in Ed's lap. Which, funnily enough, was what she did the moment Ed sat down. A glance over at Gracia's armchair told him Lilith had chosen it as her spot for the day.

"Ed!" Elysia squealed upon noticing him. "I was just telling Al and Chester what I've been doing with mummy while you were up in North City!" Elysia told him. "Do you want me to tell you as well?" She asked, holding onto one of Al's shoulder spikes as she leant around him so she could see Ed properly.

"Of course I do, El. What have you and Miss Gracia been up to this past few days?" Ed asked, settling further into the couch and throwing the arm that wasn't around Ayala's neck over Chester haphazardly. The leopard flicked a look at him but didn't protest as he looked about at Elysia, who was giving Ed the biggest smile while she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet before she eagerly began repeating her tales.

* * *

Elysia had barely finished summing up the last week in extraordinary detail and Ed had just been thinking of making his third coffee when Hughes walked through the front door with his usual enthusiastic greeting. Elysia's squeal had almost sent the Animals deaf – with the exception of the Hughes' foxes, who had grown an immunity to it over the years – and Ed had flinched, having somehow forgotten how loud Elysia could be while he was gone.

"How's my beautiful little angel today?" Hughes cooed from in the hallway as he returned Elysia's greeting.

"I'm good, daddy!" Elysia said as she raced for the hallway. "Big brothers Ed and Al are here and so are Ayala and Chester!" She told him gleefully. There was a peal of laughter and Hughes soon appeared with Elysia in his arms.

"So they are!" Hughes said, jostling Elysia in his arms slightly, causing the young girl to giggle again.

"Hello, darling," Gracia greeted with a smile as she got up – causing Lilith to move from her lap – and walked over to give Hughes a kiss on the cheek. "Was everything alright at work today?" She asked and Hughes nodded.

"Yeah, nothing suspicious today. I did get to pay Roy a visit. He was delighted, wasn't he, boys?" Hughes said, giving the Elrics a wink.

"Oh, yeah. Thrilled," Ed said flatly, causing Gracia to stifle a small laugh.

"Would you like a coffee, dear?" Gracia asked but Maes shook his head.

"No thanks, hun," Hughes said with a small smile. "I actually need to talk to Al and Ed about their trip north, in private," Hughes told her, giving the boys a look that had Ed biting back a sigh. Looked like their interrogation wouldn't be pushed until after dinner like Ed had hoped.

"Alright but don't keep them too long. Dinner will be ready in an hour," Gracia told him sternly as she took Elysia from his arms.

"We should be done before then, I imagine," Hughes told her as Ed and Al heaved themselves into standing positions. There was a moment where Ed was certain Chester and Ayala weren't going to come with them but they did eventually get off the couch and follow their humans and Hughes into the older man's study.

"Alright, Hughes, what do you want to know?" Ed asked as he slumped in the spare chair while Hughes sat in his chair. Ayala, Chester and Leo sat next to their respective humans, though Chester had to shift a bit when Al decided to sit on the ground rather than stand.

"Everything. Start from your drive from North City and finish with this morning," Hughes said and Ed did as he was asked.

He detailed the initial meeting with Sergeant Kemp before going on to describe the drive to Fort Briggs. Al, Ayala and Chester occasionally interrupted with something Ed had missed or hadn't mentioned and both boys acted as spokespeople for their Animal. He told Hughes and Leo about seeing Fort Briggs for the first time and their first meeting with Captain Buccaneer and Eric as well as their first look inside Briggs.

Ed then told Hughes about his first meeting with Armstrong and it was at this point that Hughes started interrupting with a question at random points before letting Ed continue once he was satisfied with the answer. Ed divulged that he'd thought Armstrong had suspected them of hiding something and the discussion he, Al and the Animals had had once they were in their borrowed dorm room that night. Hughes had listened and agreed that them making their own opinion about Armstrong and how much they should tell her was a smart idea.

Ed had barely managed to hold back a flush at the praise and quickly moved on to describing his and Kemp's fruitless four-day quest of interviewing every single person assigned to the base. He was tempted to be extremely detailed with that but the prospect of how much effort that would take had Ed ultimately deciding to wrap up each day as quickly as possible before Al and Chester interrupted with their own report of what they'd done during the day. Hughes had been as attentive to Al's report as he was to Ed's, asking Al questions throughout his recount to get a bit more detail.

Finally, Ed told Hughes about his, Al's and the Animals' mutual agreement to tell Armstrong everything they knew about the homunculi and the country-wide array being carved underground. When asked about their decision on telling Armstrong about their past and Ed's abilities, Ed told Hughes that they'd agreed to only tell Armstrong about that if she'd believed them and wasn't on the Fuhrer's side, just in case. Hughes had nodded approvingly and gestured for Ed to continue and he did so.

After telling Hughes about the meeting with Armstrong, Miles, Anahlia and Amaya, and what Armstrong hold told them before kicking them out of Fort Briggs, Ed finished up by telling Hughes about his meetings with Song, Hardy and Moon. The retelling of the meetings with Hardy and Song hadn't taken long and the retelling of the meeting with Moon had only taken a little longer because Hughes had wanted to know exactly what Moon had uncovered. Ed had wrapped up his report with the train ride back to Central and the part of the meeting he'd had with Mustang before Hughes had burst into the room.

"You still have no idea why your grandmother only wants you to pay her a visit?" Hughes asked and Ed shook his head.

"Den hasn't contacted me or Ayala about it since I told him Mustang had given me the three days and Granny hasn't called here, not that I think she'd know to if she did want to," Ed said. "Even if Ayala and I did try and badger Den for answers, he wouldn't give in. He and Granny are as stubborn as each other," Ed told him.

"Well, you'll find out tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be something we'll all laugh over once you're back here," Hughes said with a reassuring smile that Ed couldn't help but return.

"Yeah, hopefully," Ed said in agreement and Al's helmet clanked slightly as he nodded.

"As I said before, Alphonse and Chester," Hughes said, getting the leopard and his human's attention, "you're both more than welcome to stay here and wait for Ed and Ayala to come back from Resembool." His green eyes were filled with sincerity.

"Are you sure it won't be a bother? You know I don't sleep and I don't want to accidentally wake you up during the night. I can get a hotel room or stay in our dorm room," Al said but Hughes shook his head vehemently.

"Nope! You two definitely won't be a bother and I'm sure my lovely Gracia and Elysia will tell you the exact same thing!" Hughes said, leaving no room for argument.

"Alright, Mr. Hughes. Thank you for letting us stay," Al said in defeat. Ed almost snorted at the resigned tone his brother had but he managed to pass it off as a sneeze. Chester's glare told him he wasn't completely successful in hiding it from everyone.

"Boys and Ayala, dinner's ready. I don't care whether you're still talking. You have two minutes to wash up and join us," Gracia's voice called through the door with no warning and Hughes grinned.

"We'll be there in a minute, dear," he called back before giving the two a significant look. "We best do as she says before something mysterious happens to our food," Hughes said with the appropriate amount of fear in his voice to make Ed laugh at his antics.

It didn't even take Ed and Hughes the two minutes Gracia had given them to go wash up before the group were joining Elysia, Gracia and Lilith at the dinner table. Hughes took his usual place at the head of the table while Elysia informed Ed that he had to sit next to her while Alphonse was told in an equally bossy voice that he had to sit next to Gracia. Neither boy argued with the true boss of the house and sat in their assigned spots before helping themselves and their Animals to food. Al placed small servings of everything on his plate so that Elysia wouldn't question the lack of food. Every time the young girl wasn't looking, something from Al's plate found itself on Chester's next to Al's foot, much to the leopard's delight.

Ed and Al spent most of the dinner giving Gracia the censored version of their trip up north and had just finished telling her that Ed would be leaving the next morning for Resembool when Elysia spoke up. "You're leaving already, big brother?" She asked, a slight pout on her face.

"Only for three days, El, and your other big brother will be staying here with you," Ed told her and Elysia looked torn between happiness that Al would be there and sadness that Ed wouldn't be.

"Why do you have to go so soon? Can't you stay here for a little longer then go?" Elysia asked, whining slightly and ignoring the reprimanding look Gracia was giving her.

"'fraid not, El," Ed told her. "My grandmother needs my help with something and Miss Riza already booked my train ticket for tomorrow morning," he said and watched as Elysia moodily stabbed a carrot before she sighed.

"But you'll be back after you've helped your granny?" She asked and Ed nodded.

"Yup. I'll only be gone for three days. If what my grandmother needs help with doesn't take that long, I'll be back even sooner," Ed promised and Elysia finally seemed mollified that he wasn't going to be gone for forever.

"Alright, big brother," she said, giving him a small smile and Ed snorted lightly at her.

"Well, now that I have your permission, princess," Ed teased, poking her lightly in the side, causing her to shriek with laughter as he got a ticklish spot. Hughes and Al laughed openly at their antics while Gracia shook her head with a fond smile on her lips. The Animals didn't seem interested in anything other than their food but Ed could feel Ayala and Chester's amusement at the scene.

"Alright, you two, knock it off and finish your dinner," Gracia ordered, humour in her tone and both Elysia and Ed were quick to do as she said. Gracia caught her husband's eye as Al started lightly teasing both Ed and Elysia from across the table and the two adults shared a soft smile.

Though the boys and their Animals hadn't been in their lives long, Gracia and Maes would be the first to admit that the two brothers had long since become part of their family. Neither adult liked it when Ed was sent on missions – no matter the duration – and both boys and their Animals were unaware of how much Elysia missed them when they were gone. Gracia and Hughes always sighed a breath of relief when their Animals sensed Ed arriving back in Central and couldn't sense any life-threatening injuries. They hadn't said it to either boy – too afraid that Ed might panic and push them away if they did – but both Hughes' would never consider letting Ed, Al or their Animals stay in a dorm room or hotel room. After all, they would never close their doors to family.

* * *

Ed waved from the train window he was sitting next to as Gracia, Elysia, Lilith, Al and Chester faded from view as the train made its way out of the Central City station. Once they were out of sight, Ed sagged against the back of the train bench and Ayala laid her head in his lap. His right hand automatically moved to the top of her head to give her slow pats as he relaxed in his seat, feeling a little naked without his trademark red coat and suitcase that ordinarily would've been tucked safely under his seat. However, he'd forgone both items that morning as he didn't want to draw attention to himself with the coat and he didn't need to take the suitcase as he had spare clothes at Pinako's.

He'd sent Den a message the moment he boarded the train and the collie dog had sent one back, wishing him and Ayala a safe and quick journey before disengaging from the conversation. Ayala had noted – in an effort to ease Ed's worries a little – that Den had sounded a little more relaxed and Ed had given her a grateful smile and ruffled her ears in thanks. They moved the conversation from Den and what they thought was happening in Resembool to mostly random topics ranging from wondering where the Xingese prince and his bodyguards they'd met in Rush Valley were to alchemy and some experiments Ed wanted to try when they had the time.

They briefly discussed what had happened in Fort Briggs with Armstrong and agreed they should ask Major Armstrong about whether he did touch on the subject of the homunculi in his personal letter to his oldest sister when they next saw the man and his gorilla. They had no doubts that by the time they arrived back in Central, Hughes would've told Armstrong and Gary all about what had happened so they would be saved the trouble of doing so themselves. Though, Ayala had pointed out with a grimace, that did mean they might be in for a passionate plea from Armstrong to forgive his older sister and an intense assurance that she would come to see the truth in time.

" _Hey, Ed. Al wants to know how the two of you are travelling?"_  Chester asked, interrupting Ayala and Ed's talk when they were almost a third of the way to Resembool.

"We're good," Ed told him. "You can tell Al that I haven't had to discourage any would be train-jackers from their plans yet," he said with a light laugh. His statement would probably have been funnier if Ed's history with the military wasn't scattered with an almost alarming number of attempted train-jackings.

" _He says he's pleased to hear that,"_  Chester dutifully passed on. Ed was about to reply with something witty when he took note of Chester's emotions and latched on to his hesitancy about something.

"There's still time," Ed joked. "So, tell me, is there an actual reason you've contacted me, other than the excuse you just gave me?" He felt Chester's sheepishness and guilt at trying to hide whatever he was hiding.

" _So, firstly, we're all fine,"_  Chester told him, sincerity drenching his tone as Ed's heart seemed to skip a beat.  _"Secondly, Gracia is now hosting a brunch in her home for Prince Ling and his escorts,"_  Chester said and Ed groaned.

"Well, at least now we know where they are," Ed moaned through the bond. "How did this even happen?" Ed asked and Chester chuckled lightly.

" _We were on our way back from the train station when Ling literally appeared out of nowhere in front of us with his escorts behind him. He was very disappointed when he learned you weren't in Central but someone accidentally knocked into Alphonse and Ling realised his armour was hollow. Before he could bury us in questions though, Gracia had interrupted quite calmly and invited him and his friends over for brunch so they could ask their questions in a private setting,"_  Chester reported and Ed would've gaped if Chester had been in front of him. As it was, even Ayala seemed to be struggling the bizarreness that was that situation.

"She invited three random Xingese people over for  _brunch_?" Ed asked, needing the clarification and Chester hummed through their bond in confirmation.

" _She did. Elysia is delighted to have someone of royal blood in the house and has already informed Ling that she is a princess but she was happy to let him stay with them in her kingdom because they're our friends,"_  Chester informed him and Ed was torn between amusement at Elysia's claim of royalty and slight annoyance that she was under the impression that he and Al were friends with the Xingese trio.

"What did Ling do?" Ed asked curiously.

" _Thanked her profusely for her decision to allow them to stay and praised her for kindness, telling her she would make a wonderful and fair queen when she was older,"_  Chester said and Ed felt a flash of irritation at the fact that he couldn't be annoyed at the Xingese prince's response. He ignored the amusement he felt from the two Animals.

"Have you guys told Leo, Nala, Soren or their humans about this yet?" Ed asked, scrubbing a hand over his face.

" _No, we haven't. I think Gracia plans on having Lilith tell Leo soon though. I'm sure it won't take long for Mustang and his team to find out after that,"_  Chester said and Ed had to agree. Though Leo wasn't one to gossip, no one could say the same for his human.

"Alright," Ed said with a sigh. "Let me know if something happens and if Ling discovers Al's array, make sure Al makes it clear that he has no clue how it works because he wasn't the one who performed it," Ed instructed and felt Chester's agreement with the plan. "Also, if they disappear in the middle of the night, let me know so I can keep an eye out for them in Resembool," Ed ordered, already praying to whatever he could think of that Ling and co. wouldn't follow him to Resembool.

" _Will do,"_  Chester promised and Ed knew that there would likely be some teasing in his future about his unwillingness to have anything to do with the prince and his guards.  _"Let us know when you get to Resembool and Al has informed me that there will be a very angry phone call from him tonight if he hasn't from you by dinner-time about why Granny's asked you to come to Resembool,"_  Chester said and Ed muttered something under his breath about bossy little brothers.

"Sure. I'll have Ayala remind me or something," Ed swore lazily and Chester harrumphed before dropping the conversation with a quick goodbye. Ed shook his head at the leopard, even though he knew Chester couldn't see him, and let Ayala shift slightly. "I hope you remember to remind me to call Alphonse because if I forget and he calls me, I'm throwing you under the bus," Ed warned her and heard her laughter in his head.

" _Good to know how willing you are to protect me from danger,"_  Ayala said dramatically.

"You know full well that if we went up against a deranged rogue alchemist, a homunculous or some other such monster or criminal, I would fight till my last breath to keep you safe. Angry little brothers on the other hand…" Ed trailed off with a teasing note and Ayala decided to exact her revenge by placing her cold nose against the underside of his jaw, making him yelp in protest before trying to shove her off.

" _I will remember that,"_  Ayala promised, obviously trying to sound threatening but the effect was ruined by her laughter at Ed's struggle.

"You're awful and I hate you," Ed said once he managed to get her to stop her assault, holding his hands up just in case she tried anything again, staring warily at her where she was now sitting up on the same bench.

" _Yes I am and no you don't,"_  Ayala said back, giving him a toothy grin that had him rolling his eyes at her. There were a few moments of silence before Ayala offered a truce and Ed let her lay back down in his lap once he'd accepted it.

"I still can't believe how unsurprised I am that Miss Gracia invited Ling and his lackies into her house after they ambushed Al," Ed said, breaking the silence and causing Ayala to laugh before they delved into discussion about what was happening right now in the Hughes' house as the train chugged steadily towards Resembool.

* * *

When the train finally pulled into the familiar sight of Resembool station, Ed and Ayala both gave a simultaneous sigh of relief. They got to their feet and Ed almost reached for his suitcase out of habit before he remembered he didn't bring it and quickly followed Ayala out of the carriage, hoping no one saw his almost-blunder. They were greeted with nods from the townspeople who were boarding the train but otherwise left alone as they headed out of the station.

"Hey, Den. Just thought I should let you know we're in Resembool now," Ed said once he'd found their bond. "We shouldn't be more than half an hour. Ayala and I are just going to grab a bite to eat and some coffee," Ed told him.

" _Thanks for letting us know,"_ Den said before pausing for a few moments.  _"Pinako says you should buy some flowers for your mother and pay her a visit. We can wait an extra hour for you,"_  Den told him and Ed's brows nearly disappeared into his hairline in surprise.

"Are you sure? We can visit mum tomorrow," Ed said as he and Ayala walked towards a little café that sold sandwiches and flowers.

" _No, Pinako says that you'll likely be busy tomorrow so you should visit her now while you have the chance,"_  Den told him, not sounding overly thrilled about Ed being away for longer.

"Alright, Den. We'll pay mum a visit then head to yours. I doubt we'll be more than a couple of hours," Ed said, still confused by Granny's orders but deciding not to argue against them. It never worked out in his favour when he did that.

" _See you soon, Ed,"_  Den said before ending the conversation and Ed sighed before placing his and Ayala's orders with the woman behind the cash register.

"I don't get it, Ayala. Den said that Granny was all for us being there as soon as we could and now he's saying Granny wants us to waste time paying mum a visit now instead of tomorrow or once this situation is dealt with?" Ed complained to his wolf silently.

" _I don't know what's going on either, Ed. It's not like there's an anniversary of anything today and Granny wanted to surprise you or something and it wouldn't make sense that she ask Al and Chester to stay behind if it was. Obviously, nothing major has happened because we would've heard about it from the townspeople by now. I haven't the faintest idea why we're being encouraged to stay away from Granny's for a little longer,"_  Ayala said as they waited for their lunch to be prepared. Ed's only response was to let out an irritated groan and Ayala gave him a sympathetic whine.

"Should we just go to her house first?" Ed asked and Ayala thought it over for a moment.

" _No, I think it would be best if we just did as she asked. An extra hour of us not being at the Rockbells' won't hurt anyone,"_  Ayala said.  _"Plus, if we did as Granny says, we won't incur her wrath for not listening to her,"_  Ayala pointed out and Ed nodded seriously.

"That is an excellent point," Ed said, expression twisting into a slight grimace as he imagined what would happen if he defied Granny's instructions.

"Here you go," a different voice broke through their conversation and Ed looked up in surprise to see the slight, blonde woman who'd served them holding out two bags and a take-away coffee cup to them.

"Oh, thank you," Ed said as he accepted the items. The server nodded before heading back to her spot behind the counter, ready for the next customer. "Here you go, Aya," Ed said, passing her the corned beef sandwich she'd wanted while he started devouring the first of two pastrami sandwiches he'd ordered, alternating between eating the sandwich and drinking the coffee.

Naturally, Ayala was finished first and Ed rolled his eyes at her before giving in and giving her half of his second sandwich while he ate the other half. By the time they'd finished the sandwiches and coffee, Ed was over the situation with Pinako and was ready to visit his mother. Disposing of the rubbish, Ed grabbed a bouquet of flowers Ayala had pointed out and handed over some notes, leaving before the same server who'd taken their lunch order could hand him back his change. They made their way through the town, nodding and returning greetings offered by those who recognised them, before finally finding themselves on the familiar road that would lead them to Pinako's.

* * *

Ed made sure he wasn't accidentally crushing the flowers as they walked while Ayala allowed herself to be more animal than Spirit Animal and explored the path for new scents and other interesting things. The turnoff for the Rockbells' home was soon upon them and there was only a momentary pause where Ed struggled to make himself walk past it instead of going up it to find out why they were in Resembool. Ayala helped with the decision making by nudging him away and soon they were walking again.

They hadn't taken more than a few steps away from the turnoff when Ayala had tensed unexpectantly, her nose twitching, telling Ed she'd come across a concerning scent. "What's wrong?" Ed asked, unable to stop himself from scanning the immediate area for some kind of danger.

" _You remember the last homunculi scent Chester and I picked up before we headed north?"_  Ayala asked and Ed's brows furrowed in thought for a moment.

"The one you two thought wasn't hostile? Or not hostile towards us, at least?" Ed asked and Ayala nodded. "Don't tell me," Ed said, trailing off and Ayala gave him an apologetic look.

" _It's here in Resembool,"_  she confirmed. Ed snarled, ignoring for the moment that this was the one that Ayala and Chester were relatively certain wasn't out to keep Ed and Al alive so they could be sacrificed at a later date, and focusing on the fact that there was a homunculous in Resembool.

"This must've been what Den was so worried about," Ed said as the two of them hastened their pace, Ayala in the lead. "But why would Granny be alright with a homunculous in her house? It was in her house, right?" Ed asked and felt Ayala's uncertainty.

" _The scent was in her driveway but I can't say for certain whether it reached the house or not,"_  Ayala told him, nose to the ground as she followed the scent.  _"I also don't know why Granny would accept a homunculous in her home. Not after what we've told her about them. I'd say it's possible she doesn't know but Den would never keep that from her,"_  Ayala said and Ed nodded in agreement. There was silence as they continued at a light jog, not wanting to risk the chance that the homunculous could sense someone coming toward them with malicious intent.

"It's near the graveyard," Ed said in realisation as they drew closer and Ayala mentioned that the scent was far stronger now. "Why would it be at the cemetery?" Ed questioned; face screwed up in confusion.

" _I don't know. Could it have lost someone? Maybe a friend?"_  Ayala suggested but Ed still looked baffled.

"Maybe," Ed said but he didn't sound overly convinced and Ayala didn't blame him.

Homunculi were effectively immortal unless you destroyed their Philosopher's Stone, or at least the ones they've encountered so far were. How could one of them make a friend? They'd either risk being handed over to the military to be experimented on if they misjudged how good a friend the person they told about what they were was or they'd have to uproot themselves from the town and go into hiding after a few years since they didn't seem to age and you'd think after a few times of doing that, they would decide making friends only to have to abandon them was too painful.

Ayala was shaken out of her thoughts by Ed skidding to a stop at the entrance of the cemetery. She felt him ready his stone-destroying array in his mind – holding off clapping for the moment – before shock, recognition and pure anger swept through their bond, in that order. Ayala almost stumbled at the amount of emotions that ran through Edward in the moment he lay eyes on the lone person and Animal standing in the cemetery. Though there was also confusion, disbelief, horrified realisation, Edward's anger and hatred were the most prevalent emotions in the mix. There was one other emotion, not quite as strong but still stronger than most the others but Ayala couldn't place a name to it as she turned her own golden eyes onto the man standing in front of Trisha Elric and Cleo's tombstone.

"Hello, Edward," the man said neutrally. "You appear to have grown some." The dapple-grey horse standing next to the golden-haired, bespectacled man snorted his own greeting at her human.

Ayala took a step forward so she was in front of Ed, making sure she wouldn't be in his way should they need to attack, and lifted her lip up before releasing a vicious snarl as she finally realised who was standing before them. Ed only confirmed it when he spat out the name like it was a slur. "Hohenheim."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a spot to end this chapter, am I right? Kudos, comments or both would be immensely appreciated. Seriously, I'd love to hear from more people about what they think to this story so far. But I'd love to give a shout-out to RealityXIllusion, Runeofluna and Laws2Draws for being so amazing that they make sure they let me know what they thought to every chapter I've posted for this story! See you all next week!


	29. Chapter 29

"Hohenheim," Ed snarled, arms twitching in an aborted move as he stopped himself from activating his automail blade array and ending his father's life right then and there. Ayala's snarl only increased as Hohenheim took a step towards them. He barely gave her a glance but he did back off as the stallion Ed barely remembered stomped a hoof and snorted. "What the fuck makes you think you can show up here?" Ed asked, gesturing wildly to the cemetery and Resembool as a whole. "No, actually the only thing I want to know right now is what the actual fuck you are. You aren't human so what are you?" Ed asked and Ayala finally put a label on the unknown emotion she could feel through their bond. Edward had obviously come to the same conclusion she had – his father had been what they were tracking – and was now struggling to stop an existential crisis before it could manifest in himself.

"What do you mean, Edward?" Hohenheim asked, voice still in the same neutral tone he'd used when he greeted his eldest son but Ayala could see a slight spark of surprise.

"What I mean is that Ayala picked up the scent of a homunculous once we passed Granny's and we tracked you here so don't bother denying it," Ed spat, eyes gleaming. "Everything I've read about homunculi has told me they can't reproduce. If Alphonse and I are – unfortunately – your children then you can't be a homunculous," Ed said. "But you sure as shit aren't human so  _what are you?"_  Ed asked, snarling once more. The stallion snorted once more and Ed was a little surprised to see such affection and pride in the large Animal's eyes as he looked at the younger of the two humans but Ed refused to let himself believe that expression.

Hohenheim sighed before looking at Trisha and Cleo's grave, giving it a soft, sad look that had Ed's indignation flare up once more. How dare Hohenheim look at his wife's grave with such sorrow when he couldn't be bothered turning up for her funeral and even before she died? Before Ed could voice that question – undoubtedly with molten anger in his voice – Hohenheim looked back up at Ed. "Let's move this conversation away from you mother's grave. It's not something that should be spoken about in front of her," he said and Ed couldn't hold back what he said in response.

"Oh, so now you care about my mother?" He spat venomously and Hohenheim made a noise that sounded like what one would make when dealing with an exceptionally stubborn or slow child. It made Ed's metaphorical and Ayala's physical hackles rise in unison.

"I've never stopped caring about your mother, Edward," Hohenheim said gently and Ed let out a disbelieving scoff.

"Of course you haven't. Silly me, I must've missed seeing all that caring in action when you showed up after Al and I wrote you all those letters as we desperately tried to find you so our mother could see you one last time before she died. Or, wait, did you show that devotion at her funeral? I can't remember which situation showed how much you loved her more." The sarcasm and scorn dripping from Ed's voice would've been lethal if someone had discovered a way to weaponise it. Ayala was pleased to note that Hohenheim allowed the slightest amount of shame and regret to show on his face. She still hadn't relaxed out of her defensive stance but right now she was only in it because Ed was still wound up tighter than she'd ever witnessed.

"Please, Edward," Hohenheim said, this time softer and more pleading, "I'll explain everything I can but not here. It wouldn't do for someone to overhear us if they chose to pay their loved one a visit this afternoon and this conversation is one that will take a while," he told him and Ed tensed his jaw as he thought.

"Aya?" Ed finally said, voice low as he glanced at his wolf. Naturally, she didn't need him to actually ask what he wanted to before she answered.

" _I won't tell you to talk to him with any hope that what he says will make up for abandoning you, Alphonse and your mother but maybe it's a good idea to hear him out so we can get out of here sooner,"_  Ayala said gently and Ed sighed, closing his eyes for a few moments as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

His wolf had an excellent point and he knew that letting his anger get the best of him during this talk wouldn't be beneficial and would likely only result in him having to spend more time in Hohenheim's presence to get the full story out of him. It was during these moments of calming himself down that he noticed someone frantically trying to talk with him and he winced as he realised he'd accidentally blocked everyone bar Ayala from speaking to him when he'd spotted his father.

" _Ed! Are you alright? I felt your anger and then I couldn't talk to you. What happened?"_  Chester demanded the moment Ed opened their connection fully. The blonde could feel the concern from other Animals he'd bonded with but he only sent them a silent message that he would explain when he was back in Central, choosing to focus on Chester for obvious reasons.

"I'm alright, Chester. I'm sure that now that I'm not blocking you anymore, you've gotten access to my recent memories," Ed said and felt Chester's confirming hum in his mind. "Please don't tell Al about any of this. Just tell him I'm alright and that I'll explain everything in person when I get back to Central," Ed asked, feeling guilty at even doing so. Chester's disapproval was extremely evident.

" _You know how much I hate withholding things from Al,"_  Chester said and Ed didn't bother trying to block the self-disgust he felt at asking the leopard for this favour.

"I know," Ed said sorrowfully, "but you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't vitally important. I have a feeling that what this bastard and I are about to talk about is something Al will deserve to hear from me in person, not over the phone or from you," Ed said, injecting as much conviction into his words as he could.

Chester sighed but Ed felt him give in.  _"I'll be listening to this conversation as well,"_  he told the blonde.  _"If I agree that Al deserves to hear it from you directly, I won't tell him anything except that you're alright and that you'll talk to him once you're home,"_  Chester said and Ed sighed thankfully.

"Deal," he said before turning his attention back to Hohenheim and feeling all the rage that had melted while he was talking to Chester come flooding back to hit him like a brick wall. "Fine," he snapped, "let's talk."

* * *

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that you and your brother's hair and eye colours are extremely unique, as are mine," Hohenheim said, watching Ed's reaction as they sat in the field opposite the cemetery. Hohenheim sat against his stallion, both watching Edward and his wolf with interest as Ed sat in a way that he would allow him to spring to his feet at a moment's notice while his wolf sat by his side as his protector. "This is because I am from the small country that when it was thriving was known as Xerxes," he revealed and Ed didn't bother hiding his disbelief.

"Xerxes and her people were destroyed over 400 years ago. How could you possibly be from there?" Ed asked incredulously, though his voice never lost its wary edge.

"I was born over 400 years ago in the country of Xerxes. I never knew my mother or my father as I was taken as a newborn to be raised as a slave. I never even had a name of my own," Hohenheim told him and though Ed felt his heart clench in pain over his father's upbringing, he refused to let himself show it. "I was simply known as '23' as I was the 23rd house slave of a renowned alchemist. I was never taught the basics, such as reading and writing, that you and Alphonse were as children but I was content as I didn't know any other life and my master was one of the kinder ones." Ed couldn't stop his flinch at what Hohenheim had implied.

"I'm not sure how old I was when my master first chose me as the slave he would take the blood from for an alchemic experiment he was conducting but it wasn't long after that when I first met the homunculous my master had used my blood to create. It didn't have a form of any sort. In fact, it was simply a shadowy creature with a sentience kept in a glass flask," Hohenheim revealed. "It hadn't been very long after Calix appeared for me either." Said horse gave a slight bob of his head, as if agreeing. "When I met the homunculous, it decided to thank me for giving it life by bestowing me with a name. It chose 'Theophrastus Bombastus Van Hohenheim' but I decided that it was far too long for anyone to remember and it agreed to shorten it to Van Hohenheim. We grew close while I worked in the lab it was kept in, keeping it clean for my master, when the homunculous learned how uneducated I was," Hohenheim told Ed.

"That was its second gift to me. It taught me reading, writing, arithmetic, science, alchemy and a few other things. I used my new-found knowledge to teach the other slaves my master kept and when my master realised my remarkable skills, I informed him that I would be much more valuable asset to him because of my alchemic skills than a mere slave," Hohenheim said. "My master agreed and took me in as his assistant, releasing me from slavery and granting me more human rights than I'd ever possessed before." At this point, Hohenheim paused for a moment and it took Ayala leaning slightly into him to stop Edward from demanding his father get back to his explanation.

"The next ten years or so were spent with me being taught by my former master and the homunculous, though my lessons with the latter became fewer and farther between as the Xerxian King requested the homunculous for meetings more and more frequently. I had little involvement in the king's plans until the day Xerxes was destroyed," Hohenheim said, his entire expression turning dark as he recalled the day in question. "The entire royal court and castle's occupants were called into the throne room and I was requested by the homunculous to join as well. When I arrived, there was an array covering the entire floor of the throne room and the homunculous had demanded I hold him in a specific spot while directing the king to another spot only a few feet away. After everyone was where the homunculous deemed appropriate, he activated the array." Hohenheim's eyes filled with undiluted sorrow and Ed felt himself twitch in an aborted move to offer comfort.

"The people of Xerxes were told that the array that was carved around their country was the work of their king, to try and make their country more prosperous when in reality, the king sought immortality and the homunculous promised that if he sacrificed his entire country, he would gain it." Ed felt bile rising in his throat, burning acridly as he realised what his father was saying. "But the homunculous tricked the king. Rather than having him stand in the centre of the array – where he would be safe and would gain the immortality he desired – the homunculous had manipulated the array so Calix and I were standing in the middle of it. Since I would be holding the flask that contained him, the homunculous would be in the centre as well. When the array was activated, every single person and Animal within the country wide array had their souls pulled from their bodies and they were condensed at the centre of the array Calix, the homunculous and I were standing in. The homunculous and I were sent through the Gates of Knowledge after that happened." Hohenheim took a slightly shuddering breath before continuing.

"I awoke the next morning to find the bodies of those who were in the throne room lying where they'd fallen. Calix woke moments after I did and we both watched as someone who looked identical to myself rose to stand," Hohenheim said, grief still evident in his voice. "The homunculous then revealed its true plan. The people of Xerxes were not sacrificed for the king's desire for immortality but the homunculous' desire to be free from the flask it was contained in. Over one million people and just as many Animals were slaughtered so the homunculous could have a human body. As one final show of gratitude towards myself," Hohenheim's voice took on a slightly scornful tone, "the homunculous gave me half of those lives, granting me and Calix immortality and bodies that would never age. Once he finished explaining this to me, the homunculous informed me that we should separate and never meet again." Hohenheim paused once more before finishing his tale.

"He decided to head west, to the heart of Amestris to teach them alchemy while I headed East, to Xing and taught them what they call alkahestry. Never once did I cross paths with the homunculous in the centuries I've lived since that day. I travelled everywhere Cal and I could travel up until your mother and I began seeing each other," he told Ed and Cal butted his head against his shoulder as he felt his human's grief. "I would like to know what possessed you to burn down my home. I was rather saddened to come back to Resembool and find it nothing more than ruins and ashes."

" _Your_  home?" Ed asked incredulously, speaking for the first time in a while. "I didn't realise you still considered the house you abandoned along with your family nearly 12 years ago as your home," Ed snapped angrily. Hohenheim accepted the angry words without so much as a flinch, though Ayala was sure she didn't imagine the slight downward twitch of his lips. "You still haven't answered my questions. What are you and what does that make me and Al?" Ed demanded, a small wave of nausea roiling in his gut as he tried to clench down on his fear of what his father's answers would be.

Hohenheim noticed Ed's poorly hidden fear but he didn't comment on it. "I am not a homunculous, as you first thought," Hohenheim told him and there was a slight sag in Ed's shoulders as relief washed through his oldest son. "The literature you have read is correct in saying that homunculi cannot reproduce but you and your brother are living proof I can. I am not entirely sure what I am but I believe that I am fundamentally still human. I do still have Calix after all and no other beings have Spirit Animals. I believe the best way to describe myself is as a Philosopher's Stone in the form of a man."

"As for you and your brother," Hohenheim continued as Ed tried to absorb what his father had said quickly, "I'm positive neither of you are anything more than ordinary humans. I imagine that if I had managed to pass along the benefits of having a Philosopher's Stone tied to your life force, you would have noticed by now. Your Animals surely would have noticed anything different about you. The two of you will live and die merely as gifted alchemists. Nothing more, nothing less," Hohenheim told him and Ed let out a shaky sigh of relief. He and Al were completely human. Ayala leaned into him slightly and allowed him to feel her mental version of a hug through their bond. Chester was doing the same thing for Ed and the blonde allowed himself to soak it up.

"Fine, you aren't a homunculous and we're just humans. What are you doing back in Resembool? For that matter, why were you in Central a couple of weeks ago?" Ed asked, moving the subject along to a different matter.

"I was only passing through Central. I didn't realise that the two of you were in town as well until Cal caught your scent and informed me," Hohenheim said and as much as Ed wanted to accuse him of lying, he had to admit stranger coincidences had happened before. Ayala also pointed out that it really wouldn't have been something worth lying over, which also helped Ed accept the answer. "As for why I'm in Resembool now, well, that's a little more complicated to explain," Hohenheim admitted, apparently oblivious to Ed and Ayala's silent side conversation.

"Try," Ed snapped and bristled when Hohenheim gave a small sigh, taking it as the same one Mustang normally gave when Ed was being particularly stubborn.

"After marrying your mother and settling down in Resembool, I was perfectly content to stay here for as long as we could. However, 12 years ago, multiple things happened that had a hand in my decision to leave," Hohenheim said and Ed refused to show the surprise he felt at his father's admission that he  _had_  wanted to stay in Resembool with them. "I was always aware that the Homunculous wouldn't be in hiding somewhere, living out his stolen life peacefully but I was willing to ignore it as I had no reason to believe he was doing anything sinister. I'm ashamed to admit that it wasn't until the Ishvalen Civil War started that I realised what had been happening to the country while I wasn't paying attention." Hohenheim certainly  _looked_  ashamed. "Calix and I started taking a closer look at Amestris' history as we had thought it was odd that a relatively peaceful people like the Ishvalens would become so hostile and we realised what he had been doing all this time." Hohenheim sighed and shook his head slightly before locking eyes with Edward. Ed almost flinched back at the seriousness of his father's expression. "Before I tell you what Calix and I uncovered, I need to know what you know," he said imploringly and Ed's lips lifted in displeasure at having to wait longer for answers.

" _Ed, he likely doesn't want to repeat information you already know. I'm sure he's only asking so that there's minimal risk of someone stumbling upon us and overhearing,"_  Ayala said, not wanting to be talking about this sort of thing while this exposed herself.

Ed nodded almost imperceptibly and started talking. "About a month ago, Al and I cracked the encryption on the notes written by Doctor Marcoh. He had been the leading alchemist in charge of studying Philosopher's Stones during the Ishvalen Civil War but he and his notes had disappeared before the war ended. Alphonse, another State Alchemist and I happened upon the town Marcoh was hiding in by happenstance and he told me where he'd hidden his notes on the stone after I told him why I needed them. They were in the First Branch Library when it burned down but we found someone who'd read and memorised them and they wrote every page out for us," Ed told Hohenheim, who was listening intently alongside Cal. "Using these notes, we found out how Philosopher's Stones were made and the four of us came to the decision to find a different way to accomplish our goal."

"There were two soldiers assigned to guard us as a serial killer targeting State Alchemists was on the loose and I'd had a run in with him. We told them what we'd uncovered and swore them to secrecy while we tried to figure out what to do about the information. Their boss – the State Alchemist who'd been with me, Al and the Animals when we met Marcoh – dropped by that night and managed to get them to talk," Ed said, the faintest uptick of his lips visible as he recalled Maria and Brosh's extremely apologetic and guilty faces when Armstrong had burst into their hotel room. "After talking with him, we found a building the military would be most likely to use to continue its experiments on the stone, if it were doing so, and Al and I were ordered to leave it alone once we came to the agreement that the defunct Fifth Laboratory would be the likeliest site."

"Al, Ayala, Chester and I snuck out that night to go and investigate it for ourselves," Ed said and Calix seemed to let out a huff of amusement but Ed ignored the grey stallion. "When we got there, we found ourselves convinced that this laboratory was not as structurally unsound as the military claimed as all the entrances were boarded up and a guard was posted at the front door. We ended up splitting up as Al and Ayala wouldn't fit in the vent that was our only option. While I was inside, Al and Ayala fought a suit of armour that had a soul bonded to it," Ed said, glancing at his father for his reaction. Judging by the fact he didn't have one, Ed surmised he either already knew bonding a soul to an inanimate object was possible or he knew what had happened to Al.

"What about you?" Hohenheim asked softly. Ed refused to believe the note of concern in his father's voice.

"Chester and I fought a suit of armour that had two souls bonded to it. We won but we were both injured. The souls belonged to the Slicer Brothers – a pair of serial-killing brothers who'd terrorised Central before being caught – were about to tell me everything that had happened in the laboratory when the seals containing their souls were destroyed by two homunculi," Ed revealed. "One was a woman who could stretch her fingers to immense distances to stab people and the other was a shapeshifter, though we didn't find that out until later. We fought but because Chester and I were already injured and the homunculi could heal themselves immediately, it was a losing battle. I managed to grab Chester and transmuted a box around us just as the homunculi blew the laboratory up to hide what they'd been doing. Ayala and Al found us and I was in hospital for a couple of weeks recovering. That fight was also when I was told that I was an important sacrifice and needed alive for their plans," Ed said, tone flat.

"Why do you believe you were chosen?" Hohenheim asked and Ed glared at him, refusing to answer. Ayala didn't press him on the matter either. This was something she was more than willing to leave completely in his hands and she would never judge him for his decision on whether to tell someone about the truth of that night or not. Hohenheim merely sighed as he realised his son wasn't going to tell him anything and Cal nudged him slightly, giving Ed a sorrowful look. "I already spoke with Pinako. I know you and your brother committed human transmutation inside the house," Hohenheim told him and Ed gave a full-bodied flinch as the confirmation that Pinako had not only known Hohenheim was in town and had manipulated Ed into unknowingly seeing his father again but that she'd also told Hohenheim about that night sank in.

"If you already know about that than I'm sure you're able to figure out why we were chosen," Ed snapped, temper flaring to a degree that had Chester as well as Ayala trying to soothe him. Calix flicked his tail so some of the strands of hair landed on Ed's automail arm and right leg but Ed brushed them off, shooting the horse an annoyed look and ignoring the sad one he got in return.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come to the same conclusion I had; that you and Alphonse were chosen because of what you'd done in the house," Hohenheim admitted, absentmindedly giving Calix a pat on the side of his neck. "What else have you figured out?" Hohenheim prompted and Ed bit back the sigh of annoyance he wanted to give.

"The best friend of my commanding officer and a good friend of ours decided to look into what I told them about what had landed me in hospital, despite my protests for them to stay out of it," Ed said, still annoyed that Hughes hadn't listened to him and almost got himself killed as a result. "During his investigation, he and the State Alchemist who'd helped me and Al figure out where the military was continuing their experiments and research regarding the stone uncovered some things. Fuhrer King Bradley paid me a visit and ordered us to leave it alone as he was already looking into it." Ed debated internally for a moment before revealing the next bit of information. "Bradley is a homunculous," he told his father and Hohenheim looked visibly surprised by that news.

"Are you sure?" Hohenheim asked, brow creasing slightly in thought. "I've seen the Fuhrer a few times throughout his reign and he's aged the appropriate amount for a human during that duration."

"Of course I'm sure," Ed snapped, though his anger at being questioned had lessoned slightly when Hohenheim had pointed out the Fuhrer's ageing. "I don't know why he's still aging but he is a homunculous. Ayala confirmed it," he said, giving his wolf a small smile and quick pat.

Hohenheim hummed contemplatively. "Assuming your wolf is correct," Ed snarled at the insinuation that Ayala wasn't and the wolf in question felt herself preen at her human's protectiveness over her. Hohenheim took no notice of their reactions as he continued, "than its most likely he wasn't created in the usual manner. Tell me, Edward. Does the Fuhrer have an Animal?" Hohenheim asked.

" _I've never noticed one or scented his near him,"_  Chester said and Ayala echoed him when Ed blanched slightly at the question, not having expected it.

"No, he doesn't. Ayala and Chester say they've never scented one near him either," Ed passed along before internally freezing at what he'd just unwittingly admitted. He relaxed when his father showed no signs of realising the significance of what he'd let slip about Chester.

"I suppose it could be kept out of the public eye for it and the Fuhrer's safety but as I said, as he's ageing at a normal human rate and your wolf has identified him as a homunculous, he likely was made differently," Hohenheim said and Ed wanted to snarl at him about repeating himself. "Calix and I will try and find out what makes him different," Hohenheim said decisively and Ed bristled at the unspoken but obvious order for him, Al and their Animals to stay out of it. "How many more homunculi are there?"

Ed almost didn't answer truthfully out of spite but Ayala said it wasn't a good idea. "I don't know for sure. Ayala and Chester have identified the Fuhrer, the woman and man who attacked me in the Fifth Laboratory, another one who was with the woman near the First Branch Library when it burned down, the one that was in Dublith and we think there's one more digging an array underground," Ed said. "So six, though we did kill one which means that there's at least five more out there to deal with and that's assuming the homunculous from Xerxes is one of them," Ed told him.

"You killed one? How?" Hohenheim asked, looking disbelievingly at his son.

Ed scowled at the look. Once again, Ayala had to convince him that answering honestly was for the best but her job was made a little harder as Chester was in Ed's head, telling him that spitefulness wasn't a bad thing in this case. "I reverse-engineered the array for making a stone Marcoh's notes contained and used it to destroy the stone that gave the shapeshifting homunculous life," Ed told him and had to force himself not to squirm in pleasure when his father looked pleasantly surprised and a little proud. Calix didn't bother trying to hide how proud he was of his human's eldest son.

"Well done, Edward," Hohenheim commended and Ed grit his teeth as he made himself hold down the feral snarl that wanted to come forth.

" _Do not_  praise me for making an array that's whole purpose is to destroy souls trapped in a stone," Ed snapped. He was unable to completely hide the overwhelming emotions he always felt when he thought back to the moment he'd destroyed Palm Tree's stone and all the souls still in it had thanked him for doing so. Hohenheim twitched slightly back away from Ed while Calix looked perplexed at his outburst but Ed offered no explanation. Ayala and Chester pressed soothingly on his mind and, in Ayala's case, into his side.

Sensing Ed wouldn't talk any further about his array and unsure if his asking for it would be well-received, Hohenheim moved the subject along, unwilling to lose what might be his only chance to start his relationship with his eldest son off on the right foot after all this time. "What else have you learned about what's happening?" Hohenheim asked.

"There's likely an array being dug underground by a homunculous we haven't come across yet. We don't know what its purpose is but considering that several towns, cities and countries full of people have been slaughtered at specific points on the map, we don't think the array is for anything good," Ed said, sighing a little. "We also think Fort Briggs will be the last point to be bled but the major-general in charge of the fortress didn't believe us when we warned her that there was a homunculous in charge of the military and is very likely working to murder the whole country for some unknown reason. We're hoping the letter her brother wrote her also warned her of what's going on so she won't dismiss what we said completely."

Hohenheim listened as Ed spoke and felt an equal measure of pride and wretchedness as he listened to Ed tell him what he'd uncovered. Though he hadn't felt much more than a passing curiousity towards people during the 400 years he and Calix have walked this earth, he'd rarely allowed himself to become attached to anyone during that time. Not after he realised that he wasn't ageing and had watched the first few friends he'd made after the destruction of Xerxes die from old age or turn on him as though he was some kind of monster when they noticed he still looked the same he did some twenty years previous.

That was until he met Pinako and become drinking friends with her. Of course, through Pinako he then met Trisha when she was only a small child. Though he had been in low spirits when Trisha had first met him – rejecting the young girl when she'd asked him to dance – Trisha had stayed with him as a true friend and eventually, much to his and Cal's surprise, Hohenheim found himself falling in love with her once she was a young woman. His falling in love with Trisha was the first time in 400 years that he'd allowed himself to believe he could accomplish the dream he'd had back when he was a nameless servant; that he could have a wife and a family.

"Well?" Ed's harsh question broke Hohenheim out of his thoughts and the older man looked up to meet the still-furious eyes of his oldest son. "I've told you everything Al and our friends have uncovered. What do you know about all of this?" Ed asked, sounding like he was repeating himself and wasn't impressed about it.

"To be honest, Edward, I don't know much more than you," Hohenheim admitted and Ed's scowl deepened. "I wasn't aware there were more homunculi though now I can see how foolish I was not to have considered the possibility." Ed didn't come to his defence, claiming no one could've foreseen that, and Hohenheim hadn't expected him to. "Without seeing the array for myself, I'm only making an educated guess but I would imagine it's for something similar to what Homunculous used to wipe Xerxes from the map. I've been trying this past decade to set up some countermeasures that will cancel out the array if he ever activates it but I'm not sure how successful they will be," Hohenheim said. "The one thing that alarms and puzzles me most is the fact that you and your brother are sacrifices. Homunculous never had any specifically chosen sacrifices in Xerxes," he revealed, certainly sounding perplexed about the news.

"Yeah, well, I don't know how many they need altogether but if they want powerful alchemists who have or could survive performing human transmutation, we know of at least two others who could be picked," Ed said in the interest of full disclosure. "One is you and the other is the woman who trained Al and I after mum passed away." Ed didn't offer Izumi's name and if Hohenheim tried asking for it, Ed was fully prepared to keep it from him, just as he'd kept Major Armstrong's and the Hughes' from his father.

However, Hohenheim didn't ask. "You are most likely correct about me being selected as a sacrifice," Hohenheim said and Calix gave a low, worried nicker in response. "I'll be away from Central for a little while. I'm only passing through Resembool on my way to the next point my countermeasures are needed but once I've finished my task, I'll do my best to find Homunculous and get the details of his plan. They shouldn't know that you and Alphonse are my sons so he should be a little more forthcoming with his answers," Hohenheim said. Ed had a feeling he was talking more to himself and Calix than he was to him and Ayala. "But now that we've talked about the threat, I'd still like an answer to my question. Why did you burn down my home?" Hohenheim asked, looking over Calix, in the direction the ruins of the Elric house stood. The change in subject almost gave Ed and Ayala metaphorical whiplash.

"If Granny told you what we did in that basement then I'm sure you can figure out why none of us wanted to live in that house," Ed shot back. "None of us could handle the memories and once I joined the military, Al and I vowed to never turn back. We burned it down as a symbol of our resolve."

Hohenheim shook his head slightly. "No, you didn't," he said and Ed looked ready to stab him. "You were hiding the memory. You didn't want to be reminded of what you'd done and thought you could destroy the memory by hiding the evidence." Though Chester, Ayala and Ed knew deep down that Hohenheim was correct – even if Ed wouldn't admit it to his father – the fact that Hohenheim could decipher Ed's motives like that only served to piss the blonde off more.

Ed lurched to his feet, Ayala following suit, as he let go of any self-control he had over his anger. "You have absolutely no right coming here and trying to lecture me as though you actually give a damn!" Edward yelled at him, eyes blazing with fury. "You have no right trying to act like a father after Al and I have lived 12 years without so much as a fucking letter from you! You don't get to come here, come to mum's grave and try to act like a responsible parent now!" Ed spat furiously. Ayala was trying her hardest to get Ed to calm down so he didn't do something reckless while Chester was snarling his own insults at Hohenheim.

Sensing that Ed wasn't calming down, Ayala grabbed the sleeve of Ed's black jacket and tugged him, sending him stumbling backwards.  _"Let's go. I don't feel like seeing if your father heals like Palm Tree did when I tore out his throat and I don't fancy taking on the horse,"_  Ayala said as she planted herself firmly between Hohenheim and Ed.  _"Let's just go somewhere and calm down for a little while. Granny won't appreciate it if you turned up like this,"_  she pointed out and Ed clenched his left hand tighter into a fist.

"Fine. Let's go somewhere. I don't care where," Ed said, keeping the conversation telepathic. Chester was muttering in his mind but he was no longer paying attention to the leopard.

Ayala let out a sigh of relief before she turned to Hohenheim, loosed a growl that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a warning to leave her human alone before she nudged Ed's legs to get him moving. Taking the hint, Ed gave his father one last glare, making sure he saw the unbridled hate he felt before he turned and stalked back towards the cemetery. He scooped up the flowers he'd dropped when he first saw Hohenheim and laid them against his mother and Cleo's tombstone, placed his hand on it for a few moments before he and Ayala made their way through the cemetery, away from Hohenheim and Calix, jumped over the small stone wall that acted as a fence and disappeared into the wooded area behind the graveyard. Because neither of them looked back even once, they never saw the grief in neither Hohenheim's nor Calix's eyes as they watched the pair vanish into the trees.

* * *

The pair found themselves in a small clearing – barely big enough for Ed, Ayala, Alphonse and Chester to train in – that Ed recognised as a spot he had discovered a few weeks before Hohenheim had abandoned his family. Hohenheim, Trisha, Cleo and Calix had taken the two boys for a walk along a trail in the woods near their home one day and Edward had managed to escape his mother's grip and go wandering off by himself. Or he thought he had until he'd realised Cleo was following him. The clearing wasn't that far off the well-worn trail so it hadn't taken long for his mother to follow Cleo and find them in the middle of the small meadow, playing in the grass and flowers that grew undisturbed. Ed had received a lecture from his mother about running off while his father stood back a little, a squirming Alphonse in his arms and Calix watching with amusement. The family had then decided to make use of Ed's discovery and set up the picnic Trisha had packed, spending the whole afternoon in the little field.

Ed blinked away the memory as he and Ayala moved to sit under one of the larger trees, allowing themselves to be covered by the shade its shadow produced. He hadn't been in this clearing since before the night they'd tried bringing their mother back and he'd only come here because he and Ayala had stumbled upon it by chance on one of their walks. Ed had meant to bring Chester and Alphonse to the clearing to show them it but they'd gotten swept up in the excitement of readying themselves for the array and their plans for when their mum was alive and with them that he had forgotten all about the little clearing. Of course, after that night, he and Al had spent most of their time at Granny's while Ed was going through his rehabilitation and Alphonse and both Animals had refused to stray too far from the Rockbell property, just in case, and then they were off with the military.

Ayala laid down immediately in front of the tree they'd headed for but Ed couldn't relax, not after the talk he'd just with his father and especially not after his father had tried to lecture him on his decisions! Ed couldn't believe the absolute gall Hohenheim displayed by picking apart Ed's reasons for destroying his and Al's childhood home and speaking to him as if he were a child. The memory of his father correctly deciphering the true reason behind his and Al's decision kept playing in his mind, over and over as he paced around the clearing. He was fuming as he walked a small path through the vegetation growing where he was pacing and Ayala watched as he did so, muttering to himself and glaring angrily at any stick or rock that acted as a slight obstacle in his way.

" _Come and sit down, Ed, before you manage to carve out a trench in the dirt,"_  Ayala said twenty minutes later as Ed continued his muttering and pacing. Ed paused, giving her a look as he weighed up his options.

" _Honestly, Ed, I'm getting exhausted by your actions and I'm not even there!"_  Chester exclaimed in his mind, sounding appropriately exasperated.

Ed huffed as he made up his mind and walked over to Ayala. "You get exhausted walking from Miss Gracia's house yard to her lounge room," Ed teased the leopard as he settled himself against Ayala's side, pillowing his head on her ribcage as she curled up as much as she could around him.

" _That is very rude,"_  Chester sniffed haughtily, making Ed chuckle at his dramatics. There were a few moments of silence before Chester spoke again.  _"Al's getting worried about how long I've been talking to you. I won't tell him what you and that arse spoke about. You were right. That's a conversation you need to have in person with Al,"_  Chester said and Ed closed his eyes as he let himself be thankful for Chester agreeing to his earlier request.

"Thank you, Ches," Ed said, voice thick with gratitude. "Just tell Al that I'm alright and that what you were listening to is something I will tell him about the moment I get back to Central. Tell him I promised," Ed requested.

" _Sure thing,"_  Chester agreed easily.  _"You make sure that you keep yourself safe. Al won't be happy if you come back needing a doctor because you fought your father, even if he deserves it,"_  Chester said, voice almost a snarl at the end and Ed felt a little bit of vindication that both Ayala and Chester were on his side in this matter.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said dismissively. "I'll talk to you later. Tell Alphonse I know I need to call him tonight and I will," Ed said before Chester could remind him and the leopard chuckled.

" _Will do. Talk to you later, Ed,"_  Chester said and Ed echoed the goodbye before Chester disconnected their bond and his head was no longer filled with the presence of the leopard.

" _How are you feeling now?"_  Ayala asked after a minute or so of them just relaxing as the breeze rustled lightly through the treetops and the birds nearby twittered and chirped to each other.

Ed sighed as he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky he could see through the leaves of the tree they were resting against. "I don't know, Aya," he said truthfully. "I still want to punch his lights out, break his jaw if I get a good enough hit in but seeing him now? Learning about his past and about our heritage? I don't know how to feel. What do you think?" Ed asked, turning his head to look at her. She wasn't facing him, rather she was staring straight ahead unseeingly at a flower as she thought it over.

" _He told you that there were circumstances behind his leaving and I know you were surprised and a little pleased when he told you that if it weren't for those circumstances, he would never have left."_  Ed didn't bother trying to deny it. It was useless since his wolf did have access to his thoughts and feelings.  _"I think that asking you to forgive him for the last 12 years of abandonment just because he's said that would be him asking far too much, especially since he hasn't fully explained his reasons for leaving. I don't even care how good those reasons are; nothing excuses the fact that you or your brother haven't seen hide nor hair of your father nor have either of you received any kind of word from him during that whole time. Those reasons definitely do not excuse him not being there for Trisha while she was dying nor him missing her funeral and staying away from the two of you,"_  Ayala said, voice rising slightly as she grew more passionate.

"Alphonse would forgive him," Ed said flatly and Ayala growled.

" _I love your brother but he is far too forgiving towards family for his own good,"_  Ayala said.  _"I'm not saying that you and Alphonse should never forgive your father but the man certainly hasn't done a thing to earn your forgiveness so far. Just because he's your father, it doesn't mean that he has any right to your forgiveness and your love. Not after everything,"_  Ayala reminded him and Ed nodded slowly.

"I know you're right but it's hard," Ed confessed. "I've spent the last 12 years thinking he walked out on us because he didn't want the burden a family would cause or because he didn't want children. I didn't think there would ever be an actual reason for his leaving since his absence while mum was dying and at her funeral cemented those thoughts for me. I mean, how can you claim to be deeply in love with someone and have children with them only to ignore your children's pleas to come home and see your wife before she dies?" Ed asked rhetorically as he slowly started moving into a rant.

"And then to come face to face with one of your kids after more than a decade and try to parent him! Where does he get off doing that? He's had no say in what I do since I was 4 and now he thinks he can lecture me when I'm nearly 16 and been through more shit than most the world without him anywhere to be found? Fuck him! I don't care whether he was out tying to save the world. Does he seriously expect me to believe that he couldn't find an hour every now and then in those 12 years to write a fucking letter? Not once in all that time was he close to Resembool or East City and couldn't try and make time to see us? It's not like I've been in hiding while working for the military! It wouldn't have been that hard to find us and explain to us what was going on," Ed ranted and Ayala let him. She knew it was far better to let him get it all out of his system before they tried to work through it rationally.

"And what were with those fucking looks he and his Animal were giving me?" Ed continued on his rant, throwing his arms in front of him. "Those stupid sad looks they had whenever I brought up them abandoning us? If they didn't want me to mention it, they shouldn't have fucking taken off for 12 years without a fucking word! Or those fucking proud looks when I mentioned creating that array? Fuck them! They don't get to be proud of me and what I do! And what about that fucking horse trying to comfort me? What kind of bullshit was that?" Ed snarled and Ayala would've laughed if she couldn't feel the ache in Ed's heart as he spoke. The heart wrenching thing was that that was exactly what Ed wanted. He  _wanted_  his father to be proud of him. He  _wanted_  Calix to comfort him when he had a bad day. He wanted all of this 12 years ago though and the fact that he still wants it now was making him angry at himself.

" _Oh, Ed,"_  Ayala sighed as she nuzzled his cheek and he curled up into her further. He felt his eyes prickle uncomfortably and blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears before they formed. He hadn't cried over his father for years and he wouldn't start now.  _"Let's just stay here for a while and rest. The world won't end if you stay away from people for the next couple of hours and if your father says something about it, you can always point out that at least you didn't vanish for 12 years,"_  Ayala said, aiming for a light joke and Ed gave a half-hearted huff of amusement.

"Sounds like a good plan, Aya," Ed said and the wolf allowed herself to puff up a little.

" _I'm always full of good ideas,"_  she informed him as though it was common knowledge.

Ed grinned but it didn't stay in place for too long. "Let's change the subject," Ed said suddenly and Ayala gave him the go-ahead. "How do you think Chester and Alphonse are handling Ling and his goons?" Ed asked, grin back on his face as he pictured the scene while Ayala let out a bark of laughter. Just as he'd hoped for, the discussion pushed any thought of his father and their conversation to the back of his mind while he and Ayala made joking comments about the Hughes family dealing with the Xingese trio.

Ed didn't even realise he'd fallen asleep against Ayala until she woke him up when let out a warning growl. Sitting up immediately, Ed moved to clap his hands as he scanned his surroundings for the threat and glared when his eyes landed on the familiar dapple-grey horse standing at the opposite end of the clearing. Ayala – now that Ed wasn't using her as a pillow – stood and took two steps forward, lip still curled in a snarl, as she placed herself in front of Ed while he scrambled to his feet. As he did so, he glanced up at the sky and was surprised to find that it was nearing sunset before he brought his attention back to Calix.

"Should I expect Hohenheim to turn up?" Ed asked out loud. When Ayala mentally questioned him, Ed just shook his head imperceptibly at her. She left it for the moment but Ed knew she'd bring it up as soon as she could.

" _He says it's just him here,"_  Ayala said a few moments later and Ed snorted, taking another look around before whispering to Ayala.

"You can't sense him nearby, can you?" Ed asked. Ayala closed her eyes in concentration before shaking her head.

" _No. I can only sense Calix,"_  she reported back and Ed relaxed slightly.

"What do you want?" Ed asked the horse, making absolutely certain he didn't accidentally revert back to his habit of speaking telepathically with an Animal. For some reason, the horse seemed upset that he was speaking out loud and Ed once again wondered if he or Hohenheim had actually picked up on his slip about Chester when they were speaking about the Fuhrer.

" _Calix says that he got worried and went looking for us since it's nearly dark,"_  Ayala dutifully reported back, her voice nothing more than a sneer.

"How did you find us?" Ed asked, relaxing fully out of his defensive stance.

A few more moments passed before Ayala spoke again.  _"He says that he started looking for us in the spots he remembered you finding whenever you and your family went exploring before he and Hohenheim left. He said he almost didn't check here because you only ever visited it the once and he wasn't sure if you remembered it,"_  Ayala told him. Ed felt his heart clench slightly at the thought that his father's Animal had not only gone looking for them but that he'd remembered the little places Ed had found as a child and thought to look there.

"Well, congrats. You found us. What do you want?" Ed asked brusquely, shoving that warm feeling as far down as he could.

" _He wanted to make sure we were alright and didn't stay out here all night,"_  Ayala said. She was a little offended at the implication that she wasn't taking care of her human.

"It's funny how much you learn about looking after yourself when one parent is dead and the other one might as well have been," Ed snarked and Calix sighed as he hung his head. Ed knew it wasn't fair to take his anger out on Hohenheim's Animal but in all honesty, Calix could've stopped him from leaving if he truly thought his human shouldn't. Ayala had certainly been able to talk him out of some rather questionable decisions. Sighing a little, Ed decided to let go of his grudge for the moment. "We'll be at Granny's soon. You can go back and tell Hohenheim that," Ed said. Calix hesitated for a moment before looking at Ayala.

" _He would like to know whether it would be alright with you if we walked with him,"_  Ayala told Ed and the blonde felt a familiar annoyance rise up. It was the same feeling he got whenever Mustang ordered one of the team to accompany Ed somewhere, as if the blonde needed a babysitter.  _"He says that we don't have to talk to him and he doesn't expect you to believe him when I tell you that he says he only wants to spend as much time with you before he and Hohenheim have to leave again. He says he's missed you and Alphonse dearly,"_  Ayala reported before Ed got the chance to snap at Calix that he didn't need a babysitter. The disbelieving snort Ed gave matched the tone of Ayala's voice she'd used to repeat the message.

"What do you think, Aya?" Ed asked without clarifying what specifically he was asking about.

Ayala didn't have to think long.  _"He's being honest. I can feel how much he's missed you and Al and I can feel his regret over how angry you are and his part in that. I can't read anything more though, if you were about to ask,"_  Ayala said, giving Ed a knowing look and Ed gave her a private grin.

"You know me too well," he said, tone light before he looked back at the grey horse and was met with a hopeful expression that reminded him too much of Alphonse before that night. "Alright, we'll walk with you," Ed agreed, making it obvious in his tone that he wasn't giddy about the decision.

" _He says thank you,"_  Ayala told him as both she and Ed started walking towards the massive horse. Ed snorted and glared at the Animal.

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you," Ed said and the horse dipped his head in acknowledgement of his words.

" _He'd like me to thank you anyways,"_  Ayala said and it was obvious by her tone that she was pleased with Calix's manners. Ed didn't bother to reply as he and Ayala finally drew level with Calix before Ed took a purposeful step forward. Calix took the hint and followed him and Ayala away from the hidden clearing.

* * *

True to his word, Ayala didn't receive any kind of questions from Calix other than simply curious ones about herself and what kind of Animal Chester was. It took a few questions for Ayala to realise Calix was asking as many questions about herself and Chester more so for the stories about Ed or Alphonse that normally came as a response than just curiousity about herself and the leopard but she found herself unable to ignore the massive horse. It was clear from his tone and his careful questions that he truly had missed the boys and leaving them was one of his biggest regrets, as he had asked her to tell Ed before.

Although she wouldn't go against Ed's wishes regarding his father and his Animal, she couldn't help but brag a little about some of Ed and Al's bigger accomplishments when Calix presented her the opportunity to do so. If she was doing it more so she could subtly point out the things Calix and Hohenheim had missed out on while the boys were growing up and how much they'd been able to accomplish without either of them in their lives than simply providing Calix with anecdotes, no one but her had to know.

* * *

Though Ed knew Ayala and Calix were talking, Ed couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed with his wolf for it. He knew she wouldn't do or say anything to the horse that Ed didn't want him to know so he was content to let them talk to themselves. He used the time they granted him to speak to all of the Animals he was bonded with who had felt his anger earlier and give them individual assurances he was okay and that he would explain what he could when he was back in Central.

The only Animals he didn't talk to in that time were Den and Michella. Michella, he knew wasn't his biggest fan and her initial worry at his anger was only because of how close Ed and Winry were and Michella's knowledge about how upset Winry would have been if she'd found out something had happened to Ed and that Michella had known about it but had decided not to tell Winry. Once the monkey had been assured he was alright, she'd ignored him once more while the other Animals had only pulled away enough not to be eavesdropping on Ed but so they were still close enough so they could sense Ed's emotions. Ed couldn't help but wince slightly in regret at the emotional ride his feelings must've caused for the Animals.

He also only spoke to Den for the sole purpose of assuring him that he was alright and would talk to him later. He also took the chance to inform the collie dog that he, Ayala and Calix would be at Granny's shortly. The dog had answered him, his voice taught with tension and Ed knew why. Den was expecting him to yell at him for helping Granny set him up to meet Hohenheim at the cemetery. If Ed was being honest, if he and Ayala had gone straight to Granny's after he blew up at Hohenheim, he very well would've taken all his pent-up anger out on them.

However, his following Ayala's suggestion of finding somewhere quiet to work through his anger had had the intended effect of him realising that taking his feelings out on Den and Granny wouldn't be beneficial for anyone. The fact that Den had also apologised profusely had gone a long way to earning Ed's forgiveness and Ed had finally put the dog out of his misery and told him that he didn't blame him and that they were okay. The relief Den had felt had almost overwhelmed Ed and caused him to stumble slightly. Ayala had leapt forward to steady him and Ed saw Calix do the same out of the corner of his eye before the horse pulled back, obviously concluding his actions wouldn't have been well-received. To Ed's slight shame, he realised the horse was likely right.

Finally, they came over one last hill and the Rockbell's house came into view. A wave of nostalgia rolled over Ed as he took in the comforting sight of the two-storey house. Warm light shone through the downstairs windows and Ed could see the front door was invitingly open. A small column of smoke steadily rose from the chimney that was connected to the old wood-fire stove that sat in Granny's kitchen and Ed's stomach gave a small grumble at the thought of Granny's home-cooked food. Ayala gave a small laugh at him that had Ed poking his tongue out at her before the three of them made their way down the hill and into the house.

"Granny?" Ed called as he walked through the front door and kicked off his boots, placing them neatly next to Granny's so he wouldn't be lectured about it later.

"You're just in time, Ed. Dinner's nearly ready," Granny said as she walked from the kitchen to the lounge room Ed and Ayala were now in.

Calix, being too big to comfortably walk through the doors had gone around the back so he could poke his head through the kitchen door and talk to Hohenheim, who was still seated at the kitchen table where he and Pinako had been conversing. Ed studiously ignored his father's presence as he and Ayala made themselves comfortable on the couch, an obvious show of their feelings about Hohenheim. Pinako pursed her lips disapprovingly but Ed levelled her with a look that dared her to try and say something. She elected to leave him to his grudge and disappeared back into the kitchen with a promise of coffee thrown over her shoulder at the stubborn blonde.

Den took the opportunity to slink into lounge room, obviously still wary of Ed's reaction, even though the blonde had promised him that he was no longer mad.  _"Hey, Ed. Hey, Ayala,"_  Den greeted and Ed gave the collie dog the warmest smile he could manage in that moment.

"Hey, yourself," Ed said back, patting the couch cushion neither him nor Ayala was occupying. Den jumped up onto it with the same amount of relief Ed had felt during the walk. Evidently, the dog had needed Ed to confirm he was forgiven face to face. "How have you been?" Ed asked, keeping his voice low so his father wouldn't overhear him and figure out his abilities.

" _Everything's been pretty quiet around here. No one's come to Pinako with any unusual injuries or injuries caused by dumb reasons,"_  Den informed them.  _"Up until your father turned up, nothing exciting has happened."_  The mention of his father from Den made Ed recall the collie's demeanour when he asked Ed to come to Resembool for a visit.

"So are you going to tell me why you were behaving the way you were yesterday?" Ed asked and Den gave him a sheepish look.

" _Ayala and Chester gave me the run down on how to sense a homunculous a little while ago so when I sensed Hohenheim nearby and realised it was Hohenheim I was sensing, I was freaking out a little. I hadn't settled down by the time Pinako asked me to have you pay us a visit,"_ Den explained and Ed hummed.

"Wait," he said as he realised something, "why were you surprised at his scent? He and Granny have been friends for a long time. Shouldn't you have smelt something weird about him when they first met?" Ed asked and he felt Den shrug against him.

" _I don't know what to tell you, Ed,"_  Den sighed.  _"Pinako met him in the middle of a party so everyone's scents were mixed together. The more Hohenheim spent time with Pinako, the more I grew used to his scent until it got to the point of where I barely paid attention to it, even when they spent time together without a party full of people nearby. I think it was thanks to Ayala and Chester's warnings and the amount of time that's passed since I last saw him, that I could smell what was off about Hohenheim a mile away,"_  Den explained.

Ed thought about Den's answer and realised how obvious it was. After all, when he'd first gotten his automail, the smell of metal, grease and oil gave him a headache for the first few days but now he barely noticed it, even after a check-up by Winry. Now that he was thinking about it though, he could once again smell the oil and grease through his clothing. He was about to say something in response but Pinako interrupted by poking her head into the lounge room and announced that dinner was ready.

" _It'll take you only a few minutes to finish dinner then you can claim you're tired from the constant train trips and excuse yourself from the table,"_  Ayala said as Ed grit his teeth at the realisation he would have to join his father at the dining table as Granny's 'no food in the lounge room' rule was only exempt if there wasn't enough room at the kitchen table or it had been destroyed completely.

Ed sighed thankfully. "If anyone ever tells you you're an idiot, you tell me so I can kick their arses," Ed said in response and Ayala laughed as she, Ed and Den got off the couch.

" _No one would dare call me an idiot more than once,"_  Ayala said with a grin that promised pain to any imaginary foes who would dare try.

"Damn right they wouldn't," Ed said before they entered the kitchen. The moment he could no longer pretend Hohenheim wasn't sitting right there was the moment any good humour left Ed and Ayala's demeanour.

Pinako realised that Den wasn't his usual happy self, especially considering Ed was right there but she decided she'd ask her Animal about it later as she set out the plates filled with chicken schnitzel, pasta and vegetables in front of the men sitting at her table. Ed took a sip of the promised coffee that was placed next to his plate before turning to give Ayala her plate while Hohenheim turned to speak with Calix and turned back to his own food when the horse assured him that he was alright fending for himself.

"Thanks for dinner, Granny," Ed said just before his first forkful entered his mouth.

"You're welcome, Ed," Granny replied before Hohenheim gave his own thanks and Pinako repeated her response to Ed. "I heard from Winry that you were heading north. How'd that go? Did your automail hold up alright?" Pinako asked when it was obvious Hohenheim wasn't sure what to say and Ed was seemingly determined to pretend Hohenheim wasn't sitting right there.

"Unsuccessful. The major-general didn't believe me and Al but it's likely the letter her brother asked us to give her on his behalf contained his version of what we told her so hopefully she'll believe him," Ed told her in between bites of his dinner. Ayala and Den had already halfway through theirs while Pinako and Hohenheim were working their way through theirs at a slower rate than Ed. "My automail worked as well as I expect Winry's creations to do. Didn't have an issue with them at all up there and they're doing their job in this climate as well so I've got nothing to complain about there," Ed said.

"I'm glad to hear that about your automail though it's a shame the trip up north didn't work out," Pinako said. "How's Al and Chester? You didn't mention them," she said and Ed shrugged a shoulder before finishing his current mouthful.

"They're good. I need to borrow your phone after dinner to call Al. Promised I'd let him know I didn't die," Ed offered as his reason when Pinako raised a brow.

"Why don't you just –" Pinako was in the middle of asking when Ed cut her off.

"Told Al I'd call him so he can hear my voice rather than asking Chester and Ayala to play messengers," Ed said, holding her gaze as he spoke and she pursed her lips in displeasure as she realised what he was saying. Ed hadn't told Hohenheim about his abilities and didn't want him to know at all.

"Very well. You're welcome to use my phone," Pinako said, her displeasure now evident in her voice. Hohenheim watched the conversation with slight interest but kept to himself until now.

"Perhaps once you've finished speaking with Alphonse, I could –" Hohenheim found himself cut off by Ed before he could finish his request

"No," Ed said, slamming his cutlery back on the table and causing the plates and cups to rattle slightly. "You will not be speaking to Alphonse," he told him, eyes blazing once more with fury.

"Now, Ed, you know it's not fair of you to deprive Al of the chance –" once more, Pinako found herself cut off by Edward.

"What wouldn't be fair to Alphonse is the first conversation he'll remember with that bastard being over the phone," Ed snapped. "As much as I'd rather Alphonse not have anything to do with him, Al deserves the chance to talk to him in person so he can see the face of the person who abandoned us 12 years ago while he hears the reasons for it," Ed said, barely managing to keep his voice level as he spoke directly to Pinako, ignoring Hohenheim once more. The two of them had a staring contest that lasted only a few seconds before Pinako sighed.

"You have a point, Ed," Pinako agreed before levelling him with a look. "However, you know Alphonse will be upset when he finds out Hohenheim was here and he didn't get to talk to him because you decided he couldn't over the phone," Granny warned and Ed snorted.

"As long as you realise how upset Alphonse will be that the only reason he wasn't here with me to be ambushed by Hohenheim's appearance was because  _you_  asked him to stay in Central," Ed pointed out and Pinako gave a single nod, conceding the argument. Ed finished up his dinner in record time before standing from the table. "Thanks for dinner, Granny. I'm gonna go call Al then go to bed. The last 48 hours have been exhausting," Ed said as Ayala got to her feet and Ed picked up her plate.

"Alright, Ed. Good night," Pinako said, voice resigned. Ed figured she'd already guessed the real reason behind him leaving the table early, though, to be honest, it really wasn't hard to figure it out. Ed didn't offer Hohenheim a good night as he left the room and he pretended not to hear the soft one Hohenheim said as he and Ayala left the room.

* * *

" _Brother!"_  Al greeted the moment he realised who was on the other end of the phone.  _"Is everything alright? Chester said something happened that caused you to get angrier than he's ever sensed you,"_  Al asked and Ed sighed.

"I'm alright, Al," Ed promised. "Something happened that I wasn't expecting but it's fine now." Ed ground out the word 'fine' slightly but there wasn't another word he could really use.

" _Are you sure? What happened?"_  Al asked, voice drenched in concern and Ed found himself wanting to go back on his decision to wait until he was in Central to tell Al everything but he stood firm.

"I'm sure," Ed said. "Look, I can't tell you what's happening but not because I'm in any danger or something," Ed assured him before Al could panic and jump to that conclusion. "I can't tell you over the phone because you deserve to hear it from me in person," he told him and he could almost feel Al's annoyance through the phone.

" _Why not?"_  Al almost whined and Ed let out a breathy chuckle before answering.

"Because if our situations were reversed and you told me this over the phone, I would not be impressed and I know you wouldn't be either," Ed said sternly before Al could protest. "Please, just trust me, Al. I'm as okay as I can be given the situation and I will tell you everything the moment you and I are in the same room. If you don't trust that I'm in one piece, ask Ches," Ed said and there was a lengthy pause as his younger brother did just that and Ed found himself rolling his eyes at Ayala.

" _Chester said you aren't physically hurt and that you're not in immediate danger so I'll stop asking,"_  Al said, sighing in defeat.  _"But you better tell me everything when you're home!"_

"I will, Al. I swear," Ed promised and Al seemed to accept it. There were muffled voices on the other end of the phone before Al was back.

" _Mr Hughes needs the phone so he can call Colonel Mustang about something so I've gotta go. If you need anything, tell Chester immediately and I'll try to help, okay?"_  Al asked demandingly.

"Yes, mum," Ed agreed, teasing him as Al laughed. "Give Hughes his phone back. I'll talk to you later," Ed said.

" _Good night, Brother,"_  Al said, allowing Ed enough time to echo it before the phone call was disconnected.

Ed placed Granny's phone back in its spot before sighing, wishing he could've spoken to Al a little longer so he could find out what was happening in Central with Ling and the others. Resigning himself to the fact that he'd have to get the rundown from Chester, Ed turned away from the phone, intending to head upstairs so he can get into the shower and try to wash some of the day off him. His eyes fell on the entryway to the kitchen but where he stood didn't give him a view of the dining table.

Cursing himself for trying to catch a glimpse of his father, Ed stormed up the staircase to the second storey and found that Ayala had beaten him to his old room and was sprawled on the bed. Shaking his head at her, he grabbed a spare tank top and boxers before he headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once finished, he finger-combed his hair before coming back into the room and seeing that Ayala had been nice enough to shift positions so he could fit in next to her. Giving her a pat between the ears, Ed made himself comfortable and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ayala couldn't sleep. She'd settled herself along Ed's back so she was between him and the door but she couldn't fall asleep. Her brain was running through everything that had happened since she'd first caught Hohenheim's scent that day and she found herself focusing more on Calix's behaviour than anything else. Especially his behaviour when they were walking back from the clearing and she was telling him about the things Ed and Al had accomplished during the years. Even though her reasons behind doing so weren't exactly kind, she'd sensed so much pride and love coming from the big horse that she was surprised Ed hadn't felt it himself.

To her surprise, Calix had even moved on instinct to steady Ed when he had stumbled, stopping himself at the last second, but Ayala had gotten a glimpse of him doing the same thing when Ed was a toddler. She'd been suspicious about those glimpses because an Animal could only share memories with another Animal on purpose. While they could glean thoughts and feelings from an Animal they were speaking with, seeing their memories was only something that could happen if the Animal sharing the memory did so with the intent to share it. Because of this, Ayala had come away from the encounter suspicious, believing the memory share to have been a deliberate attempt to manipulate her into feeling sorry for the stallion and to try and encourage Ed to forgive him and Hohenheim.

However, now that she was alone with her thoughts, listening to the calm breaths of Ed as he slept soundly for once, she was beginning to question whether her initial assumption was made in haste. Calix had truly looked hurt when Ed had brushed his tail off him when he tried to comfort the blonde and Ayala had sensed his genuineness when he gave his reasons for wanting them to walk together to the Rockbells. Now that she was able to think these actions through rationally, she could no longer believe the memory share was meant to intentionally manipulate her. If anything, she now believed it have been purposeful but only so she had an answer for why Calix had instinctively tried to help Ed steady himself. It was obviously a habit he'd developed when Ed was a toddler and learning to walk and run so it made sense that Calix would've reacted as he had.

There was a gentle, almost hesitant, presence nudging her mind and with a sigh, she realised she wasn't the only Animal unable to sleep tonight. Calix was awake and had sensed her restlessness. Allowing the horse into her mind to talk, she almost groaned when he asked if she would like to join him outside and talk. He'd obviously sensed her suspicion about the request because he then told her that he couldn't sleep either and just wanted to hear more stories about the boys, if she was willing to tell them. Sighing, Ayala checked on Ed but he was still sound asleep with no nightmares she could sense trying to form so she agreed to Calix's request.

Ayala slid off the bed as quietly as she could before padding her way softly to the door and nosing it open. She couldn't close it all the way but there weren't any lights on in the hallway that could shine through and wake Ed up so she left it partially open. Ayala then made her way downstairs, reassuring Den that everything was fine when his hearing picked up the slight creaks the wooden floor made under her paws. She paused at the top of the steps but Ed was still asleep and hadn't noticed her leaving so she continued her journey, making sure to miss the fifth and eighth steps that creaked far more loudly than the others.

Ayala froze when she realised Hohenheim was asleep on the couch before berating herself for not realising that earlier. Ed was asleep in the guest room and no one was allowed to sleep in Winry's room when she wasn't home just in case they hurt themselves or rearranged her things. The couch was the only other option left for Hohenheim unless he wanted to sleep on the floor. Ayala glanced at him but he didn't seem to notice her. It was a little amusing to see this tall man folded up on the couch as comfortably as possible. Satisfied he hadn't sensed her, Ayala continued on her way and soon found herself in the cool night air outside the kitchen.

Calix was laying under the tree Ed, Al and their Animals usually sparred when they were at Pinako's. His dappled coat gleamed dully in the moonlight cast by the half-moon. Ayala approached him before coming to a stop and laying down a couple of metres away, keeping the meaning behind the distance obvious. They weren't friends and she wouldn't act the way she would around Nala or Chester with Calix. They sat in silence that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable for a few minutes before Calix broke the silence.

" _I know I said I wanted to hear more stories from the boys' lives and I would most certainly appreciate more but I did have another reason for asking you to join me,"_  Calix said. Ayala glared at him – despite the regretful tone in his voice – and made to rise once more.  _"It's nothing to do with asking him to forgive Hohenheim, please don't leave,"_  Calix begged and Ayala felt herself hesitate. The grey horse's eyes were filled with pleading.  _"My reasons for asking you down here are purely selfish on my part,"_  he admitted and understanding flooded through Ayala.

" _You want me to ask Ed to forgive you,"_  she said. Her lips lifted in a snarl when Calix bobbed his head in confirmation.  _"Why on earth would I ask Ed to do that?"_  She didn't bother to hide her scorn but Calix didn't seem anything less than accepting of it, like he knew it was the least of what he deserved.

" _I know Hohenheim mentioned there being reasons for his leaving when he spoke about figuring out there was something nefarious happening to Amestris when the Ishvalen Civil War began, although we never did get to explain most of them before you and Edward left,"_  Calix said, voice growing sad as he remembered why Ed had stormed off.  _"Please don't be offended when I tell you that I won't explain our reasons to you now. I believe Edward deserves to hear them from his father rather than from me through you,"_  Calix told her and Ayala was pleasantly surprised. She had been fully prepared to tell Calix exactly what she thought about his decision not to tell her until he explained his reasoning and she couldn't find one part of her that disagreed with him.

" _Very well,"_  Ayala said, resuming her previous position.  _"I'll listen to what you want to tell me but I am not making any guarantees that I'll pass what you say along to Ed nor that he'll forgive you even if I do,"_  Ayala warned him but Calix seemed happy that she had agreed to listen.

" _Thank you,"_  Calix said gratefully. Ayala merely nodded and there were a few moments of silence before he spoke again.  _"I want you to know that Hohenheim's reasons were mainly his own, which is the other reason I believe he should be the one to tell Ed. I never wanted to leave Resembool or our family, especially the boys,"_  Calix told her, sounding mournful as he spoke.

" _Then why did you? I don't want Hohenheim's reasons; I want yours,"_  Ayala said before the horse could say anything.

" _Because I agreed with most of them. The then-unknown threat hovering over Amestris needed to be investigated to ensure Edward and Alphonse would not only have a country to grow up in but that they would be able to live their lives,"_ Calix told her.  _"To deal with that, we needed to leave for a little while. Hohenheim's countermeasures don't even have a purpose yet. Now that he knows what's going on, he needs to finish setting the last couple then reach out to the others to give them their purpose,"_  Calix told her and Ayala felt a thought niggling in her mind.

" _What do you mean 'give them their purpose'?"_  Ayala asked. Calix seemed to be debating his answer.

" _Hohenheim has been using souls from the stone given to him and placing them in specific spots, waiting for the time when he'll call on them to help him, destroying themselves in the process,"_  Calix told her and Ayala looked horrified.

" _He's asking souls to kill themselves to help him?"_  She asked, mouth gaping but Calix shook his head.

" _He'll be asking them to help prevent what happened to them from happening to Amestris,"_  he corrected gently.  _"Hohenheim had spent the last 400 years getting to know every single human and Animal soul in the stone that grants him, and by extension, me, the immortality and never-ageing bodies we have. He never performs alchemy that requires the stone unless he has no other choice and even then, he always asks the souls if they are willing to be used like that. He has never performed a transmutation that would require a soul without that soul's permission,"_  Calix told her.  _"The souls who are already in place were informed that they would likely be destroyed if he ever called upon them and they still agreed to help him,"_  he said before falling silent and allowing Ayala to process what he'd just said.

It took her a few seconds before she shook her head and spoke again.  _"That's all well and good that he does that however, none of that is endearing me to the idea of talking to Ed on your behalf,"_  she told him and Calix didn't seem surprised.

" _I'm sorry. I got a little side-tracked,"_  Calix said sheepishly before he grew serious.  _"I suppose I should tell you that I suspect Edward has the ability to talk to other Animals,"_  Calix told her.

Ayala would've liked to say she was shocked to hear that but if she was being honest, she would've been more surprised if Hohenheim and Calix  _hadn't_  suspected after all the small clues Ed had accidentally left for them to find.  _"So?"_  Ayala asked uncaringly.

" _Would you be able to tell me if there's a reason other than to spite his father for why Edward is refusing to use his ability to speak to me?"_ Calix asked cautiously.

Though she and Ed hadn't actually gotten around to talking about why, Ayala was certain she knew the answer.  _"Your human is the main reason, I suspect. I believe Edward doesn't want to bond with you mainly because his father has shown no interest in his or Alphonse's life and that he doesn't deserve a link to it now just because he's decided to turn up again,"_  Ayala told him.  _"However, he also doesn't want to bond with you because he is of the opinion – as am I, by the way – that you could've stopped Hohenheim from leaving or, at the very least, you could've brought him back a lot sooner,"_  Ayala informed him.

Calix squirmed slightly under Ayala's golden gaze and he had a feeling the wolf enjoyed that a little.  _"400 years is a long time to be alive. I'm sure you and Edward have already thought that but there is a difference between imagining yourself living for 400 years and actually living that long,"_  Calix told her.  _"To someone like Edward, who has been alive for nearly 16 years, one year can seem to go by so quickly. I'm sure there have been times where you yourself have stopped and realised it's already June when you could've sworn April was only a couple of weeks ago, yes?"_  Calix asked and Ayala nodded. The second year with Izumi had seemed to go by in next to no time.

" _What you couldn't possibly imagine is how quickly a year goes by when you've lived for 400 odd years,"_  Calix told her.  _"There are times where it seems like we blink and a year's gone by,"_  Calix said, sounding almost mournful over the how quickly the time had flown past them.

" _Are you telling me that you're claiming you hadn't realised how long it had been?"_  Ayala asked incredulously. It wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out what Calix had been about to say.

" _Yes,"_  Calix said.  _"It wasn't until we arrived back in Resembool yesterday, finding our home in ruins and seeing the passage of time clearly marked on Pinako's skin that we realised it had been far longer than we thought. Pinako only confirmed how many years it truly had been,"_  Calix said, sighing slightly.

Ayala allowed herself a moment to rationally think through what he'd just said.  _"Alright, fine. You've been alive for centuries and you didn't realise it had been more than a decade since you left everyone behind,"_  Ayala said.  _"I can understand that even if I truly can't empathise as I'm not a 400-year-old Animal. But what I don't understand is how you can justify not being here for Trisha or for the boys for her funeral. Surely Cleo must've tried contacting you and I am fully aware of how many letters the boys sent to every single person in Hohenheim's address book in the last few weeks of Trisha's life,"_  Ayala said but, to her surprise, it wasn't Calix who answered her.

"I never received any of those letters." Ayala looked back towards the kitchen door she'd walked through to find Hohenheim walking towards them. She looked up at the window to the guest room Ed was sleeping in and, to her dismay, saw the curtain move. A quick check using her bond told her that Ed was indeed awake. Before she could do anything about that, Hohenheim was joining them on the ground and speaking again. "Several of the people in my address book have either passed away or have moved from the address listed without leaving a forwarding one. Those in my address book who I could have been in contact with were ones I haven't paid a visit to in all these years. I never knew the boys had tried to reach me with letters until Pinako informed me while she was lecturing me yesterday when Cal and I appeared on her front doorstep," Hohenheim told her.

Ayala snorted in disbelief.  _"What about Cleo? Surely Trisha's Animal would've told you to tell Hohenheim that his wife was dying and kids were about to be orphans,"_  Ayala said to Calix.

" _Cleo never contacted me,"_  Calix told her.  _"Not once during the five years between us leaving and Trisha's passing did Cleo try to contact me. I also never thought to contact her either,"_  Calix said and the regret in his voice was plain as day.

"We never knew Trisha was dying," Hohenheim said, bringing Ayala's attention back to him. "Pinako informed me yesterday when I asked how long she had been ill for that Trisha had known about the disease killing her for years. While I'll likely never know whether she knew during our time together or found out after I left, I do know that she would never had used it as a way to make me stay." Hohenheim's eyes shone wetly. "I also know that she would've asked Cleo to keep if from Cal. Though I didn't tell her why I was leaving, only that I needed to sort something out, Trisha knew it was important. She would never have asked Cleo to tell Calix and draw me away from my work and I never thought I would lose her so young," Hohenheim said, voice heavy with grief and thick with regret.

" _I find it hard to believe that a woman who adored her children as much as Trisha loved Ed and Al would've left them without a parent,"_  Ayala said and Hohenheim sighed when Calix passed along her words.

"I don't know why Trisha didn't have Cleo tell Calix when it became clear to her that her time was near. I can only assume she thought the letters the boys had written me had reached me and that I was on my way," Hohenheim told her, sounding as old as he truly was. "I truly wish Cleo had reached out. I would've liked to have been with Trisha when she passed and been there for the boys," Hohenheim said and Ayala was shocked when she realised she believed him. She couldn't sense the smallest amount of deceit from him and what she sensed from Calix only strengthened her belief in Hohenheim's words.

Ayala was startled when Hohenheim suddenly stood up. "I apologise for interrupting your talk. I really only came out to see who Cal was speaking with when I realised the two of you were talking about Trisha," Hohenheim said, brushing off his sleep pants. "Ayala, I plan on talking with Edward tomorrow, if he'll let me. I realise I never finished explaining why Calix and I had to leave and why we were gone for so long without a word from us and there are things I need to tell him about, things he would've learned if Xerxes had survived. I'm sure he has plenty of questions he deserves answers to but I'd like you to know that I truly do love my sons. I love them just as much as I love Trisha. A family is all I ever wanted from the time I was a nameless slave and there is nothing I regret more in my 400 or so years walking this earth than abandoning them for so long and leaving them with only each other and their Animals to depend on."

Hohenheim's golden eyes bore into her own and Ayala almost took a step back under the weight of his sincerity. "I would like the opportunity to tell Edward everything he needs and deserves to know. All I ask of you is that you ask him to consider speaking with me tomorrow," Hohenheim requested and Ayala felt herself nodding before she truly thought about his request. However, she couldn't find it in herself to take back her agreement and Hohenheim gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Ayala. Good night," Hohenheim said to the both of them before disappearing back into the house, leaving Ayala and Calix alone once more.

" _I know Edward's awake,"_  Calix said, bringing Ayala's attention back to him.  _"I saw him watching us moments before you noticed him,"_  Calix explained.  _"I know you want to go check on him and I would be lying if I said I still couldn't get to sleep so I won't stop you but could you tell him something from me, please?"_  Ayala dipped her head to show her willingness to do so.  _"Tell him that I know he's too old and too big to use me as a slide any more but I do miss him and Alphonse fighting over who would get to brush my mane and tail that day and that if he were to agree to speak with me, he has my word that I will make sure he doesn't regret it."_  Ayala searched the horse's large brown eyes for any sign he was lying but saw only his absolute resolution to keep his word. It reminded her so much of Ed that she felt her heart lurch.

" _I'll tell him but like I said before, I will not influence his decision. Whether he forgives you, Hohenheim or both is up to him and him alone,"_  Ayala informed him.

" _I know but I'm pleased that you won't be trying to persuade him,"_  Calix admitted.  _"Now that I know his decision will be his alone, I think I'll be more willing to accept his decision, no matter which way he decides."_  Ayala could respect that but it didn't stop her from letting out a scoff.

" _You'll respect his decision no matter what,"_  Ayala told him, making sure her voice lowered into a growl that told him exactly what would happen if he didn't respect Ed's choice, keeping her eyes on his as she rose to her feet.

" _Yes, I will,"_  Calix said, tone telling her he hadn't even considered putting up an argument if Ed decided that he wouldn't forgive them.

Pleased with his answer, Ayala bobbed her head in a silent goodbye that Calix returned. No other words or actions were exchanged between them as Ayala trotted back towards the house. Now that she wasn't distracted by Calix and Hohenheim, she could sense Ed's attempts to suppress his emotions so she wouldn't be able to feel them through their bond. Obviously, there was confusion about why she had left and why she was talking with Calix and Hohenheim. She could feel his anger; at her, at them, at himself, at the whole situation. But the most obvious emotion she felt was his self-doubt and  _that_  hurt her. Because she knew that that self-doubt was born from him thinking that she was no longer firmly on his side, that he is afraid that she would think he was being childish.

Ayala forced herself to stay silent as she walked back through the house. She knew Hohenheim wasn't asleep but he didn't sit up when she moved past the lounge room and she didn't hesitate in her steps. Again, she made sure to miss the two creaky steps as she headed up the staircase, keeping her movements as light and stealthy as she could manage. Finally, Ayala reached the partially closed door that would lead to her human's room. Den had once again picked up her soft footsteps but a quick reassurance quickly had him going back to sleep. Ayala nudged the door open enough for her to slip inside, turning to push the door gently back into place before rejoining Ed back on the bed.

The moment she settled back up against his back, she knew he'd decided he wasn't going to confront her about where she'd been. She had to fight back a sigh when she came to this conclusion. Edward always responded one of two ways to these kinds of situations; either he would blow up at the person or Animal or he would internalise it until it forced its way out of him at an unknown time in the future, generally in the form of him overreacting to something that he would've otherwise let go. Alphonse, Chester and Ayala always did their best to stop him from going the second route but two things were working against her here: she had no idea how long Ed had been awake and realised where she was and Ed wouldn't talk to her, claiming he didn't want to wake Pinako or the other Animals up.

" _I'm with you, Ed. Always. Never forget that,"_  Ayala said softly as she lay her head on the pillow, her back against his. He didn't respond to her, telling her they would be dealing with this in the morning – hopefully without Hohenheim or Calix near them – but he relaxed slightly against her and she could feel his mind easing slightly. Taking it as the slight win it was, Ayala allowed herself to fall back asleep, breath slowly evening out to a pace that coaxed Edward to follow her not long after.

* * *

Edward woke a little later than he ordinarily would've and was a little surprised to feel Ayala's familiar heavy weight at the foot of his bed. Evidently she'd moved during the night, likely due to overheating, but she was normally awake well before him. A quick check of their bond showed that she really was still asleep and he allowed himself to spend just a few moments lazing in bed. A glance out of his window told him it was likely around 9:00am, maybe even 9:30am and he groaned lightly as he stretched. He knew that tomorrow he and Ayala would be on a train back to Central so he was going to take what time he could to relax in a way he couldn't in Central. At least, that was Ed's plan until he remembered why he was back in Resembool and he felt his lips curl up into a snarl before he threw himself off the bed.

Ayala didn't wake up and Ed heard himself internally sneering about how she must've very tired after her chat with Calix and Hohenheim. Almost immediately after finishing that thought, he felt a hot coil of self-disgust in his gut. Ed knew that his issues with his father – and, by an almost unfair extension, Calix – were his own and he shouldn't have expected Ayala to have not been intrigued by a pair who were complete strangers. In fact, he was a little gladdened that she wasn't so blindly loyal to him that she wouldn't go and speak with Hohenheim and Calix to develop her own opinion of them but still, a small part of him couldn't help but see her actions of speaking to them in the middle of the night almost as a betrayal.

Shaking himself free from these thoughts and giving the sleeping wolf another look, Ed scooped up his spare set of leather pants and black tank top from the chest of drawers in the room and headed for the bathroom. Indulging in a slightly longer shower than he had the night before, Ed emerged a lot more awake and clear-headed than he had entering the bathroom. A look inside his borrowed bedroom showed Ayala still on his bed, though she'd taken advantage of his absence and sprawled herself out over most of the available space. He placed his pyjamas on the dresser closest to the door, snatched up his black jacket but forgoing his gloves before closing it, making sure it didn't latch so Ayala could get out when she finally woke up.

Pulling on his black jacket, he made it down to the kitchen without encountering anyone and – to his surprise – met no one in the kitchen itself. Setting the kettle up so it would start boiling, Ed went through the familiar motions of making himself breakfast, finding the bread and jam Granny always got for him when she knew he was coming and readying himself some toast while the kettle boiled away. It didn't very long before he had a complete breakfast. He'd just finished adding the two sugars he took with his morning coffee when he heard someone entering the kitchen. The fact he couldn't feel any reaction in his mind, he could rule out Ayala and Den immediately.

"Kettle's just boiled if you want a cuppa, Granny," Ed said, back to whoever it was as he finished stirring his coffee.

When he received no answer, he turned only to find himself face to face with Hohenheim. His face immediately hardened and his grip tightened unconsciously on the coffee cup he was holding. Thankfully, he'd grabbed it with his left hand so the cup didn't break. The two of them simply stood there, almost like a staring competition, when Den appeared out of nowhere, skirting around Hohenheim and coming to settle at Ed's feet. His right hand went down to ruffle the collie's ears as he skulled his scalding coffee without wincing.

"Morning, Den. Do me a favour and tell Granny I'll be back later and when Ayala is awake, tell her to find me?" Ed asked and the dog nodded. "Cheers," Ed said, placing his cup back in the sink before snatching up his toast and – without another word to anyone – left the kitchen through the back door.

Calix lifted his head from where he was grazing and looked at Ed excitedly but the blonde ignored him, taking a bite out his cold toast as he walked away from the house. He barely noticed Calix's devastation at his ignoring of the horse as he finished off his toast and jumped the boundary fence of the Rockbell property. He hadn't really set off with a destination in mind but he found himself walking the familiar route to the cemetery. Ed paused in his walk for a moment, trying to think if there was somewhere else he wanted to go but his mind came up empty. The fact that he hadn't been able to pay his mother and Cleo a proper visit the previous afternoon and the need to vent about everything to someone, even if they were dead, won out and he continued walking down the road.

As it usually was whenever he and Al managed to visit the cemetery, it was void of anyone else paying their respects. Ed entered through the gap in the stone wall and weaved through the tombstones until he got to Trisha and Cleo's. The flowers he had bought yesterday were slumped where he'd placed them and he noticed the tombstone had some grass growing on it as nature tried to take it for itself so he spent a few minutes fixing the flowers and cleaning up the gravestone, brushing away any dirt or other such things until the stone looked as clean as it could. Only once he'd done that did he take a seat on the cold earth and try to get his mind as clear as possible before he started speaking to his mother.

"Hey, mum. Hey, Cleo. I know it's been a little while since I last spoke to you. I think the last time I paid a visit was after my first encounter with Scar but a lot of things you wouldn't believe has happened since then. I'll start from when we left Granny's after she and Winry managed to patch me up and I got Al all fixed up…"

* * *

Ayala woke up suddenly. She'd passed out pretty quickly the night before, thanks mainly to the fact that Hohenheim and Calix gave her a lot to think about, so she wasn't surprised when she saw how late it was. What  _was_  surprising – and ultimately what woke her up – was the fact that Edward wasn't still in bed. A quick glance around the room showed her that Ed definitely wasn't in it. Still half-asleep, she didn't immediately realise what it meant when she saw his pyjamas sitting on the dresser and his black jacket missing but when she did, she immediately reached for their bond, panicking slightly when she realised he wasn't nearby.

She leapt off the bed and tore out of the room as quickly as she could manage without falling over herself. Though Ayala knew Ed wasn't in any physical danger, it was his mental health that was worrying her. She thought she knew where he was but his emotions were a mess and that was why she was disobeying one of Pinako's biggest rules; no running in the house unless it's on fire and threatening to collapse. Ayala found herself trying to scrabble to a stop when Den appeared in front of her path, trying to stop herself in time so they didn't end up colliding. Only a mixture of Ayala's efforts and Den flattening himself against the wall stopped that threat from becoming reality.

" _Ayala!"_  Den gasped as they got themselves together.

" _Did Ed say where he was going?"_  Ayala asked, forgoing any niceties in her rush.

" _No but I know he's at the cemetery. He left about twenty minutes ago,"_  Den told her and she left the house, barely remembering to throw a 'thank you' to Den as she left.

Ayala saw Hohenheim and Calix as she loped across the path Ed must've taken that morning. They were under the tree that Ayala and Calix had spoken under the previous night, with Hohenheim resting against Calix's side while he lay under the branches. They looked up in surprise as Ayala raced past them but she didn't stop to explain anything. Judging from the slight guilt she sensed from Calix, she figured there must've been a not-so good altercation between at least two of them this morning but she didn't let herself dwell on it and soon enough, she was leaping over the boundary fence and making her way down to the cemetery.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ayala forced herself to slow down to a trot as she neared the cemetery. She crested the last hill and spotted Ed's blonde hair gleaming in the sun from where he sat in front of Trisha and Cleo's tombstone. A habitual check of their immediate surroundings told Ayala there was definitely nothing that could pose a danger to either of them. Another check of Ed's emotions told Ayala that he seemed to be a little more relaxed, if slightly drained. In fact, it seemed like he either found something to take his frustrations out on physically or he'd found someone to vent everything to.

" _Hey,"_  Ayala said as she came to a stop next to him and sat on his left,  _"everything alright? You were gone before I woke up this morning,"_  she asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder, eyes not moving from the gravestone in front of them.  _"Do you want me to leave?"_  Ayala asked, not bothering to hide how much she hoped his answer was 'no'.

"No, you're fine here," Ed told her and she let out the sigh of relief that sentence produced.

" _Do you want to talk about why you're upset?"_  Ayala asked and Ed snorted.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Ed almost scoffed. "That fucking bastard turns up after nearly 12 years of not even a word from him, offering excuses and reasons for his disappearance as if those make up for the fact that mum died without ever seeing him again and we almost got ourselves killed trying to bring back the one parent we had because we didn't have the one other person in this world we should've been able to rely on. And that fucking horse just keeps trying to guilt me into forgiving him and  _you_ -" here Ed cut himself off suddenly and all the anger he'd managed to build up again suddenly left his body, causing him to slump almost like a marionette with its string suddenly cut, "you're out there talking to them and believing what they have to say and I don't know what to do about that information," he admitted with a sigh as he slumped even further. "Because if you believe them than obviously they had good reasons so what right did I have to be so angry for the last 12 years? To be so angry now?" Although Ayala knew he meant those questions to be rhetorical, she couldn't help but answer.

" _You have every right in the world, Ed,"_  Ayala said sternly.  _"Hohenheim's reasons could've been the most noble you could think of but it still gives him no excuse to abandon you and Alphonse so completely. I don't care that he was out there trying to put a plan into place to protect us and the country from the oncoming threat. I don't buy that there wasn't time for him to write you letters; that he didn't come close enough to Resembool that he couldn't detour just a little to see you or your mother, back when she was alive,"_  Ayala told him and Ed took in a slightly shaky inhale.

"If you don't believe them than why didn't I sense that last night?" Ed asked, glancing at her and her heart clenched a little when she saw a few dried tear tracks marring his cheeks.

" _Hohenheim wanted me to ask you to consider talking to him again today so he can finish telling you why he left and why he never came back until now. He said that he needs to tell you some more things about Xerxes as well, things that you and Alphonse have a right to know about. That, and he wanted me to know that he truly does love you and Alphonse. All he asked of me was to let you know so you can decide whether you want to talk to him further,"_  Ayala told him.

" _Calix was of the same mind. In fact, his whole reason for asking me to speak with him was to ask if I could help him earn your forgiveness so that you would bond with him. He suspected what you could do and while I didn't confirm it, I didn't really deny it either,"_  Ayala said apologetically.  _"Specifically, Calix wanted me to tell you that he was against him and Hohenheim leaving in the first place and that he – and I quote – knows that you're too big and too old to use him as a slide but he truly does miss you and Alphonse fighting over who would get to brush his mane and tail that day. He also swore to me that if you gave him a chance, you wouldn't regret it,"_  Ayala repeated.

" _The reason you didn't sense any disbelief from me last night is because I do believe their words were sincere. I didn't sense any dishonesty or deception behind their words and I don't believe they were said with the intention of manipulating me and, by extension, you,"_  Ayala said. _"I do believe Hohenheim thinks he has good enough reasons for leaving and that he does have more information about Xerxes that might be helpful for you and Alphonse. I do believe Calix loves the two of you boys almost as much as he loves Hohenheim and that he fought to try and get Hohenheim to stay but that Hohenheim managed to convince him why it was necessary that they left. I believe that they believe what they had to say was the truth but, saying that, I don't know if I believe in their excuses,"_  Ayala told him and Ed nodded slightly, understanding what she was saying.

"So do you think I should forgive them?" Ed asked but Ayala shook her head.

" _I'm not saying that you have to forgive them. No one on this planet gets to make that decision except for you. I won't even tell you whether I think you should forgive them or not. All I'm gonna say is that maybe you should hear them out,"_  she told him.  _"Mainly because it's always better to know every side of the situation before you decide something like this but also because it might do you some good to hear everything he has to say. You might be able to get some kind of closure and that could go a long way to helping you heal from the wound he inflicted when he left."_  She fell silent after that, letting Ed consider her words as they sat in the cemetery in the quiet with only the local wildlife breaking the silence.

"You really think hearing them out would be good for me?" Ed asked, finally meeting her gaze properly.

" _I think so,"_  she said with a nod.  _"I'll be there with you and we can see if Chester and Den want to join us. You don't have to face them alone,"_  Ayala reminded him and was rewarded with a half-smirk.

"I'm not going up against a rogue, you know. There's no need to go full protective mode on me," he teased and Ayala rolled her eyes, pleased that they were back to their familiar banter.

" _With the way you manage to find trouble in an empty room, I think there is a good chance I'd need to be in protective mode, as you so lovingly call it,"_  Ayala teased right back and Ed scoffed at her.

"I resent that," he informed her haughtily and Ayala let out a bark of laughter. The grins stayed on their faces for a couple of seconds before they slipped off as Ed came to a decision. "I'll talk to them both," he said. "Like you said, it'll probably do me good and I might get my wish and get an excuse to punch him in the face. At least I'll have managed to punch one of the bastards in my life," Ed said with a grin that was almost close to his usual smirk,

" _I'm sure Mustang will be thrilled to learn he's only one down from the top position on that list,"_  Ayala said drily and Ed snorted.

"As if he doesn't already know he ranks up near the top. I swear he pisses me off so much just to see if he could replace Hohenheim on it," Ed growled as he and Ayala got to their feet.

" _Oh, I'm positive it's his life's ambition to get punched by you,"_  Ayala said sarcastically back and knocked lightly into Ed's hip, causing him to hip-check her back.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe if I do, he'll get a proper excuse to write me up," Ed said conspiratorially.

" _Yes because you have done absolutely_ nothing _in the past that would've been grounds for your commanding officer to write you up before."_ Ayala made sure the sarcasm was blatantly obvious this time.

"Your attitude is noted but unwelcome," Ed told her before looking at his mother and Cleo's grave once more. "I'm not sure if I'll see you again this trip, mum and Cleo, but I promise I'll try to come back soon and this time I'll make sure Al is with me," he told the stone, placing his left hand on the rock.

Ayala stayed respectfully quiet, the somber mood overtaking the light-hearted one of a few moments ago, until Ed pulled his hand away and gave Ayala a nod. In unison, they left the cemetery without a word spoken between them until they were back on the road. Though they were back to playfully arguing with one another, Ayala could sense Ed's unease about what he was about to do but she couldn't fault him. All she could and would do is make absolute sure that she was there for him and that he would never doubt their bond again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would absolutely love it if everyone who reads this chapter would please leave a comment letting me know their thoughts? Reviews make my week and fuel my motivation to get more chapters finished! Much love xx


	30. Chapter 30

Edward and Ayala's plan to talk to Hohenheim and Calix at Pinako's didn't go quite the way they were expecting as they found themselves face to face with the pair about halfway back to the Rockbell's from the cemetery. In an almost comedic moment, both pairs froze where they were, each person and Animal almost surprised to see the other pair there. Hohenheim and Calix were the first to recover from their slight shock and Edward was a little stunned to see that Calix had an almost nervous air about him. Hohenheim looked as impassive and stoic as ever but it seemed that his Animal hadn't quite mastered those qualities yet.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked, unable to fully keep the suspicion out of his voice.

"We were looking for the two of you," Hohenheim told him. "We were worried after Ayala ran out of the house but we wanted to give you some space just in case. Pinako asked us to find you and let you know that she expects you back before dark if you expect her to feed the two of you," he told them and Ed nodded once, letting the man know he understood. "We were also hoping we might be able to talk some more, if now's a good time for you," Hohenheim said and Ed was a little surprised at the fact that his father was even considering the fact that Ed might be busy. He had a suspicion that the horse had something to do with that though.

Feeling Ayala send some comforting warmth through their bond, Ed nodded. "Ayala told me the two of you wanted to talk. Might as well get it over and done with now," Ed said, presenting an air of uncaringness. Without another word, he and Ayala stepped around the other two and headed back up the road that would lead them back to the Rockbell property. He didn't have to turn back to know that they were following his lead, the crunching of Calix's hooves on the gravel was a pretty big giveaway.

" _Hey, Ed. You doing good now?"_  Chester asked with no warning. If Ed hadn't figured the leopard would contact him at some stage this morning, the sudden voice in his head would've startled him a lot more.

After reassuring Ayala it was just Chester, Ed answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm guessing you sensed everything that happened this morning?" Ed asked with a touch of sarcasm that had Chester mentally eyerolling. Though Ayala had admitted to all but confirming his unique abilities to Calix, who more than definitely would've told Hohenheim by now, Ed still decided to keep his conversation with Chester silent.

" _No, your emotional rollercoaster this morning was barely noticeable,"_  Chester drawled and Ed huffed in amusement.

"You're in a mood today. What happened?" Ed asked, making sure he didn't focus his whole attention on the conversation. One too many cases of tripping over unnoticed obstacles and running into objects he would've noticed had he not been completely distracted by an internal conversation with an Animal had taught him to split his attention and now he was an expert in the matter.

" _Ling and his guards have decided to stay in town but because they're here illegally, they couldn't go and get a hotel room. Which was something they just so happened to mention last night and Gracia – bless her – offered them the spare room which Ling very gleefully accepted so they stayed here the whole night, asking Al about everything they could regarding the stone and Al's situation,"_  Chester told him and Ed barely managed to hide his amusement at the amount of sarcasm Chester managed to put into the words 'just so happened' but his amusement was quickly overcome by confusion and worry at the mention of Al.

"How did they find out about Al's seal?" He asked, glancing at Ayala to see her worry written on her face.

" _One of the guards, Lan Fan, noticed Al didn't eat his lunch or his dinner and she hadn't seen him eat anything else during the day. She asked Al whether he was hungry and he told her that he wasn't as dinner had filled him up. As she had noticed he hadn't eaten his dinner…"_  Chester trailed off and Ed picked it back up.

"She knew he was lying and most likely asked him directly and since Al gets flustered when asked an unexpected question so directly, he would've blurted out a very unconvincing lie that anyone would've seen through," Ed finished and felt Chester's confirming hum.

" _That's almost exactly what happened. After some back and forth, I told Al to just tell them that the two of you were in an accident when you were younger and that you had performed the alchemy that tied Al's soul to the armour in a bid to save his life, at a great cost to you,"_  Chester told him.

"What was their response when Al told them that?" Ed asked, needing to know what he'd be walking into tomorrow.

" _They seemed to accept that Al couldn't tell them anything about how that bit of alchemy was performed so Ling kept trying to get information about the stone. Al refused to say anything on the subject but it wasn't until Gracia informed them that her offer would be rescinded if they kept trying to harass Al over it that they stopped asking,"_ Chester reported and Ed felt his temper flare at the Xingese prince.

"What a bunch of dicks," Ed growled as they continued back towards Pinako's.

He felt Chester and Ayala's complete agreement and annoyance, though Chester's was a little stronger, a combination of the fact that he was the one Ed was primarily connected to and the fact that he was Al's Animal, so the fact he could feel Chester's ire wasn't really surprising to Ed.

" _I just thought you should know what you'll be walking into when you get back,"_  Chester told him and Ed snorted. Unfortunately, he forgot to do so internally so the noise caught Hohenheim and Calix's attention. Ed ignored them both as Chester continued.  _"I also figured you'd probably not appreciate me waking you up with this news or when you were having your moment earlier,"_  Chester went on to say, a teasing note to his voice that had Ed rolling his eyes this time.

"You're hilarious," Ed deadpanned. "Are you sticking around for this talk I'm about to have with those two?" Ed asked.

" _Do you want me too?"_ Chester asked and Ed gave an internal shrug.

"It's up to you," he told the leopard. "The bastard said that he had some things to tell me about Xerxes that Al should probably know about but obviously you wouldn't be able to tell Al about them anyway since you haven't told him about yesterday and I need to be the one to tell him about yesterday," Ed said and Chester hummed in his mind contemplatively.

" _I think I'll stick around and listen in, so long as you're definitely okay with it,"_  Chester said and Ed gave a small grin.

"You just wanna know firsthand what he'd got to say, don't you?" Ed asked knowingly.

" _You know it,"_  Chester said unashamedly and Ed shook his head fondly, making sure the leopard knew he was. Chester didn't seem to care.

Ed pulled away from the bond a little and realised that the Rockbell boundary fence was only a few metres away. He spotted the old oak tree that he, Winry and Alphonse used to climb all over as children, daring each other to go higher and higher until Granny put a stop to it when Alphonse unknowingly chose a dead branch to climb on, resulting in it breaking from the tree and crash to the ground with him in tow, breaking his arm. Ayala figured out what he was thinking about and made the decision for where they'd talk for them by heading to the oak tree.

Ed followed without question, as did Calix and Hohenheim. No one spoke until they were all seated under the tree in much the same position they had been in the field opposite the cemetery the previous afternoon, though a little less tension and anger on Ed's part. There was silence for a few moments as everyone got comfortable and Ayala curled around Ed more so her head was on his knee. The young alchemist felt Chester nudge his mind encouragingly and he let out a breath. "What did you want to talk about?" Ed finally asked, looking at Hohenheim, forcing himself to keep eye contact so he wouldn't appear cowardly.

Hohenheim broke that eye contact when he looked at Calix, seemingly to have a silent conversation before he nodded shallowly and looked back at Ed, golden eyes once more meeting golden eyes. "I think the first thing we should talk about is what we never finished discussing yesterday. My reasons for leaving when I did," he said. Ed forced himself to remain calm even as a burst of anger rose in him at the casual way Hohenheim mentioned his abandoning his family for over a decade. Gaining control of himself, with a little bit of help from Ayala and Chester, Ed nodded and Hohenheim started talking.

"As I mentioned yesterday, Calix and I began digging into the Ishvalen Civil War as we were surprised by it because the Ishvalens were a peaceful people, despite the clashes between them and the Amestrian military in the past. Though there were religious and cultural tension between the two countries, Amestris and Ishval were eventually merged so Ishval would become part of Amestris and I couldn't see any kind of reason as to why they would suddenly declare war on us," Hohenheim said. "We dug into the start of the war and discovered a small Ishvalen child had been accidentally shot and killed by an Amestrian soldier who had been there to help quell riots after Amestris had annexed Ishval. This happened during such a tense time and the Ishvalens took it as a deliberate act. They decided the child's death was an act of betrayal on Amestris' part and the two people went to war." Ed felt himself growing irritated at his father's unasked for history lesson.

Though he'd only been 2 when the war started, he was 9 when the war ended and he remembered plenty about those later years. He'd witnessed hundreds of soldiers marching through Resembool only to limp, crawl or be carried back when they'd been too badly injured, killed or on the front lines too long. Pinako's doctor surgery had boomed during that time but she was one of the few who did well in the town. She had still suffered personally in the last couple of years of the war when Winry's parents went to help the soldiers – both Ishvalen and Amestrian – on the front lines and never returned. Though she continued to help any injured soldier who walked through her door, Pinako's demeanour when treating them was only as kind as she needed to be and not an ounce more.

Resembool itself hadn't been spared attacks from the war, stunting its growth in those years and the effects were still felt even now. But despite his own memories, Ed had studied the Ishvalen Civil War for clues on the stone so he knew all of this, with the exception of the child's death being the trigger for the whole war, a fact that had somehow been kept out of the history books. All Ed wanted to hear right now were the rest of Hohenheim's excuses so he could get away from the man and go somewhere else to analyse them. Calix seemed to sense Ed's irritation and he did something unexpected by both humans and Ayala.

" _Edward, please. I know your father and I hurt you by leaving all those years ago but please believe me when I say it was not an easy decision for either of us. Please give us the chance to explain why we left fully."_  The unknown, deep voice echoed in Ed's head, stopping his growing irritation in its tracks as he turned wide, shocked eyes on the grey stallion laying under the shady oak tree.

Though Ed had been warned by Ayala that Calix seemed to know about his abilities, he was still shocked to hear an unknown Animal in his mind without him initiating that conversation. The only Animals who had ever done that before were Chester – who didn't count as they hadn't realised what Ed could do so Chester hadn't guarded himself for the possibility – and Den – who also didn't count because they used him to make sure it hadn't been because of Chester's energy being stored in Ed that the young blonde could now hear and talk to other Animals. No Animal spoke to him first simply because they had no idea he could speak and hear them, at least until Ed chose to initiate the bonding process by reaching out to them telepathically.

"What the fuck gives you the right to try and bond with me?" Ed asked, feeling Chester recoil at the shock as well. He made sure he was speaking out loud, refusing to complete the bond Calix had tried to initiate. Though Ayala had said Calix wanted to bond, Ed still had zero interest in letting him. For right now, neither Hohenheim nor Calix had given him a good enough reason to do so and Ed felt no obligation to let them into his life so intimately when they had so callously abandoned him 12 years ago. "Don't do it again without my say so," Ed warned and Calix gave a small nod, brown eyes filled with devastation. "You haven't finished explaining your reasons," Ed said, turning to Hohenheim, "and skip the history lesson."

Hohenheim gave Calix a comforting pat on the neck before giving Edward a nod. "As we investigated the Ishvalen Civil War, a few things caught my attention and soon, I uncovered most of the towns, cities and countries you've also uncovered that were used as bleeding points," Hohenheim told him. "When I looked even closer, I saw signs of Homunculous being involved and I knew that whatever he had planned wouldn't end well for Amestris, which meant it wouldn't end well for you, Alphonse or Trisha. When my suspicions about Homunculous and what he was doing were formed, I decided we needed to leave the very next day and stay away as long as it took for us to either finish putting countermeasures in place and uncover the truth or Homunculous was destroyed permanently. The night before I left, Calix and I had the biggest argument we'd had in a very long time," Hohenheim said.

"Calix hadn't wanted to leave the three of you," he went on to say. "He couldn't see why we had to leave the next day since we didn't know for certain it was Homunculous and, even if it was, we didn't know what he was planning so all I would be doing would be a lot of digging and placing purposeless countermeasures, ready to be primed if they were ever needed. Calix told me that we could do all of that from Resembool, maybe leaving for a couple of weeks or months at a time to investigate something. That way we'd only miss out on being part of your lives for small increments rather than the 12 years it ended up taking for our paths to cross once more."

"So why didn't you listen to Calix? We probably would've hated you for not being there all the time but at least mum wouldn't have died without you there," Ed said, pissed off at the fact that his father's choice of not listening to Calix cost his mother her last wish being left unfulfilled.

Hohenheim hung his head. "As I told Ayala last night, I had no idea Trisha was even ill," he said and Ayala gave Ed a silent confirmation of his words. "I imagine she didn't think that what I was doing would take so long so she never told me she was ill before I left, if she even knew herself at that point. She'd promised she'd wait for me for as long as was needed so I had no reason to believe there was anything that would prevent that from happening. Before you ask, Edward, I never received the letters you and Alphonse sent. Either you sent them to people in my address book who had passed away or moved from that address, to people I no longer kept in contact with for whatever reason or who I'd had no reason to visit while I was away or you sent them to the right people at the wrong time and I missed the letters," Hohenheim explained without prompting and Ed's mouth closed. "I know you don't trust me much but please believe that if I'd had any knowledge or warning that your mother was dying, I would've come home to be with her and you two boys."

Ed didn't want to believe him, didn't want to believe that his father hadn't chosen to stay away from his dying wife and young children but there was something in the man's eyes that had Ed biting back his disbelieving scoff. Instead, he ignored what his father had said for the most part and spoke to keep the conversation going. "Calix said there were multiple reasons you left. What were the others?" Ed asked and Hohenheim sighed a little.

"Another reason I had left was simply because I was so used to traveling and not staying in one town for too long. An unfortunate habit we'd developed over the last 400 years to try and avoid people asking questions about why we never aged," Hohenheim said and Ed felt his temper flare as Chester and Ayala growled in his mind. Hohenheim was quick to realise he'd said something wrong and was quick to amend himself. "As I said before, Calix and I hadn't meant to be gone for so long. Trying to uncover and set up countermeasures against Homunculous' plans were our main reasons for leaving but I can't deny that we'd become a little restless after so long. I loved your mother and you boys so dearly back then but I couldn't help it when I got that urge to leave because, as I said, it had been engrained in us to uproot ourselves every decade or two and I had been in Resembool for that long. We thought we'd work off that urge while we were investigating and return home in a year or two, ready to settle down once more," Hohenheim told them. Ayala couldn't help but feel that Hohenheim really was trying to make Ed see that it hadn't been his, Al's or Trisha's faults in any way for his leaving.

"If you truly thought it would only take you a year or two to finish uncovering Homunculous' plot and placing countermeasures, why didn't you come back sooner? Why did you go 12 years without trying to contact us?" Ed asked while trying to squash down his happiness at his father telling him that he loved him, something he couldn't ever remember Hohenheim telling him. Chester, thankfully, stayed quiet on that matter and Ed was grateful about it.

"I believe Cal explained that to Ayala last night," Hohenheim said, "but I'm happy to repeat it for you. I'm slightly mortified to admit that the reason I hadn't tried contacting Trisha, you, your brother or Pinako all these years is due mainly to the fact that we hadn't realised how much time had passed," he admitted and Ed felt himself gaping slightly in disbelief. "When you live as long as I have, a year seems to pass in the blink of an eye. It truly didn't feel like 12 years had gone by until we returned to Resembool and saw Pinako. The difference between the way she looked when we'd left and now told us that we'd been gone much longer than we realised," Hohenheim told him, a hint of melancholy in his voice.

Ed let silence reign over their space for a few moments before breaking it again. "Is there anything else?" Ed asked. He thought he saw a flicker of something in Hohenheim's eyes, like he was contemplating not saying anything, but Calix nodded his head, giving Hohenheim no choice.

"A small part of why I left was because I was afraid of how you and Alphonse would react when you realised I wasn't ageing like you and your mother were," Hohenheim admitted. "I was worried that you would be disgusted by what I am when you were old enough to ask and I was worried I would lose the two of you as a result." Hohenheim gave a small, cynical laugh. "Of course, my decision to leave and our inability to keep track of time has already cost me your mother and may very well have cost me the two of you as well," he said lowly, eyes falling to the ground in front of him.

Ed felt his heart twinge at the genuineness of his father's words and, with a quick question to Chester and the leopard's permission, Ed spoke. "I'm not trying to give you false hope or promises. I'm still pissed as all hell but Alphonse has always been quicker at letting go of a grudge than I have been," Ed told him. Hohenheim looked up in surprise and Ed was quick to tack on "but I'm not guaranteeing you anything," he warned but Hohenheim merely nodded, looking extremely relieved. Slightly uncomfortable, Ed moved the subject along. "How did Calix know that I can talk with other Animals?" Ed asked. Though he'd wanted to change the subject, he asked this question because he also needed to know what he had to do to keep his secret better kept.

"You mentioned yesterday when I asked about the Fuhrer that Chester and Ayala both agreed that the Fuhrer had no Animal. There hadn't been enough time for Ayala to have passed along the question to Chester then pass Chester's answer to you before you answered me. We knew Ayala was definitely your wolf here as you'd placed your hand on her when I inferred she might've been mistaken about the Fuhrer being a homunculous. You also sometimes mumble or speak out loud to seemingly no one but Ayala is normally quick to act like you're talking to her," Hohenheim explained gently. Ed groaned internally and Chester laughed at him. "Though what I'd like to know is how you got those abilities. Because I know how I got mine and I'm sure he didn't get his the same way I did." Ayala reared back as though she'd been hit because  _Hohenheim's voice was in her head!_

"Aya?" Ed asked, panicking slightly, switching between glaring suspiciously at his father and Calix and looking worriedly at his stunned wolf.

" _He's speaking to me, Ed! Telepathically, I mean,"_  Ayala revealed, still looking shell-shocked and Ed gasped.

"He can speak to you? You can speak to Animals?" Ed asked, directing the last question at his father as he moved slightly in front of Ayala, as though he was trying to protect her from it happening again. He could sense Chester's shock through their bond as the leopard absorbed what he'd heard.

Hohenheim dipped his head in confirmation. "The other reason I wanted to speak to you was because I have knowledge from Xerxes to pass along to you; knowledge that both you and Alphonse have a birth right to," Hohenheim told him. When Ed didn't object to him continuing, he spoke. "Half a decade before Xerxes destruction, myself and some fellow alchemists discovered a way to grant an alchemist the ability to converse with other people's Spirit Animals. I had hoped to be there when you and Alphonse had gained your Animals so I could pass along the knowledge to you but things didn't work out that way," Hohenheim said. "But as I told your Animal, I don't believe you got this information the same way I did. How did you gain yours?" Hohenheim asked once more.

"From the Gate," Ed said stiffly. "When I woke up properly after the failed transmutation, I overheard Chester speaking to Alphonse. Since that night, I can create a bond with any Animal I want so long as the Animal and I speak to each other while in each other's sight. The bond doesn't take otherwise," Ed explained at Ayala's prompting. "If alchemists in Xerxes discovered this ability, why don't any of the Animals know about it? I thought Animals were brought into this world with the knowledge of what to expect from their bonds, no matter how rare some of it can be." Ayala nodded in confirmation and Chester gave his own mental nod of agreement.

"For an Animal to pass along any new information about the bond it learns, it must die first," Hohenheim explained. "Since the country of Xerxes was small – only a million humans living in it and with maybe half of them having Animals – there were only a few people born with alchemic talent. Those who discovered this ability alongside me were even fewer and those we shared this news with were even fewer still. Since the souls of the Animals and humans outside of the centre of the array were taken and condensed into the two stones, technically, they weren't killed and the knowledge from those few Animals wasn't passed on. When Homunculous and I left, the city was left to decay and all the notes from that time were lost and the knowledge never recovered," Hohenheim revealed.

"So, what? Truth had this knowledge stored in my Gate and I just happened to absorb it on my trip through?" Ed asked, a little incredulously. It sounded unbelievable to him. In fact, the conversations he'd had with his father over the past day sounded completely unbelievable.

"It's possible but I believe it's more likely that you were given that knowledge because your Gate realised you were half-Xerxian and gave you the knowledge you would've otherwise learned had Xerxes survived and you been born there," Hohenheim said before frowning. "You keep talking as though you're the only one with this ability. Didn't Alphonse get this knowledge on his trip?" Ed tensed slightly as the memories of Alphonse being torn into tiny shreds in front of him surfaced unbidden at his father's casual manner when asking.

" _Alphonse is safe, Ed. He's here, alive and well, playing with Elysia while Gracia is talking to Ling and his guards in the background. I promise you that he's alright."_  Chester's smooth voice broke through the memories and Ed shook his head slightly, sending a wave a gratitude to the Sunda.

"Alphonse doesn't have any memories of Truth or the Gate," Ed told Hohenheim before the older man could ask about why the blood had drained from Ed's face and the time between his asking and Ed responding. "We don't know why, before you ask. He remembers everything up until Truth taking him. According to his memories, he passed out for a couple of moments before waking up to find us as we were," Ed said and Hohenheim hummed thoughtfully.

"From what Pinako told me, Alphonse lost his whole body," Hohenheim said and Ed winced slightly. "You bound him to an old suit of armour, sacrificing your arm to do so." This time, Ed refused to so much as twitch as he made himself keep eye contact with Hohenheim, silently daring him to try and lecture him about that night. "It could be because he doesn't have a physical body or it could be simply because of the trauma he went through. Perhaps it was a combination of the two that prevented him from remembering what he'd gained. I imagine that either with time or if Alphonse's soul is reunited with his flesh body, he'll gain those memories," Hohenheim told him and Ed resisted the urge to roll his eyes and scoff. He and Al had come to that conclusion years ago.

" _Pretentious much?"_  Ayala sniffed, causing Ed to choke on a snort of amusement while Chester gave Ayala a mental nod of approval. His wolf gave him a slight wink and grin before their attention went back to Hohenheim.

"Is that everything you needed to talk to me about?" Edward asked. Though his urge to punch his father in the jaw was still as strong as it had been when he laid eyes on him at the cemetery for the first time in 12 years, it was merely simmering under his skin rather than fighting to be let out and it was mainly because of this that Ed wanted to get away from Hohenheim. Alphonse would yell at him for hitting their father for no good reason and, unfortunately, Ed knew nothing had happened during their talk today that could be considered a good reason, no matter how hard he tried to find one.

Calix and Hohenheim shared a look that Ed couldn't decipher before Hohenheim nodded to his horse and faced Ed. "Calix is hoping that now you know about why I had to leave, why I didn't come back for so long and how I can talk to other Animals, you might have reconsidered your stance on bonding with him," Hohenheim told him and Ed glared at both Hohenheim and Calix.

"No, I haven't," Ed told him bluntly. "You can't seriously have expected me to take everything you've just told me, considered it and made up my mind on whether I forgive you for all of that already," Ed said, a tinge of pleading in his voice, like he was begging his father to say 'of course I haven't' but as always, his father disappointed him.

"Pinako told me that you and Alphonse are considered alchemic prodigies and geniuses in your own rights. Surely you can see that Calix and I didn't mean to leave you and Alphonse for 12 years and that we didn't mean to ignore your letters and not be here for your mother," Hohenheim said and even Ayala couldn't hide her stunned disbelief.

"You bastard," Ed hissed as he got to his feet. "You can't seriously expect me to have forgiven you for 12 years of abandonment and what Al and I went through as a result moments after you gave me your excuses! 12 years the two of you were gone! Alphonse was always scared that we would get word that you were dead! I certainly hoped we would because that was the only reason I would forgive you outright for not being there for us," Ed admitted and almost grinned viciously at the hurt and shock that flickered across Hohenheim's face. Ayala and Chester were both standing by for the moment, knowing that letting Ed get most of his rightful anger out of his system would be better in the long run but both Animals were prepared to intervene if needed. "How can someone who can talk to other Animals and claim to love someone as much as you claim to have loved mum not once contact their Animal to make sure everything was alright?"

Hohenheim had the decency to look shamefaced as he answered. "I never thought to," he admitted and Ed reeled back like he'd been struck physically. "I've never showcased my abilities, as I'm sure you haven't either, and while Trisha and Cleo knew what I could do, I'd never once spoken to Cleo directly for any reason. I've made it a habit to pretend as though I don't have that unique skillset and because of that, I'll admit that I've always relied on the other Animal to contact Calix about anything important and for Calix to do the same. Because I never bonded with her, I didn't feel Cleo passing either so I didn't get any warning something devastating had happened that way," Hohenheim explained and that drew Ed up short for a moment. Did that mean that if any of the Animals he was bonded to died, that Ed would feel it?

Shaking his mind free of those thoughts, Ed brought his mind back to the subject at hand. "So what you're telling me is that you failed to be there for the people you claimed to have loved the most in this world because you didn't take the most obvious steps to make sure you could contact them and they could contact you if need be?" Ed spat and was rewarded by Hohenheim physically flinching back. Ayala's ears were pinned back in worry as she watched the scene unfold. Ed always did tend to go for any sore spots he knew his opponent had, whether emotional or physical.

"At least I didn't almost get myself and my only remaining family killed because my hubris told me I was powerful enough to bring back someone from the dead," Hohenheim shot back and it was only the fact that Ayala saw the instant regret and disbelief that he'd actually said that on Hohenheim's face that stopped her from ripping his throat out on the spot.

Ed gave a full-body flinch and stepped back slightly before drawing himself up again and biting back. "We wouldn't have been able to try it if it hadn't been for you, you bastard!" Ed snarled and the disbelief on Hohenheim's face would've likely been funny in any other situation.

"How was your decision to try that transmutation in any way my fault?" Hohenheim asked and Ayala could sense Calix's concern about where this conversation was going.

"We were following the fucking recipe left in  _your_  books!" Ed yelled. "We never would've been able to try it if we hadn't had the fucking recipe  _right there!_  Who the fuck leaves those sorts of alchemic texts somewhere children can find and try anyway?" Ed asked rhetorically, voice rising a couple of octaves before going back into his rant. "And we never would've tried bringing mum back if we'd had a fucking parent still there when she passed away! The whole reason we wanted to bring her back was because she was the only parent we had and we just wanted to see her smile again." Ed's voice had gone from shouting to soft in the one sentence and Ayala whined at the massive swirl of emotions she could feel in him. "You abandoned us, left us alone with only mum there for us and when she was gone, we had no one left who would love and care for us as only a parent could."

"Edward," Hohenheim said, getting to his feet. Calix hauled himself up as well and both were watching the blonde in front of them. "I know you're upset at me but blaming me for everything that's gone wrong during the years I wasn't there for you isn't the way to cope. Blaming me doesn't mean you weren't at fault for what happened," Hohenheim said and twitched back when Ed's molten golden eyes were snapped up to meet his.

"As much as I want too, I don't blame you entirely," Ed snarled. "I blame myself for thinking of committing the ultimate taboo in the first place and ignoring Teacher's warnings that it was impossible. I blame Alphonse for researching alongside me and agreeing that we could do it even when he had his doubts. I blame Ayala and Chester for not grabbing us and dragging us out of that fucking basement when their sense of wrongness nearly overpowered them. I blame mum for dying in the first place and I blame you abandoning us and for leaving everything bar the actual ingredients we needed to try that fucking transmutation in the first place." It was the first time Ayala and Chester heard Ed admit out loud that he partially blamed them for what had happened that night and neither of them could say it didn't sting a little. Ed was trembling slightly as he struggled to keep what little control he had on his emotions in place.

"You were never supposed to enter my study. You should never have been in there to find those journals," Hohenheim said and Ed scoffed.

"Al and I discovered we had alchemic talent months after you left. Mum couldn't teach us and the library only had so many books we could study so of course we decided to look through the alchemic texts and journals you left behind," Ed snapped. "You weren't there to teach us yourself or enforce the rule that we couldn't enter your study because, hey, it wasn't like you were working on anything important in there anymore," Ed said, bringing up Hohenheim's excuse he'd give the boys whenever they'd wanted to go into his study. "What did you seriously expect to happen to your study when you left? That it would remain untouched for the duration? Because mum did her best to keep us out of there but she was only one person and she was often too busy to notice us sneaking in there. Eventually, she gave up trying, probably trusting that you wouldn't have something as dangerous as the recipe for human transmutation lying around in there for us to stumble across." Ed saw Hohenheim's face fall as he finished speaking.

"You're right, Edward," Hohenheim said and Ed felt certain that if he wasn't so wound up, his jaw would've dropped in disbelief. "There is no good reason why I didn't hide those notebooks better or, even better, take them with me so you and Alphonse couldn't find them. There is no good reason why I left them in the same house my young sons lived in without me there to stop the two of you from finding them." Hohenheim sighed and suddenly Ed could see every single one of the years his father had been alive for in his eyes. "You're also right that I don't have a good enough excuse for not knowing about Trisha becoming ill, let alone her passing and funeral, nor do I have a good enough excuse for not coming home sooner. I might have been pursuing leads on what Homunculous was up to and planning strategic spots to set up my countermeasures but there were plenty of times where I wasn't able to do anything because I wasn't getting any information that I could've come back to Resembool until the next lead came in." Again Hohenheim sighed. "I have no good reasons for any of it. All I have are the reasons I gave myself and Calix to justify us needing to leave," he said, voice despondent.

Ed felt slightly uncomfortable watching his father's grief become so evident on his face. He'd never been good in an emotionally charged situation. He had no idea what to do when someone was obviously sad or down and he had no clue what to say in response to what Hohenheim had just said. The whole situation was made worse by the fact that, for whatever reason, it seemed so  _wrong_  to see his father so emotionally compromised. So, as he always did in these kinds of situations, he looked to Ayala for help.

" _Tell him you understand why he had to leave and that you can understand time getting away from him but that you hope he can understand everything from your perspective as well. Tell him you don't want to bond with Calix right now but that you'll consider the decision again now that he's told you everything and that you'll have an answer by tomorrow. Tell him you need to get some space from him for the moment but that you'll be back in a few hours if there's anything else he thinks the two of you need to discuss before you head back to Central tomorrow,"_  Ayala instructed and Ed nodded. Chester offered silent encouragement, understanding Ed's discomfort a little more than Ayala did since he too wasn't that great with the emotional side of things with anyone except Alphonse.

"Look, I get why you left," Ed said, getting Hohenheim's attention. "It'd be a bit hypocritical of me to say I didn't, considering that I'm trying to figure out what's going on as well. I can also understand time getting away from you like that. Obviously, I've never lost track of time for that long but I've missed a few meals and nights of sleep because I hadn't realised how long I had been studying for so I kind of get it," Ed told him. "But that being said, I hope you can see things from where I'm standing. I didn't know any of what you've told me for the last 12 years so I've been spending that long believing that you just up and left us and that mum was being foolishly hopeful every time she said you would be home soon," Ed said before Hohenheim could say anything.

"I can't be around you right now though. I need a few hours to think about everything we've said without you or Granny nearby," Ed explained. "I'll reconsider my decision about bonding with Calix while I'm gone," Ed was quick to notice their hopeful eyes, "but I'm not gonna make any false promises about what decision I'll come to," he said firmly, making sure they knew his agreeing to reconsider wasn't a guarantee that he'll bond with the grey horse. "I'll be back before dark," Ed said abruptly, unsure of how else to end the conversation and turned to leave with a slightly amused Ayala on his heels.

"I'll let Pinako know you'll be back for dinner," Hohenheim said and Ed nodded to show he'd heard. "Thank you for agreeing to think about Calix's request again," he added as Ed took a few more steps away from them.

Ed turned back to see his father and Calix standing under the shade of the oak tree. Calix looked a little worried and a little hopeful as he watched Ed while his father looked thoughtful and a little relieved. Ed didn't say anything in response, merely giving them another nod, before he turned back around and walked away from the tree once more with Ayala trotting next to him. Both her and Chester were pressing on his mind in a comforting manner as he and Ayala made their way to a quiet, isolated spot, making sure he knew that he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts once they got there.

* * *

Ed and Ayala didn't walk too far from where they'd left Hohenheim and Calix after their conversation. Thirty minutes of aimless walking on Ed's part but careful leading on Ayala's had them finding another one of Ed's childhood hidey-holes. This time it was a spot created by three large trees standing in a rough circle that provided a small clearing just big enough for them to play in. It had been popular with both Elric brothers and Winry as it was only a few metres from a small stream that in summer proved to be a welcome relief during their adventures. Ayala and Ed settled themselves against the biggest of the three trees and Ed sighed.

"How the actual fuck is this bullshit my life?" Ed asked and both Animals laughed, bordering on hysterically, at how random and accurate the question was.

" _I don't know, Ed. I sometimes think some deity out there or even Truth itself is just screwing with you and Alphonse,"_  Ayala said honestly and both Ed and Chester snorted.

" _I wouldn't be surprised,"_  Chester admitted and Ed hummed in agreement.

"Seriously though," Ed said, shaking his head a little. "My father is a 400-year-old kind of, but not really, homunculous who played an unwilling but integral role in the destruction of the entire civilisation of Xerxes. He and Calix then went east to Xing where he taught the people there their version of alchemy before coming back to Amestris, wandering around before meeting our mother and having me and Alphonse." Ayala and Chester didn't bother interrupting him, knowing this was his way of trying to come to terms with everything. "Then he and Calix get a nasty feeling about the Ishvalen Civil War and decide to investigate, realise that the homunculous who started all that shit in Xerxes is likely behind everything and Hohenheim got scared we'd hate him for being practically immortal so he took the opportunity presented to fuck off to who knows where rather than listen to Calix. Neither of them noticed 12 years going by and neither of them thought to contact Cleo to check on us and the only reason they actually figured out how much time had gone by was because Granny got old." Ed paused to take a breath before continuing on his tirade. "And it turns out he's one of the few alchemists in Xerxes who actually discovered how to talk to other people's Animals but that knowledge was destroyed when Xerxes was destroyed so he and I are the only ones who actually know the secret, except for maybe Al if he recovers his memories!" Ed said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Did I miss anything?" He asked

" _No, I'm pretty sure you covered all of the important, non-emotional things that happened,"_  Ayala said a little dryly. Ed shot her a look but didn't say anything in his defence.

"And Calix wants me to create a bond with him," Ed sighed, leaning back against the tree trunk. "What the hell am I gonna do about that?"

Though Ayala and Chester were both on the same wavelength about not swaying Ed's opinions either way, that didn't mean they wouldn't give Ed their own opinions on the subject. They understood this needed to be the blonde's decision but they also knew that Ed wouldn't be able to come to a decision on his own, not within the next few hours. The pros and cons of allowing a bond to form with Calix would play on a loop in his mind and they had no clue when Hohenheim and Calix would be leaving so if offering their thoughts meant Ed could come to a decision before nightfall than that's what they'd do.

With a nudge from Chester, Ayala went first.  _"Chester and I won't tell you whether you should or shouldn't bond with Calix,"_  Ayala said and she felt Ed's disappointment.  _"This is your decision, Ed, and yours alone,"_  she reprimanded gently before taking some pity on him.  _"Why don't you talk us through your thoughts and we'll offer our own?"_  She offered and knew Chester was telling Ed he was on her side.

Ed still didn't look pleased – talking about his feelings about something was never his favourite thing to do – but he nodded. "I suppose the main reason I don't want to is pretty obvious," Ed said, a slight smirk on his face and Ayala rolled her eyes. She had a feeling Chester did the same thing, judging from Ed's rather unimpressed, yet amused, look. "I don't know whether I want Hohenheim to have that much access to my life," Ed said.

" _That's fair,"_  Chester said, making sure Ayala could hear him so she knew what he was saying.  _"Despite what he's told you about why he left, it doesn't erase the fact that he did leave for 12 years without bothering to send so much as a postcard to you guys. I don't know how much I fully buy into his excuse of not realising how much time had passed. I can believe losing track of time for a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks, but not 12 years. Surely he had to have picked up a newspaper at some stage,"_  Chester said, his disbelief drenching his voice.  _"Not to mention how he missed the country going crazy over the youngest State Alchemist to be accepted by the military. Your name and title were published in every town, no matter how small. Those first few months of your service were hectic. Everyone wanted to meet you, especially when you gained the title of the People's Alchemist so why didn't Hohenheim or Calix hear about it?"_

" _They did say they were busy trying to track down information about Homunculous and what he had planned for Amestris. It is possible that they weren't staying in towns long enough to hear the gossip after finding out what they wanted and if they didn't want to attract any unwanted attention, they wouldn't have stayed in any town for longer than a day if there was nothing there for them to hear or uncover,"_  Ayala interjected, feeling the need to provide Hohenheim and Calix some kind of defence.  _"Plus, I imagine they only stayed in a town if there was a lead or possible lead there. They probably did a lot of camping in the outdoors to avoid attention and when they did get a lead, they probably did what Ed does and focus all their attention on that and ignore everything else,"_  Ayala pointed out.

" _What else is bothering you about having the link to Calix?"_  Chester asked, changing the subject rather than continuing the argument. Ayala did have some good points even if Chester didn't personally believe any of them.

"I don't know how much Hohenheim can do with other Animals and what they sense from him once they're bonded but you guys know how much Nala and the other Animals get from me. They can figure out when I'm nearby, when my emotions go haywire, even when I'm severely injured! Not to mention the fact that we can sight-share if need be. Plus, Hohenheim has had  _400 years_  to perfect that skill while I've had it for only, what? Five, five and a half years? Who knows how much a bond he or Calix would have with another Animal or human could have?" Ed sighed as he looked at his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't know if I want to have that kind of a connection with Calix," he said defeatedly.

" _I hate to say it but it might be a good idea to bond with Calix, from a strategic point of view,"_  Ayala said and Ed looked shocked to say the least.  _"Both you and Hohenheim are trying to figure out the same thing and save the country from whatever that array will do. While we have a strong team helping us out, Hohenheim only has himself and Calix,"_  Ayala said, hasty to argue to her case.  _"Having said that, that could be to Hohenheim's advantage. He might be able to find additional information out that we wouldn't be able to because he's by himself and he's not as well-known as you, Alphonse, Chester, myself or any of Mustang's team and their Animals,"_  Ayala went on to say and she could see that Ed knew where she was going with this but she pushed on anyway. _"Likewise, yours and Mustang's military connections might come up with information that he would never be able to uncover by himself. If you and Calix were connected, you could share that information so that all of us are on the same page. That could help us with coming up with a plan once we know as much of Homunculous' plan and it could be a quick way for Calix to warn us of danger and vice versa."_

"I get that it could prove beneficial to everyone if I bonded with Calix but…" Ed trailed off, not able to figure out how to articulate what he wanted to say without sounding unbelievably selfish.

" _But what about what you want,"_  Chester bluntly finished for him and Ed nodded.  _"Ed, you are one of the most selfless people we know. Before you try and deny that,"_  Chester mentally glared at the blonde as he went to do just that,  _"just remember that those moments you're thinking of didn't have any potentially serious consequences if you chose what you wanted. In all other matters where it's been life or death, you have chosen to put yourself on the line over and over in an attempt to save others. You had no guarantee that Al would wake up before you bled out after you sacrificed your arm for his soul but you did it anyway. Or when we were in the Fifth Laboratory fighting that suit of armour and those homunculi. There were plenty of times where you covered me and left yourself open for an attack. There are other examples I could give but I think you've gotten my point,"_  Chester said.  _"Saying that, just because this could prove beneficial to everyone else it doesn't mean you have to allow it. It is your choice and your choice alone who you allow a bond with and if you decide you don't want one with Calix right now, no one can make you."_

" _Chester's right,"_  Ayala said.  _"I may have been the one to say that it could strategically be a good move in the first place but there's no guarantee you'll ever have to use it for that. No one knows when this plan is going to going to be completed. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen in twenty years and there's no way to know if we or Hohenheim will actually find out vital information that the other side doesn't know so you creating the bond with Calix for that purpose might be a waste of time,"_  Ayala said and Ed groaned, placing his head in his hands.

"This isn't helping me," he whined and Ayala and Chester chuckled understandingly.

" _We're not meant to be,"_  Ayala reminded him.  _"This is your decision. All we're doing is giving you outside points of views for you to think about."_

" _Bonding is permanent,"_  Chester reminded him rather unnecessarily.  _"I know you already know that so stop judging me but someone needed to remind you. If you chose to bond with Calix, you can't change your mind once it's done. You'll be stuck with Calix in your mind for the rest of both your lives,"_  Chester said and Ed sighed through his nose.

"That's true. I can't take it back if I bond with him," Ed muttered, knocking his head back against the tree trunk gently.

" _I will say that Calix's whole reason for wanting to talk to me last night was to see if I would help convince you to forgive him and only him,"_  Ayala piped up and Ed gave her an incredulous look.

"He wanted me to forgive just him? Why?" Ed asked when Ayala nodded.

" _He truly loves you and Alphonse. As much as Den loves the two of you and Winry and as much as I love Al and Chester loves you,"_  Ayala told him.  _"That love hasn't faded for him in all those years and he was devastated when you refused to let him comfort you and when you refused to bond with him. I'd be surprised if Den didn't sense how heartbroken the bloody horse was from in town,"_  Ayala grumbled.

" _It's true,"_  Chester admitted begrudgingly.  _"I couldn't sense his emotions since I'm not physically there but I was watching through you and I could see Calix's expression. He was genuinely upset when you didn't complete the bond and I don't think it had anything to do so much with your problems with Hohenheim and your unwillingness to forgive your father and everything to do with the fact that those problems and that unwillingness were being extended by you to Calix,"_  Chester told him honestly.

"Do you think I'm projecting my problems with Hohenheim onto Calix?" Ed asked, looking unsure of himself.

" _Well, are you truly angry at Calix? Like you are with Hohenheim?"_  Ayala asked pointedly and Ed fell silent as he tried to figure out the answer to that question.

"I don't know," Ed finally admitted. "I  _am_  angry at him for not stopping Hohenheim, for not pushing for him to stay in Resembool but take trips like Hohenheim said Calix suggested. I'm pissed that he never thought to contact Cleo at all while she and mum were still alive and I'm pissed that he didn't notice how much time had gone," Ed told them.

" _But is the anger you feel for all of that so much that you can't forgive him, let alone bond with him right now?"_  Chester pressed gently and Ed sighed once more.

"I don't know!" He exclaimed. "I know how stubborn Animals can be when they think their human is about to make a stupid decision so I don't understand why Calix couldn't be firmer in trying to keep Hohenheim in Resembool," he told them.

" _It could've been something as simple as Hohenheim being very convincing or maybe Hohenheim and Calix have been through so much together and come out on top that they thought that they really could have this whole situation dealt with in a couple of years. Maybe it was something else entirely but we don't know what and maybe they don't fully know either,"_  Ayala said.  _"Maybe their instincts were telling them it was the right thing to do and it was so strong that they couldn't fight against it,"_  she suggested, shrugging a shoulder.

Ed hummed as he thought about what she said and contemplated the whole situation. "I just don't know whether I could offer Calix a bond," Ed told them. "I'll admit that I'm not as angry at him as I am at Hohenheim but still… I don't think it's not something I can decide on right now," Ed admitted.

" _That's fine,"_  Chester said carelessly.  _"It's not like you have to make a decision right this minute or else the world will end. Take a few more hours and think on it a little longer."_

" _What he said,"_  Ayala agreed and Ed gave them a small smile.

"Thanks, guys," he said gratefully before the smile fell off his face. "There is something else I wanted to ask you about, unrelated to the whole bonding-with-Calix thing," he told them.

" _What's up?"_  Chester asked and Ayala pressed her curiousity on her bond with Ed.

"It was something that Hohenheim said," Ed told them. "He told me that because he hadn't bonded with Cleo, he never felt when she passed away. Does that mean that if any of the Animals I've bonded with die, I'll feel it as well?" Ed asked, his voice a little shaky at the mere thought.

Both Animals seemed to freeze at his question before they started to consider it.  _"I don't know, Ed, but from what we know of your bond and how similar it is to yours with Ayala, it's most likely that you would feel an Animal you're connected with die,"_  Chester said, deciding to take the chance Ayala's silence gave him to be the first to answer.

"Oh," was all Ed said in response. "I hadn't thought about that when I bonded with them," he admitted before laughing cynically at himself. "How stupid is that? Of course I'll probably feel an Animal I'm mentally connected to die. Why would that part of a typical bond be any different to the other parts? I can do just about everything else, only in a more limited fashion than I could with Ayala, so finding out about being able to feel an Animal die shouldn't be that surprising," he said with a small humourless chuckle that had Ayala pressing into his side comfortingly while Chester did the best he could to offer mental support.

" _Oh, Ed,"_  Ayala sighed as she snuggled in.  _"Don't dwell on it. If you're lucky, none of the Animal's you're attached to will be killed any time soon and you won't have to suffer through it,"_  Ayala said optimistically. No one called Ed out on his disbelieving snort.  _"Why don't we spend a couple more hours here? Chester can tell us every dumb thing Ling and company has tried while at Gracia's and regale us with stories of what Al and Elysia have been doing and you can think about whether bonding with Calix is a good idea or not, okay?"_  Ayala suggested.

"Yeah, alright," Ed said, relaxing slightly further into Ayala's fur and forcing his mind away from the possibility of feeling any of the Animals he was bonded to die.

" _Fine with me,"_  Chester told them and both of them got the sense that the leopard was making himself comfortable.  _"Right, so you know about Ling figuring out about Al and badgering him about the stone only to be lectured by Gracia. Let me tell you about the sneaky ways Ling kept trying to ask after that."_

* * *

" _Ed?"_  Den's voice broke through Ayala and Chester's playful banter a couple of hours after their earlier, heavier discussion with Ed.  _"Pinako wants to know if you'll be home soon. She's got some stew cooking on the stove for you,"_  Den told him and Ed smiled at Den's attempt to bribe him back to the Rockbell house.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours, Den," Ed told him and smiling slightly when the dog seemed to relax slightly. "Tel Granny she didn't need to bribe me either," Ed said with a small laugh as he felt Den's sheepishness. "Ayala and I are gonna go into town first and book our ticket on tomorrow's train first so we know we've done it," he told the collie dog and looking at Ayala for her reaction. He hadn't actually discussed it with his wolf but she didn't seem against the idea, which was a win in his book.

" _I'll Pinako know. Do you want some additional company?"_  Den asked and Ed shared a knowing look with Ayala.

"My bastard of a father is there isn't he?" Ed asked and received a mental confirming hum from Den. "Still uncomfortable around him, huh?"

" _I can't believe I missed sensing what he is for all those years,"_  Den moaned.  _"Pinako and I have known him for nearly two decades and it took Ayala and Chester pointing out what a homunculous smells like for me to even notice."_  Ed could sense Den's anger and disappointment at himself.

"It happens to the best of us, Den, so don't worry about it," Ed told him. "We'll meet you at the end of the driveway. Keep an eye out for us," Ed said.

" _I'll try,"_  Den said.  _"See you soon,"_  the dog told him before disconnecting from their conversation.

" _I take it we're heading into town now?"_  Ayala asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, probably would be a good idea," Ed said as he heaved himself to his feet, accidentally knocking Ayala slightly as she hadn't stood up quickly enough herself. "Sorry," Ed immediately apologised, giving Ayala an appropriately apologetic look, which was to say not very.

Ayala huffed at him but dismissed the slightly sincere apology.  _"Do you even know when we're gonna leave tomorrow?"_  She asked and brought Ed to a standstill before he could move too far from the tree.

"I think we should catch the afternoon train," Ed said after a moment of deliberation. "I do want Granny to check my ports and make sure they're alright after our trip north," he explained and Ayala nodded.

" _That's fair. Plus, we can use the morning to take care of any other remaining business we might have after tonight,"_  Ayala pointed out and Ed knew what she was referencing to.

" _I'll let Al know you'll be back tomorrow night and he can tell the Hughes',"_ Chester said, making Ed jump slightly as he'd almost forgotten the leopard was still in his mind.

"That'd be great. Thanks, Chester," Ed said, ignoring the leopard's chuckles at his reaction.

" _No worries. Let me know what you decide about Calix,"_  Chester ordered and Ed rolled his eyes, even as his lips twitched upwards slightly.

"Nosey," Ed accused but Chester didn't bother to defend himself. Rather, Ed felt the leopard enthusiastically agree before they said their goodbyes and Ed felt his and Chester's bond go quiet for the first time since his visit to the cemetery this morning.

" _Ready? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure Den is already at the end of the driveway and waiting for us,"_  Ayala said, half-jokingly.

"Poor dog though I don't blame him for trying to avoid that arse," Ed told her as they headed through the small wooded area they were in. "Pretty sure I'd rather spend a day with Mustang than that bastard. Don't tell him or Nala that I said that," Ed ordered, looking at Ayala pleadingly and causing her to snicker, refusing to put him out of his misery for a few minutes by agreeing to keep what he'd said to herself.

She let him beg her until they were back on the road before laughing.  _"I'll keep it to myself. Stop panicking,"_  she swore to him though her genuineness was probably undermined by her giggles.

Ed huffed. "Glad you find it so amusing," he grumbled at her and she gave him a toothy grin.

* * *

It took them half an hour to get back to the Rockbell property boundary and another ten minutes until they could see the end of the driveway. The walk did Ed some good in getting him further relaxed and his mind pushing the dilemma with Calix further to the back of it. He and Ayala kept what they spoke about on the lighter side of things, joking about what Chester was currently going through with Ling and his guards boarding at the Hughes house with him and Al. To their surprise, when they finally got to the end of the Rockbell driveway, Den wasn't by himself. Pinako was waiting there with him.

"What's up, Granny?" Ed asked as they came to a stop in front of them.

"Den told me you were heading to the train station to book your tickets for tomorrow," Pinako croaked and Ed nodded. "Can you pick me up a couple of things in town? Den knows what I need," Pinako asked.

"Yeah, no problems," Ed told her before frowning. "Why didn't you just have Den ask me?"

"Because I wanted to make sure you were coming back tonight," Pinako said bluntly and Ed sighed in irritation.

"Yes, I will be at yours for tonight. It's not like I can really go anywhere else and the trains have stopped running for the day," Ed told her defensively and Pinako held her hand up in a gesture for him to calm down.

"I was only checking so settle down," she instructed, giving Ed a look that told him it was in his best interests to listen to her. "We'll see you when you get back. I'm cooking stew so don't be late," she warned him.

"Den warned me. We won't be late," Ed promised her. With a sharp nod, Pinako turned on her heel and started back up the driveway while Den remained behind. "Come on, you two," Ed said, moving a couple steps away from the drive. Ayala and Den were quick to catch up to him and place themselves on either side of him for the walk.

" _How'd you go with Hohenheim and Calix this morning?"_  Den asked as the trio headed into town and Ed couldn't help the way his whole body tensed momentarily. Naturally, both Animals picked up on it and Den was quick to apologise.  _"Sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Pinako always did say I was too nosey for my own good,"_  Den told him but Ed shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. Guess I still can't handle people mentioning him around me without reacting like that," Ed said, giving Den a small grin to let him know he really wasn't bothered with Den asking. "And it was fine, I suppose," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder. "He told us why he left, there was some arguing and we both lashed out at each other and then he apologised and I kind of apologised too, I think." Ed certainly sounded unsure and Den couldn't help but laugh at him, earning him a heat-less glare from the blonde. "Ayala and I left after that because I had some stuff to think about and after everything he told me, I couldn't be around either of them for much longer since, you know, I can't handle those sorts of conversations for very long and he likely would've said something that would've set me off and then it all would've ended badly," Ed told Den, who nodded in agreement.

" _I'm a little surprised Ayala hasn't told me that you've punched him yet,"_  Den commented and both Ayala and Ed let out a bark of laughter.

"I've been tempted a few times but he hasn't done anything yet that would warrant me hitting him and getting away with it when Al finds out," Ed told him and Den chuckled.

" _Fair point. Alphonse can be scary when warranted,"_  Den commented.  _"Do you mind telling me what Van told you or would you prefer to keep it between the two of you for now?"_  Den asked and Ed thought about it for a few moments.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you knew. Chester knows but he's agreed to let me tell Al in person everything that happened when I get back to Central so as long as you make sure Granny doesn't call Al to tell him, I'll give you the short version of everything. Deal?" Ed asked and Den nodded enthusiastically.

" _I'll tackle her to the ground if need be,"_  Den swore and Ed snorted.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm to keep your word but maybe don't do that. She'll be angry at you then at me and no one will be happy," Ed warned, half-joking but the other half of him was deadly serious.

" _You have a point. Either way though, I'm sure Pinako wouldn't tell Al. It's your family's business and she'd respect that,"_  Den said and Ed gave him a nod.

"That's true," he conceded. "Granny is good like that." Ed took a few moments to figure out where to start his report, knowing he'd need this information for when he had to explain this to Al before he decided to simply start with the excuses Hohenheim gave him for leaving before working his way from there.

Even knowing Hohenheim's excuses, Den couldn't believe that Hohenheim and Calix both managed to miss 12 years going by and Den actually cursed when Ed told him about Hohenheim's final excuse of being scared of Al and his reactions to the fact that Hohenheim and Calix were practically immortal. Den could understand Hohenheim's need to figure out what was going on with Amestris and whether there was something he and Calix could do to try and stop whatever the threat was before it could happen but that didn't mean the dog was buying everything else Hohenheim was trying to sell, at least not right away.

Den remembered how confused the boys were in the first few weeks of Hohenheim leaving them and he watched, heart breaking, as Ed's confusion turned into red-hot anger so volatile, it was triggered by the mere allusion to Hohenheim. It had gotten to the point where Trisha and Pinako were making sure Edward was out of earshot and relying on Cleo and Den to warn them if Ed was about to overhear them when they spoke of the absent man so they could avoid Ed blowing up. Alphonse was almost worse in the way his confusion about where his dad was turned into why his dad wasn't there with them before he started latching onto Trisha's undying belief that Hohenheim would come back for them. So the excuses Hohenheim gave Ed – with the only exception being the main one – didn't go down well for the collie dog.

Ed soon finished repeating the reasons Hohenheim and Calix had given him and moved on. Though Den already knew some of what Ed told him, like the fact that Hohenheim wasn't a normal human, most of everything Ed revealed was new information that the collie dog would've dismissed as a prank had he not been able to sense Ed's honesty and Ayala's assurances that everything was true. Den outright scoffed when Ed revealed he and Al were half-Xerxian and how that was possible but the news that Hohenheim could talk to other Animals, just like Ed could, left Den stunned. The dog's astonished scepticism didn't dissipate when Ed explained how Hohenheim was able to talk to other people's Animals and that Al's missing memories might hold the information he needed to be able to do the same.

When Ed finally finished telling Den about everything with Calix's request, he fell silent and let the dog process everything. He knew that it was a ton of unbelievable information and that, despite Den's questions throughout the retelling, the collie was still gonna need some time to absorb everything Ed had just told him. Hell, Ed himself knew how much of a struggle it was to take in and he was given more than half a day to work through half of what he'd just told Den! He and Ayala exchanged glances and came to the silent decision to let Den be the one to break the silence when he was ready, unless they got to town first in which one of them would have to ask Den for Pinako's grocery list and disrupt his thinking.

Thankfully, however, they didn't have to do that as Den spoke when they were still a couple of kilometres from Resembool.  _"That is a lot,"_  Den said, a little overwhelmed and Ed let out a snort.

"You're telling me," he said and Den gave him a shaky smile.

" _How the hell are you gonna explain all of that to Alphonse in one go?"_  Den asked and Ed shrugged.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I figured I should start with telling him what Hohenheim gave me as his excuses and why he wasn't there for mum. After that, I think I'll see how he's taking it all and decide whether to wait to tell him about our birthright and the fact that Hohenheim and Calix are 400 plus years old and the unwilling participants in Xerxes destruction as well as the fact that Hohenheim can talk to Animals and that it might mean Al could too, when we recover his memories." Den nodded slowly as he thought about it.

" _Yeah, it might be a good idea to go one revelation at a time rather than springing them all on him at once,"_  Den told him, raising a brow that had Ed giving him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he apologised. "I guess it is kind of a lot to take in all at once. I didn't really consider how much it was to unload onto someone until I finished telling you so thanks for being my guinea pig, I guess?" Ed said and Den chuckled at his unsureness.

" _Well, I guess you're welcome,"_  Den said teasingly and Ayala rolled her eyes at the two of them.

" _How are you coping now?"_  She asked the black and white dog who gave the best nonchalant shrug he could manage while walking.

" _I think I'm still working on believing it, if I'm being honest. Everything you've told me will probably hit me at a later date so you might feel me freak out a little then,"_  he told them, making the two of them laugh.

"Understandable," Ed said with an easy grin. Ayala was glad to see it on his face. He hadn't really given a genuine smile this whole adventure so it was a relief to see he was still able too after everything he'd found out. "Now, I did promise Granny we'd be back in time for dinner and I'm not missing out on her stew so let's get going so we can get back before dark," Ed said, practically salivating at the thought of the stew waiting for them. Knowing better than to get in between the eldest Elric and his favourite food, both Animals gave their enthusiastic agreement and they headed into Resembool with a bit more speed than before.

* * *

"Granny? We're back!" Ed called as Ayala nosed open the front door for them. The whole trip in town hadn't taken very long. Pinako had only needed a few things from the grocery store and Ed had been able to secure a ticket for him and Ayala to leave on the afternoon train bound for Central the next day in no time. Since he was away for medical reasons, Ed sent the bill to Mustang's office for the military to pay, as was part of his contract. The military would cover travel for his automail related visits to Resembool or Rush Valley and they'd cover 30% of whatever Pinako or Winry charged for repairs or check-ups.

"Good," Pinako said as she poked her head into the lounge room. "Can you bring everything into the kitchen, please? Dinner's almost ready anyway," she told them before she disappeared again.

Steeling himself as he had done so the night before, Ed headed into the kitchen, flanked by Ayala and Den and found his father at the kitchen table with a cooling cup of coffee in front of him. Calix was standing in the doorway of the kitchen that led into the backyard so that he could see everything that was going on. Ignoring both of them for the moment, Ed gave Den a reassuring pat when he felt the dog's unease creeping up and unpacked the bag of groceries Pinako had him get.

"Thank you, Ed," Pinako said as he finished his chore. "Why don't you go and sit down and I'll get you some coffee," she suggested though Ed knew it was pretty much an order.

Doing as he was told, he took the seat furthest from his father, even though his usual chair was unoccupied. Ayala joined him, sitting on his left and giving Hohenheim a warning glare over the tabletop. That way if Hohenheim did anything that pissed her off, she could claim she had given him a warning before chewing his arm off. Pinako bustled around the kitchen, either oblivious to or purposefully ignoring the steadily growing awkwardness and tension between the two men at her kitchen table, before she brought Ed his promised coffee along with a cup for herself and joined them at the table.

"I'm sure you've already spoken to Ed about everything already, Van, but I'd like some answers of my own now," Pinako said, letting Ed get some coffee into him before starting this conversation. "I left everything alone last night to give you some time to come to terms with Ed's understandable reaction to you but now I have questions I'd like answered," she told him, jabbing her pipe in his direction.

"I can't promise I'll have answers to all your questions but I'll answer what I can," Hohenheim said, not even bothering to try and escape the questioning.

"All these years and you look exactly the same. You haven't aged in the slightest. Why is that?" Pinako asked and Hohenheim looked like he was going to hesitate in answering truthfully.

"She knows all about the homunculi and everything that's going on. Al and I made sure she and Den had all the pertinent information just in case one turned up here for whatever reason," Ed informed him, silently calling him out on why he didn't answer straight away.

"You're a homunculous," Pinako said calmly, inhaling through her pipe. "That would explain why Den has been so uneasy since you turned up," she said as if she was simply talking about the weather.

"I'm not a homunculous but I'm not entirely human. Not anymore," Hohenheim said, finally realising there was no point in half-truths or full lies here. "I was born human but I was tricked into helping something do something unthinkably terrible and was rewarded – if you can call it that – with a Philosopher's Stone being fused to my life force. I am no longer completely human. I age at a much slower rate than you do and I am immortal unless the stone runs out of lives. Since I can't age and dying is something that is all but off the cards for me, Calix is able to stay alive as well."

Pinako absorbed the information fairly quickly. "I always knew there was something different about you. You looked the same when you married Trisha as you did when you first met her. I just thought you had really good genetics," Pinako told him, exhaling some smoke. "Does your stone affect the boys in anyway?" She asked but Hohenheim shook his head.

"I don't believe so. They've never exhibited any remarkably fast healing and they're aging at the normal rate for humans. If they had any benefits I have from the stone, I believe they would've shown them by now," Hohenheim told her and Ed couldn't help but silently agree once more with his father's assessment, as he had done so the previous day when he'd asked.

"Well, they certainly haven't healed any quicker from injuries so I suppose you're right," Pinako huffed. "Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come back sooner? Trisha was waiting for you until the very end," Pinako asked, voice saddened as she thought of her friend's hopeful expression every time they heard the front door open while she was confined to her bed. Not once did that expression fail to appear when they heard the door, even on the day she and Cleo had passed away.

"I've already explained to Edward why I wasn't here for Trisha and how much I regret it," Hohenheim told her and Pinako was going to leave it and ask Edward later but Ed snorted.

"He didn't know mum died because he hadn't bonded with Cleo at all during their relationship," Ed told her snarkily.

"You can talk to Animals? Like Ed can?" Pinako asked in disbelief and Hohenheim nodded stiffly. "Why on earth didn't you bond with Cleo?" Pinako asked, gobsmacked to learn that he hadn't bothered to do so. Ed's bonding with Den had proven beneficial to both of them since it meant they could use the dog to pass messages on instantly rather than risk forgetting to do so or to be too late with that information and she told Hohenheim exactly that. Calix shuffled nervously behind them but Pinako only had eyes for the oldest blonde in the room.

"Unlike my son apparently, I haven't made it a habit of bonding to every Animal I come across," Hohenheim said and Ed snarled. "I've been alive a long time and I couldn't afford to draw attention to myself. A bond with another's Animal meant the Animal would be able to check in on me and I couldn't risk it figuring out what I am. Perhaps Edward can afford to bond with as many Animals as he'd like but I cannot," Hohenheim told them and this time, it was Ayala who snarled.

"I'm sorry, Van, but that is ridiculous," Pinako said before Ed could do anything. "Not your reasoning for not bonding with other Animals. I don't know how long you've been alive for nor how many times you were burned by someone you thought you could trust but that's no reason for you not to have bonded with Cleo. I'm sure Trisha knew there was something unusual about you but that woman loved you more than anything until Edward and Alphonse were born. I'm sure your instincts and your Animal knew Trisha would have never betrayed you in any way so your excuse for not bonding with Cleo makes no sense to me," Pinako informed him.

"And just for your information," Ed hissed, "every single Animal I've bonded with is someone I trust more than you. Their human is equally as trustworthy. I don't go around and bond with every Animal I come across. The Animals I've bonded to are partners of those who have become almost like family to me. They're people and Animals who would never turn against me or Alphonse and I would trust them with our lives," he snapped at Hohenheim, who had the decency to look chagrined.

"I apologise for what I insinuated," Hohenheim said immediately. Despite not having been around his eldest son for 12 years, he was quickly picking up Ed's cues and knew he had hurt the blonde with what he said. He also knew that when Ed was hurting, he tended to lash out at cause of his hurt and Hohenheim didn't want this to devolve into a verbal duel between the two of them. "I shouldn't have said it. I can tell your trust is something hard to be won, something that is likely partly my fault, and I shouldn't have said what I did." Calix whinnied softly but Hohenheim knew it wasn't meant for him. Ed's blazing eyes seemed to cool down a little and he slouched in his chair.

"Whatever," he said dismissively, causing Pinako to frown at him but Hohenheim took it as a win. The large pot on the stove started bubbling, causing the lid on top to rattle as it fought to stay on the pot while the heat from the stew fought to escape and Pinako got up to check on it.

Stirring a couple of times before bringing the spoon up to her mouth to taste it, Pinako nodded once and pulled out three bowls from the cupboard. Serving up the stew, making sure to give Ed plenty in his bowl, she placed the ladle back in the pot and turned the heat down so it would only keep the rest of the stew warm. "Come and get yours," Pinako told them as she grabbed hers and Den's servings.

Hohenheim was quick to grab his and sit back at the table. To everyone else it would've looked like he was simply hungry and in a hurry to eat but Calix knew he'd done so to avoid being in Ed's way and risking an awkward encounter. Calix might've thought Hohenheim's cautiousness over the top and ridiculous but he knew that his human was only being this cautious because he truly didn't want to fight with Edward, something made harder by the young blonde since just about everything that could be perceived as a slight from Hohenheim set him off. That was the reason why Hohenheim hadn't asked about what Ed's decision was regarding Calix, despite the curiousity he could feel from the Percheron stallion.

After serving Ayala her food and sitting back down at the table with his own, Ed dug in. He almost groaned in delight as the familiar taste of stew flooded his mouth and he started eating with a bit more gusto. Ayala was equally delighted with the stew, even if it wasn't her all-time favourite food, eating it with just as much enthusiasm as her human. No one spoke during dinner and both Hohenheim and Pinako didn't comment when Ed went and served himself seconds before they'd even finished their first bowlful. When the clinking of spoons against the sides of the bowls finally stopped, Pinako gathered everyone's dirty dishes, placed them in the sink and sat back down at the table.

An awkward silence overtook the kitchen for a few moments before Pinako took it on herself to break it. "I'd like to know more about the whole immortality thing, if you don't mind me asking, Van," she said. Hohenheim seemed a little resigned to the fact that Pinako still had questions but Ed didn't feel like getting a repeat.

"I'm gonna go for a shower," Ed told Pinako, who nodded at him. Ayala got to her feet and led the way up the stairs to the second storey of the house as Ed followed her, the sounds of Pinako and Hohenheim talking getting fainter the further away they got.

* * *

Once on the second storey, Ed went and grabbed his pyjamas from his borrowed bedroom and gave Ayala a once over. The golden wolf hadn't had a bath for a while but she didn't look overly dirty and Ed knew how much she displeased baths so he decided she could handle another few days without one, providing they didn't get into a fight or into some mud or something of that nature. He disappeared into the bathroom, taking his time with his routine since the longer he took, the less he'd have to endure downstairs before he could reasonably go to bed. Having said that, he knew Pinako's house ran mainly on rainwater so he couldn't take forever in the shower. He finally turned the water off, dried himself with a towel and got changed into his pyjamas before finger-combing through his as always and leaving the bathroom with his dirty clothes balled up under his automail arm.

Dumping the dirty clothes in his bedroom and taking the opportunity to put on some long sleeping pants over his boxers, Ed and Ayala – who had been lounging on his bed while he was showering – made their way back into the kitchen. Ed wasn't bothering to be quiet since Den and Calix likely knew and had told their humans he was on his way down so he was a little shocked when he caught what Hohenheim was asking Pinako.

"Pinako?" Hohenheim asked and the old woman hummed curiously. "The lifeform my sons transmuted… are you positive that it was Trisha?" Ed froze where he was in mid-stride as his heart tried thudding out of his chest. Ayala was equally as frozen and she could feel her own heart trying to leap out of her throat at Hohenheim's question.

"Huh?" Granny asked, surprised. "Well, I wouldn't – it didn't even look human to me so I wouldn't think of it as human," Pinako said, stumbling over her words a little. Pinako's voice pulled Ed and Ayala out of their shock and they rounded the doorway just as Hohenheim next spoke.

"No, that's not what I'm asking," he told her, seemingly not realising Ed and Ayala were in the room. Den had though and was at Ed's side almost immediately, offering the blonde any kind of comfort he could give. "Did you notice the eye colour? What about the hair colour?" Hohenheim pressed and Ed realised he was trembling at what Hohenheim was implying.

Pinako seemed to figure it out just as quickly. "What are you trying to get at here, Van?" She demanded, looking at Ed with apologetic eyes before focusing back on the older man. "Are you trying to tell me – to tell us that that wasn't even Trisha?" She asked, voice shaking slightly.

"Are you saying that who we almost died to bring back wasn't even our mother?" Ed asked, bringing their attention to him and he barely noticed the lack of surprise on Hohenheim's face at his presence in the room. "Are you telling me that after everything Al, Chester, Ayala and I sacrificed, it wasn't even mum?" His own voice was shaking with a potent mixture of emotions that he couldn't even begin to decipher on his own.

Calix and Hohenheim gave him pitying looks that had Ed itching to hit them. "That's not what I'm saying," Hohenheim told him. "All I want to know is if you are positive that it was Trisha you and Alphonse foolishly tried to bring back from the dead," he told them, looking between Ed and Pinako, who had now risen to her feet.

"We weren't trying to bring anyone else back so who else could it have been?" Ed asked, knowing his voice was starting to rise. Ayala and Den pressed in closer to his sides, providing solid, grounding warmth for him to cling to.

"Intent matters when it comes to alchemy, that's true, but you must've realised that what you were trying to do wasn't normal alchemy," Hohenheim said and Ed paused for a moment.

Even though the transmutation had technically followed the laws alchemists live by, Ed had always thought there had been something unfair about it. Equal exchange should've meant that the energy taken from both boys to fuel the array should've been equal and any rebound should've affected them equally as well. However, Ed only had his leg taken while Al was killed and no matter how much Ed twisted that, it wasn't equal in any way which meant one of the laws had been bent, if not broken outright. So was it possible that for all their intention, Truth had decided to ignore their specific request to bring Trisha back alive and give them just a random human to kill a second time in a horrific way?

Swallowing down the bile that threatened to rise up, Ed nudged Den out of the way and gave him a quick, thankful pat before retreating back up the stairs without saying another word to either of them. Ayala was hot on his heels and he could hear Pinako talking to Hohenheim again – likely demanding more specific answers from the man – but the blood pounding in his ears made it impossible for him to make out the specifics. He made it into his borrowed room, forwent the light completely and collapsed on his bed. Ayala nudged the door closed but not completely shut before she hopped up onto the bed with Ed and wormed her way into his lap, saddened but unsurprised to see tears already falling.

" _Edward, we don't even know for sure if what your father said is true. Until we have some conclusive answers, there's no point in crying over whether it was Trisha or not,"_  Ayala told him, trying to be comforting but a voice of reason as well.

"I know," Ed whimpered slightly, "but that's not why I'm crying. I don't know if I'm crying because that thing we created was mum or if I'm crying because it wasn't and I don't know which is worse," he told her.

" _I understand,"_  Ayala said, licking his cheeks, much to the blonde's disgust and getting him to focus on her a bit more.  _"On one hand, you hope it wasn't your mother because that creature must've been in so much pain and confusion but on the other hand, you hope it was because if it wasn't, it meant everything you and Al suffered that night was for a completely random person you didn't even know. Neither option is in anyway a good one and you can't even tell which one is slightly better."_  Ed nodded against her fur.

"I don't want to tell Al that it's possible that what we brought back wasn't even mum," Ed whispered and Ayala nuzzled his neck.

" _Then don't,"_  she said simply.  _"You don't know for sure either way so what would be the point of telling him? He'll only hurt like you are and that won't do either of you any good,"_  she pointed out and Ed nodded.

"I need to know, Ayala," he told her and the wolf was completely unsurprised to hear that. "I need to know for certain whether it was mum or not."

" _I know you do but we can't do anything about it right now,"_  Ayala told him.  _"Why don't you try and get some sleep? We can figure out what to do in the morning,"_  she said.

Ed leaned away from her and scrubbed the few tears still clinging to his cheeks. Despite the fact that Ed would normally still be awake for a couple more hours on any other night, he nodded at her suggestion and lay down on the mattress, letting Ayala fuss over him slightly before they exchanged goodnights. She curled up against him and he threw an arm over her middle as he cuddled into her fur. The previous night's broken sleep and the emotional exhaustion he must've been feeling after the whole day and what had just happened caught up to him quickly and it wasn't long before Ayala could feel his breathing evening out. Within minutes of laying down, Ed was out for the count and Ayala soon found herself following suit.

* * *

When Ed blinked himself awake the next morning and saw the pale light of dawn barely making it into his bedroom via the window, the first thing he felt was annoyance that he was even awake right now. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day and it wasn't like his train was leaving early this morning. A check at Ayala told him she wasn't even awake which meant it hadn't been her who woke him up. Confused and annoyed, Ed got up and headed to the bathroom to relieve himself before climbing back into bed with the hopes of getting a couple more hours of sleep only for something moving out of the window to catch his eye.

Ed watched as Hohenheim stood in the middle of the driveway while Calix blocked his path. Thanks to his still-asleep mind, it took him a few moments of watching Hohenheim trying to convince Calix about something, if he was reading the man's body language right, and Calix refusing to listen for Ed to realise what was going on. As Hohenheim tried to take another step forward only for Calix to push him back, Ed's temper flared. After everything that bastard said about not wanting to leave Ed, Al and Trisha in the first place, he was gonna sneak away in the barely-there light of morning without saying goodbye to him again? Fuck that! Ed got back out of bed, waking Ayala with his angry movements and stormed down the stairs to the ground floor of the house, Ayala hot on his heels.

Pinako was in the kitchen, shaking her head at Hohenheim as she listened to him talking with Calix while Den lay at her feet. Both of them looked up at the pissed-off blonde and golden wolf blew past the kitchen and out the front door. Neither of them tried to intervene between the father and son. Pinako left them to sort themselves out because it wasn't her problem and because Hohenheim deserved whatever Ed was about to unleash on him. Den didn't intervene because he was hoping Ed would clock Hohenheim in the face and he didn't think he would if they had an audience.

Calix had obviously warned Hohenheim that Ed was on his way because the older man was no longer trying to get past his Animal. Ed noted that Calix had a vaguely smug look about him and was stunned to realise that he'd just gotten what he wanted; Hohenheim talking to Ed rather than leaving without a word again. This made Ed forget about his anger at his father for a moment as he realised that Calix might've actually been telling the truth about trying to stop Hohenheim from leaving before. However, the moment passed and Ed's anger came roaring back as he faced his father down.

"So what? You're gonna run from us again? Gonna burn the bridge you've tried rebuilding the last couple of days by fucking off without a word again? I'm just curious but is it because that's the kind of person you are or is trying to salvage a relationship with me and Al too much trouble for you?" Ed asked scathingly and though Hohenheim's face was the same impassive mask he'd been wearing when Ed first saw him at the cemetery, Ed could see the guilt and shame.

"You've made it pretty obvious the past couple of days how you feel about me. I didn't think you wanted me anywhere near you or Alphonse," Hohenheim said.

"Don't try and turn this onto me," Ed snapped. "Two days is not enough time to change my opinion on you after 12 years of cursing your very existence. I'm not going to forgive you on your schedule and you can't expect me too," Ed said. "You're damned right I don't want you anywhere near me right now. I don't even want to tell Al that I saw you again or what you told me. I will because he has every right to know, no matter what I think, but I don't want to tell him because he'll be on my case about forgiving you but I'll be telling him the exact same fucking thing I'm telling you. No one decides when I forgive someone. I can go the rest of my whole fucking life and never forgive you and you'd have no right to complain about it," Ed informed him and saw a flash of worry on Hohenheim's face. "Having said that, what you were about to do before Calix stopped you would've honestly destroyed everything you've tried to build between us. I'm not sure whether I could've moved past you leaving a second time without a word after everything you told me over the last couple of days." Ed made sure Hohenheim knew how much he'd almost fucked up by the tone of his voice and his body language.

Realisation and shock crossed Hohenheim's face and Ed wanted to snort at that. His father had seriously failed to see what he'd almost done until Ed had pointed it out. "I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't even think about how my giving you space without a word would've looked from your point of view," Hohenheim told him before glancing back at Calix, whose smugness was only getting more evident the longer they spoke. "Stop gloating. It's very annoying," Hohenheim muttered to the grey horse.

"And that's the other thing," Ed said, bringing their attention back to him. Ayala knew what he was about to tell them and made sure he could feel her encouragement through the bond. "I haven't told you my final decision on creating a bond with Calix," he told them and saw the grey horse's ears prick up with hopeful excitement. Ed took a deep, steadying breath in before meeting Calix's deep brown eyes. "I'll bond with you but there will be rules about it, got it?" Ed said and Calix nodded enthusiastically. "We share anything we find out about what Homunculous is planning immediately. That goes for both of us," Ed told him and Calix nodded. "I'll ask if I want to hear anything about what the two of you are up to or where you are and you won't tell Hohenheim anything about what's happening with me, Ayala, Chester or Alphonse unless we say you can, got it?" Again, Calix nodded and Ed felt some relief go through him. "The last thing is that neither of you will push for me and Al to meet up with you if we happen to be in the same city or town. I will tell Al if you ask and I won't argue with him if he wants to see the two of you but if both of us say we don't want to, you will accept it and not push or try to bribe us," Ed said, looking at both of them this time and both of them nodded.

"We'll respect your wishes," Hohenheim promised and Ed glance at Ayala, who gave him a small nod, telling him she sensed no dishonesty or deceptiveness from him.

"Alright," Ed said, taking another breath before looking at Calix. "Let's do this," Ed said but this time, he didn't say it out loud.

" _Thank you for agreeing to do this,"_  Calix said back, completing their bond. Ed felt his link to Calix being formed and settle in his mind, made more obvious by how new it was and the fact that he and Calix were using it.  _"Now that I'm able to talk to you like this with your permission, I just want you to know that I also promise to respect the conditions you listed however, I also want you to know that if you need someone to speak to, someone you likely won't see for a little while since Van and I will be continuing on our journey to put in countermeasures and trying to find out more specifics about the threat to Amestris, you're more than welcome to talk to me, even if you just need someone to rant to and get it out of your system,"_  Calix told him, sincerity drenching his tone.

Ed nodded at him but didn't speak to him via their bond again. He was determined to only use it when it was needed. There were a couple of awkward moments where neither Hohenheim nor Ed or their Animals really knew where to go from there until Ed thought of something. "There is something else I wanted to ask you since you've been alive for, you know, 400 odd years," Ed said.

"What would that be?" Hohenheim asked, definitely intrigued. Edward hadn't asked him anything that wasn't connected to what they'd been talking about at the time so he was curious about what was so important that Ed would decide to ask him about it.

"When Ayala appeared for me and we initiated the bond, both of us glowed silver, according to Al. She told me her name only a couple of hours after we met, we've never been limited in how long we could talk for, no matter the distance between us. The amount of energy I hold for her is massive. We've never actually made a dent in it and there have been a few injuries where I should've been left unconscious after healing her because Chester's suffered injuries just as bad and I've ended up unconscious after healing them," Ed rattled off every massive difference between his and Ayala's bond and a normal bond. "The other thing was that she had white fur and brown eyes when Al and I first saw her. She looked like a textbook Arctic Wolf until I touched her and after the glow died down she looked how she does now. I've asked a lot of people I can trust about whether they'd heard of any bond like that but they haven't had a clue. Considering how long you've been around, I figured you might have heard about something similar," Ed told him and Hohenheim nodded slowly as he turned to Calix.

Ed and Ayala watched as the two spoke quietly to one another for a few minutes, his patience slowly disappearing the longer they took. Ayala had to point out a couple of times that it was a very unusual question that they probably had never been asked before so of course it would take some time for them to come to any conclusion. Ayala's ears continued to flick back and forth as she took in sounds behind her while trying to listen in on Calix and Hohenheim's conversation but they seemed to have taken her heightened hearing into consideration and she couldn't make anything out from what Hohenheim was saying. She had no hope of overhearing Calix considering he couldn't be heard by her when he was speaking to his human, no matter whether he intentionally bothered to block her or not.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of talking amongst themselves, Calix and Hohenheim turned back to the rather impatient blonde and his wolf. "When you touched Ayala and the silver glow encased the two of you, did either of you feel anything?" Hohenheim asked and Ed blinked at him owlishly.

"Um," Ed said eloquently as he looked down at Ayala and cast his mind back to the moment he had first lay a hand on her, "I don't know," he admitted before recalling something. "Wait, no, I did feel something; a warmth. Like a comforting warmth, the kind you'd feel when you enter a room that's had a fire going for a while, you know?" Ed said and Ayala spoke up.

" _I felt that too. I always thought it was part of the bond,"_  she told him and Ed repeated her words to Hohenheim and Calix.

" _It's not uncommon for an Animal to feel that kind of warmth when they bond with a human. Usually those Animals who do feel it do have a stronger relationship with their human immediately. It's a little rarer for a human to feel it as well. Again, only those with a very strong bond immediately feel it,"_  Calix told both of them. Since Ed had started them on this topic, he wasn't mad at the horse for using their bond to talk to him.  _"But I have never heard of or witnessed a bonding like what you've described."_  Ed felt the familiar mix of disappointment and annoyance he felt whenever someone was unable to help solve a mystery for him but he'd long since learned that lashing out at someone because they didn't know something wouldn't do him any good.

"It's the same for me," Hohenheim told him. "I believe that the only way to find out why your bonding process was so unique is to let time tell you. However, I suspect that it may be linked with the amount of Ayala's energy held in you and the strength of your bond. Is there anything else unusual about your bond?" Hohenheim asked and Ed shared a look with Ayala, who nodded her in permission.

"I can use our bond to create a circle and perform alchemy," he told them and saw the intrigued look on their faces. "I've been able to it ever since we bonded, before you ask. Truth didn't give me the knowledge to be able to do that," he said.

"I can't recall ever meeting another alchemist able of using the bond with their Animal to perform a transmutation," Hohenheim told them and Calix nodded in agreement, "however, while we continue our investigation and set up the remaining countermeasures needed, Calix and I will see if we can find anything out. The books in my study weren't the only books of mine and we will visit my other collections when we are near them so we can look through them, see what they might contain," Hohenheim said. "Alternatively, if you'll allow it, Calix can contact you when he senses you're near a collection yourself and tell you where to find it and how to bypass the security measures I have up protecting them," Hohenheim offered.

Ayala almost laughed at Ed's dilemma. On one hand, he didn't want to accept any kind of help like that from Hohenheim. The reason behind their unusual bonding wasn't likely going to be something they absolutely needed to know. However, on the other hand, Ed would be given access to some likely one-of-a-kind books that he would never ever come across any other way. Because she knew her human – though, if she was being honest, anyone who had met Ed for more than ten minutes would be able to tell the same thing – she knew what his choice would be.

"Alright. If Calix senses that I'm near a cache of your books, he can tell me and help me get access to it," Ed finally said and if Ayala was one to gloat, she would've been for guessing correctly.

Hohenheim dipped his head in acceptance of Ed's decision. "If we come across anything related to the threat to the country, Homunculous himself or your bond, I'll have Calix contact you," Hohenheim told him and Ed nodded once.

"I'll contact Calix when we uncover anything I think you need to know as well," Ed told him. "If for some reason I can't, Ayala will contact Calix and tell him anything he needs to know." Ayala nodded, indicating her agreement.

"I know we're still a long way from having any kind of positive relationship but I want you to know that I am proud of the men you and Alphonse are turning into," Hohenheim told Ed after a couple of moments of silence. "Pinako has told me stories about the two of you boys from before Trisha passed, during your recovery and all the missions you've undertaken for the military. She's told me about how you're known as the People's Alchemist and how that moniker came about and how much Alphonse has been helping you and the reputation he has gained for himself. I know it might not mean anything to you but I do want you to know that I am as proud of you and Alphonse as a father can be proud of his children. I'm glad that you seem to have inherited more of your mother's traits than mine and that you're using your alchemy and genius to try and save the country. Not a lot of people would choose to stay and try to prevent the destruction of their country," Hohenheim told him sincerely and Ed felt his always-present anger with his father warring with the flush of happiness he felt at Hohenheim's words.

"If you ever come face-to-face with him, don't forget that Homunculous looks exactly like me and don't forget that even though you may not want our help, Calix and I will be there as soon as we can be if you do ask for it," Hohenheim went on to say. "I know that it might be an impossible feat, considering how involved you four are with this now, but I hope the four of you try and keep as safe as you can," Hohenheim said, a barely noticeable amount of pleading in his voice. "Though I'm sure our paths will cross again before Homunculous' plan can be put into effect, we do have to leave now or else we won't make it to where we need to be when we need to be there. Goodbye, Edward, Ayala. Look after each other and your brother and his Animal," Hohenheim said, sounding a little awkward and uncomfortable but Calix seemed proud of his human at any rate.

" _Goodbye, Edward. Goodbye, Ayala. Thank you once more for allowing our bond. Don't forget what Van has told you and reach out immediately if you need our help,"_  Calix said and Ed nodded, as did Ayala.

"Goodbye," was all Ed offered but both the horse and older blonde seemed content with it. With a final nod, the two turned down away from them and started down the driveway. As much as he wanted to, Ed didn't let himself watch them leave. Instead, he and Ayala headed back into the house and found Pinako and Den waiting for them in the living room.

" _You didn't hit him,"_  Den said, disappointment lacing his voice and Pinako whacked him behind the ear.

"Maybe next time," Ed promised, feeling a grin tug at his lips.

"What now, Ed?" Pinako asked and Ed let out a heavy sigh through his nose.

"I need to know whether what he said last night about the possibility that it wasn't mum who we brought is true or not," Ed told her. "Ayala and I are gonna head up to the ruins of our house and dig the corpse up." Pinako looked shocked at what he'd just said.

"Ed, I don't –" Pinako started saying, trying to dissuade him from the idea but Ed shook his head.

"I need to know, Granny. I need to know for certain who Alphonse and I almost died for," Ed told her, begging her to understand and – after a few moments of staring at each other – Pinako nodded.

"Alright, Ed," she relented. "I suppose Den and I should go with you." Now it was Ed's turn to be shocked.

"You don't need to," he said but she held her hand up for silence and he obliged.

"You don't know exactly where you need to dig and you'll need help identifying the skeletal remains," she informed, leaving no room for him to argue. "When do you want to head on over?" She asked, sounding like she already knew the answer.

"As soon as I've changed out of my pyjamas," he told her. "I have to head back to Central today and I don't know how long it'll be before I'm able to come back to Resembool and I certainly do  _not_  want Alphonse to see any of what we made that night; not even its skeleton," Ed said adamantly.

"I suppose I better find two shovels than while you get dressed," Pinako said, getting to her feet. "It's supposed to rain today, though I'm sure you're well aware of that," she nodded to his automail ports. Though the cold weather automail Winry had installed worked wonders, it didn't do much for the actual ports. They were still made out of the same material as his old automail and, as such, still ached slightly whenever there was rain or snow in the air. Pinako continued speaking, "so we'll need to get this over and done with as soon as possible." Ed nodded in agreement.

Both Ayala and Den looked like they wanted to talk Ed out of this decision but Ayala knew how much Ed needed to know the truth and Den knew how stubborn Ed was when his mind was this made up so both of them steeled their expressions and accompanied their respective human. Den and Pinako headed outside to find the shovels the humans would need while Ayala waited outside of their room while Ed got himself changed back into the familiar black pants, tank top and jacket he wore. The only things he didn't have were his red jacket – which he'd left in Central – or his gloves, which he didn't need to wear to hide his automail since no one bothered him about it in Resembool.

* * *

Both jobs only took a few minutes to complete each and soon enough, Pinako and Ed were meeting up outside the kitchen door. With a final nod to Pinako's questioning look, she and Ed headed up the hill towards the Elric property, both Animals leading the way. The grey clouds overhead didn't look as though they were moments away from opening up and drenching them with rain but Ed could tell it wouldn't be long with the way his ports were aching. He did spare a thought to hoping the rain would hold off until they were finished with their task but he knew it would be unlikely. As they walked towards his burned-out home, Ed still had no idea whether he was hoping the creature he and Al made and that Pinako had buried was his mother or whether he was hoping it wasn't.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Ed?" Pinako couldn't help but ask once they were standing outside the blackened ruins that had once been Ed and Al's childhood home. "No one would judge you if you've changed your mind. We can just go back and forget about this," she told him, glancing uneasily at the spot where she'd buried the creature she'd found in their basement after stabilising Ed when he, Al and their Animals had turned up on her doorstep.

"No, I need to know, Granny," Ed told her, sounding just as certain as he had when he first told them of his plans. He looked up at the sky and saw that the grey clouds were looking more threatening and knew their time would be limited before the rain would fall. "My stumps are starting to ache worse from the weather and I want to get as much done before it does rain as possible," he said, looking back down at her.

Sensing his resolve, Pinako nodded. "Alright. Let's get started. Here you go," she said, giving him one of the shovels. "We need to dig here and pretty far down," she told him, tapping her shovel end on the spot she meant. "The two of you can help but keep an eye out for our shovels. You don't want to lose a paw because you got in our way," Pinako warned the two Animals.

Without another word said between the four of them, they got to work. Though Resembool hadn't seen decent rain for more than two months, the soil was able to be dug into without much resistance. The two Animals decided to work a small distance away from the two humans so they would minimise the chances of being hit with the edge of a shovel. The only sounds that could be heard were the grunts from Pinako and Ed as they forced their shovels into the ground and heaved the dirt out of the way and the scratching from the Animals claws as they dug furiously in the dirt. Ed spared a glance at the two of them and knew he would be giving them both a bath when they finished up here, knowing that the incoming rain would only turn that dirt into mud and make them even messier.

Sure enough, thirty minutes into their excavation of the unmarked grave, fat raindrops started falling from the clouds above. They started off slowly but it took no more than a minute for those few drops to turn into a steady downpour. Pinako paused in her work to check on both Ed and the Animals but none of them looked fazed by the rain so she didn't bother voicing her thoughts that they should stop until the rain clears. She grabbed her shovel once more and got back to work helping them uncover the creature so that Ed would be able to get some closure.

Ed suddenly felt his shovel hit something that wasn't dirt. The dull thud his shovel made when he struck the object pulled him out of the rhythmic stupor he'd fallen into. He got to his knees, fully prepared for the object to be another rock for him to pull out and started uncovering it. He could hear Granny's shovel come to a stop so she wouldn't accidentally hit him but both Animals were still digging furiously even though he could feel Ayala's and – to a lesser degree – Den's exhaustion. Ed would have to do something nice for the both of them. Their determination to help him out with this, barely pausing for breaks, certainly made it so he and Pinako didn't have as much work to do themselves. Pulling his mind from those thoughts, Ed focused on what he was doing and was shocked to see that what he was trying to dig out wasn't a rock, as he'd first thought.

He felt bile rise in his throat as he cleared the last of the sticky mud away off the surface of the object and saw the aged and stained white he recognised immediately as bone. Ed quickly cleared more mud away and identified the bone as the skull of what he and Al had made. Moving a few inches away from the skull, Ed started searching the mud for any hair, recalling that the creature had had long hair when he saw it in the centre of their failed array. Using his left hand primarily, Ed soon felt what he was searching for and pulled the muddied hair out of the ground. Getting to his feet quickly, he slipped but caught himself and scrambled to the bucket Pinako had found amongst the ruins and filled with clean water. Dunking his left hand into the bucket, he swirled the lock of hair he was gripping in it vigorously before pulling his fist and the now-clean hair back out.

There was silence for a few moments before Edward turned to face Pinako and the two Animals, all of whom had paused in their work when Ed had made the dash to the bucket. Ed's face was pale and his voice shook as he spoke. "Mum's hair was a light chestnut colour," he said before holding up his left hand. "This is black!" He cried, shaking his fist slightly and making the water-logged lock sway as he did so.

Ayala was quick to get to her human's side and gave him her equivalent of a hug. He clutched at her with his right arm and hand, leaving his left in the same position it had been in when he was showing them the lock of hair. Ed and Ayala heard Pinako sigh and both disengaged from the hug to look at her. "Let's uncover the rest of the skeleton. It's possible the hair could've changed colour due to being in the ground without a casket for so long," Pinako said, though Ed could tell from her face that she didn't truly believe that.

Still, Ed nodded and got up, dropping the lock of hair onto the ground and rejoining Den and Pinako at the grave. Ayala gave the abandoned lock of hair a sniff and recoiled at how strong the scent of wrongness was even after all those years buried in the ground. Shaking her head in an effort to clear her nose of the scent, Ayala trotted over to where everyone else was and got back to work, moving at a slower pace than before so her claws wouldn't damage any bones she uncovered.

It took them another twenty minutes of carefully working in the rain for them to unearth most of the skeleton. Pinako used her knowledge as a surgeon to arrange the uncovered bones above ground in the correct position. Once they'd found all the bones they could – most of the smaller bones, like the phalanges, weren't able to be found even with Den and Ayala using their superior noses to try and find them – Pinako pulled out a tape measure out one of her pockets and started measuring and examining each of the discoloured bones. When she finally finished, Pinako stood back up and faced Ed, who had been watching her, a bundle of impatience and nerves in his gut.

"The femur is much too long for someone of Trisha's height," Pinako told him, gravelly voice soft as she broke the news, "and that pelvis? I'm fairly certain it's male. See here? A female pelvis is more oval in shape whereas this one is more heart-shaped," Pinako said, showing Ed what she meant.

"So, that means…" Ed trailed off, unable to finish what he was saying.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but I'm afraid that this isn't your mother," Pinako told him and Ed collapsed to the ground. Both Den and Ayala crowded him as he stared at the skeleton in front of him, blank eyes not seeing it.

"That's it," Ed said listlessly. "It really is impossible to bring the dead back to life. That there is the undeniable truth. We never brought mum back in anyway. It was impossible all along," Ed said and Pinako found herself worried at the lack of life in his voice.

"Listen to me, Edward," Pinako snapped. "You've got to get a hold of yourself," she ordered and was surprised when Ed shook his head and gave her a smile.

"I'm okay, Granny," Ed told her and, to her own surprise, Pinako believed him. "From the moment I made this  _thing_ ," Ed pointed at the skeleton in front of them, "it's been a symbol of despair. When I believed it was mum, I thought alchemy had brought her back as that creature, causing her insurmountable pain, that  _we_ had done that to her with our alchemy. Now though? That skeleton is a symbol of hope. We didn't create a human being. We didn't put someone through the pain that thing must've been in. Our alchemy didn't do that to someone." Ed's smile grew slightly brighter. "Alchemy can return to normal now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter! I think it actually got more comments than any other chapter I've posted for this story, which is awesome :D I hope you guys enjoy this one just as much and I would love to see comments from you about it! 
> 
> Side note, you probably noticed I put a total amount of chapter to expect now. I'm currently working on 46 and I have every intention of finishing the main story with this chapter and using 47 as an epilogue of sorts. I hope you're all ready for such a long story! See you next week!


	31. Chapter 31

Edward stood under the warm spray of water coming from the showerhead in Pinako's bathroom, letting the water fall directly onto his upturned face. They'd arrived back at the Rockbell's house half an hour ago after reburying the skeleton they'd unearthed, wet and both physically and mentally exhausted from the intense undertakings of that morning. Pinako claimed first turn in the shower and Ed had informed both Animals that they would be next. Neither dog nor wolf were impressed by that but they didn't put up a fight when Pinako emerged and Ed led them into the bathroom and started scrubbing them within an inch of their lives before drying them off and kicking them out so he could take his turn.

Turning the water off after spending a few minutes longer than he ordinarily would've in an effort to wash off the events of the morning, Ed stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and got changed into the same clothing he'd worn that morning after cleaning and drying them with a couple of clever arrays. He left his hair loose but finger-combed the wet locks so it wouldn't knot as it dried then headed downstairs to join the two Animals and Pinako. He found them in the living room, Pinako in her armchair, and a waiting cup of freshly made coffee on the coffee table next to the lounge.

"Thanks, Granny," Ed said as he sat and grabbed the hot cup and skulled half of its contents. Though he didn't say anything more, he could tell that Pinako knew he was thanking her for more than the coffee. Ayala and Den were curled up on opposite ends of the couch so he was in between them and once he was fully settled, Ayala was quick to shift so her head would lay in Ed's lap. As he sipped his coffee before it cooled, Ed moved his left hand and started stroking Ayala's fur.

"What's the plan now, Ed?" Pinako asked after a few minutes of them sitting quietly.

"Our train doesn't leave until 2 o'clock this afternoon so we won't leave here until just after 1:00pm but, if it's alright with you, I'd like to use your phone," Ed said. Pinako inclined her head, giving her permission but her curiousity got the better of her and she couldn't help but ask.

"Why do you want to use the phone to call Alphonse? I would've thought Chester would've told him about when you were coming home and that you want to tell him what you discovered this morning in person," Pinako commented but Ed shook his head.

"I'm not calling Al," he told her. "I want to call Teacher," he admitted. Her previous curiousity had been satisfied only to come back ten-fold about why Ed would need to call Izumi, something Pinako was certain the blonde rarely did, considering how scarce his phone calls to herself were, but she decided it was something she didn't need to know.

"That's fine, Ed," Pinako assured him and Ed gave a nod of thanks. Knowing he would likely place the phone call soon and that he would definitely want privacy while doing so, Pinako finished her own coffee and stood up slowly, giving her aching joints time to adjust. "I'll go get us some lunch. Sandwiches okay with you three?" Pinako asked.

"That'd be great. Thanks heaps, Granny," Ed said as Ayala and Den both nodded.

"You're welcome, Ed," Pinako said, giving him a small smile as she patted his cheek on her way past him. "Give me a holler when you want them," she told him before disappearing into the kitchen.

The moment she did so, Ed drained his coffee cup and moved to where the phone sat on the long, narrow bench-top cupboard sitting along the wall and prepared himself for the call he was about to place. It had only been a couple of weeks since Izumi, Sig and their Animals had paid them a visit after Al and Izumi's encounter with the homunculous in Dublith but both Koda and Suna had used their bond with him to check in with him every couple of days. They'd both felt his emotional turmoil upon seeing Hohenheim and Calix in the cemetery and had frantically asked if he was alright but had been silent since he'd assured them he wasn't being killed or hurt and that he'd give them a better explanation later.

Steeling his resolve, Ed prepared himself for any kind of reaction he could think of from Izumi before picking the phone up and dialing the number needed. The phone rang just long enough for Ed to think that maybe neither Sig nor Izumi were inside and that he might have to contact Koda or Suna to find out where their humans were when the phoneline clicked.

" _Curtis residence,"_  his teacher's voice said on the other end of the phone line.

"Teacher, it's Ed," he said in greeting.

" _I didn't expect this,"_  Izumi said, certainly sounding mildly surprised that he was calling her.  _"You never call. What's happened now?"_

"Uh, yeah," Ed said ineloquently. "Listen, I need to ask you something, Teacher, but, well…" he trailed off, suddenly realising he had no clue  _how_ to ask this.

"' _But, well' what? Spit it out,"_  Izumi snapped and the familiar sound of his teacher quickly losing her patience was enough to get Ed into gear.

"It has to do with when you tried to transmute your baby," Ed said and knew from the slight stutter in Izumi's next breath that out of everything he could of asked her, she hadn't expected it to be about  _that_.

" _What about it, Ed?"_  Izumi asked, voice tense and Ed closed his eyes briefly. Ayala sent some encouraging energy through their bond and Ed could  _just_ feel Koda's confusion through their own bond.

"The thing is-" Ed cut himself off with a slight sigh of frustration before just blurting out what he wanted to say. "I dug up what Al and I transmuted this morning and Granny and I found out that it wasn't mine and Al's mother," he told her and knew from the small gasp he heard that she understood what he was saying.

" _What is this, Ed?"_  Izumi asked, needing Ed to confirm what she thought he was saying.  _"What are you trying to tell me?"_

"I'm sorry to ask you this," Ed said, feeling his voice get slightly thick because he truly was sorry to be asking and bringing up memories he knew first hand that Izumi wouldn't want brought up, "but the child you transmuted; are you sure it was your child that you brought back?" Ed heard a choked gasp just before a click and the line gave a series of beeps that told him Izumi had hung up on him. Ed placed the phone back on its hook.

" _She needed to know,"_  Ayala said after a couple of moments.  _"It's best for her that she figures it out. I felt what you felt when you realised it wasn't Trisha you brought back. Izumi will be grateful if her investigation into who she brought back tells her it wasn't her baby,"_  Ayala told him gently and Ed nodded, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment before opening them again.

"I know but I'm sure you have a better idea of how I felt when Hohenheim implied that it might not have been mum Al and I failed to bring back," Ed said, "and I just put Teacher through that." Ed sighed as he went back over to the couch and dropped down gracelessly in the spot he'd previously occupied. Den have vacated the couch sometime between Pinako leaving the room and Ed sitting back down so he and Ayala had the whole couch, something Ayala took immediate advantage of.

" _I know and I know how much it hurts you to be putting Izumi through that but just remember what I said. If she finds out the baby she brought back wasn't hers, well, you know how she'll feel firsthand,"_  Ayala pointed out for a second time and again, Ed nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ed said, not sounding like he fully believed her but Ayala didn't take any offence to it. She knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with what he'd done until Izumi called him and told him what she'd uncovered, if she called him.

" _Why don't you contact Koda? Ask her to tell Izumi that you're sorry for what she's going through,"_  Ayala suggested and Ed gave her a nod.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Ed said, giving her a small smile before focusing inwardly and finding his bond with Koda. "Hi, Koda. I know you're worrying over Teacher and that you might be mad at me but I just want you to know that I am sorry I had to ask her what I did. Can you please tell her that?" Ed asked. It took a few moments for Koda to respond but, to Ed, each moment felt far longer than it was.

" _I know you didn't, Ed. She's just told me what you told her and if you're right, this will help her heal from that night. I will tell her when she's reached a point in the research she's about to start. She's too focused on this to actually listen to anything I tell her,"_  Koda told him and Ed felt some relief and some of the tension in his body left him.

"Thank you, Koda," Ed said sincerely. "Make sure she doesn't overdo it and hurt herself trying to find answers," he instructed and felt Koda chuckle.

" _Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"_  Koda teased before dropping the teasing tone.  _"I will, Ed. You make sure you look after yourself, your brother and your Animals,"_  Koda said and Ed felt her love and warmth for him through their bond, making him flush in response and she chuckled again.

"I will. You guys look after yourselves and each other too," Ed said, ignoring Koda's humour at his reaction. Saying a final goodbye to one another, Koda and Ed broke their conversation off and Ed gave Ayala a small smile. "Koda says that neither of them are angry with me and that she'll keep an eye on Teacher for me," he reported to the wolf.

" _I knew they wouldn't be mad at you,"_  Ayala said smugly. Ed rolled his eyes at her before ruffling her ears in a way he knew she pretended to hate. Sure enough, she let loose a low growl that had him throwing his hands up in a casual surrender.

"Do you want lunch yet or am I putting these sandwiches aside for the two of you for later?" Pinako asked, startling the two of them. She was standing in the doorway between the loungeroom and kitchen, giving them both an unimpressed look.

"Sorry, Granny," Ed apologised immediately. "Ayala and I are finished. We'll come eat now," he told her as he stood from the couch while Ayala almost slithered off the couch. Ed raised an amused brow at her but didn't say anything about her interesting technique as he grabbed his empty coffee cup and they headed into the kitchen.

Pinako shook her head at the two of them and stepped out of their path so they could get into the kitchen easily. She watched as Ed claimed the seat he'd always sat in during mealtimes with Alphonse and Winry but had forgone the last two nights so he could keep some distance between him and Hohenheim. Ed was quick to hand over half the sandwiches in front of him to the wolf sitting on his left. Pinako headed back into the kitchen and made two more cups of coffees, once Ed indicated that he would like one, and joined him at the table when they were ready.

"I never did ask this morning but what did you and your father talk about?" Pinako asked. Judging from the sigh Ed gave, Pinako gathered he had likely expected that she would eventually ask about it but was also hoping she wouldn't.

"Not much." Ed shrugged. "I got up him for trying to leave again without telling me after everything he said over the last couple of days. I asked his opinion on Ayala and mine's bond and why it was so different when we initiated it but he doesn't know what it could mean. I bonded with Calix so we would be able to share information about the threat against the country. That was about it," Ed told her.

"You bonded with Cal? I didn't think you would," Pinako admitted and again, Ed shrugged.

"Not without several conditions they had to agree to first but, yeah, I did," Ed told her. Pinako looked like she wanted to lecture him about placing conditions on his bond with Calix but she decided against it and they fell back into silence.

"Argh!" Pinako suddenly exclaimed, scaring both Ed and Ayala so badly that they both jumped to their feet, automatically looking around for whatever had caused Pinako to shout. Den had poked his head around the kitchen door that led outside but was quicker than Ed and Ayala to figure out there was no threat and went back to sunning himself. "I forgot to pass on the message!" Pinako berated herself while both Ayala and Ed gave her disbelieving looks as they settled out of their defensive stances.

"What message?" Ed asked, deciding to let the fact that she just scared him and Ayala half to death go in order to find out what Pinako was on about.

"A last request from your mother," Pinako told him. "She wanted to tell Hohenheim that she was sorry that she couldn't keep her promise," Pinako revealed and that immediately got Ed and Ayala's interest piqued.

"What promise?" Ed asked curiously but Pinako shrugged.

"Beats me," she told him. "Could you pass it along for me? Either to Calix or when you next see Hohenheim?" Pinako asked.

Ed scowled. "Why should I?" He asked and Pinako gave him a knowing look.

"Because you know that your father does care for you boys because if you truly didn't believe it even slightly, you wouldn't have agreed to bond with Calix," Pinako said bluntly and Ed muttered something under his breath before sighing and leaning back in his chair.

"Fine," Ed finally said after a couple of moments, "I'll tell him. Can't guarantee that I'll tell him before I clock him in the face though," Ed told her.

"You shouldn't threaten to punch your father, Edward," Pinako berated him.

" _I demand that you tell me before you do so I can watch it through your eyes,"_  Den said, poking his head back into the kitchen and causing Pinako to turn in her chair to face him.

"You shouldn't be encouraging him to punch his father!" Pinako scolded Den.

Ed and Ayala shared a grin as the two delved into a banter as Den tried to defend his encouragement of Ed's endeavor. Ed made sure to silently promise Den that he would do as he was demanded as he munched on the last of his sandwiches. The heatless argument between Pinako and Den was enough to temporarily take Ed's mind off what he was going to be telling Al later that night and he was able to enjoy the final few hours of peace he would likely have for a while.

* * *

When the conductor announced over the public announcement system that they would be pulling into Central shortly, Ed could've honestly cheered in relief. Normally, he wasn't annoyed by train trips but this one seemed to almost take twice as long as it ordinarily should've and he and Ayala were both anxious to get off the train as soon as possible. Thankfully nothing interrupted the train's schedule too badly so when they did arrive in Central Station, they were only ten minutes later than they should've been.

To his surprise, Ed found someone waiting for him at the station. He'd contacted Chester to let him know he and Ayala were on the train and roughly when they should be in Central. He'd also asked the leopard to have Al book a hotel room for them to stay in since Ling and his guards were still staying at the Hughes' and Ed knew there wouldn't be any room for him and Ayala, no matter how much the two Hughes' tried to find some for them. Since he knew Al and Chester wouldn't be at the station as Chester had said he and Al would wait in the hotel room, Ed hadn't expected anyone else. So when Sergeant Denny Brosh waved him down, obviously having expected him, Ed was a little wary about why.

"What's up, Brosh, Ajax?" Ed asked once he and Ayala reached the two of them.

" _Hi, Ed. Long time, no see. You four keeping out of trouble?"_  Ajax asked and Ed smirked.

"Never," Ed told him and the blue dog chuckled.

"Sorry for stopping you on your way home, Ed, but Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes told Major Armstrong you'd be on this afternoon's train and ordered me to find you," Brosh explained. "While you were up north, reports that Scar has been sighted in Central started flooding in. We've been able to verify them but he's got another three kills to his count now and all three are State Alchemists. I've been tasked with warning you to lay low for a while," Brosh told him and Ed sighed in annoyance.

"Why can't serial killers intent on wiping out State Alchemists pick better times to turn up?!" Ed exclaimed rhetorically, causing Brosh to gape at him slightly.

" _You really need to get your priorities sorted, Ed,"_  Ayala sighed. Ed got the distinct feeling she would've facepalmed if she could've.

"Sorry, Brosh. There's a lot going on at the moment and finding out Scar's back in town is just something I didn't need to happen," Ed said, giving the man a lopsided smile. "Thanks for letting me know and I'll try to keep myself out of trouble so you and Miss Maria don't end up guarding me in the hospital again," Ed promised, a wry grin on his face.

Brosh chuckled. "I'm sure Lieutenant Ross will appreciate that as much as I would," he told them.

"Most likely," Ed grinned. "Thanks for the warning though. Ayala and I will be heading to the hotel room we've got booked so I think we'll be good for a while," Ed assured Brosh, who looked relieved to hear it.

"Would you like an escort?" Brosh asked but Ed shook his head.

"Nah, you look like you got other things to do and Ayala and I will be alright," Ed said. "Scar's not likely to attack us while there are civilians around anyways," Ed pointed out and Brosh nodded.

"Reports do indicate he prefers dark, isolated spots to commit the murders," Brosh agreed. "Thank you for being understanding, Ed. I'll let you go so you can get back to the hotel. I'm sure Al is anxious to see you in one piece," Brosh said and Ed laughed.

"Yeah, pretty sure Chester's getting hounded to find out how far away I am," Ed said, tapping the side of his head. Brosh grinned at the mental image.

"You should go rescue the poor leopard," Brosh laughed. "See you around, Ed," he said, giving Ed a salute.

"See ya, Brosh," Ed said, waving him out of the salute. "Bye, Ajax." He waved to the blue dog who gave him a toothy grin.

" _Bye, Ed. Bye, Ayala,"_  Ajax said. Ayala returned the sentiment and the two pairs parted ways with a final wave.

" _I wonder why Scar's back in Central,"_  Ayala mused as they fought their way through the rest of the crowd in Central Station.  _"I would've thought he would've stayed away from the major cities since the entire military knows what he looks like now,"_  she commented and Ed shrugged a shoulder. They were both out of the train station now and were heading towards the hotel now.

"Don't think it really matters to him if everyone knows what he looks like. He's proven to be good at escaping the military's clutches. He's escaped from Colonel Bastard twice already," Ed pointed out and Ayala rolled her eyes.

" _That's a fair point. I still think it's odd he's here now though,"_  Ayala told him.

"Well, if he tries to kill me again, we can ask him for a time-out and interrogate him about his reasons for being in Central now," Ed told her and Ayala glared at him.

" _He's not allowed to attack you,"_  Ayala informed him sternly.

Ed snorted. "I'd like to see you try and stop him from doing so," Ed said and Ayala got a familiar glint in her eyes.

" _Challenge accepted,"_  she said simply and Ed laughed.

"He won't know what hit him," Ed teased but Ayala could sense that he did have faith in her words and that caused her to flush slightly.

* * *

Their conversation moved from Scar to what Ed planned on telling Mustang and Hughes about the last three days. Ed was all for telling them nothing but Ayala pointed out that some of the information – like what had happened to Xerxes, for example – could be pertinent and that the team should know about it. Ed grumbled for a bit but eventually offered her a compromise. He would tell Alphonse everything that he and Hohenheim had talked about – something he was always gonna do – then talk with Al about how much he thought they should tell everyone else. Ayala knew it was better than nothing so agreed to his offer.

"What room are you two in?" Ed asked Chester as they entered the hotel, waving to the front desk clerk, silently telling her that they didn't need help. Since the hotel staff were somewhat familiar with the Elrics – it was rather hard to forget a State Alchemist who was always accompanied by a 7-foot-tall suit of armour – the clerk gave them a nod and turned back to the people she was serving.

" _Room 303,"_  Chester replied immediately and Ed thanked him as he and Ayala punched the appropriate number into the elevator and allowed the doors to slide shut.

The elevator brought them to the third floor and it took them only moments to find room 303. Testing the handle, Ed found it unlocked so he entered without knocking. He opened his mouth to call out a greeting only to stop short when he noticed Chester and Alphonse weren't the only ones in the room. "What the hell are you doing here?" Ed demanded, feeling Ayala's struggle to suppress her amusement. Ling and his guards paused in eating the meal in front of them.

"Eating a delicious dinner?" Ling said, muffled by the mouthful of rice he was chewing on. Ed glared at him before turning it on his brother and leopard, making sure they knew that they would pay for not giving him a heads up.

"Get out," Ed ordered, pointing to the still open door. Ling looked forlornly at his food and Ed rolled his eyes. "Take the food with you. I don't care. Just get the fuck out," he said. Ling nodded to his guards and both of them grabbed the platters. The slighter of the two guards – who Ed knew now was Lan Fan, thanks to Chester – gave Ed a warning look as she and her Animal, the small, black cat, slipped past him. Ling and Laika were next, Ling giving Ed a massive smile that made Ed want to growl at him while the old man, who Ed still didn't have a name for, brought up the rear. Once the five were gone, Ed shut and locked the door. "Seriously? No warning?" Ed demanded as he rounded on his brother and Chester.

"Chester thought your reaction would be funny," Al immediately said and Chester gave him a betrayed look.

"I'll remember this," Ed swore, glaring at the leopard.

" _Consider me warned,"_  Chester said and Ed was a little insulted by how dismissive Chester sounded.

"Is everything alright, Brother?" Al asked and Ed gave him a confused look. "With Granny," Al prompted and Ed made a small 'ah' of understanding.

"Yeah, she's fine, the devious old bat," Ed muttered.

"Why did she want you in Resembool? Chester wouldn't tell me anything," Al said and Ed got the distinctive impression that Chester would've been glared at again if Al could've done so.

Ed sighed and scrubbed his left over his face before he moved and sat on the couch Ling and Lan Fan had been seated in front of. "Look, it's a long story and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't interrupt unless it's to ask for clarification on something, got it?" Ed said, waving at his brother to sit on the other couch. Knowing that this would be an emotional talk for both their humans, Ayala and Chester joined their respective humans on their couches.

"I promise, Brother," Al said, sounding nervous and worried. Ed felt a twinge of guilt for causing Al to worry but he ignored it.

"Granny had me come to Resembool because Hohenheim decided to show his face," Ed told Al, letting his unresolved grudge bleed into his tone. Despite everything he and Hohenheim had talked about, Ed still held a burning hate for his father and – as he had told Hohenheim that morning – it would take him far longer than a couple of days to successfully work through and let go of 12 years of hate, if he chose to try and forgive Hohenheim at all.

Al let out a sharp gasp. "Dad was there? Why did Granny have me stay here than? I would've liked to have seen him!" Al exclaimed and Ed knew that if his little brother had his flesh body, he would've been close to tears.

"I actually don't know, Al," Ed said, internally berating himself for not thinking of asking Granny that. "I didn't even think to ask Granny about why she asked for you to stay here," he told Al apologetically.

"It's alright, Brother," Al said. "I think you probably had more pressing things on your mind," he told him. Ed nodded but he didn't look very happy with himself. "What did dad want? Was he alright? Did he say anything about where he's been? Why he wasn't there for mum?" Al asked rapidly and Ed had to hold his hands up to get him to stop.

"I told you I would tell you everything that happened so settle down," Ed said, a touch more harshly than he meant but it had the intended effect and Al's questions stopped. Ed sighed as he struggled to figure out where to start before remembering his plan to start with his father's excuses for leaving only to realise it wouldn't make sense because Al wouldn't have the same context Ed did when he and Ayala had first confronted Hohenheim. "We talked about a lot of stuff but the first thing you need to know is that Hohenheim isn't fully human," Ed said bluntly.

"What do you mean? How can he not be human? What else could he possibly be?" Al cried, getting himself worked up.

"When Ayala and I got to Resembool and walked past Granny's house, she picked up the scent of a homunculous," Ed started to explain but Al interrupted him.

"He can't be a homunculous! They aren't able to have children and he had us!" Al argued and Ed's impatience got the better of him.

"Would you let me explain?!" Ed snapped. "I get your reaction – mine was pretty much the same – but how do you expect me to tell you anything when you interrupt me before I can even get a sentence out?" Ed asked exasperatedly.

"Sorry, Edward," Al mumbled and Ed felt guilt wash through him.

"Look, like I said, I get it but try to remember that I do have most of the answers to the questions you'll have," Ed asked, voice soft. Both Animals were watching the scene in front of them, knowing it would be better if they only stepped in if things ended up heated, which they didn't think would happen but then again, you never knew with an Elric.

"I'll try, Brother," Al promised and Ed nodded.

"Alright. Like I said, Ayala picked up the scent of a homunculous and we both assumed that this was why Granny had Den ask us to come back to Resembool," Ed told him. "When I saw Hohenheim standing there in front of mum and Cleo's death and realised he was who Ayala was tracking, I demanded answers about why he was there and what he was. He seemed surprised that Ayala had been able to figure out there was something different about him but he told me what I wanted to know," Ed said, taking a deep breath before he launched into the tale he was about to tell.

He told Alphonse about Hohenheim's history and how he had been born a nameless slave in the country of Xerxes and how he worked for a prominent alchemist of their time. Naturally, Al couldn't help but voice his disbelief that their father was Xerxian since Xerxes was destroyed over four centuries previous but was quick to zip it when Ed glared at him. Once he was sure Al was going to let him talk, he continued by telling him what Hohenheim had said about his blood being used for an alchemic experiment to make the first homunculous.

"So Xerxian alchemists knew how to make a homunculous?" Al asked and Ed waved his hand in a 'kind of' gesture.

"Hohenheim said that this homunculous was a shapeless form with a sentience and a face held in a glass flask, not something in the shape of a human," Ed told him before continuing on with the retelling of how Homunculous had taken it upon himself to give Hohenheim his name and an education, helping him become an extremely talented alchemist who was eventually released from slavery to study under his former master for the next decade while Homunculous become something of an adviser for the Xerxian King.

"Hohenheim told me that he and Homunculous weren't spending much time together as his studies had kept him busy and the royal court were requesting Homunculous' time more and more frequently," Ed revealed then told his brother about the day Xerxes was destroyed and their father's unwilling involvement in what happened. "He and Calix were standing to the side and Hohenheim was holding Homunculous' flask when the array was activated. On the king's orders, an array had been carved around the entirety of Xerxes – telling the Xerxian citizens that it was an array to help their land become more prosperous – but its purpose was to sacrifice the people and Animals inside the array so the king would be granted immortality. At least, that's what Homunculous had told the king it would do," Ed said.

He continued the story, revealing Homunculous' deception and explaining how the souls had been condensed into the centre of the array, which was where Calix, Hohenheim and Homunculous had all been standing. Hohenheim, Ed said, woke up the next morning after being forced through his Gate and found himself staring at another copy of himself. This clone of his was revealed to be Homunculous, who had taken the souls he had pulled from the citizens of Xerxes and split them into two stones, forcing one into Hohenheim as a final gift. Ed revealed that the stone granted Hohenheim near immortality and slowed his ageing down so much that he might as well be not ageing at all. He ended that part of the retelling by revealing that Homunculous was the one who taught Amestris alchemy while Hohenheim and Calix had gone east, across the desert, and wound up in Xing where they taught the Xingese alkahestry.

"So our father is a 400 year old homunculous?" Al asked, voice faint with incredulity but Ed shook his head.

"No, homunculi have no souls and Hohenheim does since he still has Calix," Ed told him. "When I asked, pointing out that every textbook on homunculi that we'd read had said that homunculi couldn't procreate, Hohenheim confirmed it and told me he wasn't a homunculous. He said he was a Philosopher's Stone in the shape of a man, which still doesn't make sense to me but whatever," Ed said.

"I can't believe this," Al said and Ed snorted.

"I've had three days to process it and I'm still struggling to believe it but that's not the end of everything he told me," Ed warned and Al's armour seemed to droop.

"Is the rest of it as fantastical as our father being 400 years old?" Al asked and Ed snorted.

"Depends on who you ask. Chester and I certainly didn't buy some of what that bastard tried to sell us but Ayala is of the opinion he was being completely honest the whole time he spoke to me, even if she does admit that some of it sounded far-fetched," Ed told him and Al somehow managed to show Ed he was disappointed in him for referring to their father as a bastard.

"Did Dad explain if his being whatever he is will affect us?" Al asked, voice a little fearful at the unknown.

"He firmly believes we are nothing but ordinary humans," Ed told Al. "Since neither of us have shown any signs of advanced healing, unique abilities we have no explanation for and we are ageing at the rate we should be, he is of the opinion that we inherited nothing from the stone in him. Granted, neither of us have actually died and come back to life yet so we can't say for certain that we can't be killed but Hohenheim is certain that the only extraordinary things about us are our alchemic talents and our intelligence," Ed told him. Al seemed to take a moment to absorb that before he nodded.

"You said he explained everything which means he must've told you why he left," Al stated, voice a little shaky from the overwhelming emotion Ed knew he was feeling but he didn't call him out on it and simply nodded in confirmation.

"He did but you needed to know about the whole 'he's a Philosopher's Stone and was there when Xerxes was wiped off the map' thing before I told you them since none of them would've made sense without that information," Ed told him. After a moment, Ed started repeating the excuses Hohenheim had given him, starting with Hohenheim's decision to look into the Ishvalen Civil War and ending with Hohenheim's fears about their reactions when they found out he was immortal and his and Calix's apparent inability to keep track of time.

Al had stayed very quiet throughout Ed's recollection and didn't say a word even after Ed had finished speaking. After a few moments, Ed was about to ask Chester if Al was alright but Al decided to speak up before he could. "I don't understand how he could say he had no clue about Mum's illness after all those letters we sent. We must've posted a hundred to him!" Al exclaimed.

"He says he never got any of them. He claims we either sent them to people who were dead or had moved, people he had no reason to or didn't want to visit during those years or that we did send them to the right people but at the wrong time and he missed them," Ed told him and he knew Al hadn't missed the disbelieving tone of his voice.

"Brother, it sounds like he didn't purposefully abandon us and mum for all those years. Don't you think you could cut him a little slack?" Al begged but knew it was futile when he saw the stubborn set of his brother's jaw and the anger in his eyes.

"No," he ground out. "I don't care what his excuses are, Al. I'm allowed to be pissed off about the fact that he left us for 12 years and expected me to forgive him immediately after hearing his excuses," Ed snapped, feeling Chester and Ayala's agreement and knew that Al could at least feel that Chester was on his side for the most part in this case.

" _How about the two of you do what you always do in this situation and agree to disagree? You'll get nowhere if this turns into a full-blown argument,"_  Chester pointed out to the both of them.

"You're right, Ches," Al said before looking back at Ed. "Is there anything else Dad told you that you want me to know about?" He asked and Ed nodded.

"Before I tell you this, just remember that the part that has to do with you is just speculation," Ed warned and Al nodded, though it seemed he was a little nervous, judging by the way he shifted. "Hohenheim revealed something he'd kept from everyone except for Mum. He is able to talk to other people's Animals as well," Ed revealed and Al gasped but Ed held up a hand before Al could say anything. When he was certain Al wasn't gonna say anything, Ed continued. "Apparently in the last few years of Xerxes existence, alchemists – including Hohenheim – discovered a way for them to talk to other people's Animals. Spirit Animals need to die to be able to pass on any new developments that directly impact the human-Spirit Animal bond but the Animals who knew about the Xerxian alchemists' discovery didn't die, not really. Their souls were absorbed into the stones in Hohenheim and the first homunculous so they couldn't pass that information to the next generation of Spirit Animals." Ed paused to take a breath.

"Hohenheim is of the opinion that part of the reason I got my abilities when I went through my Gate is because it recognised I'm half-Xerxian," Ed made a face as he said it, like he still couldn't believe it, "and gave me the knowledge since it was my birthright, or something like that," Ed said. "He also thinks that it's possible that when we get you your body back, or at least recover your missing memories of the Gate and Truth, you'll get the same knowledge as me and that includes the ability to talk to and sight-share with other people's Animals since you're half-Xerxian as well," Ed divulged. "But that's if Hohenheim's theory is right. He could be wrong and I could've gotten the knowledge by chance which means that there's no guarantee you'll get it as well," Ed told him, needing him to understand that his getting the same abilities wasn't a certainty so that his disappointment if he didn't get the ability wouldn't be too much.

"I understand, Brother," Al assured him. "Do you think it could be possible to see if Dad will write out the theory and method he discovered so I might be able to learn it that way if I didn't from my Gate?" Al asked and Ed shrugged.

"I dunno," he admitted. "Hohenheim did tell me that those books and journals of his in the study weren't his only collection and that he would have Calix tell me if we ended up near one of them so we could get in there and go through the texts," Ed told him.

"Wait, Calix will tell you? Does that mean you bonded with him?" Al asked and Ed nodded reluctantly.

"I did it so we could trade information," Ed told Al since he knew his younger brother would take it as proof that Ed didn't hate Hohenheim as much as he claimed. "Since Hohenheim and Calix are looking into Homunculous and the threat to Amestris as well, Ayala pointed out that it would be a good idea to have a direct line of communication between them and our team so we can get and give information immediately," Ed said, feeling the need to defend his reasoning.

"That would be good," Al said, nodding slightly. "Between the two groups, we might get more answers than we would by ourselves," Al pointed out.

"Hohenheim did say he would try and find the original Homunculous and try to get some information out of him so hopefully that happens. It'd be nice if he did something useful for us and we could have some definite answers about what is going on with this country," Ed grumbled and Al sighed but didn't comment.

"I can't imagine that your conversations with Dad were entirely civil," Al commented after a few moments. "Nothing bad happened, right?" Al asked. Ed was a little annoyed that he couldn't tell who the worry in Al's voice was for; him or their father.

"I didn't kill him, if that's what you're asking," Ed snapped. "I was holding onto 12 years' worth of anger and hate while he was trying to figure out why his explanations didn't miraculously take all of that away from me the moment I heard them. We clashed. I said some shit I probably shouldn't have but that he definitely deserved. He said some shit he definitely shouldn't have. How did you envision any kind of meeting between the two of us going?" Ed asked rhetorically.

"I was just making sure no one got hurt," Al said, voice small and Ed growled at himself.

"I didn't mean to get so defensive. I'm sorry for snapping, Al," Ed apologised, feeling awful for lashing out at his brother.

"I know you didn't, Brother," Al said. The room stayed silent for a few moments before Al broke it again. "What happened this morning? Chester said you were really mad really early this morning and then something happened before lunch but he couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening and he hasn't told me what he saw in your memories," Al asked and Ed gave his little brother a look.

"How often do you ask Chester to go through my memories like that?" Ed asked but Al was quick to start shaking his helmet.

"I don't! I was just worried about you because Chester couldn't figure out what you were feeling," Al insisted. Ed stared at him for a moment before shrugging.

"As long as you don't do it all the time, it's fine. Chester usually asks before telling you anything to make sure it's okay with me anyways," Ed said before sitting up straighter and leaning his elbows on his knees. "Look, what I'm gonna tell you might throw you through a loop but out of everything I found out over the last three days,  _this_  is the most important thing you need to know," Ed told him, voice deadly serious.

"What is it, Brother?" Al asked and Ed sighed a little.

"Hohenheim asked Granny a lot of questions last night about what we did while I was in the shower and he implied something when I walked back into the kitchen that I couldn't let go unanswered," Ed told him. "This morning, after Hohenheim and Calix left, Granny, Den, Ayala and I headed up to the ruins of our house and we dug up the body you and I transmuted."

"What?" Al asked, shocked. "Why would you do that?" Al demanded but Ed didn't take offence.

"Because of what Hohenheim said, Al," Ed reminded him. "He asked Granny about its hair and eye colour," he told him and Al made a small noise of surprise. "Granny and I dug it up and Granny took a look at it. What we made in that basement, Al? It wasn't Mum," Ed told him and Al gasped. Chester, having expected this sort of reaction, pressed up against Al in a show of comfort.

"But that means that…" Al trailed off and Ed nodded, agreeing with what Al didn't voice.

"That thing we made… I don't know what or who it was but the skeletal structure and hair we uncovered definitely didn't belong to Mum," Ed said.

"But if it wasn't Mum than what happened to me?" Al asked, voice breaking slightly and Chester nuzzled where Al's neck would be as he tried to give what comfort he could.

"That's the thing," Ed said and he didn't sound confused and angry like Al expected. Instead, he sounded hopeful. "Finding out it wasn't Mum we brought back? It's convinced me that we can bring you back, body and soul," Ed told him but this time, Al couldn't quite match his brother's enthusiasm.

"Are you sure?" He asked and Ed nodded.

"Do you remember when we were in North City and I reminded you about that snowstorm we had in Resembool as kids?" Ed asked and Al nodded. "You didn't remember it at first but then you did. However, when we were walking with Falman to the Northern Command Centre, you and Ayala brought up our first winter in Dublith and you mentioned about how I had dismissed Teacher's warning to stay away from the lake because it would be freezing cold and she didn't want to deal with us if we got sick but I decided to see how cold it was and almost froze because I tripped on a stick and fell completely into the lake," Ed said and Al nodded.

"I remember that. You did get sick and Teacher was going to kill you but I told her it had been an accident," Al said, sounding both amused by the memory and confused by Ed bringing it up.

"Right," Ed said before turning to Ayala. "You remember it as well, don't you?"

She nodded.  _"Yeah, you were sick for a week and Izumi was about to call the doctor when your fever finally broke,"_  Ayala recalled.

"I don't remember any of that," Ed revealed, "but the fact that both of you do proves that you're really you, Al," Ed told him. "It proves that when I reached into Truth's dimension after sacrificing my arm, I pulled you out. It was only your soul but I'll bet everything that your body's still in there. I just gotta get you out," Ed said confidently.

" _You really think Al's body is still in that portal?"_ Chester asked, not bothering to hide his lack of faith but Ed didn't seem offended.

"Try and think back, Al. I know you say you don't have any memories of what happened while you were gone that night but try and think really hard. What did you see when Truth unravelled you?" Ed asked, pressing Al enough that Chester hissed at him.

" _Come on, Ed, why are you pushing this?"_  Chester asked and Ed gave him an apologetic look.

"I need to know if he can remember anything that might help," Ed said.

"I-I remember seeing… I remember seeing me?" Al said, startling the three of them. No one said anything in an effort to avoid disrupting Al. "I grabbed my own hand and I – and I remember seeing you, Ed!" Al exclaimed, once again startling the three of those in the room.

"Me?" Ed asked incredulously. He couldn't remember seeing Al at all in Truth's dimension or during the trip through his Gate. He was certain he wouldn't have missed seeing his little brother there but Al must've been if he saw Ed.

"Yeah," Al said, nodding vigorously, "I was looking right at you through that thing we made!" He told them and Ed felt bile crawl up his throat. Al was inside that creature? "It was me! The body must've rejected my soul right away!"

"It was you in it?" Ed asked faintly and Al noticed how pale his brother had gotten.

"Yeah," he confirmed, "but, Brother, that means we didn't hurt anyone else's soul with what we did," Al told him and Ed took a shuddering breath as he tried to steady himself. "This entire time," Al said softly, "I've been blaming myself for what happened. I thought it was me. I thought I had messed up the transmutation somehow and that I was the one who killed Mum a second time," Al confessed and Ed felt his heart squeeze as his own dark thoughts were spoken by his brother.

"So did I, Al," Ed said and both their Animals shifted a little closer to their humans, a miserable atmosphere settling over the room.

"But what you've just told me means I wasn't the one who killed Mum after all," Al said, sounding relieved beyond belief. "Thank you, Brother!" Al said and Ed gave him a small smile.

"This doesn't change the fact that I'm still the one who put you in that armour and I don't care what it takes," Ed's face took on a stubborn expression, "I'm gonna make you normal again. I swear it," Ed promised.

"Brother!" Al protested. "I was right there with you –  _we_  were right there – " Al gestured to the Animals, who nodded in agreement, "and we knew that there were risks so quit trying to shoulder all of this on your own!" Al scolded before his tone grew soft. "I can't watch you suffer like this, not on your own. You keep telling us you're fine and that you know you shouldn't blame only yourself for what happened but we know you still do and I know what you're like when it comes to achieving your goals," Al said. "I know how reckless you are and I'm telling you now, Brother, that if it means you getting hurt or killed, I don't want my body back at all," Al told him.

"Alphonse," Ed started protesting but Al spoke over him.

"I've met other people who weren't exactly human but they've managed to live their lives with a purpose and even in this body, it hasn't stopped other people from treating me like I'm still human," Al told Ed, voice positive. "I can still get by like this. I can still live a somewhat normal life and be content. But I miss being able to touch Chester. I miss eating and trying new food and drinks. I miss feeling the sun and rain on my face. I miss hugging you and feeling how warm you are. I don't want my body back if it means someone has to be hurt or killed for it but if we can manage it without that happening, I want it back more than anything!" Al said and Ed leapt to his feet to wrap his arms around Al's armour as best he could. Chester and Ayala both pressed into him and Al to the best of their ability and Ed wished Al could feel that more than anything in that moment.

"You're going to get your body back. I'll make sure you do without anyone else paying for it," Ed promised and he felt Al's massive metal arms coming up to hug all three of them.

"Thank you, Brother," Al said softly, squeezing them all carefully.

* * *

After their emotional talk, Al had asked about the finer details on the last three days then ordered Ed to go into the bathroom and wash up so they could head to the Hughes' for dinner as promised and be there on time once he'd gotten all the information he wanted. Ed had grumbled that they had plenty of time but Alphonse wasn't to be moved and so Ed stomped off to the bathroom, snarling at both Ayala and Chester when their laughter echoed in his head. He'd just come out of the bathroom when Koda spoke in his mind.

" _Izumi wants to know the number she needs to call to talk to you in a few minutes,"_  Koda said and Ed hesitated for only a moment before he gave her the number for the hotel.

"What's wrong, Ed?" Al asked once he noticed Ed's pause in his movements.

"Koda just asked for the hotel number so Teacher can call me," Ed told him, a healthy amount of fear in his voice.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Al said though his tone didn't match his words.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you but I ran into Brosh at the train station," Ed said as they finished getting themselves ready for dinner. Since they wouldn't be staying at the Hughes' for the night, Al had seen fit to bring all their gear with him to the hotel room so Ed could have a clean change of clothing, for which the blonde was grateful for. "He was ordered to find me at the station and let me know that Scar's back in town," Ed told Al and Chester.

" _Do they know for certain?"_  Chester asked and Ed nodded.

"He's killed three more State Alchemists already," Ed told them.

"You're gonna have to lay low, Brother," Al warned but Ed shook his head.

"Actually, I was thinking that I should confront Scar," Ed told them and three of them let out various protests about his idea.

" _Why?"_  Chester finally asked, being the first one to do so and Ed shrugged.

"So we can lure out the homunculi," Ed told them. "They need us alive for their sacrifice so I doubt they'd be willing to let someone kill us," Ed said.

" _Why on earth do you want to lure out the homunculi?"_  Ayala asked, a little annoyed Ed had managed to hide this idea from her.

"We need information. If we can capture one, we can interrogate it," Ed said.

"And your genius plan is to use yourself as bait and fight Scar on the off chance that the homunculi will come to your rescue? That's a pretty big gamble, Brother," Al said, doubt saturating his voice.

"Well it's much better than sitting around and doing nothing!" Ed exclaimed defensively.

"Oh really? Because I vividly recall that the only reason Scar didn't manage to finish us off was because Colonel Mustang and the team got there just in time for Nala to join the fight," Al reminded him none-too-kindly.

"It was Nala who saved our arses. Mustang was useless," Ed muttered nearly too low for Al to hear. "But we've gotten a lot stronger in the last few months!" Ed said but he could still feel the Animals' disbelief and knew his brother likely felt the same.

"What happens if the homunculi do show up?" Al asked, determined to show his brother how insane this idea was. "How are you going to capture one? They're super-strong and have hidden abilities we don't know about. We've only got one weapon against them but that'll destroy them outright. Anything else we can do will barely affect them and they can't die!" The rest of the rant was cut off by the sudden interruption of an unexpected voice near the window.

"'Can't die'? Was that an exaggeration?" Ling asked as his and Laika's heads popped up in front of the open window. Lan Fan and her cat's heads joined them.

"Or are they actually immortal?" She asked and Ed bit back his sigh of annoyance.

"Why didn't we lock the windows?" Al moaned but neither Xingese looked offended. Ed vaguely wondered where the old man was.

"Count us in!" Ling said. "We'd love to help you guys!" He exclaimed.

"Why's that?" Ed asked suspiciously as Ayala and Chester made sure neither one left their sight for a moment. The two took Ed's question as an invitation to come inside the room and Ed let them, too curious to kick them back out just yet.

"I can't say I care too much about the military stuff but it sounds like these homunculi are just what we've been looking for!" Ling said before frowning at Ed and the Animals' expressions. "What's wrong? You look kind of skeptical," Ling commented and Ed scoffed.

"Don't get me wrong; we'd appreciate the help since the homunculi are tough bastards but why would you help us?" Ed asked, clarifying his question.

"You just said these homunculi are tough to fight so your odds of winning against them would get better with some help," Ling said. "I'm serious about this. It could be what ends up saving my clan," Ling said, certainly sounding serious. Ed exchanged a look with his brother and both their Animals before nodding slightly.

"Alright than," he agreed. "Just remember that we're in this together," Ed warned before extending his hand for Ling to shake.

Once they'd shaken on their agreement, Ling opened his mouth to say something else but a knock at the door had him quickly shutting it. "Major Elric?" A slightly nervous sounding voice called from the other side of the door. "You have a phone call from an Izumi Curtis, Sir," the concierge told him.

"I'll be down in a moment to accept. Thank you for telling me," Ed called back. There wasn't any response but they heard the soft footfalls the hotel employee made as he walked away. Ed turned back to the Xingese prince. "We'll be back later tonight to talk about how we're gonna go about attracting the attention of a serial killer and the homunculi. The three of you are welcome to stay here until we get back but you'll have to find something to entertain yourselves with," Ed told them.

"Looking forward to it," Ling said as Lan Fan made herself comfortable in a strategic spot. The third member of the trio appeared out of nowhere and Ed refrained from snarling at him.

"Try not to destroy anything," Ed said as Al and the Animals walked out of the room. Ed snatched up the hotel key from the small table Al had obviously placed it on earlier.

"We'll do our best," Ling swore and Ed shook his head as he shut the door behind him. He had a feeling he was gonna regret letting them stay in the room.

* * *

"Teacher?" Ed asked once he had the waiting phone up to his ear. It was located in the lobby but away from where the majority of guests and hotel employees would walk by, giving whoever used the phone some semblance of privacy.

" _I did some research,"_  Izumi said, forgoing any pleasantries. Al and the Animals were standing around Ed, all trying to hear the conversation.  _"Sig and I looked up our family lines and, well, the child I transmuted, it didn't have a single physical trait that could've come from us,"_  Izumi told him and Ed felt both relief that his theory was right and heartache for his teacher.  _"You're on to something, aren't you?"_  Izumi asked sharply.

"Yeah," Ed admitted. "I've come to the conclusion that death is permanent. There's nothing that can change that," Ed told her without prompting.

" _So not even transmutation can change that fact,"_  Izumi said sadly.  _"All this time, I thought I must've missed something but it was always impossible to do,"_  Izumi murmured and Ed got the feeling that she hadn't truly meant to say that out loud.  _"Ed!"_  Izumi snapped harshly and Ed immediately jumped.

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked nervously.

" _Thank you,"_  came the soft answer before the phone clicked and the line went dead. Ed hung up his phone and turned to Al and the Animals.

"So what did Teacher have to say?" Al asked, having missed most of the conversation.

"Well, I'm not really sure why but she said 'thank you'," Ed told him, facing screwing up in confusion.

Al chuckled as they walked out of the hotel lobby and into the street outside. "I think she's thanking you for the same reason I did, Brother," Al told Ed who hummed unconvinced.

"I dunno," Ed said. "She's probably plotting my demise or something like that," Ed said and Al shook his head.

"You're ridiculous, Brother," Al laughed and Ed flipped him off.

" _He's not wrong,"_  Ayala muttered and Ed flipped her off, causing Al to laugh harder as he realised why Ed did so.

"I hate you both. Chester's my new favourite," Ed stated, causing his brother and his wolf to laugh harder.

" _It's about time you admitted that I'm the superior choice,"_ Chester declared with the air one would expect from stuffy royalty.

" _Well, I'm certainly gonna have to challenge that statement,"_  a new voice said and Ed spun to find Nala sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, a grin on her face.

"Nala!" Ed exclaimed as he jogged towards her. "What are you doing here?" Ed asked as he drew level with the lioness. Both Ayala and Chester offered their own greetings once they caught up to Ed, as did Al. Nala returned them all before answering Ed

" _Roy and I are on our way to Maes' for dinner. I guess that means you are joining us as well?"_  Nala asked, thrilled about the prospect.

"Yeah but Hughes mentioned nothing about Colonel Bastard being there," Ed grumbled, mentally marking this as something he needed to pay Hughes back for. "However, you are more than enough to make up for it," Ed said, winking at the lioness and making her laugh.

" _You're damned right I am,"_  she giggled.

"Speaking of your human," Ed said, looking around the immediate area, "where exactly is he?" Ed asked.

" _Picking up a bottle of wine,"_  Nala said, nodding her head towards the alcohol store about halfway up the street they were on but on the opposite side of road.

"What's going on, Brother?" Al asked and Ed winced, having forgotten Al couldn't hear their conversation.

"Mustang's in that bottle-o up ahead since he and Nala are joining us for dinner with the Hughes'," Ed told him.

"I wondered if he would. Mr. Hughes did say he would invite him tonight," Al said and Ed gave him an utterly betrayed look.

"Why would you turn on me like this?" Ed gasped dramatically. Chester, Nala and Ayala all laughed at him while Ed felt like Al just mentally rolled his eyes.

"Because I knew you'd chuck a fit if you found out earlier," Al said flatly and Ed nodded, not even able to come to his own defence.

"You're not wrong," Ed said, grinning a little as Al joined in on the laughter.

"Why have you kidnapped my Animal, Fullmetal?" Ed looked behind Nala and saw a rather unimpressed Mustang standing behind her, dressed in casual clothes and had a bottle of alcohol hidden in a brown paper bag secured under one arm.

"Not my fault she likes me better," Ed automatically snarked. "Besides, I'd like to meet the person who could successfully kidnap Nala. She'd tear anyone who tried to pieces," Ed said and Nala preened at the praise.

" _It's true,"_  she said, obviously speaking to them both.

"Obviously," Mustang said, giving Nala a small smile before looking back at Ed and the others. "Why are the four of you out here? Didn't anyone inform you that Scar has struck down three more alchemists in Central?" Mustang asked.

"Careful, Mustang. It's starting to sound like you care if someone comes after me," Ed snarked. "Besides, Hughes invited us over for dinner. That's why we're out," Ed told him before Mustang could reply to his last comment.

"Of course he did," Mustang muttered and something clicked for Ed.

"He didn't tell you I'd be there, did he?" Ed asked and Mustang shook his head, glowering a little. "I've got plans of punching him once we get there," Ed told him and Mustang nodded.

"I'll hold him still for you," Mustang swore and Ed gave a small nod, agreeing with the plan.

" _Neither of you are causing Maes physical harm,"_  Nala said immediately and Ed pouted at her.

"Just a little bit?" Ed asked.

"No."

" _No,"_  Nala and Al echoed each other and Ed glared at both of them.

"You're both spoilsports," Ed grumbled. Unknowingly to the blonde, Mustang was nodding in agreement.

"You'll get over it, Brother," Al told him. "We should get going so we aren't late for dinner," Al said pointedly.

Ed sighed. "Fine. Let's get going than," Ed said. "Nala, you're more than welcome to tag along so long as you make sure your human behaves," Ed said and Mustang made a protesting noise.

"You're one to talk!" He exclaimed.

" _I promise,"_  Nala swore and Mustang spluttered at her while Ed laughed at him. The lioness seemed smug about getting that reaction and Mustang glared at her but Ed didn't notice as he was pulled into a banter with Alphonse over how they really did need to get going. Ayala and Chester both noticed though and filed it away as something for them to investigate later on since Al had succeeded in getting the group to start walking towards the Hughes' house and they didn't want to be the cause of Alphonse's ire if they held the group up.

* * *

"Uncle Roy! Big Brothers Ed and Al! You're here!" Elysia squealed once she'd opened the door and recognised who was standing outside. "Hi, Chester! Hi, Ayala! Hi, Nala!" She greeted each of the Animals, giving them a big hug each before she moved onto the humans, starting with Al and ending with Ed.

"How are you going, El? Behaving for your mum and dad?" Ed asked after he'd let the little girl go after her hug.

"Uh-huh," Elysia said, nodding her head emphatically.

"As if my precious little girl could be anything less than a perfect angel," Hughes said as he appeared in the entryway and scooped Elysia up in one move, making her squeal in delight.

"You're in trouble, by the way, Hughes," Ed warned him. It only took Hughes looking between Mustang's unimpressed expression and Ed's annoyed one for him to understand what Ed meant.

Giving them his best innocent grin, Hughes beckoned them into the house. "I'm sure that I haven't done anything to land myself in any trouble this time but would a promise to figure it out and not do it again save me from whatever the two of you have planned?" Hughes asked. Elysia looked confused but Ed and Mustang shared a look.

"I doubt you'll have to think real hard to figure out what you did but I'll accept that promise on the condition that you agree that if you break it, my revenge gets to be twice as bad as it would've been tonight," Ed said, pointing a threatening finger at him and glared at him.

"What Fullmetal said," Mustang said, not sounding overly happy about doing so.

"Deal," Hughes said with a blinding grin. "Now why don't we head into the dining room and help my darling wife set up the dinner table? Everybody really wants to hear what you've been up to the last couple of days, Ed," Hughes said cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said as he removed his red jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. "Some of it wouldn't be good for small ears though," Ed warned and Hughes nodded in understanding.

"That's fine," Hughes said as he led them through to the dining room.

"Edward!" Gracia greeted as she spotted the blonde and greeted him with a warm hug. "Is everything alright? You got Lilith all worried the afternoon you left," Gracia asked and Ed gave her the best smile he could manage in that moment.

"I'm alright, Miss Gracia," Ed swore. "I'll tell you more about it later," he said, nodding his head towards the oblivious Elysia and Gracia gave the same reaction her husband had.

"Alright. I'm glad you're alright," she said, giving him a warm smile before looking at the others who'd arrived with him. "I'm glad the rest of you were able to make. Dinner will be another ten minutes but do any of you want a drink?" Gracia asked but everyone shook their heads. "Alright. I'll give you a call when dinner's ready," she said, obviously dismissing them from her kitchen and none of them were stupid enough to disobey, though Mustang did stay back for a few moments to give Gracia the wine he had purchased earlier before retreating to the lounge room to join the others.

Nala, Ed, Ayala and Chester were all squeezed together on the couch that had acted as Ed's bed while he had been staying with the Hughes' while Al was sitting beside it, resting one arm on the arm rest and leaning slightly into the couch. Hughes and Leo were on their usual recliner and Lilith had situated herself on Gracia's. Elysia was on Ed's lap, giving him an enthusiastic and detailed report on everything that had happened while he was gone which meant Mustang had the second couch all to himself until Nala took pity on him and joined him, giving Ed, Ayala and Chester a bit more room to spread out.

* * *

Elysia had barely gotten through what had happened the day Ed and Ayala had left for Resembool when Gracia called them into the dining room for dinner. Ed and Al branched off from the group to check if Gracia needed help with anything. Once everything was on the table, they all sat down and thanked Gracia for the meal of roasted chicken and vegetables before giving their Animals their servings and digging into the delicious meal themselves. Elysia wasn't deterred by the food in the slightest and continued her self-assigned mission of catching Ed up on everything he had missed around bites of her dinner.

Ed had listened intently to the little girl, more than content to listen to everything she had to say. He made the appropriate noises when needed and asked questions where he knew she was expecting him to ask them. She ran out of stories to tell by the time everyone finished dinner and asked Ed what he did while he was away once they were back in the living room in pretty much the same spots as before. The only noticeable exceptions were the fact that Gracia was resting in her recliner and Elysia was sitting on her father's lap.

"Well, certainly nothing as exciting as what you've been doing," Ed told her and she grinned. "My grandmother asked me to go back to Resembool because an acquaintance of hers turned up and she thought I should hear what he had to say," Ed told her.

"That doesn't sound like any fun," Elysia said, pouting in sympathy for Ed, who nodded solemnly.

"It really wasn't," Ed said. "Trust me when I say I wish I had been here with you. You're definitely better company than he was," Ed told her with a wink that caused the young girl to flush with delight.

"Of course my little angel is," Hughes said imperially. "Unfortunately, no matter how much we love having her around, my precious girl needs to go for a shower and go to bed because she has a big day tomorrow," Hughes announced and Elysia made an interesting noise that was both excitement and disappointment.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Ed asked curiously since it was still pretty early, even if dinner had been served later than it normally would've, and Elysia normally wouldn't be getting ready for bed for another hour or so.

Hughes beamed at him and answered. "Gracia and I have appointments with the primary schools in the area so we can find the best school for Elysia to start attending next year," Hughes told him, sounding absolutely thrilled with the idea, like he couldn't imagine there was anything better than spending the day talking to several school administrations about enrolling his daughter.

"What schools are you gonna be looking at?" Ed asked casually, needing to know so he knew what area to avoid during his showdown with Scar and the homunculi tomorrow. Ayala perked her ears forward as she listened intently as well, just in case she needed to remind Ed tomorrow.

"Just the three closest to us at the moment," Hughes told him. "We want Elysia in the best school possible but close by as well. If none of the schools we look at are good enough for my angel, we'll look at others later," Hughes said, looking for all the world that he didn't believe that  _any_  of the schools would be good enough for Elysia. Ed thought he saw Gracia hide a grin but when he looked again, her face only showed the pleasant and warm expression she always wore.

"It sounds like you do have a big day tomorrow," Ed said. "I expect to hear all about it later," Ed told Elysia and she nodded.

"I promise," she swore, deadly serious and Ed gave her a serious nod before they both grinned at each other.

"Alright, Elysia," Gracia said as she got up. "Your father's right. You need to get ready for bed now so tell everyone goodnight and let's head to the bathroom," Gracia ordered gently and Elysia seemed to fight with herself for a few moments before she did as she was told and gave everyone – including all of the Animals – a hug goodnight before following her mother into the bathroom.

"How's the search for Scar going?" Ed asked before either of the older soldiers could question him about the previous three days.

Hughes sighed. "Knowing what he looks like isn't helping us at all this time," he told Ed. "We've figured that he's hiding somewhere in the oldest parts of Central, where most of what's there are derelict houses, warehouses and not very many people so we've started searching the buildings but there are hundreds and we can't search them all in one go. Of course, we could be wrong entirely and he might be hiding somewhere like in the sewers or maybe even in the woods outside of Central," Hughes said before sighing. "We did have our canine unit track his scent from each crime scene but they always ended in dead ends. We've even had Animals like Leo, who have volunteered to try their hand at tracking Scar's scent but they haven't managed to come up with anything either," Hughes revealed.

" _His scent either gets too mingled with other scents for us to distinguish or it leads us to a building but then disappears like he vanished from that spot,"_  Leo told Ed who contemplated for a moment.

"Did you guys look for fresh transmutation marks?" Ed asked.

"You think Scar is using alchemy to avoid the military?" Mustang asked sharply and Ed shrugged.

"We know he's using alchemy to kill State Alchemists," Ed pointed out. "He does it by stopping at deconstruction but maybe he's using a tunnel system or something to escape. He could deconstruct a hole in the floor then reconstruct it long before anyone starts looking for him," Ed said and both men thought it over.

"Major Armstrong hasn't said anything about seeing fresh transmutation marks but then again, I don't think anyone was looking for them considering Scar has been heard numerous times talking about how alchemy is blasphemy," Hughes admitted and Ed nodded.

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure killing someone and their Animal is also against Ishvalen religion as well and he'd doing that and using alchemy as his weapon so he probably isn't that big of a follower," Ed pointed out and Hughes chuckled lightly.

"You're probably right," Hughes said. "I'll call the office in the morning and ask Major Armstrong and a couple of other alchemists to go back to where the canine unit and Animals lost Scar's scent and search for transmutation marks," Hughes said, giving Ed a grin. "Thanks for the idea, Ed."

"All good," Ed said, dismissing the thanks immediately. Elysia and Gracia walked back past the lounge room – Elysia waving goodnight to everyone again – before disappearing into the young girl's room. "Nothing's set off the array I set?" Ed asked, knowing the answer already since someone – be it Chester, Leo, Al or someone else – would've told him immediately if it had been.

"No, nothing's gotten close to it. Leo and Lilith haven't picked up any iffy scents nearby either," Hughes told him and Ed relaxed slightly. "So now that my darling Elysia has gone to bed, are you gonna tell us why your grandmother had you go out to Resembool immediately and without your brother?" Mustang shifted slightly where he sat, almost like he was holding himself back from leaning forward with interest.

Ed looked at Al, silently asking whether he was alright with Ed revealing exactly who was waiting at Resembool for him. Al gave a slight nod and Ed sighed. "Granny had me come back to Resembool because our bastard of a father turned up and Granny thought he had some stuff to say that I needed to hear," Ed told them, a scowl marring his face.

Neither Hughes, Mustang nor their Animals were strangers to how much Ed disliked his father. The mere mention of Hohenheim by Al or someone innocently asking where he was used to put Ed on edge, causing him to spit at the person about how he hoped he was dead. Though Ayala and Al had helped Ed minimise his reaction over the years, those first few times had taught Mustang, his team and those who worked with Ed or the team most often to not bring up the Elric brothers' father. Al did his best to only ever mention their father in private whereas Ed preferred to never mention Hohenheim at all if he could get away with it so for Ed to not only mention their father but to admit that that was what the trip to Resembool was about was a surprise to both the men and their Animals to hear.

"Your father?" Hughes repeated and Mustang silently admired the man's bravery to do so. Nala rolled her eyes at him. "I assume that your grandmother was aware of how strongly you dislike him so I assume there was something important he had to tell you that wasn't to do with your personal life?" Hughes asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Yeah," Ed admitted before scratching his head, considering what parts of his and Hohenheim's talks they absolutely needed to know. He considered keeping their heritage and Hohenheim's true age a secret – not to protect Hohenheim but to protect them – but Ayala pointed out what he'd figured when telling Al.

" _They need to know about all of that or else they won't understand why Hohenheim decided to leave all those years and you know that neither of them will simply accept you telling them it doesn't matter when they ask,"_  Ayala said and Ed nodded.

"The first thing he told me about was how and why Xerxes was destroyed," Ed told them and would've laughed at their expressions at how random what he'd said had been.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but how would he know? The country of Xerxes was destroyed over 400 years ago and there aren't any known records about what had happened," Hughes said and Ed nodded.

"He knows what happened to Xerxes because he was there. In fact, he was part of what caused Xerxes to be destroyed though his role was unwilling," Ed said, sounding like coming to his father's defence was almost physically painful.

"What?" Hughes gaped and Ed was a little pleased to see that Mustang's ability to be unaffected by anything Ed threw at him had apparently reached its limits as his boss' jaw dropped.

"When Ayala and I got to the end of Granny's driveway, Ayala picked up the scent of a homunculous. The homunculous she and Chester had sensed when we were saying goodnight to Teacher, Sig and their Animals after having dinner with them, actually," Ed told them. "When we tracked the scent to deal with it," Hughes made a noise like he wanted to lecture Ed about putting himself in danger and Mustang's face flickered with an expression Ed didn't get the chance to identify before it was gone, "we found Hohenheim at the cemetery and realised it was him we were tracking," Ed told them.

"So, what? Your father's a homunculous?" Mustang asked and Ed could feel Nala, Leo and Lilith connect the emotional turmoil he'd felt that they'd sensed to what he'd just told them.

Ed screwed his face up and shook his head. "No, not really?" He didn't sound overly certain. "Hohenheim called himself a Philosopher's Stone in the form of a man and he technically can't be a homunculous," Ed said. "Homunculi are artificially created humans and don't have souls. That's why they don't have Spirit Animals and Hohenheim still has Calix. Plus, homunculi can't have children and we are – unfortunately – definitely Hohenheim's kids," Ed told them.

"Brother," Al sighed but Ed ignored him, not wanting to get into an argument right now.

"Hohenheim was born in Xerxes and a prominent alchemist used his blood to create an artificial intelligence, otherwise known as a homunculous," Ed told Hughes and Mustang and heard Nala's gasp. "This homunculous was nothing more than a formless substance with a sentience in a glass flask but it offered to teach Hohenheim alchemy and some other skills in thanks for providing the blood that gave it life. Eventually, Hohenheim's talent with alchemy was noticed and the alchemist who created the homunculous offered him a position as his assistant. While Hohenheim was working for him, the homunculous was working as a royal advisor of sorts for the king of Xerxes," Ed said.

"A decade or so after Hohenheim started working for this alchemist, he was asked to join the royal court in the throne room so he could hold the homunculous while an array was activated, on the homunculous' request," Ed went on to say. "The Xerxian king had ordered an array to be carved around the entirety of his country, telling his people that the array would help make his kingdom more prosperous when in reality it would pull the souls out of every living person and Animal within the circle and grant whoever was in the centre immortality." Ed paused to let that sink in.

"The Xerxian king committed genocide against his entire country so he could become immortal?" Mustang asked, apparently needing the clarification. By the looks of it, Hughes and Gracia – who had joined them midway through Ed's explanation of what Hohenheim was – needed it as well.

"Yes. Stupid idea if you ask me. He wouldn't have had anyone left to rule over after that so he wouldn't really be a king anymore," Ed criticised and the attempt at levity seemed to have some effect on everyone.

"Since your father is alive and apparently immortal himself, I assume the king's plans didn't go the way he wanted," Mustang said dryly and Ed nodded.

"Homunculous tricked him," Ed confirmed. "The king stood in what he was told was the centre of the array. However, Homunculous had managed to manipulate the array's construction enough that where Calix and Hohenheim stood holding him was the true centre. When the array activated, all the souls from the Xerxian citizens were pulled out from their bodies, including the king's and those in his royal court, and given to Homunculous and Hohenheim. As a final gift to him, Homunculous split the souls in half, creating two stones and fusing one to Hohenheim's life force, granting him near immortality and a body that never ages," Ed told them.

"'Near immortality'?" Hughes asked and Ed nodded.

"Basically, if something kills him – probably me if I ever see him again – he'll heal like the homunculi do. The stone inside him will automatically sacrifice however many souls it needs to in order to bring him back to life until the stone is depleted. Once the stone's depleted though, he won't be able to resurrect himself," Ed informed him.

"I don't see how what you've just told us could be helpful against what this threat," Mustang said and Ed glared at him.

"Because I haven't actually told you the information you need to know," Ed snarked. "When the Ishvalen Civil War started, Hohenheim looked into it because he didn't understand why Ishval declared war on us in the first place since they were a predominantly peaceful people, even after they became part of Amestris. He uncovered the accidental shooting of the Ishvalen child that served as the trigger point and got suspicious so he looked into the rest of Amestris' history and uncovered the same thing you did, Hughes," Ed told them, nodding to Hughes. "He apparently came to the conclusion that everything he'd found had something to do with the original homunculous and decided to try and figure out everything with only Calix to help him." None of the adults or their Animals missed the sneer in Ed's voice.

"Did he give us any information we haven't already uncovered? Other than the fact that there's possibly one more homunculous out there, one that is likely more powerful than the rest of them?" Mustang asked and didn't bother hiding his disappointment when Ed shook his head.

"No," Ed said. "He promised to try and find the original homunculous and uncover as much of his plan as possible and he is currently placing countermeasures around the country in an effort to try and circumvent whatever this homunculous has planned if it should get to the point where he is able to enact on his plans but that was about as useful as he was," Ed grumbled.

" _He didn't tell you anything else?"_  Nala asked.

"Nothing that has anything to do with anyone other than me and Al," Ed told her, tone gentle but firm in his resolve to keep anything else to themselves. Nala got the message and didn't push any further.

"I assume you bonded with your father's Animal so he can share information we might need with us easily and vice versa?" Mustang asked, brow raised as though he was expecting Ed's answer to be different.

"Course I did," Ed huffed. "There were plenty of conditions to go along with it but we formed a bond." Mustang looked a little surprised and Ed managed to resist the urge to rub it in his face.

"Brother, are you gonna tell them about what Dad can do?" Al asked. Ed sighed as the three adults looked intrigued.

"Well, now I am," Ed muttered, glaring at Al who simply gave an innocent shrug that Ed didn't buy in the slightest. "Turns out I'm not the only one who can speak to and bond with other people's Animals," Ed told them, getting shocked gasps from all of them. "Hohenheim can as well."

"How is that possible? I thought you got yours from Truth. Are you saying your father committed and survived the ultimate taboo as well?" Mustang asked and Ed shrugged.

"Dunno if he ever tried it, though I seriously doubt he did, but no, he never got his abilities from that prick," Ed said, scowling at nothing. "He and a few other Xerxian alchemists actually  _discovered_  how to talk to other people's Animals only a couple of years before the country's destruction. He is of the opinion that I was given the knowledge by my Gate because it recognised I'm half-Xerxian and therefore it was my blood-right to know. If that's true than when Al gets his memories back, he should have the same abilities," Ed revealed.

"How come none of our Animals knew that those abilities existed before?" Gracia asked, a puzzled frown on her face.

"Spirit Animals need to die before their knowledge is passed on. None of the Animals who were bonded with the humans who uncovered the ability or knew about it personally were technically killed," Ed explained. "Their physical bodies were but their living souls were trapped in the two stones. Since only a handful of them knew, it's very likely that neither stone has actually sacrificed one of those souls as payment for something which means they haven't technically died yet," Ed told her.

" _Those poor souls,"_  Lilith whispered sadly.

"The array I used against the homunculous who tried to kill Hughes releases the souls to wherever they're supposed to go. If we use that array against all of them as quickly as we can, we can prevent them being sacrificed for the homunculous' gain," Ed told her and Lilith nodded, though Ed and Gracia could sense how heavy her heart was.

"There's absolutely nothing else Hohenheim told you that could be helpful for us?" Mustang asked and Ed felt his already limited patience wearing razor thin.

"I already said he didn't," Ed snapped, eyes flashing dangerously.

" _Sorry, Ed. You know he's just making sure since this is so important. I'll yell at him for you later,"_  Nala said immediately, jumping in before they could really start fighting.

"This is a lot to process, Ed," Hughes told him, sounding a little stunned now that everyone had been given a few moments to let everything he'd said absorb into them.

Ed snorted. "Understatement of the fucking year, Hughes," Ed said, giving the bespectacled man a wry grin.

"Does your father being what he is affect the two of you in any way?" Gracia asked, looking concerned as her eyes roved over them, as though she was trying to find anything different.

"Hohenheim doesn't think so and I'm somewhat inclined to agree," Ed told her. "We would've seen evidence of it by now. From what I understood, the only things the stone in Hohenheim granted him were a never-ageing body and a very, very long life. I didn't see evidence of it but I would assume he's also got the same instant healing factor as the homunculi. Al and I are obviously ageing at a normal rate and we've both injured ourselves plenty of times and we've never shown signs of healing any quicker than anyone else. Unless we manage to get ourselves killed and come back from the dead, I'd say Hohenheim's stone didn't affect us at all," Ed explained.

"Well you better not test that theory any time soon, you hear me?" Gracia said sternly though her eyes were soft with affection and worry.

"Not dying any time soon is one of our goals in life," Ed told her, giving her a grin and she nodded, pleased

"As it should be," Hughes said. Ed couldn't help but notice that Mustang stayed quiet on the subject before reminding himself sharply that he didn't care. "If the four of you don't have to leave just yet, I want to get a bit more information on what happened in Xerxes and your father's investigation, if that's alright?

Ed thought about the three illegal Xingese waiting in their hotel rooms and debated between refusing Hughes' request so that they could leave to talk to the awaiting foreigners or doing as Hughes wanted and leaving the trio to fend for themselves a little longer. On one hand, he wouldn't have to talk about his father and what they'd talked about and he and the Xingese would be able to flesh out their plan for luring Scar in as bait for the homunculi but on the other hand, he would have to spend time with Ling and he doubted that the promise of a homunculous with a stone would be enough to stop the Xingese prince from trying to interrogate him about Al's seal and the stone itself.

"Yeah, why not?" Ed finally answered, deciding the Xingese could wait while Hughes interrogated him.

After all, he'd still have to go through this at a later date if he did refuse now so it was better to get it over and done with while Mustang was there so he could be assured that Hughes wouldn't try to get any of the personal information out of him. Plus, he could use the excuse of being tired and wanting to get enough sleep so he wouldn't be killed the next day to get out of any questioning from Ling or his guards. Ayala made a show of mentally rolling her eyes at him but he noticed she didn't actually say anything against his plan so he took it as agreement that it was a good plan. He ignored Ayala's amusement at that decision and gave his attention to Hughes, settling himself into the couch knowing it might be a while before he can leave.

* * *

Both Ed and Al waved to the hotel clerk behind the front desk – a different woman to the one who had been manning it when they'd left – and headed into the elevator. Ayala and Chester were forced to squeeze in close to them as a family of three followed them into the elevator. Thankfully their son was too young to have an Animal and the parents' Animals were only a Macaw and Bengal Cat so they didn't take up an awful amount of room. No words were exchanged between either group but Ed could see the way they were glancing at Al with the same curiousity every stranger looked at the younger Elric with. Unfortunately, all four Elrics were used to this look so Ed didn't call the family out on it.

The elevator brought the Elrics to their floor first and they left the lift and headed for their room. Hughes and Mustang hadn't kept them as long as Ed had feared but it was still later than they had hoped it would be when they arrived back at the room. Grabbing the key card out of his pocket, Ed unlocked the door and everyone filed inside. Ed almost couldn't believe his eyes when the whole room looked as clean and tidy as it had when they left. The only exceptions were the two masks sitting on the coffee table and the tray of dirty dishes on the trolley room service had delivered it on.

"Enjoy yourselves?" Ed asked dryly as he eyed up the dirty dishes. Considering how much Ling's lunch in Rush Valley had cost him, Ed knew his account would have a hefty dent in it soon.

"Dinner was delicious. We thank you for your generosity," Ling replied with a large smile that had Ed rolling his eyes while Lan Fan and the other guard bowed shortly.

"We'll see how generous I am when I get that bill," Ed said as he, Al, Ayala and Chester took a seat across from the Xingese trio.

"Are most Amestrians normally out this long when they're having a simple family dinner?" Ling asked and it was only the fact that Ed could tell he was genuinely curious and not being judgemental that stopped Ed from snapping at him.

"No but Hughes had some questions about what happened while I was gone and I agreed to answer them," Ed answered. He saw an all too familiar glint in Ling's eyes and held up a warning finger. "Before you try it, none of it is your business and I won't be telling you anything," Ed told him and Ling pouted.

"Are you always this suspicious of your friends?" Ling asked and Ed raised a brow in answer. Ling nodded slightly as if to concede to Ed's point. "What plans have you come up with for trying to lure in your serial killer?" Ling asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Honestly my only plan is to just make a big scene on the other end of town – out near the rail yard – and hope for the best," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder.

" _You're kidding,"_  Ayala said, dumbfounded while Chester snickered in amusement at her stunned expression.

"What?" Ed asked defensively.

"It's very simple," Ling mused before nodding sharply once. "I like it. Less chance of something ruining the plan if it's not extravagant," he said approvingly.

"Why at the rail yards?" Lan Fan asked, suspicion laced in her voice and her gaze switching from Ling to Ed, who realised what she was thinking.

"First off, I'm not gonna murder Ling, no matter how much he annoys me. I need his help and I'm not stupid enough to try and take him out  _before_  he helps us catch a homunculous and figure out what is going on," Ed told her. Her expression relaxed slightly but she didn't show any shame and Ed didn't begrudge her for it. "Secondly, I can use the citizens near the rail yard as a way to lure Scar in by offering to fix anything and everything I can and have them start spreading the word of where I am. Once we have Scar's attention, we can take the fight to the rail yard and we won't be risking as many civilians," Ed told her. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Why not lure Scar on the other end of town? Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes mentioned that Scar has used the abandoned buildings and warehouse area near his home to escape. Surely we would be able to lure Scar out of hiding if we're close to his escape route?" Ling asked but Ed shook his head.

"Hughes is taking his family out to check out the schools in the area for Elysia and if he hears about what I'm doing, he'll try and help and Miss Gracia and Elysia will tag along to make sure I'm alright. I won't risk them accidentally getting in the way if I can help it," Ed told him.

"But you are willing to put random civilians at risk?" The other guard asked sharply and Ed glared at him.

"They won't be, not if I can help it. Their only role in this whole plan is to gossip about what I'm up to," Ed informed him. "Besides, it's always easier to convince random strangers to leave a dangerous area while you deal with a threat than it is to convince someone who you know is likely to try and help you, no matter the danger to themselves," Ed said and the male guard seemed mollified by his response.

Ling looked at his two guards before speaking. "I believe the best course of action for us is to lay in wait until the two of you give us a signal to tell us that Scar is there," Ling said.

"What kind of signal?" Ed asked. "It's gotta be something we can set off quickly because I'm not gonna lie, even though we've all fought against Scar before, we'll be hard-pressed keeping ourselves from getting killed long enough for a homunculous to turn up," Ed told him, sounding a little sour about the fact that he had to admit that.

"Hmm, well we certainly wouldn't want that," Ling said, expression scrunching as he tried to think of a solution. "Fu can stay with you – out of sight of course – and give us the signal before making his way over to join us so he can help take down whichever homunculous is sent to keep the two of you alive," Ling declared and Ed grumbled to himself. The male guard – Fu, apparently – nodded his head in acceptance of his prince's orders.

" _It's not like he's ordering Fu to babysit you and fight your fight. All he's gonna be doing is making sure Ling and Lan Fan know when Scar has arrived then leaving us to join up with Ling and Lan Fan. I doubt we'll even know he's there,"_  Ayala chided as she rolled her eyes at her human's internal mutterings of how they didn't need a babysitter.

"It'd be one less thing we'd have to worry about and Fu might even be able to spot Scar before we do. If he tells us about seeing him, it could give us the chance to evacuate any civilians near us," Al pointed out and Fu gave him a nod.

"I have been given this Scar's description and I will warn you if I see him approach before you do," Fu swore and Ed sighed.

"Yeah, alright," Ed agreed. "That means the only other thing we gotta figure out is where the heck are we gonna hold the homunculous we catch?" Ed asked and Ling shrugged.

"That is for you to decide," Ling said. "You know this city better than we do therefore you should know of a place where we can hold the homunculous," Ling told him cheerfully.

"There are lots of abandoned and isolated cabins on the outskirts of Central," Al piped up. "I'm sure there must be some near the rail yard."

"That could work," Ed told him, giving Al a smile. "It's a shame none of our Animals can fly, though," Ed said, sighing a little. "We could ask them to search for the nearest cabin to the rail yard, make sure it's actually abandoned or at least unoccupied. They could have then led us to the cabin once we've gotten the homunculous rather than us running around looking for one."

"We don't need flying Animals to do that," Ling told him. "Lan Fan, Fu, myself and our Animals can scout the area tonight and find somewhere we can hold the homunculous," Ling offered and Ed felt himself torn between wanting to accept it and to tell them not to bother.

"Are you sure? If you get caught, you'll be thrown in jail for being an illegal alien," Ed reminded him but Ling flapped his hand at him dismissively.

"We'll be fine. We've managed to avoid the military so far," he said, full of confidence and Ed sighed.

"Alright. We'd appreciate it if you could but be warned that I'm not bailing you out of jail if you get caught," Ed told him sternly but Ling didn't seem fazed by it.

"Lan Fan and Fu will break me and Laika out," Ling told him, completely confident that his companions would do just that. Ed glanced at Lan Fan and was a little taken aback by how serious her expression was when she nodded in agreement. It almost looked like she was silently daring someone to try and arrest her prince. Even her Animal looked just as serious.

"It'd be a massive help if you could. We'd really appreciate it," Al said gratefully and Ed nodded.

"Then it's settled!" Ling exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "We'll head to the rail yard now and work on finding somewhere suitable for holding a homunculous hostage. We'll head out now and report back once we've found somewhere," Ling told them before gathering Laika up and literally jumping out of the hotel room's window. Lan Fan scooped up her mask, settled her cat on her shoulder and followed suit, a masked Fu immediately leaving after her.

The four of them looked at the window in slightly shock before someone finally broke the silence. "What do you think they'll find, Brother?" Al asked, breaking Ed out of his thoughts that Xingese royalty must be insane.

"My money's on Ling getting arrested and Lan Fan coming to his rescue," Ed told him, getting to his feet so he could grab his pyjamas and head to the shower.

"Brother," Al groaned and Ed laughed.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Fu and Lan Fan seem competent enough to avoid the MP's and I'm sure Ling's not as much of an idiot when he'd doing something important like this than he is all other times," Ed said. "Besides, Lan Fan and Ling have their Animals so they'll have some extra help," he pointed out.

"I'm sure you're right, Brother, but I can't help but worry. They're doing something dangerous for us and we aren't helping," Al said despondently.

"We can't help with this sort of thing, Al," Ed told him, "and it's not like they aren't getting something out of this for themselves," he reminded him. "Even I will admit we're outclassed when comparing who's better at sneaking around. You and I are too well-known around here and even if we weren't, we'd stand out too much whereas it's obvious those three know how stay unseen when they want to be," Ed pointed out. "Even if I could pull rank and stop MP's from trying to arrest us if we were caught, we need to be avoiding unnecessary attention from the military when possible. We don't want to attract Bradley's or his supporters' attention and have them pay close attention to us," Ed said and Al nodded.

"I know but that doesn't mean I like it," Al said and Ed gave his shoulder a pat as he walked past.

"Neither do I," Ed admitted. "You know I don't like sitting around while someone else does the work but it's what we've gotta do," Ed said.

" _Ed's right,"_  Chester piped up.  _"It's best we sit this part out and use this time to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. I think everyone would agree with me when I point out that we need rest before going up against Scar again,"_  Chester said.

"You're right, Chester," Al said, sitting up a little straighter. "All of you should in bed and asleep right now. Ed, you should go for a shower," Al suggested and Ed snorted.

"What are you, my boss?" Ed joked and Al huffed out a laugh.

"Yeah, right. You wouldn't listen to me if I was," Al snarked back.

" _He's got a point,"_  Ayala said, jumping off the couch and stretching.  _"Besides, you do need a shower. I can still smell that skeleton on you,"_  she told him, wrinkling her nose after taking a slightly exaggerated sniff.

"Does that mean you need to go for another shower yourself?" Ed asked, raising his brow in a threatening manner.

" _No, I'm completely fine,"_  Ayala insisted and Ed snorted again.

"Sure you are," Ed said before ruffling her ears and resuming his search for his pyjamas. "How about you, Ches? Do you need a bath?" Ed asked, already chuckling at the image of the leopard's reaction as he felt his displeasure at the idea.

" _I'm fine. I haven't been grave-digging like the two of you,"_  Chester told him and Al was quick to inform Ed that Chester really hadn't been doing anything recently to warrant a bath so Ed headed into the bathroom with only himself to clean up.

Once he was finished in the bathroom, Ed emerged and threw his dirty laundry down next to his suitcase. Feeling the emotional toll of repeating everything Hohenheim and Calix had told him to Al and telling most of it again in the same afternoon to the Hughes' and Mustang, Ed didn't bother trying to pretend he didn't want to go to sleep and crawled into the double bed situated on one side of the bedroom and let Ayala up and get herself comfortable. Chester was quick to join them and lay on the foot of the bed while Al made himself comfortable at the foot of Ed's bed. The light from the kitchen was bright enough that Al could read by it but not bright enough to prevent Ed from falling asleep.

"Wake me if any of the Xingese turn up covered in blood or if one's missing. Anything else can wait until morning," Ed instructed, stifling a yawn.

"Sure, Brother," Al agreed. "Night."

"Night, Al. Night, Ayala and Chester," Ed muttered, waiting for their response before letting himself drift off to sleep to the sound of the Animals breathing and the soft, rhythmic rustle of the pages of Al's book being turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter last week! And I am sorry this one is a little later than it usually should be but a friend of mine needed some help this weekend and I've only just gotten home. I hope you guys like this chapter!


	32. Chapter 32

"Hi, I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Need anything of yours fixed?" Ed asked for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. He, Al, Ayala and Chester had all been out in the agreed upon area of Central since early morning so Ed could make a helpful nuisance of himself but the whole charade was starting to get old now. The only reason he hadn't called it quits was because he still felt like this was the best, least suspicious way of finding Scar. The feeling he got when someone thanked him profusely when he fixed a family heirloom or when a child gave him a hug worthy of Elysia when he fixed their favourite toy was also a pretty large part of why he stuck with the plan.

" _You're such a big softie,"_  Ayala teased when one such child ran back to her mother, waving her now fixed doll.

"Shut up," Ed snapped without any real heat. He thought he heard some giggling from his brother and Chester so he shot them a glare for good measure. "Do either of you know if Fu is still following us?" Ed asked the two Animals, keeping the conversation internal, just in case the ninja overheard them.

" _He's nearby. Maybe two or three rooftops away,"_  Chester told him and Ayala nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Ed said as they headed to the next shop. Though he had been using a lot of alchemy that morning, all the transmutations he'd been doing were minor and any energy depletion he felt would be fixed by a small break and some food. "Wanna grab a kinda early lunch?" Ed asked, voice hopeful and was happy when the three with him didn't protest his suggestion.

They found a small café whose meals didn't look like they'd come back to bite them. Ordering enough food for five people, Ed gave the Animals their portions and devoured the rest himself. Al waved off the waitress' queries about whether he wanted anything to eat or drink, claiming he wasn't hungry or thirsty when she'd come over to check on them. They stayed there for nearly 20 minutes before Ed decided they'd best get back to work, pocketing a sandwich he'd ordered for take away just in case Fu was hungry.

The four of them slipped into an alleyway that kept them hidden from the people of the street, a signal agreed upon early that morning that they wanted to talk to Fu. Sure enough, a minute went past and Fu appeared in front of them, mask firmly in place. "Is there a problem?" The older man asked, looking around.

"Nah, we just wanted to check you were all good and see if you wanted some food," Ed told him, offering up the sandwich he'd grabbed.

"Thank you for your concern but I do not eat while on a mission. It only takes a moment of distraction for something or someone to slip past me," he told them politely. "I can go for a day without food."

"If you're sure?" Ed said and Fu nodded once more. Shrugging a shoulder, Ed took the sandwich and split it between the two Animals. "Have you seen anything yet?" He couldn't help but ask even though he knew Fu would've warned them as he'd sworn to do that morning.

"Not yet," Fu told him and Ed nodded, completely unsurprised.

"Alright, thanks," Ed said. "We'll get back out there and keep trying to get Scar's attention," Ed groaned and Fu nodded.

"I'll return to my post and keep an eye out," Fu said before scaling the wall next to them so quickly, the Animals barely saw him moving.

" _Do you think he'll teach us how he moves that quickly?"_  Chester asked wistfully and both Ed and Al made disbelieving noises.  _"Yeah, that's what I thought too,"_  Chester chuckled slightly.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to keep this up, Brother?" Al asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder as they headed out of the alleyway.

"Hopefully not long," Ed told him. "I reckon that he could wait until we head back to the hotel but I have a feeling he won't," Ed admitted.

" _So do I,"_  Ayala told and Ed felt a moment of confusion before mentally facepalming. He'd actually forgotten about the instinct Animals got when their humans were about to be in danger.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ed asked, worry in his voice. He knew that sometimes it caused the Animal great discomfort if they willingly ignored their instincts.

" _I'm fine,"_  Ayala assured him.  _"I'm far too used to ignoring this instinct whenever you're chasing down and fighting criminals,"_  she teased and Ed rolled his eyes as relief flooded through his system.

"Not my fault criminals are idiots who refuse to just surrender when they're caught," Ed sniped the familiar excuse and this time, Ayala was the one to roll her eyes.

Neither of them got the chance to continue their banter and Chester and Al's inputs were never voiced because the four soon found themselves swamped by a small crowd all waiting for the People's Alchemist to help them fix whatever items they could physically carry with them. Though it was his idea to do this, Ed was reminded when a small fight broke out in the crowd over who got to ask for Ed's help first about  _why_  he didn't spend a lot of time around strangers or why he very rarely encouraged either of his titles being announced so publicly. He sighed as Al broke up the small verbal fight with assurances that Ed would be helping everyone he could and felt both Ayala and Chester's sympathy as he greeted the first person with a plastered-on smile and question about what they needed help. As he was helping the lady fix a broken saucepan, all Ed could think about was how Scar had better turn up to try and kill him soon.

* * *

Mustang was having a decent day. He didn't have more paperwork than he ordinarily should've for the day. He wasn't expecting Edward at all that day, having decided without telling the blonde that he would give him this extra day to recover from everything that had happened over the last three days. Though he knew Ed hadn't told them about everything that had happened, he hadn't pushed the younger alchemist into doing so, partly because he knew that whatever he was hiding was likely personal but also because Nala had sworn up and down that Ed wasn't hiding anything pertinent to their investigation into the threat against this country. So when Maes had given him a look partway through Ed's partial retelling, silently asking his best friend if they should push the blonde, Mustang had shaken his head almost imperceptibly and Maes had left it.

His 1st Lieutenant had just dropped a new pile of paperwork on his desk with a warning that this pile needed to be done before he left for the day when Nala had blinked herself out of her nap. Mustang glanced at the clock and frowned when he noticed it wasn't yet lunchtime. Nala had an extremely accurate internal clock so he knew she hadn't woken up thinking it was lunchtime. He raised a curious brow at her but she didn't notice him and he was a little surprised when he reached through their bond to check on her that she was focusing so intently on something he couldn't see or sense that she didn't even notice what he was doing.

Mustang wasn't sure why his first thought wasn't Edward. It would've made more sense since Nala was extremely close to the younger blonde – so close that Mustang would admit to a few instances where he'd gotten jealous of them – but his first thought had been about Breda and Dubuffet. He'd sent the 2nd Lieutenant and his pig to the small town Ed had told them Marcoh was hiding under an assumed name in yesterday and he'd reported back that morning with confirmation on what Major Armstrong had said when he'd paid another visit to the small town; the doctor and his Animal hadn't been since Ed, Al and Armstrong's visit and that his home showed minimal signs of a struggle. When Nala's focus turned onto something only she could sense internally, Mustang had thought that maybe Dubuffet was updating her on their trip back. At least, that's what he thought until Nala started to panic.

"What's the matter?" Mustang asked, his own panic rising as his lioness jumped off the couch and started making aborted moves towards the door, her lips lifted in a silent snarl.

" _Edward's using himself as bait for Scar!"_  Nala told him, her voice almost a wail and Mustang felt his heart stop.

"He's what?!" He asked disbelievingly and Nala snarled out loud at him.

" _He's downtown right now, making a big spectacle of himself so he can try and lure Scar out so he can fight him,"_  Nala snapped but Mustang didn't hold it against her. After all, who knew how many times he had snapped at her because he was stressed about something else and she'd asked something.

"Why on earth is he doing that? Does he have a death wish?!" Mustang couldn't believe what Nala was telling him. When he'd heard Scar was back in Central, he'd immediately started worrying about Edward and his unbelievable ability to manage to attract so much trouble but he'd never thought his youngest subordinate would ever go out and purposefully try to lure the serial killer out of hiding.

" _I don't know!"_  Nala cried.  _"The only reason I even noticed now was because he accidentally let down his blocks for a few moments. I can't figure out what he's doing or why he's doing it now!"_  Nala told him and Mustang felt a fresh wave of panic roll through her.

"Alright. Do you know where he is or at least was when you sensed his plan?" Mustang asked, forcing himself to stay calm so he didn't cause Nala more worry with his own worry. Nala nodded and Mustang stood. "Good. Let's go get Hawkeye –" the rest of what he was saying was cut off by the sharp ringing of his phone and Mustang swore at it before he picked it up. "Mustang speaking," he snapped, not bothering to hide his annoyance at whoever was on the other end.

" _Roy,"_ the unexpected voice of Hughes said and Mustang knew immediately why his best friend was calling him. The franticness of Hughes' voice gave it away.  _"Leo said that Edward is downtown, trying to get Scar's attention. Gracia and I have been hearing rumours all morning about the People's Alchemist being downtown and offering his alchemy to help people fix broken items or mend damaged buildings free of charge and we couldn't figure out why until Leo and Lilith both sensed something at the same time and told us,"_  Hughes explained and Mustang barely held back a sigh.

"I know. Nala just told me," Mustang said. "Hawkeye and I are going to find Fullmetal and figure out just what he thinks he's doing," Mustang told him and he heard Hughes' sigh of relief.

" _I'll have Leo lead me to where Ed is as well. Hopefully before Scar finds him,"_  Hughes said and Mustang had a momentary internal debate about whether to tell his best friend to just go home with his family and leave it up to him or let him help.

"No, you head home with Gracia and Elysia," Mustang said and spoke over the noise of protest his best friend made. "Both of us there isn't necessary and he is my subordinate. I'll deal with this while you stay with Gracia and Elysia. I'll have Nala keep Leo informed of what's going on," Mustang said, offering the compromise as a way to try and persuade Hughes to stay out of this.

" _Fine but you tell Ed that I expect him at my house tonight and ready to explain why he's actively trying to get the attention of a serial killer who almost killed him only a couple of months ago,"_  Hughes ordered and Mustang almost answered with a promise that he'd drag the blonde there himself.

"I will," he promised instead. "I've gotta go, Hughes," Mustang told him, already moving the phone away from his ear to hang it up.

" _Make sure he doesn't get hurt, Roy,"_  Hughes said Mustang nodded, forgetting for a moment that his best friend couldn't hear him.

"I'll try but you know what he's like," Mustang said dryly. He heard Hughes chuckle but didn't let the lieutenant-colonel say anything else before Mustang hung up on him. "Let's go," Mustang said to the impatient lioness.

Nala didn't need any more encouragement and she glared at her human when he took the two seconds needed to grab his coat and hat off the rack next to the door. Mustang didn't comment on it, instead he just opened the door to the outer office and she trotted through. Mustang didn't even get the chance to open his mouth to order Hawkeye to come with him as he entered the outer office. His lieutenant was already on her feet with Soren perched on her shoulder and ready to go.

"Soren sensed what Major Elric was doing," Hawkeye explained unnecessarily and Mustang nodded.

"Good," he said before looking at the other members of his team. "Breda should be back on this afternoon's train and we will hopefully have gotten to the bottom of whatever nonsense Fullmetal is doing by then. In the meantime, continue your normal day-to-day work and we'll keep you updated where we can," Mustang ordered and received three salutes. "Let's leave, Lieutenant."

Hawkeye nodded and held the door open for him and Nala to walk through before she led them down to the military parking lot. There was a brief pause as Hawkeye secured a car for them to use for the day but they were soon speeding out of the parking lot with Hawkeye behind the wheel. Mustang didn't offer Nala's services as a navigational system, knowing full-well that Soren would be telling his human where exactly to go.

Mustang was amused when he used his bond with Nala to see whether she was calming down a bit now that they were on their way to Ed's location to find that in amongst the worry and fear she felt for the blonde, she was already plotting the lecture she was going to give Edward once he was out of danger. She glared at Mustang when she realised why he was amused and he sent her a silent apology that she huffed at before going back to staring out the window. Mustang spared a moment to wonder if it might be kinder to his subordinate to let Scar have a go at him rather than let Nala loose on him first.

* * *

Edward, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester were making their way around a small fountain when a black military car pulled up alongside them. For a moment, Ed was worried that the Fuhrer had somehow figured out what they were up to and what they'd discovered but his fear dissipated when the window rolled down to show one pissed off lioness and bored looking commanding officer. "When did you get so theatrical?" Mustang asked and Ed couldn't keep the shock off his face.

"Colonel?" Ed asked, looking between Mustang, Nala, Soren and Hawkeye. "Shouldn't you still be in the office doing paperwork?" Ed asked, trying for his usual teasing tone even as he tried to figure out why exactly Mustang was here. He hadn't expected word of what he was up to this morning to have reached Central Command, let alone Mustang or his team, just yet.

"Probably," Mustang agreed, not bothering to bite back as he normally did whenever Ed brought up his paperwork. At his nod, Hawkeye turned the car off and the four of them left the vehicle. Mustang could sense Nala's desire to tackle the blonde to the ground and pin him down as she yelled at him as the group headed into a nearby alleyway for privacy and was a little surprised when the lioness didn't do so. Soren ruffled his feathers from where he sat on Hawkeye's shoulder and glared at the blonde in a way that had Ed grinning back sheepishly. "There's something we found out this morning that I think you ought to know. Breda went to pay Doctor Marcoh a visit to see if he'd merely gone into hiding and was back but a closer look at his residence told Breda that he hasn't been there for weeks so he's still missing," Mustang revealed and he saw surprise flash across Ed's face as he and Ayala shared a look.

"Maybe he just moved towns after our visit?" Ed suggested but Mustang shook his head.

"It looks like they took him captive. The house was covered in dust and all of his belongings were still there. The only exception was his stone or any potential notes he still had on it. Breda couldn't find any trace of them," Mustang told him. "Breda gathered the same information from the townspeople that Major Armstrong did; no one has seen the doctor since your visit so it's likely he was taken that same night."

"Damn it," Ed swore, glaring at the ground. "I knew I should've completed a bond with Carrie," he muttered and Mustang had a feeling the blonde hadn't meant to say that out loud so he didn't comment on it.

"That's not the whole reason we," Mustang gestured to himself, Nala, Soren and Hawkeye, "are out here. I know for a fact that you're well aware that Scar is back in Central and both Nala and Soren told myself and Lieutenant Hawkeye that you intentionally trying to lure him in, using yourself as bait. Do you really want him to find you? Especially after what happened last time you faced him?" Mustang asked incredulously and Ed nodded.

"Actually, yes," Ed confirmed. "I need to fight him and you guys can't talk me out of it. Not even you, Nala," Ed added, giving the distressed lioness an apologetic look.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Mustang demanded, accidentally stopping Nala from saying something to Ed. "Have you actually forgotten the way he tore you apart in East City? That the only reason the four of you are even alive right now is because we turned up in the nick of time?"

"Because  _Nala_  turned up in the nick of time," Ed corrected. "If I remember correctly, you were useless."

"It wasn't my fault it was raining!" Mustang snapped, unable to stop himself from rising to the bait Ed had set and he knew from Ed's shit-eating grin that this would likely turn into a snipe-fest. Before it could though, the sound of Hawkeye's gun being drawn from her holster drew their attention to the other end of the alley and they saw Scar menacingly approaching them. Ayala, Chester and Nala took up protective stances in front of all the humans while Soren puffed himself up and screeched a warning at Scar. "I think he got your invite," Mustang commented dryly as he pulled on his gloves.

"You okay?" Ed asked, smirk still in place. "You'd think it was raining with how much you're sweating," Ed teased before the sound of Hawkeye's gun being racked had him leaping in front of his fellow blonde, knocking the gun to the side before she could fire. "Hold it!" Ed ordered, releasing her. "Please don't shoot him, Lieutenant," Ed said and she gave him a disbelieving look.

"You can't be serious, Ed! He's wanted for over a dozen murders and attempting to murder you!" She reminded him and Ed nodded.

"Yeah but I need to fight him, Lieutenant," Ed said. "He's only the bait for something bigger I'm trying to lure out," Ed whispered and flashed her a smile he hoped was reassuring before he and Ayala moved as one, drawing Scar away from the rest of them.

"Neither you nor the Flame Alchemist will escape my vengeance this time, heathen," Scar said, dodging Ed's fist and heading for Mustang only to be jerked backwards when Ed grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled the serial killer backwards with all the strength in his automail arm.

"You're going against just me this time, Scar!" Ed snarled at him as he clapped and slammed his hands against the nearest wall, sending spikes straight for the Ishvalen and forcing him to stumble backwards as he readied his own alchemy to destroy them.

Ed caught Chester's eyes and nodded. The message was obviously received because Al quickly knelt to the ground and sketched out the array he and Ed had agreed on with some chalk before placing his hand on it and creating a wall, effectively separating Ed, Ayala and Scar from the rest of them. Ed dodged a blow from Scar while Ayala sunk her teeth into his other wrist and pulled the man off balance again. Scar let out a pained grunt before shaking the golden wolf off and kicking out at her but she managed to avoid it and rejoined Ed, panting slightly.

"There will be no one to save you from my vengeance this time, alchemist," Scar told him as Ed sent another set of spikes towards the man only for him to destroy them with a touch. Though Ayala had done some damage to his left arm, it was obvious that Scar either hadn't noticed the pain or was ignoring it as he was still using his left arm as though Ayala hadn't touched it.

"Not if I'm right about what will happen," Ed muttered as he and Ayala continued their assault against Scar, trying to keep the fight going long enough for their intended prey to take the bait.

* * *

Alphonse straightened before the blue crackle of energy had even dispersed from the wall he'd built. Both Mustang and Hawkeye gaped at him before Hawkeye remembered herself and her impassive mask was back in place. Nala let out a worried noise as she glared at the wall and Al felt the need to defend his actions. "We're using ourselves as bait to lure the homunculi," he revealed and Hawkeye's mask once again slipped to show her shock. "Ed's too important to them, remember? They can't afford to just let him die and we figured Scar would be a big enough threat that they'd have to come to his rescue," Al told them and Mustang's face looked a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"Are you insane?" He asked, voice barely below a shout.

"We're not gonna let anyone else get hurt for us!" Al snapped. "Using ourselves as bait was our only option!" He told them, a slight pleading note in his voice and Mustang shook his head.

"What are you gonna do if Scar gets shot by the MP's?" Mustang asked. "They might get here before the homunculi and all of this would have been for nothing," he pointed and Al shifted slightly.

"Well you can stop that from happening, right?" Al asked and Mustang's jaw dropped slightly.

"You want me to intentionally mislead the military police away from your brother and Scar? An act, I might add, that would have me court-martialed if I was caught and would place your brother in even more danger?" Mustang asked and Al nodded. Nala didn't look very happy when she realised what Mustang was about to say. "Fine," he said, "but I expect you and your brother to share what you catch," he told Al.

Al nodded enthusiastically. "Of course," he agreed easily as he and Chester moved to the wall and Al readied an array so he could destroy it. He could still hear Ed and Ayala fighting on the other side and he heard Mustang order Hawkeye to follow him to Breda's townhouse. "Thanks, Colonel!" He called as Mustang and Hawkeye headed in the other direction. The black-haired man didn't acknowledge him but Al hadn't expected him too. He could tell Chester and Nala were sharing words but he paid no attention as he brought down the wall to reveal Ed and Ayala's fight with Scar.

"Hey, get out of the way!" A voice from behind them had Al and Chester turn to see four military police officers and their Animals standing there, weapons at the ready. "We need a clear shot!" The same officer shouted at Al.

"Don't shoot!" Al said, standing his ground and holding his arms up as Chester snarled at the small group. "You'll hit my brother!" He told them, glancing behind him as Ed let out a pained grunt and saw blood trickling down his brother's face.

* * *

Ed heard the MP's shouted orders to Al and panicked slightly as he dodged another blow from Scar. "Everything's lost if those guys shoot Scar!" Ed mentally said to Ayala as she tried going for Scar again only to have the Ishvalen dance out of the way just in time. "How long do you think it'll take Fu to send the signal and get to Ling?" He asked as he looked around, trying to seek Chester and Al's positions out only to feel teeth close around his flesh hand and pull him off balance. A brown hand crackling with alchemic energy brushed past his cheek close enough that Ed swore he felt the air move between them and he threw himself into a roll, using the momentum of Ayala pulling him out of the way to get some space between them.

" _That was too close,"_  Ayala lectured.  _"Pay more attention to him than where your brother is,"_  Ayala ordered and Ed nodded.  _"We will keep this up as long as we need to. Fu has already sent the signal but he hasn't left us yet. I don't know why, before you ask,"_  Ayala said and Ed felt a moment's confusion. The agreement had been that Fu would signal Ling that Scar had appeared before he joined his fellow clansmen and helped them with whichever homunculous turned up. He hadn't been told about any changes to this plan so he was confused as to why Fu was lingering near them.

Suddenly, Ed picked up a voice coming from the MP's radios and he almost froze when he recognised it as Mustang, even if the colonel was trying to disguise his voice. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the fact that Scar landed a blow against Ayala and he felt his leg flare in sympathy pain. Thankfully, the hit was only hard enough to bruise her leg so she was up again quickly but Scar was quicker and Ed barely got in between his wolf and Scar in time to stop him from murdering her.

"Brother!" Al's terrified shout sounded as he and Chester ran to join in on the fight now that the soldiers were distracted by the conflicting orders coming from their radios. He watched as Ed managed to pull his hands apart from the clap as he slid in front of Ayala and intercept the blow Scar was about to land on the wolf with his automail arm. The resulting reaction of the two arrays hitting each other caused a small explosion and sent both Scar and Ed stumbling backwards and some debris hit both of them, giving Ed a new cut above his eyes while Scar's upper left arm had a new scratch on it. "He cancelled out Scar's alchemy," Al said in slight shock as he watched them get back to their feet.

"That was lucky," Ed commented as Ayala fussed as much as she could while Scar recovered and Al found himself jogging over to Ed.

"You're so reckless!" Al scolded before glancing behind him. "Come on, we need to lead him away from here, remember?" Al said and Ed nodded.

"Right, let's get going," Ed ordered and the four of them headed down the alleyway. Ed thought he caught a glimpse of Fu following them but he ignored it as they made sure that Scar was still following them while they kept at a pace that didn't look like it was obvious they were toying with the Ishvalen.

Blue alchemic energy raced along the wall next to them and forced them to veer off course and into an alley on their right. They continued along the new path and turned another corner, heading to the left to try to get back on their original path when blue alchemic energy danced along the wall once more only this time, they didn't have another alley to duck into and the resulting destruction of the alleyway wall sent Ed and Ayala flying forward while Al used his armour to protect Chester from the fallout. Once the dust had settled, Al looked up to see Ed and Ayala being backed into the dead-end wall of the alleyway and knew he had to act.

"Ling hasn't fired the signal flare yet and Brother's getting tired," Al said to Chester.

" _We have to buy some time for Ling to get the homunculous,"_  Chester told him and Al nodded. The only question now was how he would do that? He watched as Scar struck Ed – not with a fatal blow, thankfully – and send his brother into the wall behind him and an idea formed in his head.

"Hey, Scar!" Al shouted, getting the Ishvalen's attention and granting his brother the opportunity to get a bit of distance between himself and the serial killer. "You say that you believe alchemists have defied God. Isn't that a bit hypocritical since you use alchemy just like we do?" Al asked and Scar tilted his head.

"I explained it when we met in East City," Scar told him. "It's about balance. Where there are creators, there must be destroyers," Scar told him but Al shook his head.

"That's a lie!" Al exclaimed. "You're using the name of your god to justify murder! Revenge is all you care about! When you killed Shou Tucker and Nina, I suppose you believe you were doing your god's work, don't you?" Al asked and Scar suddenly looked at him as though he was seeing Al for the first time.

"Interesting," the Ishvalen murmured. "You saw that abomination as well, didn't you?" Scar asked, not paying attention to Ed when he snarled at him for his description of the chimera that had once been Nina and Alexander. "Alchemy created that tragic creature. Is that really the science you'd spend your lives following?" Scar asked. "That chimera was made because a man thought he could create when creation's the provenance of God alone!"

"That is  _not_  the alchemy we believe in!" Ed exclaimed, getting the Ishvalen's attention. "The alchemy we believe in is the alchemy that can be used to help people! We believe that alchemy should only ever be used for the good of the people, not for us to play god," Ed snapped. "Even if you're right in what you say, what the fuck gave  _you_  the right to kill Nina? You stole what little life she had left!"

"As foolish as you are, you must have known that that chimera could never have returned to her human state?" Scar asked, sounding almost as if he would be surprised if they  _hadn't_ known that. "It would've lived out its life as a lab specimen; treated as a test subject but never as a human being. What I did was merciful in the face of what awaited it if it had lived," Scar told them and both boys paused as they realised something: they completely agreed with Scar.

"You're right," Ed said, surprising himself, Al and their Animals. Even Scar raised a brow. "Nina would never have been treated with the decency afforded a human or Spirit Animal if she had lived past that night but that still doesn't make what you did right," Ed told him. "State Alchemists have made some awful mistakes but what you're doing? Blindly targeting every single person who has a State Alchemists title? That isn't right. I haven't done anything to you or your people and you're coming after me like I personally caused the Ishvalen Civil War," Ed said. "The soldiers and civilians who you've slaughtered because they happened to be in the way or doing their job of trying to protect a superior officer didn't do anything to you or your people. Your justifications for why you're killing State Alchemists is wrong and we can't let you continue!"

"Will you kill me?" Scar asked, sounding as though he hadn't heard much of what Ed had just said. "That's fine by me. Until one of us dies, this chain of hatred will continue but don't you ever forget that it was the Amestrians who started this! It was  _your_  people!" Scar shouted, moving forward so quickly that Ed almost wasn't able to get out of the way quick enough. He managed to, though, and Scar hit the wall behind Ed as he and Ayala moved to the side. With a quick clap, Ed caused the wall that blocked them in that alley to explode outwards and they found themselves in the trainyard, just where they wanted to be.

"Ed, you idiot!" Al shouted. "You're gonna get yourself killed!" He scolded as he rushed in to help his brother and his wolf. Chester used Al as a springboard and launched himself at Scar but the Ishvalen was quick to dodge the enraged leopard and hit Alphonse.

Scar faltered as the familiar hollow noise Al's armour made when it was hit rung out. "There's nothing inside that armour. You're hollow, aren't you?" Scar asked as Al and Chester managed to join Ed and Ayala. Al and Ed shared a confused look. Surely Scar noticed that in East City, didn't he? "You poor boy. Alchemy trapped you in that metal prison and, yet, you still have faith in it!" Scar shook his head as if Al's decision to continue using alchemy disappointed him.

Chester felt Ed stiffen next to him, as did Ayala, and he offered what comfort he could without being obvious about it. Al didn't notice as he replied to Scar. "True. There are plenty of things about this body that are inconvenient but it's nothing I can't live with. I don't need pity from anyone, least of all someone who uses his god as an excuse to murder innocent people," Al sneered. "My brother used alchemy to save my life and to reject my form now would not only mean turning my back on my alchemy but also on him," Al told him and Chester noticed that Scar's features seemed to soften slightly. As though Al talking about Ed in such a manner was affecting him. "I believe in my brother and I believe in alchemy and I won't lose my faith just because people like you think I should!"

"Won't you?" Scar asked but Ed decided he'd had enough of talking and ran for a nearby train carriage and used the steel of the carriage to try and grab Scar with the hands he'd created but Scar destroyed them easily and the fight between the two parties was back on.

"Brother!" Al shouted as Ed sloppily dodged another attack from Scar and he joined in, helping the Animals draw Scar away from Ed to give his brother some time to try and recover. "You really should be more careful," Al scolded once more.

"Let's end this!" Ed said, ignoring his brother and glaring at Scar. The Ishvalen did nothing more than incline his head in agreement.

Scar rushed forward and Ed created his automail blade as he met the man in the middle. Scar, despite being injured and just as tired as Ed, wasn't slowing down any and it was all Ed could do to keep up with the attacks and dodge the ones that would've killed him or destroyed his automail arm. Chester managed to land an attack and gouged Scar's leg with his claws, causing the brown-skinned man to let out a groan of pain. Ayala was quick to follow with her own blow and – in almost an identical move to earlier – she sunk her teeth back into Scar's arm, only a few centimeters above the wound she'd inflicted earlier.

With a growl, Scar used her grip on his arm to lift her off the ground – a feat that Ed almost admired because he knew how heavy Ayala was – and threw her at Chester, who was not quick enough to get of the way and both Animals went down heavily. Bleeding heavily from his leg and with fresh blood joining the blood oozing from the earlier injury on his arm, Scar turned back to the two brothers and they readied themselves for another bout of fighting when a large shadow was cast over them and an almost childish voice exclaimed "ooh! I found you!" with glee.

Looking up, all three of them saw a massively obese man with small, beady eyes and a bald head grinning down at them from a train carriage. Ed noted the skin-tight leotard the man wore and the massive, delighted grin on his face as his black eyes glinted happily at Scar. Both Ayala and Chester were immediately on their feet and by their humans' sides when the fat man turned up.  _"He's a homunculous!"_  Both Ayala and Chester hissed to their humans and both Ed and Al turned to face the massive man as he jumped down from the carriage, completely ignoring Scar.

Before anyone could do anything, there was a noise from a nearby sewer cover. Before Ed could decide what to do, the cover of the manhole went flying and Ling came leaping from it, shirtless and with a sword in between his teeth. His expression was thunderous and Ed almost stepped back at how angry his eyes were. Laika crawled out of the sewer behind him and they watched as Ling landed on the homunculous and forced an armed grenade down his throat.

"Go! Move it!" Ling ordered as he leapt off the homunculous' shoulders, landed next to Laika and scooped him up as he rolled for cover. Ed, Ayala, Chester and Al didn't need to be told twice and they instantly moved only to be tackled by Al as he used the armour to provide cover when the grenade exploded. No one noticed Scar moving to lean up against a building, keeping to the shadows as his leg and arm continued bleeding. Al got up and the four watched as the gory remains of the homunculous started to crackle with red energy. "Get me some strong cable!" Ed looked over at Ling's order and nodded.

"On it!" Ed called as he headed over to the train tracks and alchemised them into long lengths of cable as quickly as he could. He hauled them back to where Ling was waiting – the prince's body so taught with tension Ed thought one pinch would have him explode – and handed it over.

Ling barely nodded in thanks as he looped the cable around the still forming homunculous numerous times before tying it up and stepping back. Laika was quick to join his human and Ed noticed that Fu had done so as well. "Your own regenerative ability's working against you," Ling explained when the homunculous let out a frightened whimper and tried to struggle against his bonds. "Your flesh won't stop expanding! It'll keep you tied up nice and tight. You're mine now, homunculous!" Ling hissed in victory but Ed couldn't help but notice the grief hidden behind it and it was now that he realised that Lan Fan and her cat were nowhere to be seen.

"That thing is a homunculous?" Ed heard Scar's shocked question and turned to glare at him.

"Yeah," Ed snarled. "While trying to keep myself from being killed by you, we're also trying to figure what the fuck this thing was made for and uncover why Ishval and a dozen other highly populated cities and towns were bled dry for an array," Ed snapped. His already infamously thin temper had reached its limit and the whimpering of the captured homunculous grated on him so he was now beyond caring about what he said.

The sound of a car being driven at full speed caught their attention and they watched as a convertible car tore across the railyard towards them and sent gravel flying as it skidded to a stop. The dust it had picked up created a curtain between the car and the military police officers just arriving on scene and Ed's jaw almost dropped as he recognised Lieutenant Hawkeye in the drivers seat, even though her hair was down, she was dressed in civilian clothing, wore glasses and Soren was nowhere to be seen.

"Put him in here," she ordered, nodding to the homunculous. "We're getting out of here," she said. Ling looked at Ed, who gave him a nod and he and Fu loaded the homunculous into the backseat. Ling said something to Fu in Xingese and the old man stepped back while Ling got in the backseat to keep a hold on their unwilling passenger. "Contact Soren in a few minutes," Hawkeye said as she threw the car into gear and Ed nodded.

"Hey, what's going on?" Al protested as Hawkeye's borrowed car's tyres spun on the gravel before finally getting traction and leaping forward, spitting gravel from behind it once more. Fu disappeared into the manhole Ling had made his entrance from but Ed didn't spare him another thought.

"Al!" Ed hissed in warning. "The MP's are watching so pretend we don't know her!" He ordered as they leapt back and let Hawkeye's car fly forward as she left.

"They're getting away!" One of the soldiers shouted as the dust cloud Hawkeye had just created started to dissipate. "After them!" He ordered but Ed shouted at them.

"Don't worry about them!" He ordered, overriding the other soldier. "Let's focus on him!" Ed said, pointing to Scar, who hadn't moved since the homunculous had turned up. "You're under arrest for the murder of Nina Tucker and many other people!" Ed told Scar, violently wiping blood out of his eyes as he glared at the Ishvalen. Chester and Ayala took up protective stances in front of him and Alphonse.

"You're going to answer for your crimes!" Al answered, following his brother's plan to get the MP's attention away from pursuing Hawkeye and Ling.

Suddenly, a young girl – Ed didn't think she could've been more than 10 – appeared in front of Scar. She was obviously Xingese and Ed almost groaned at the idea of dealing with  _another_  Xingese person. She took up a fighting stance and glared at them with all the fury she could muster, which really wasn't all that intimidating. A small black and white creature growled from her shoulder, poking its head in between a couple of the braids the girl wore. "Are these two giving you trouble, servant?" Ed and Al's jaws almost dropped when they realised that not only was she protecting Scar but that he was apparently her servant. "This is the servant of the man who saved my life! You had better leave him alone!" She ordered and Ed felt some of his surprise disappear upon learning Scar wasn't her servant.

"You don't know who you're protecting, kid," Ed said. He didn't know what to do in this sort of situation. He knew Izumi would beat him senseless for his hesitation but he didn't feel comfortable trying to start a physical fight with such a young person.

"Where'd that kid come from?" Ed heard one of the MP's ask.

"Get away, girl! It's dangerous!" The other – Ed thought it might've been the same one shouting orders before – instructed and Ed saw the girl obviously taking in them all and weighing up her options.

"There's too many of them," she muttered to Scar, loud enough that Ed and Al could hear her but not the MP's. "It's time for us to retreat," she told him.

Ed saw silver flash past him and heard several thunks on the train carriage behind him. When Ed looked back over at the little Xingese girl, he saw her sketch out an array quickly on the ground in front of her, using the toe of her shoe to do so before she produced five more kunai and buried them at each point of the array. A flash of blue energy almost blinded Ed and when he turned away from it, he noticed the carriage behind him light up blue as well from where the kunai the girl had thrown earlier were sitting. An explosion occurred and Ed covered his face, kneeling down to cover Ayala and Chester as well before opening his eyes to a thick fog all around them. The train carriage the girl had picked evidently held water and her explosion had created a blanket of steam.

"What kind of alchemy was that?" Ed asked, coughing as the thick steam stuck to his throat. His eyes watered slightly and he forced himself to draw breaths in through his nose. Neither Animal was able to sense anything moving from the direction of the girl and Scar and they couldn't track her through the steam either.

"She did it from that far away?" Al asked, the steam obviously not affecting his ability to breath but – like everyone else – he couldn't see or hear anything either.

"I can't see anything through this damned steam!" Ed exclaimed, annoyed that a kid managed to one-up them all and focused his attention and anger inwards. Clapping, he spread his arms out to either side of himself and activated his water array and drew in all the excess water from the air directly around him. He continued doing so until the immediate area was clear and found himself standing there with two massive spheres of water wobbling just in front of his hands. Satisfied that they wouldn't be impeded by the thick steam he'd left around them, Ed released the transmutation and the water he'd collected splashed to the ground, spraying him, Ayala, Chester and Al with water and mud. "Oops," was all he said in response to the irritated expressions the two Animals gave him.

" _That was literally the most insincere 'oops' I have ever heard you say,"_  Ayala grumbled as she shook her fur and splattered her surroundings with more mud. Chester followed suit and Ed knew he purposefully aimed to get some of the muck onto him.

" _Oops,"_  Chester drawled when he realised Ed had noticed what he'd done and Ed rolled his eyes at the leopard.

"Child," Ed teased but Chester didn't seem to care.

Ed shook his head and looked around at their surroundings. The MP's who had arrived on scene just before Hawkeye had were spreading out, looking for any sign of where Scar and the alkahestrist had gone. It had occurred to Ed that she must've been using alkahestry while he was using his water manipulation array. She was Xingese and it definitely wasn't alchemy she had been using which meant she had to be using alkahestry and Ed really wished he'd spent some of his time in Resembool asking Hohenheim about how alkahestry worked and how it differed to alchemy so he could either use it himself or at least defend himself against it.

Sighing, Ed let go of that thought and focused back on the situation at hand. "Come one, let's help the MP's try and track Scar," Ed said and received three affirmative nods.

"Sir!" The highest-ranked officer – the one who'd tried to order the soldiers after Hawkeye – greeted, snapping into a salute as Ed approached. Ed was quick to dismiss the salute with an irritated wave. "Are you alright, Sir? Do you need medical aid?" The 2nd Lieutenant asked, giving Ed's bloody appearance a once-over.

"Nah, it's minor wounds. I'll get patched up later," Ed told him. "Where do you need us?" Ed asked, gesturing to himself, Al and the Animals.

The lieutenant looked mildly surprised that Ed was offering to help and Ed wasn't sure if it was because he was injured or if it was because he – a Major and a State Alchemist – was willing to take orders from a 2nd Lieutenant. However, the lieutenant didn't voice his surprise. "I appreciate your offer to help, Major Elric," the lieutenant said. "If you, your brother and your Animals are willing, would you mind searching the area that little girl appeared?"

"Can do," Ed told him, giving him a nod. "We'll get started now," he said and the lieutenant nodded.

"Thank you, Sir. Please let us know if you find something or need an extra set of eyes or hands," the lieutenant requested, looking a little nervous about doing so. The sugar glider clinging to his collar looked even more so.

"Will do," Ed told him and the lieutenant nodded. With a gesture from Ed, the four of them headed back over to the building Scar had been resting against.

" _What are we even looking for?"_  Chester asked as they approached and Ed shrugged.

"You and Ayala managed to wound him pretty good so let's see if we can pick up a blood trail or scent trail," Ed suggested. No one seemed against the idea as they got to work. There was a fairly decent sized pool of blood on the ground from where the blood from Scar's leg wound had collected and a few centimeters away from it was another, smaller pool of blood created by the injuries Ayala had inflicted.

"Brother?" Al asked as they started following the small drops of blood and footprints Scar and the Xingese girl had left behind. Ed hummed to show he was listening as Ayala and Chester did their best to pick up either scent. "Are you sure it was a good idea to tell Scar what you did about the homunculi?" Al asked.

Ed thought back what he had said before nodding. "He deserved to know that Ishval was destroyed for a reason, even if we don't know that reason for certain, and that the homunculi are probably the reason behind Ishval's destruction," Ed told him. "Hopefully he'll focus his attention on the homunculi and not State Alchemists and give us a bit of breathing room to try and figure out this fucking plot," Ed said, though he didn't sound like he fully believed his own words.

Al didn't say anything for a while and they continued their search. The footprints they were following disappeared when the dust they were walking in turned gravel but they were still able to follow the blood and scent trails for a little while longer. "What do you think Scar's Animal is?" Al asked and Ed startled at the question.

"I have no idea," Ed said, giving Al a confused and curious look. "Why?"

"Don't you think it's weird we haven't seen it? That nobody has reported seeing Scar with an Animal? We should've seen it by now. There's no way it would've stayed out of all his fights, especially the more dangerous ones like when he took on Grand and if it was small enough to hide on his person, Chester and Ayala would've picked up on it during the fights and the teams would've found its scent when they tracked Scar," Al pointed out and Ed blinked as he thought it over.

"Maybe he has it hiding wherever he's holed up so it doesn't get hurt," Ed suggested.

" _I don't think he has one,"_  Ayala told him and Ed knew by the startled noise Al made that Chester likely told him the same thing.

"Why not?" Ed asked. "He should have one so why doesn't he?"

" _Think about it, Ed. Why wouldn't an adult have a Spirit Animal?"_  Ayala asked and Ed felt a pang of sadness.

"If their Animal died," Ed said and Ayala and Chester nodded.

" _Ayala and I haven't picked up the slightest trace of another Animal with those two. Even if Scar's Animal was alive and they hadn't been together for years, he would still have trace amounts of his Animal with him because their bond was still active. Since we aren't picking up those traces,"_ Chester trailed off.

"It means his Animal is no longer alive," Al said sadly. "That's awful. No wonder he's so angry about everything and careless with his own life," Al commented. Ed wanted to comment about how it didn't excuse Scar's crimes but he didn't bother.

"You said you didn't pick up another Animal with their scents?" Ed asked the two Animals and they nodded. "What about that rat thing on the girl's shoulder?" Ed asked.

" _It's not a Spirit Animal. It's just an ordinary animal,"_  Ayala told him as she and Chester continued following Scar's scent and blood trail.  _"Damn it,"_  she muttered and Ed peered over her shoulder when she came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Al asked Chester who had also come to a stop.

" _Scar must've patched his injuries up because there's no more blood,"_  Chester told them both.  _"And the scent trail has stopped as well."_  Chester growled in frustration as he and Ayala fanned out a bit, trying to pick up the faintest trace but, after doing this for a few minutes, they had to call it a bust.

"Come on," Ed said once he realised the Animals wouldn't be able to find anything. "Let's go report back to the lieutenant and tell him we lost them," he said. Both Animals sighed and led the way while Al and Ed brought up the rear.

"I'd like to know how he's always able to lose us so easily," Al mentioned as they headed back to the railyard where the military police were.

"Same here," Ed muttered as they walked.

Now that the adrenaline of the fight and facing another homunculous was wearing off, he was starting to feel all the injuries he'd sustained. He hadn't lied to the 2nd lieutenant when he told him they were just minor but that didn't mean they were painless. He'd managed to avoid broken ribs, something he was very happy about, and damaging his automail, something he was ecstatic about since it meant he wouldn't have to face the wrath of Winry and Michella. Ed hadn't yet seen himself in a mirror so he wasn't certain but he didn't think any of the cuts and gashes he'd gained were severe enough to require stitches or hospitalisation. He'd just have to have Havoc look him over before Elysia or Gracia saw him next.

* * *

He wasn't paying attention to what was happening around him as he headed for the lieutenant in charge of the scene. Aside from thinking over his injuries, Ed was also focusing on what Ling had told Fu that had the old man disappear into the sewers as well as whether Ling was alright with the homunculous and why Lan Fan hadn't been with him as well as everything with Scar so he was neglecting to pay attention to everything else around him. Because of this, he didn't notice Chester or Ayala find something nor Al heading to investigate it. It wasn't until Al called for his attention that Ed looked up and almost stumbled backwards when a tiny, snarling, black and white animal was thrust into his face.

"What the fuck, Al?!" Ed snapped and glared as the two Animals laughed at him while the small thing Al was holding snarled.

"Look what Chester and Ayala found, Ed! It's a tiny panda bear!" Al cooed over it as Ed watched on in disbelief as his brother tickled the bear's stomach while it growled and snapped at him.

"In case you hadn't noticed how busy we are, Al, we don't really have the time to go around and adopt bloody panda bears!" Ed exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation and winced when the actions pulled at a couple of injuries.

"I couldn't leave her alone in the middle of all that mess!" Al defended himself. "She could've gotten hurt!"

"You have a problem when it comes to adopting strays, Alphonse," Ed told him. "Seriously; do I have to start frisking you after every mission to make sure you don't have anything else stuffed in that armour of yours?" Ed asked and Al snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ed," Al berated as he scratched the little bear on the top of its head and Ed rolled his eyes, grateful that the 2nd lieutenant they'd been taking orders from had spotted them and made his way over.

"We tracked him for a couple hundred metres that way," Ed pointed in the direction he meant, "but we lost both the blood and scent trails," he divulged and saw the flash of disappointment cross the lieutenant's face.

"'Blood trail'?" The lieutenant asked. "He's injured?"

"Yeah. Chester here managed to get his claws into Scar's leg and Ayala got his arm but I wouldn't count on him staying injured," Ed warned. "I think that kid who turned up is a Xingese alkahestrist and from what I understand of alkahestry, it's healing based so it's very likely that she's healed him up by now," Ed explained and the lieutenant let out a small sigh.

"Thank you for telling us. I'll update the team in charge of the search for Scar that he has an alkahestrist?" His tone made the word a question and he paused until Ed nodded that that was the correct word. "That he has an alkahestrist with him who is likely able to heal any injuries he suffers and that we should be on the lookout for a young Xingese girl dressed in pink," he said and Ed nodded.

"Make sure you make it known to the team that it's very likely the girl doesn't know about and isn't complicit in his crimes," Ed ordered and the lieutenant nodded.

As the lieutenant went to say something else, the sound of a car pulling up caught their attention and Ed watched as Hawkeye, Mustang, Soren and Nala climbed out of the vehicle. The four headed straight for Ed and the lieutenant and Ed shared a look with Ayala before he shrugged. The lieutenant immediately snapped a salute and so did Ed but only after Al elbowed him in the side and the salute he offered was the bare minimum of what military procedure dictated was an appropriate salute. Mustang waved the two out of their salutes as Nala moved to Ed's side and started checking his injuries out, despite the blonde's protests and offered assurances.

"Colonel Mustang! May I ask what brings you out here, sir?" The lieutenant queried.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant Liddell," Mustang greeted. "I was in the area when I heard reports that my subordinate had ran afoul of Scar once again and headed over to see whether I could offer any assistance," Mustang told him.

"Thank you, sir, but I believe we have everything under control here," Liddell told him. "Major Elric, his brother and their Animals tracked Scar for us but, as has been the case the last three times, the trail was lost," Liddell reported.

"Very well," Mustang said before looking over at the dust and blood covered blonde. "Do you require a visit to the hospital, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, sounding completely bored with the whole situation.

"No," Ed snapped as he fended off Nala.

" _Are you sure, Ed?"_  Nala asked and Ed nodded, thankful both Ayala and Nala were sitting next to each other so he could make it look as though he was answering Ayala.

"If your injuries aren't that severe, Lieutenant Hawkeye and I will drop you and your brother off at your hotel for you to clean yourself up a bit. We'll wait so you can come with us to the office and give us your report immediately," Mustang declared and Ed glared at him.

" _He doesn't want to take you to the office to give your report,"_  Nala told him and Ed blinked at her in surprise before remembering he wasn't supposed to be able to hear her and shifted his gaze to Ayala.  _"He's gonna take you and Al to where the homunculous and Xingese prince are waiting,"_  Nala explained.

Sighing a little, Ed nodded once to Mustang before turning to Liddell. "Let us know if you need us for any reason," he instructed and Liddell nodded.

"I will, sir. Thank you for your help this afternoon," Liddell said, nodding to all the Elrics.

"No problems. Sorry we couldn't help you find Scar," Ed said with a slight grimace. Liddell nodded but didn't comment any further on the subject.

With nothing left to say to the lieutenant and nothing else they needed to do at the scene, Ed nodded to Al and the Animals and followed Hawkeye and Mustang back to their car. Mustang joined Hawkeye and Soren in the front of the car, Hawkeye behind the wheel, but Nala elected to ride in the back with the brothers and their Animals. There was only silence in the car for the first few minutes of the trip before Nala decided to break it.

" _WHAT THE EVERLIVING FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?! USING YOURSELF AS BAIT FOR SCAR?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"_  Both Ed and Mustang flinched at the sudden shouting in their heads, even though it was quieter in Mustang's since he wasn't the intended recipient for Nala's ire. He realised pretty quickly that Nala had simply – in her anger – forgotten to block him out of the conversation like she ordinarily would've done when talking to Ed.

"Bloody hell, Nala, lower the damned volume!" Ed said as his headache increased. "Rant all you bloody want at me; just lower the freaking volume." Nala glared at him but obviously saw his head really hurt or felt the headache building because she did as she was asked.

" _Well?"_  She snarled, though at a much lower volume as before.  _"What do you have to say for yourself?"_  She demanded and Ed would've rolled his eyes at her mothering if he didn't value his life.

"I thought Al explained our plan to you after Scar turned up and Ayala and I started fighting him?" Ed asked, glancing at Chester, who nodded in affirmation.

" _I want to know why you thought putting your life on the line was the only way to find the homunculi. Why couldn't you just have Ayala or Chester track them down?"_  Nala asked and Ed sighed.

"Because we didn't want them to figure out that we were trying to catch one. We didn't know what they'd do if they caught us actively trying to hunt one of them down," Ed told her and Nala twitched the end of her tail, a sure sign that she didn't like what he was telling her but couldn't argue against it.

" _But why did you have to go up against Scar? He almost killed you, Ayala and Chester last time!"_  Nala reminded him and Ed sighed.

"Who else could I have tried to fight like that? Who else would the homunculi have seen me fight and felt the need to interfere on my behalf to keep me alive for their plans?" Ed asked and Nala grumbled.

" _You could've picked any criminal who didn't want to go to jail!"_  Nala said and Ed gave her a disbelieving look.

"I know I constantly say that criminals who choose to fight me are idiots but do you really believe there are any criminals whose identities we know of right now in Central whose crimes were severe enough to warrant a lengthy jail sentence who would've seen me coming and decided to put up as good a fight as Scar did?" Ed asked and Nala snarled.

" _That still doesn't mean you should've done what you did!"_  She yelled.  _"What would you have done if the homunculous hadn't turned up? What if the Xingese prince Riza gave a ride to hadn't been there to help you with the homunculous? So many things could've gone wrong with this plan, Ed! You could've been killed!"_

"But I wasn't!" Ed exclaimed. "I knew the homunculous would turn up and even if it didn't, Al and Chester weren't out of commission  _and_  I had those MP officers right there so I probably wouldn't have been killed. Not to mention, one of Ling's guards was with us the whole time and he would've stepped in to help if he thought we needed it," Ed told her. "I know a lot of things could've gone wrong with this plan but I was fairly certain that I would come out with only minor injuries and a captured homunculous so it was a risk I was always going to take and one that I would take again," Ed told her firmly.

" _How fairly certain?"_  Nala asked, eyes narrowed.

"Like, 63%?" Ed said, sounding a little uncertain and Nala looked at him disbelievingly.

" _How are you even still alive?"_  Nala asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"Mainly out of spite," Ed told her and there were some muffled chuckles from the other Animals and that was Ed's first clue that neither Nala nor himself had remembered to block the other Animals out of their conversation. The suspicious sounding cough from Mustang was Ed's confirmation that Nala had neglected to block her human from her side of the conversation and that he'd spoken that last part out loud. He gave Nala a glare that she looked immensely unfazed by.

" _Whoops,"_  was all she said in her defense.

"Nala!" Ed scolded, much to Ayala and Chester's amusement. Much to Ed's relief, Hawkeye finally pulled alongside the front of the hotel the boys and their Animals were currently staying at and Ed climbed out.

"We'll wait for 15 minutes before we come up to find out what's taking you so long," Mustang warned him and Ed rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything in response as he headed into the hotel lobby and was immediately greeted by a worried employee.

"Major Elric! Do you require medical aid?" The woman, Julie, asked as she took in his dirty and disheveled appearance. Ed knew Ayala and Chester didn't look much better but as he had been the main focus of Scar's revenge, he was the one who looked like he'd been put through a wringer.

"No thanks, Miss Julie," Ed said, giving her a small smile. "The first aid kit in my room should be enough to deal with any injuries I have. You might want to restock it though once we leave this afternoon," Ed warned her and she nodded, lips pursed in displeasure at his turning down first aid.

"Very well," she said. "I'll have a new kit stocked and sent up this afternoon," she told them before resuming whatever duty she'd been on her way to do when they walked in the entrance.

"Come on, Brother. Colonel Mustang said we only have 15 minutes and you have to patch you up so you don't bleed everywhere," Al reminded him. "Not to mention both Ayala and Chester need a bath of their own," he added when both Animals started sniggering. His comment immediately made them go silent and Ed laughed as they headed into the elevator.

"You can start giving them baths while I'm in the shower," Ed said. The bathroom in their room offered some privacy so someone who was in the bath wouldn't see much of the person in the shower, something they often took advantage of in this kind of situation. "Once we're both done, you can patch me up and we'll rejoin Miss Riza and that bastard," Ed said.

"Brother," Al sighed but didn't comment any further, knowing anything he said would fall on deaf ears. Instead, he unlocked their hotel room door and ushered the three inside before other guests came out and saw the blood and dirt-stained Edward and Animals. "Get in the shower," was all Al said and Ed gave him a mocking salute.

"Yes, Sir!" Ed teased and Al flicked him on the ear, causing Ed to yelp. Ed leveled his brother with a glare as he grabbed some clean clothes before disappearing into the bathroom.

Al shook his head at Ed's antics as he closed the door to their room, ensuring privacy and that Chester and Ayala's only escape route was cut off. Sitting on the edge of a bed, doing his best not to dirty the linen though he knew that was a lost cause considering how filthy he was, Al waited to hear the sound of running water before he would start herding the two reluctant Animals into the bathroom for their bath, giving Ed a bit of privacy. He suddenly remembered the little panda he'd picked up at the scene and pulled it out of his armour.

"Don't worry," he cooed at the little creature as it did its very best to chew his metal finger off. "We'll find your owner once we've spoken to Ling and the homunculous," he assured it. He spent another minute or so making soothing noises as he gave the creature as much affection as he could before Ed's shout that he could start washing the Animals came. He made sure to place the panda back in his armour before he rounded on the two Animals. "Don't bother arguing. Let's go," Al ordered as he opened the bathroom door. Both Ayala and Chester looked at each other before they walked sullenly through the bathroom door and Al just shook his head at them as he turned the water on, getting it ready for their bath. Of course it was his luck to not only have a dramatic older brother but for his and Ed's Animals to be dramatic as well.

* * *

The Elrics barely managed to get back down to the war car within the 15-minute time limit Mustang had set. In fact, Nala had started an annoying countdown in Ed's head, reminding him every minute how long he had left before she was allowed to come up to drag him down. Ed had mentally flipped her off but all that did was make her laugh and give him reminders every 30 seconds instead. Ed was still tugging on his red coat when they left the lobby and his hair was unbraided, though he had a tie in between his teeth.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to be on time for anything, Fullmetal," Mustang drawled as the brothers and their Animals climbed into the backseat.

"You're truly hilarious, Mustang. Why don't you try your hand at stand-up?" Ed snarked around the hair tie as he pulled out a set of gloves and put them on.

" _Are you alright?"_  Nala asked, eyeing up the butterfly bandages that were plastered on Ed's face as well as intentionally stopping her human from biting back to Ed's retort.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you already; I only have minor injuries this time 'round," Ed reminded her, giving her a reassuring smile before he got busy with putting his hair in a braid so it wouldn't be in his eyes.

" _I thought Mustang said we would be going back to the office?"_  Ayala asked and Ed looked out the window to see they weren't heading to Central Command like Mustang had said.

"Oi, Mustang, what's going on?" Ed asked as he finished tying off his braid.

"You didn't think we were really heading back to the office, did you?" Mustang asked, sounding slightly incredulous and a little bit smug.

"Nala told me we weren't but with the amount of shit you give me about turning a report in on time, I wouldn't have put it past you," Ed shrugged and Mustang rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe if you were on time with your reports more often, I wouldn't be on your case so much about it," Mustang said. The side-eyed 'really?' look Hawkeye gave him was obvious to the entire car and had Ed sniggering into his hand. Mustang shifted slightly in seat and cleared his throat lightly. "We're heading to an old acquaintance of mine. Lieutenant Hawkeye has informed me that there's an injured woman with the Xingese men who caught the homunculous and that she's in need of a doctor. My friend happens to be one, of a sort, so I'm gonna ask him for a favour," Mustang told him and Ed felt his heart drop.

"Lan Fan got hurt? Will she be alright?" Ed asked as Al shifted next to him.

"She's grievously injured," Hawkeye told them somberly. "Her left arm was severed off at the shoulder. The men with her and I stabilised the injury as best we can but she needs a good doctor who will work on her off the record," she reported and Ed sighed.

"Did they say what happened?" Al asked, voice worried but Hawkeye shook her head.

"I'm afraid I wasn't at the safe-house long enough after helping stabilise Lan Fan to find out the details. I needed to pick up Colonel Mustang before anyone discovered we'd split up when we shouldn't have," Hawkeye told them.

" _She's alright, Ed. She's a fighter and I'm in contact with Onyx,"_  Soren soothed the blonde.

"Who's Onyx?" Ed asked, latching on to the name that seemed familiar, like he should've known who Soren was talking about.

" _Lan Fan's Animal,"_  Soren told him and Ed made a small 'ah' of realisation as he recalled the small black cat Ling had introduced back in Rush Valley.

"But she's alright?" Ed pressed and Hawkeye nodded.

"She was when we left," she told him and Ed and Al both gave a sigh of relief.

"We're here," Mustang announced after a couple of minutes of silence. "Stay in the car," he ordered and though Ed huffed at him, he and the others did as they were told, even Nala.

They watched as Mustang approached a nondescript house that Ed wasn't even sure he'd be able to describe to anyone after a couple of days. There was nothing of interest about the house at all. Mustang headed up to the front door and rapped his knuckles on it twice before taking a small step backwards so he wouldn't be in the occupants face when the door opened. It took a couple of minutes for someone to open the door.

"Doctor Knox, I apologise for interrupting your evening but someone's badly injured," Mustang told the old man who'd opened the door. "I came to you because we need a doctor and we can't go to the hospital," Mustang explained and the old man's expression turned even more sour.

"Gone and gotten yourself in trouble again, have you?" Knox grouched as he adjusted his glasses. He was dressed in casual slacks and semi-formal shirt and despite the fact that he had at least a decade, if not two, on Mustang, Ed couldn't see any grey hairs. "You just can't help it, can you?" Knox muttered and Ed snorted. Since Mustang took the time to glare at him, Ed had a feeling he didn't to it quietly but he didn't look ashamed at getting caught out.

"I know you have a family, Knox," Mustang said. "If you'd rather not endanger them, I'll find someone else," Mustang told him, refusing to let Knox do this favour without knowing about how risky this situation was.

"I'll get my instruments. Wait here," Knox told him gruffly and Mustang didn't bother to his shock.

"You sure?" He couldn't help but ask and Knox sighed.

"My wife and I split up not long after Ishval and she took our son with her. It's only me and Brian here now," Knox told him before disappearing into the house once more.

"'Brian'?" Al queried and Hawkeye nodded as she watched the colonel with eagle eyes.

"Doctor Knox's Animal's name is Brian," she told them.

Neither Ed nor Al got the chance to ask what kind of Animal Brian was as Knox and his Animal left the house, Knox now armed with a doctor's bag no doubt filled with medical equipment. Ed and Al peered through the window as Knox locked his door and nodded to Mustang. Brian, as it turned out, was a bulldog. His coat was chestnut and white and he snuffled and puffed as he walked with his human towards the car. Knox didn't react to the teenager, suit of armour, golden wolf or leopard waiting in the back seat with anything more than a raised brow at Mustang that demanded answers.

"Doctor Knox, Brian, this is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his Animal, Ayala." Ed gave the Doctor a slight nod while Ayala eyed him up. "His younger brother, Alphonse, and his Animal, Chester. I assume you remember Nala, Soren and 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye," Mustang said as he opened the back door.

"I'm assuming you're not my patient this evening," Knox grumbled as he climbed in, eyeing Ed's bandaged face. "You don't look that badly injured to me." Ed gave both Nala and Ayala a gloating grin as Knox and Brian got themselves situated.

"No, I'm not," Ed confirmed as Nala and Ayala rolled their eyes. The sound of Mustang's door closing was the cue Hawkeye had apparently been waiting for as she pulled the car onto the street the moment it did and this time she wasn't paying any attention to the road rules.

"What can you tell me about my patient? I'd like some idea of what I'm dealing with before we get there," Knox said and Al was certain for a moment that he was looking at a possible future version of Ed. Chester's amused snort told him he wasn't alone in that thought.

"She's a young Xingese woman. Maybe 20, 25 at the most," Hawkeye answered. "I'm not certain how she was injured but she's lost her entire left arm. The two members of her group are with her and we'd managed to stabilise the wound to the best of our abilities before I had to leave. I'm not sure of anything else that might be pertinent," Hawkeye told him and Knox pursed his lips.

"She'll be lucky if she hasn't succumbed to shock yet," Knox told them bluntly.

" _Don't,"_  Ayala warned Ed before he could tell the doctor exactly what he thought of that answer.  _"It's his medical opinion. You know how much pain she'd be in right now and she's gone longer than you did without medical attention. With any luck, she'll be unconscious when we arrive but you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario,"_ Ayala told him, trying to be as gentle about it as she could be.  _"Having said that, Soren did say he was in contact with Onyx and she hasn't said anything about Lan Fan slipping into shock or anything like that,"_ Ayala reminded him and Ed nodded.

"I know," Ed told her. "Lan Fan doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd let an injury slow her down, no matter how bad it was, but I can't help but worry. It's my fault she even got hurt in the first place," Ed said, sighing a little.

" _How do you figure?"_  Chester asked, inserting himself into the conversation.

"She wouldn't have been in that position if I hadn't decided to bait Scar into fighting me so we could lure out a homunculous," Ed told him, the 'duh' in his tone blatantly obvious.

" _Well, If you want to get technical, really it's Ling's fault,"_  Ayala told him.  _"Having the Xingese backing us up wasn't part of your plan at all. Ling was the one who decided to offer his and the others' help so really, it's his fault since she wouldn't have been in that position if he had kept out of it,"_ Ayala said.  _"In fact, you could argue that her injury is the fault of whoever assigned her to be Ling's guard in the first place. If she hadn't of been, she would likely not even be in Amestris right now,"_  Ayala told him and Ed glared at her slightly condescending tone.

"I get it," Ed grumbled as Ayala took a mental breath to keep going. "I still feel bad she got hurt so badly helping us," Ed muttered and both Ayala and Chester sighed as the cuddled closer to him.

" _It's because you're a softie,"_  Ayala informed and Ed flicked her ear.

"Am not," Ed grouched.

" _You keep telling yourself that,"_  Chester snorted before growling when Ed flicked his ear.

"Knock it off, you two," Al hissed and that caused Ed to freeze as he suddenly remembered they were not, in fact, alone in the car. Chester snickered at him and Ed flicked his ear again.

"I thought your Animal was the wolf," Knox said as he watched them interact.

"She is," Ed told him, ruffling Ayala's ears.

"I've never seen a human so close with an Animal they aren't bonded with," Knox commented as he almost absentmindedly reached down to pet Brian's ears.

"Fullmetal has an exceptionally close relationship with his brother, especially after their accident. Both brothers are close to each other's Animal," Mustang answered before either Ed or Al could answer themselves. "However, you'll notice that Fullmetal has an uncanny and irritating ability to become close to most Animals he meets. I'm sure there's been a couple of times where someone has mistaken Nala as his Animal," Mustang told Knox, whose brow raised in disbelief.

"You're just jealous that Nala likes me more. Who can blame her though?" Ed said with a smirk as Nala took the opportunity to sit up and nuzzle Ed's cheek affectionately. No one but Ayala saw the shit-eating grin on Ed's face before it was hidden in Nala's hair when Mustang made an irritated noise.

"You let her get away with that sort of blatant affection in public?" Knox asked and Mustang raised a brow at him.

"Are you gonna be the one to try and tell her to stop then enforce that order?" Mustang asked and Ed snorted. He honestly wished anyone who tried forcing Nala to do anything good luck and a speedy recovery when they tried.

"Fair point," Knox conceded. After giving Ed another assessing look the blonde didn't flinch from, Knox spoke up again. "So, would you like to explain to me why you couldn't take someone as severely injured as this woman is to a hospital?"

* * *

Ling had spent the first ten minutes of their arrival explaining everything that had happened to himself and Lan Fan while Ed was fighting Scar. According to the prince, the homunculous – Gluttony, as the homunculous had called itself – had appeared within a couple of minutes of Fu giving them the signal once Scar had made his appearance. However, they soon found themselves against a second homunculous. Ed hadn't been the only one to show visible shock when Ling informed them it had been Fuhrer Bradley who'd come to the defense of Gluttony.

"The Fuhrer?" Knox had asked, sounding slightly stunned and Mustang nodded.

"I'll explain in more detail later," Mustang had promised before gesturing for Ling to continue.

Ling did, telling them about how he'd tried to fight while carrying a severely injured Lan Fan on his back, trying to use Bradley's limited vision to his advantage but Gluttony had – on the Fuhrer's orders – punched Ling so hard, he'd been sent flying into the building across the street. Lan Fan had set off a smoke grenade while the Fuhrer was trying to interrogate them about how they'd found out about Gluttony and what he was. Ed had perked up at that slightly.

"He doesn't know we're working together," Ed explained. "It might mean that they might give us a bit of breathing room as they try to figure out how two random Xingese knew about the homunculi," he said.

"Maybe," Mustang said with a touch of pessimism and nodded to Ling once more.

"Your Fuhrer isn't as blind as he seems," Ling revealed. "The smoke grenade hadn't affected him at all. The eye he keeps covered? It helps him see in situations he shouldn't be able to," Ling told them. "I set off a smoke bomb and grenade and that gave me the opportunity to get as much distance between us as possible. Lan Fan woke up once more as we were making our escape and realised that her injury was bleeding heavily and leaving an obvious trail for Bradley to follow," Ling said. Ed had a nasty feeling he knew what was coming next. Judging from everyone else's faces, so did they.

"In an effort to conceal our tracks, Lan Fan cut her injured arm off and we used the remnants of her shirt to tie the limb to a stray dog while we went underground into the sewers. I used my jacket to stem the bleeding before we decided I needed to join back up with the Elrics and capture the homunculous so our mission wasn't a failure," Ling said, tilting his chin up in a silent dare for someone to say anything. "When your lieutenant arrived on scene to help me, I told Fu where Lan Fan was and instructed him to get her out of the sewers. I convinced Lieutenant Hawkeye to go out of her way so we could pick them up." The only noise for the next few seconds were of Lan Fan's muffled groans of pain in the other room where she, Fu, Laika and Onyx were occupying.

"YOU LET HER WANDER AROUND THE SEWERS WITH HER ARM CUT OFF?!" Knox shouted once Ling finished explaining what had happened to Lan Fan. "Don't come crying to me if she develops lock-jaw!" He snapped before he snatched up his medical bag and marched into the other room. Fu was doing his best to try and offer Lan Fan some comfort – Ling had explained that he was her grandfather earlier – but she was still squirming in pain and Ed knew just from looking that she'd developed a fever. "I'm afraid that the only patients I've had lately have been corpses so this might be a little rough," Knox said, sounding as apologetic as Ed imagined he could as he put some gloves on.

As Lan Fan's first muffled scream sounded, Ling walked out of the room, looking slightly ill and immensely angry at something. Ed and Ayala were quick to join Laika in following him. Laika climbed up Ling like the prince was nothing more than a tree before nestling himself in the juncture of Ling's shoulder and neck. Ed and Ayala stood there for a few moments, neither of them sure of what say so Ed decided to start with what he felt Ling deserved from him.

"I'm sor-" Ed started to apologise but Ling stopped him.

"No, don't apologise," Ling instructed. "I'm the one who suggested it, remember?" Ling said, giving Ed a wry smile. "We both had something to gain out of it so it made sense," Ling told him. "When I started my search for immortality, I knew I'd need to make sacrifices but I wasn't ready for this," Ling almost whispered. "Lan Fan was though. She made the decision I was too weak to make," Ling said, sighing as he leant against the wall.

Lan Fan's muffled screams could still be heard through the walls and the cloth Ed knew she'd be biting on to stop herself from hurting herself further. Even though Ling wasn't someone he'd considered a close friend, Ed didn't want to see him hurting himself like this, nor did he want to see him blaming himself. However, he had no idea what to say to make this situation any better and, to his surprise, neither did Ayala when he looked to her for advice. After a moments debate, Ed decided to follow his gut. Walking over to Ling, he mimicked his position and laid his flesh hand on his shoulder. They didn't exchange words, just sat there in silence and Ed pretended he didn't feel Ling reach up to squeeze his wrist in thanks.

* * *

"She's awake!" The sudden shout from Alphonse had Ed, Ayala and Ling moving into action. Laika still clung to his human and stayed that way as they entered the makeshift patient's room to find that Lan Fan was indeed awake after several hours of being unconscious.

"Are you okay? Is there anything we can do?" Ed asked as he came to a stop next to her bedside.

Lan Fan looked exhausted and Ed felt horrible, despite Ling and Ayala's assertions that her injury wasn't his fault. Onyx was curled up next to Lan Fan's head, on her right side to prevent the possibility of her hurting the injured woman. "I'm useless without my arm," she murmured sadly. "I'm going to need to find a replacement," she said and Ed managed a small smile.

"You know, I can introduce you to the best automail engineer in Amestris," Ed told her. "I'm positive that she'd be delighted to work with you to create a functional and combat-ready arm," Ed said and – for the first time Ed could recall – Lan Fan gave him a tentative but thankful smile.

"I don't know much about automail," she admitted. "It's not commonly used in Xing as we have alkahestrists who are usually able to help injuries severe enough they ordinarily would've been amputated anywhere else but isn't the recovery time 3 years?" She asked an Ed shrugged.

"Once the doc says you're healed enough to have the port installed, you only have to wait a couple of weeks to a month for your nerves to settle down before you can have the limb attached. I had two installed at the same time and I was cleared after a year. I have a feeling you could be cleared within a couple of months of getting your automail installed completely," Ed told her, giving her a grin that she returned with an air of confidence.

"I need to perform whatever tests I can," Knox said, coming back into the room. "You can come back in when she's done unless she manages to fall asleep before I'm done," Knox told them, looking specifically at Ling and Fu. He didn't move a muscle but his glare increased in severity until they reluctantly left, leaving Lan Fan with only Onyx, Knox and Brian for company.

They were met outside of the room by Mustang, Hawkeye and their Animals. "We're going to interrogate the homunculous now, if you want to join," Mustang said. Both Xingese nodded and Ed just followed when they headed into the room the bound homunculous was being held. As they walked, Mustang broke the silence. "My name is Colonel Roy Mustang. I'm with the state military."

"My name is Ling Yao, the 12th son of the Emperor of Xing. This is one of my most trusted guards, Fu," Ling said. "We appreciate you finding a doctor to help Lan Fan." Ling and Fu both paused to bow to Mustang.

"It was no problem," Mustang assured him. "Thank you both for helping keep the Elrics out of the danger they would've been in without back up. Nala would've been insufferable if Fullmetal or his brother got themselves killed," Mustang told him.

"We would've been fine, you bastard!" Ed protested vehemently.

"'Nala'?" Ling asked, voice amused at Ed's antics.

"My Animal," Mustang said, gesturing to the lioness.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nala," Ling said. "This is Laika," he introduced the Animal still wrapped around him.

"Pleasure," Mustang said with a downward tilt of his chin. There was a moment where Mustang looked at Fu expectantly but before he could ask after his Animal or Fu could say anything, Knox appeared beside them.

"She's sleeping again. I've given her some morphine to take away the pain so she'll be out of it for a while," Knox told Ling and Fu before they could even ask. He opened his mouth to say something else but the group came to a stop in front of the room holding Gluttony and Knox caught sight of the obese homunculous for the first time. "What do we have here?" Knox asked, apparently unfazed by the sight of a bound person in the room.

"That's Gluttony. He's a homunculous," Ling told him nonchalantly.

"He and his friends have connections with the military senior staff," Mustang told Knox.

"I don't think I mentioned it before but your Fuhrer bears the same mark as Gluttony. The one you described when we discussed the plan earlier. It's on his eye, the one that's covered by the patch," Ling told them. "Plus, the Animals were able to sense him, though Gluttony's scent covered his until he was too close for us to be prepared for him," Ling said.

"Well, at least we have some physical way to prove he is what he is," Ed said with a small sigh.

"Bradley doesn't have the same inhuman presence as Gluttony," Ling warned and Ed gave him a confused look. "At his core, he still feels like a regular human," Ling explained. "It's the other reason why Lan Fan and I didn't feel his presence until too late."

"Would him having started out as human mean he could have a child?" Al asked and the slightly random question got everyone else's attention. Al squirmed a little at the attention on him but continued. "Fuhrer Bradley has a child, Selim. If he feels human at his core while Gluttony and the others don't, wouldn't that mean he was born human and turned into a homunculous later? If so, does that mean he  _could_  have children?"

"No, Selim is adopted," Knox told Al with a shake of his head. "There's no direct relation between him and his father."

"It doesn't matter," Mustang declared and Ed glared at him. "Let's get information out of this one and destroy his stone." Both the Elrics and the Xingese put up an argument at that declaration.

"No!" Ling shouted, looking furious. "Lan Fan lost her arm to get him! His stone is ours!"

"Hey!" Ed protested. "We didn't agree to that! That stone might be our only chance to get our bodies back and I'm not gonna let that opportunity pass without a fight!"

"I'm too old for this kind of thing," Knox claimed as Ed and Ling glared at each other. "I'm gonna go home. I need help moving Lan Fan to the car so she can recover at mine," Knox said.

"Are you sure you want her in your house?" Mustang asked. "She'll likely be declared a wanted fugitive by Bradley, unless he just decides to hunt her down himself. You'll be in a world of trouble I likely won't be able to help you out of," Mustang warned and Knox nodded.

"I won't let all my hard work keeping her alive so far go to waste because she catches an infection here and I don't want to be spending my time coming out here everyday. It's best if she stays in my spare room. At least she won't die from an infection so easily there," Knox grumbled.

"Thank you for offering your home to her," Fu said, giving Knox a bow that Ling echoed.

"Don't thank me yet. She could still die from something she caught down in those sewers," Knox told him gruffly. "Give me a hand moving her while the morphine's still in her system. I don't need her screaming in my ear if we move her later," Knox ordered.

"Hawkeye will drop you and your patient at home," Mustang said and Hawkeye gave him a nod.

"Fu will go with you to help with Lan Fan," Ling said and the only sign of Fu's reluctance to leave his prince without any guard was the minute hesitation before he nodded. Ling noticed this and there was a quick exchange of words in Xingese before Fu bowed and disappeared back into Lan Fan's room. "Fu will help," Ling said in answer to the questioning look on most of everyone's faces.

"Fine. I could use the help if I need to help her around the house and it would be good for her to have someone there while I'm at work to ensure she doesn't hurt herself further," Knox admitted a little reluctantly.

The interrogation of the homunculous was put on hold as they helped Knox get Lan Fan ready to be moved as the woman was still unconscious. Hawkeye moved the car so all Fu and Knox had to do was open the door and sit her in the car while Fu sat next to her, on her right, so he could stabilise her as much as possible. Brian and Onyx joined them in the back while Knox joined Hawkeye and Soren sat in the front. Mustang issued an order for Hawkeye to come back to pick him up once she was finished at Knox's and with that, they left. Mustang, Ling, Ed, Al and their Animals waited for a moment as they watched the car leave before they went back into the house to deal with Gluttony.

* * *

Gluttony was tied in the same fashion Ling had tied him in when they captured him in the rail yard. He was placed on the floor with no chair to sit on, though Ed couldn't blame Ling for not offering the homunculous one. He probably would've broken any he sat on. As they filed into the room Gluttony was being held in, Ed noted that Gluttony gave off a very childish air. The homunculous blinked his beady eyes at them and Ed could see the confused tears clinging in the corners of his eyes.

"Why am I here? Why am I all tied up? Let me go, please," Gluttony whimpered once they were all in the room.

No one answered the homunculous and Ed risked a glance at the others to see their reaction. Mustang wore his usual mask but Ed saw the flash of surprise as it disappeared off his face. Ling was like a brick wall, which was something Ed was surprised about. It was hard for him to mesh this serious version of Ling with the happy jokester who sponged off of him that he was used too. He could tell that Nala, Ayala and Chester were all taken aback by the homunculous' demeanour and he thought Laika might've been as well but he wasn't bonded to the yellow-throated Marten so he didn't know for sure.

Al's armour creaked slightly as he looked at everyone and realised that it didn't look like anyone really knew how to deal with this massive – in every sense of the word – homunculous who spoke and acted like a small child. So, he decided to be the one who asked the first question. "You're here because we need to ask you some questions," Al said, causing Ed to jump slightly while Ling and Mustang glanced at him. Gluttony's focus was right on him. "How did you find me and Ed?" Al asked.

Gluttony sniffled slightly. "I could smell him. The Ishvalen," Gluttony told him. "Wrath told me to find him and take him out," Gluttony said.

"'Wrath'?" Mustang barked and Gluttony's face crumpled and his bottom limp trembled.

"Who's Wrath?" Al asked, keeping his voice soft and Gluttony looked back at him.

"Wrath is my brother," Gluttony told him, voice brightening slightly. "He's in charge of your  _whole_  military!" Gluttony said this in the way a younger brother or someone's child would when they bragged about an older sibling or parents achievements.

"Wrath is Fuhrer King Bradley?" Ed asked and Gluttony nodded. "And he's your brother?" Ed asked, seeking clarification.

"Yeah," Gluttony said. "I have lots of brothers and I have a sister too," Gluttony revealed.

"Really? I have a lot of brothers myself," Ling said, jumping on the chance to build a bit of rapport. "How many do you have?" Ling asked.

"Oh, I have Wrath and Pride and Sloth and Envy and Greed," Gluttony told them, looking delighted to talking about his family. "But Father had to destroy Greed because he wasn't following Father's plan and Envy's missing," Gluttony told them, voice turning morose.

"How did your father destroy Greed?" Mustang asked.

"He destroyed his body and turned him back in his true form; a liquid Philosopher's Stone," Gluttony told him, a notable unease in his voice as he spoke to Mustang. "Then Father absorbed what was left of Greed until he could find someone who could be fused with the stone and help us with our plan," Gluttony finished saying.

"Why do you call him that? Father?" Al asked and Gluttony blinked at him.

"Because he made us so that makes him our father," Gluttony told him like it was an obvious answer.

"What is your plan?" Mustang asked, obviously hoping that Gluttony would tell them since he seemed to be very talkative but Gluttony shook his head.

"No, I can't tell you. Father would be really angry at me. He'll already be mad at me for getting caught," Gluttony told him.

"What did Envy look like?" Ed asked, surprising everyone with his unexpected question.

"Hmm, he was smaller than me," Gluttony hummed thoughtfully, "and he had green spiky hair. Have you seen him? He's been missing for a few weeks," Gluttony asked, looking hopeful and Ed looked away.

"You said you have a sister?" Ling asked, getting Gluttony's attention as Ayala pressed her whole weight into Ed. Gluttony nodded and Ling noticed the way his face lit up. "What's her name?"

"Lust," Gluttony told them with a large amount of obvious affection.

"What's she like?" Ling asked, ignoring Mustang's irritated look as he intercepted whatever the colonel had been about to ask.

"Oh, Lust is wonderful," Gluttony told them completely unabashedly. "She's the most beautiful person in the world and she's really smart. She always looks out for me too and she almost always lets me eat anyone I want," Gluttony said gleefully. Ed and Ling weren't able to hide their shock and disgust and Mustang was barely able to keep his own expression neutral.

"She sounds… wonderful," Ling said, swallowing around the word 'wonderful'. "What about your Father? What's he like?"

"He's very clever and he's also  _really_  old," Gluttony told them. "He loves us a lot but sometimes he can be mean but only when we do something bad, like Greed did." Gluttony's face fell as he seemed to lose himself in an unpleasant memory.

"What did Greed do?" Al asked, pulling Gluttony out of his thoughts.

"Oh, he decided not to help Father with his plans. He only looked out for himself and the things he likes and not us or Father or his plan," Gluttony glowered. "Then he took you," he looked at Al and Ed blinked in surprise, "hostage so he could get something for himself. He wasn't supposed to make himself known to anyone,  _especially_ important human sacrifices," Gluttony told them.

"You guys keep calling me and Al that. 'Human Sacrifices'," Ed said. "What do you guys mean? Why specifically us?"

Gluttony squirmed against his bonds a little. "I'm not allowed to tell you," he whimpered. "Father wouldn't like that," he claimed.

The group seemed to be at a loss before Al had an idea. "Will you take us to meet him? Your father? So that we can ask him some questions?" Al asked, ignoring Chester's protests. From Ed and Ayala's faces, they weren't impressed with him either. Mustang and Ling almost looked… proud of him.

Gluttony hummed thoughtfully. "I guess so," he finally said. "He'll be alright with it since you're a human sacrifice but they can't come with you," Gluttony said, looking at Ling and Mustang.

"Why not?" Al asked.

"Because he's not a sacrifice," Gluttony said, looking at Ling.

"And Mustang?" Ed asked.

"He's mean," was the response and it took all of Ed's self-control to not grin madly at Mustang. He could not, however, completely stop his snort before it sounded and from the glare Mustang pinned him with, as well as the amused glints in Ling's and the Animals' eyes, it was certainly heard.

"If neither of them come with us, will you introduce us to your father?" Al asked, ignoring his brother and the colonel.

"Okay," Gluttony agreed and Al felt a sense of excitement. "Will you let me go now? These hurt," Gluttony whined.

"We need to talk first but then we will," Ed promised. Gluttony didn't seem happy but he didn't verbally protest when they left the room at Ed's pointed look.

* * *

"You can't seriousy be considering going alone," Mustang stated and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I won't be alone. I'll have Al, Ayala and Chester with me," Ed told him matter-of-factly. Mustang did  _not_  look impressed.

"You shouldn't be going without proper back-up – no offense, Alphonse," Mustang said but the youngest Elric just waved Mustang's half-apology away. "The team and I should be positioned nearby wherever this 'Father' is hiding so we can provide you cover and  _maybe_  put an end to this whole plot before it can even happen," Mustang said.

"Probably but I did just promise Gluttony that you wouldn't be there and even if I was in the business of breaking promises – which I'm not, as you damn well know – you can't be there," Ed told him. "Gluttony would smell you a mile off and your cover would be blown," Ed told him, causing Mustang to scowl at him.

"I'm not staying away," Ling told them, interrupting their stare-off. "Father could be the answer I need to save my clan," Ling said and Ed could tell immediately that no amount of logic or argument could persuade Ling to stay.

"I suppose," Ed said, finger tapping his chin in thought. "I did only tell Gluttony that neither of you would come with us. Mustang can't go and get the whole team while Gluttony leads us wherever we need to go and hope to catch up with us before we meet Father but you know how to follow without being caught," Ed said, scrutinising Ling. "I can't control what you do in any way which means that I can't stop you from following us even if I extracted a promise from you to not do that," Ed said and Ling grinned.

"No, you most certainly can't," Ling said, a touch of smugness in his voice.

" _Are you sure it's a smart idea? Trying to deceive Gluttony and the other homunculi like this?"_  Ayala asked worriedly.

"You heard what we said, Ayala," Ed said, "I can't stop him from following us after we leave." Both Ed and Ling shared a grin that had Ayala rolling her eyes.

"What are you going to do, Colonel Mustang?" Al asked and Mustang sighed.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Lieutenant Hawkeye will be picking me up soon. Nala contacted Soren and told him we were nearly finished. I suppose I'll head back to the office and await word of any explosions in the area that Fullmetal will undoubtedly cause," Mustang told him.

"Oh, shove off, bastard," Ed snapped.

" _It's not like the comment isn't really without warrant,"_  Chester commented lightly and Ed flicked his ear, earning himself a low growl in response.

"Zip it," Ed growled, though there was no real heat behind his words. There were a few beats of silence where no one said anything. "So, shall we let this homunculous go and follow him to his father's hideout to try and figure out what the fuck's about to happen to our country?" Ed asked, clapping his hands together as he looked at them expectantly.

* * *

Ed clapped his hands, the familiar ringing sound echoing poorly in the rundown cabin, and severed the cable holding Gluttony hostage. The hefty homunculous stood and red energy crackled over his form, healing any cuts or bruises the cable had caused. Mustang, Ling and their Animals had left a couple of minutes ago and Al and Chester were waiting outside for him, Ayala and Gluttony to join them.

"Come on," Ed said once the red alchemical energy dissipated. "Let's go meet your father." Gluttony nodded and waddled behind Ed and Ayala as they led the way out of the cabin.

"As you can see, no one's here but us," Al said once the three had caught up with him and Chester outside.

Gluttony looked around, beady eyes peering into the small wooded area near the cabin as if he could see someone in there. He inhaled deeply and frowned slightly. "I can still smell them," Gluttony told them.

"They only left a couple of minutes ago," Al told him. "Their scent might still be lingering," he suggested and Gluttony frowned as he thought it over.

"I suppose so," Gluttony conceded. "Are you sure they're gone?" He whispered and both boys nodded.

"Positive," Ed swore and Gluttony seemed to relax a little. When his shoulders slumped, both Chester and Ayala relaxed slightly too and that was the moment both brothers realised just how tightly wound they were.

"Okay. Father's this way," Gluttony told them cheerfully as he set off on an unbeaten track. Ed, Al and the Animals started at the level of enthusiasm shown by the overweight homunculous – not expecting him to move so quickly – and hastened to catch up to him.

Both Ed and Al exchanged numerous questioning looks with each other and their Animals but no words – telepathic or out loud – were spoken as they walked. Gluttony seemed content to just walk in silence, taking in the sights of the area, despite how dark it was. Ed had no clue where Ling was, seeing no sign at all of the prince and since he wasn't bonded to Laika, Ed couldn't track them that way. It wasn't until they'd crested a particularly steep hill that the Elrics figured out where Gluttony was leading them.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Gluttony?" Al couldn't help but ask as they came to a stop.

"Uh-huh," the homunculous said, finger in his mouth.

"But this is the way…" Ed trailed off as they stared at the glittering city lights.

" _It can't be,"_  Chester said, slightly stunned as he and Ayala struggled to figure out how they had missed this.

"You father lives in Central?" Both Ed and Al asked incredulously and Gluttony nodded.

"Yup! He lives right in the middle but underground because people can't know he's there," Gluttony told them, voice lowered as though he was sharing a secret. "Let's keep going! I'm not supposed to be out during the day by myself unless I need to hunt someone down," Gluttony told them.

"Sure," Ed said, voice shaking a little as he tried to comprehend the fact that they'd been living  _on top_  of the homunculi's lair this whole time. "Let's meet your father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left a review on this story last week! I absolutely loved hearing from you all and would love to see comments from you all again on this chapter! See you next week!


	33. Chapter 33

The walk back to Central seemed to take hours. Gluttony was more than happy to continue the walk in silence while Ed, Al and the Animals had murmured conversations with one another about what their plan would be. The biggest obstacle, of course, was the fact that none of them knew what they were heading into with any certainty. All they knew was that they would be meeting this 'Father' and that he would look like Hohenheim, something Ed made sure Al understood. He needed to be certain that Al wouldn't slip and think of this homunculous as their dad. After the third reminder, Chester politely asked Ed to knock it off before his youngest brother lost his patience.

" _Ed, I need you to sight-link with me,"_  Nala asked, her voice sounding just as they approached the outer-city limits.

"What? Why?" Ed asked. His shock, curiosity and worry caught the attention of Ayala and Chester and Chester's attention to Ed caught Al's. He shook his head at them, telling them not to worry for the moment.

" _Roy's decided he's going to confront the Fuhrer about everything,"_  Nala told him.  _"I can't talk him out of it. We're on our way up to see him now,"_  Nala said, sounding slightly hysterical.

"And he calls  _me_  reckless," Ed muttered. "Give me a moment and I'll request the link," Ed promised and Nala agreed, though a little reluctantly, like she was worried he'd change his mind if he got a moment to think.

" _What's going on, Ed?"_ Ayala asked.

"Mustang's decided to talk to Wrath about what's going on," Ed told her and Chester, knowing the leopard would immediately tell Al. "Nala wants me to sight-link," Ed revealed.

" _Is that wise?"_  Ayala asked.  _"I know the Fuhrer doesn't have an Animal but he'll know all about the bond and what it can do. What happens if he notices Nala's eyes are ringed with blue but Mustang's aren't?"_ Ayala fretted slightly.

"I'll ask Nala to make sure her eyes aren't noticed by the Fuhrer and get her to agree to end the link if we think he's about to notice," Ed offered as a compromise.

" _You have to be so careful. Both of you. Remember what Ling said about Bradley's eye? He's not visually impaired in it at all,"_  Ayala reminded him and Ed nodded, suppressing the urge to tell her to knock off the mothering.

"I'll link with Nala now," Ed said. "Make sure I don't run into anything." Ed grinned as Chester pretended to consider his request before he tuned them out and focused on Nala. "Nala, sight!"

Ed felt Nala's acceptance before his vision wavered and his stomach lurched as his mind struggled to adjust itself to the fact that he was walking on a poorly lit street one moment then he was seeing the inside of Central Command, walking next to a uniformed figure as they approached an area of the building he'd only ever been once; Fuhrer Bradley's office. Nala looked up as Ed felt a light hand on the middle of his back, gently guiding him while his sight was predominantly occupied with what Nala was seeing, which at the moment was Mustang.

"Did you really link vision with Fullmetal?" Mustang asked out of the corner of his mouth when he caught sight of Nala's eyes. Ed felt himself grin as Nala glared at him.

" _Since you won't listen to me or reason, I'm having Ed help me monitor this stupid interaction since he's the expert in reckless decisions and might be able to help me get you out safely when this goes pear-shaped,"_  Nala told him haughtily. Ed was torn between amusement at Nala's attitude towards Mustang and irritation at what she'd said about him.

"Your abundance of faith in me is astounding," Mustang drawled. "I can't order either of you to stop the link but be careful. I don't need the added hassle of trying to explain how my Animal is able to sight-share with someone who isn't me," Mustang said flatly.

" _We're being more careful than you are at the moment,"_  Nala bit back and Mustang sighed.

"Just keep your eyes hidden," Mustang said, sounding resigned to his youngest subordinate and Animal plotting to spy on him.

Mustang entered the large outer office where Bradley's secretary – a civilian, not military – was situated. The woman, a brunette with her hair tied back in a military-approved bun and glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, looked up at his entrance and stood immediately. "Colonel Mustang, may I ask what business you have with Fuhrer Bradley?" She asked.

"Tell him that I'd like to speak to him about his brother and father," Mustang requested.

"Sir, I'm sure you're aware that His Excellency has no family, aside from his wife and child," the secretary gently reminded him. Her blue budgerigar sat perched on her shoulder, its feathers standing out against the military blue, and chirped disapprovingly at Mustang.

"I know," Mustang told her, a touch impatiently. "Please pass along the message," he requested once more.

The secretary gave him a look that told him she thought he'd gone off the deep end but was too polite to tell him so but she picked up the phone and dialled the number she needed. "My apologies for interrupting your evening, Your Excellency," she said when the phone was picked up. Because of his closer than usual connection with Nala, Ed could make out what the Fuhrer was saying, thanks to Nala's superior hearing.

" _What is it, Kate?"_  The Fuhrer asked, a touch of impatience in his voice.

"Colonel Mustang has requested an immediate meeting," she told him.

" _Is there a reason Colonel Mustang cannot schedule a meeting like everyone else?"_  Bradley asked.

"He said to tell you that it has something to do with your father and brother," Kate told him. "I informed him, of course, that you have no remaining family, outside of your wife and child, but he was insistent," Kate said, giving Mustang a look Ed thought might've been smug? He wasn't certain though since Nala was keeping her eyes averted as much as possible.

There were a few beats of silence before Bradley answered.  _"Send him in please, Kate,"_  he said and Kate's jaw dropped.

"I apologise, Fuhrer Bradley, but are you – " Kate started asking but was cut off.

" _Now, Kate,"_  Bradley said sternly before there was a click, indicating he'd hung up the phone.

Kate placed the phone back on the hook and stood up. "If you'll please follow me, Colonel Mustang, I'll show you into Fuhrer Bradley's office," she told him, sweeping out from behind her desk and walking over to impressive set of doors that held the office of the Fuhrer on the other side of it.

" _Is it bad that I really wish the Fuhrer had denied Roy the chance to confront him?"_  Nala asked as she and Mustang followed Kate.

"No," Ed said, surprised at his own answer. "I have a bad feeling about this," Ed told her.

He wasn't lying to try and make her feel as though she wasn't alone in her thoughts; he genuinely had a bad feeling about this. There was no good reason for Wrath to let Mustang confront him and it wasn't like the Fuhrer could eliminate Mustang since he didn't know if Kate was the only one who knew he was here and Mustang was (hopefully) not stupid enough to tell Bradley he hadn't told anyone else in an attempt to get the homunculous to reveal more. Nala didn't seem overly happy with the fact that Ed agreed with her.

Kate knocked on the door and swung it open after the call came for them to enter. "Colonel Mustang, Your Excellency," Kate announced and both Ed and Nala wondered if anyone else picked up the slight sulkiness in Kate's tone as she made the announcement.

"Thank you, Kate. You may leave for the night," Bradley said, acting and looking for all intents and purposes like the human he pretended to be, even dismissing the salute Mustang gave with a friendly smile.

"Thank you, Sir. Shall I finish the filing I was completing?" Kate asked and Bradley nodded.

"Yes, you may," Bradley said. "Once you're done with that, you may leave for the night," he told her.

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Kate said, giving a small bow and causing her Animal to flap to keep its own balance, before she left, shutting the doors behind her. Nala's ears flickered backwards as she registered the sound of Kate's footsteps receding.

"So," Bradley started saying, "you wish to speak to me about my father and brother. Considering I have no family – discounting my wife and child – I must wonder who you're talking about," Bradley said. "Unless, of course," he said before Mustang could say anything, "you're speaking of my fellow homunculi." Silence rang out in the inner office and, for a few moments, the two men stared at each other from where they stood. Bradley gestured for Mustang to take a seat, which he did, though the Fuhrer himself decided to stand next to his window.

"I am," Mustang finally confirmed. Since Nala was hiding her eyes from Bradley, so as to not give away Ed's secret, Ed and Nala couldn't see the Fuhrer's reaction.

"I'm curious, Colonel Mustang, but how did you figure out I wasn't human?" Bradley asked, certainly sounding curious and Ed could feel Nala's unease. "No one outside of those in the military I've told have managed to figure it out," Bradley said casually.

"You've told people in the military that you aren't human?" Mustang asked, unable to keep his shock out of his voice or off his face. Ed knew that his face likely showed his own shock and he could feel both Ayala and Chester brush against his mind. He felt Al's hand press tighter against his back and knew his little brother was also worried.

"Well, no," Bradley told him. "I suppose I should've made myself a little clearer. The generals are under the impression that I'm as human as the rest of you but that there is a secret plot being led by myself to gain immortality by sacrificing the entirety of Amestris. In exchange for their silence and help, they have been promised to be infused with a stone – not unlike myself – in order to give them a prolonged life as well as command over an immortal army," Bradley explained. "But since you couldn't have found out I was a homunculous from a general, this is a moot topic. I'll ask once more; how did you find out?"

"Make sure he doesn't say shit about Ling," Ed hissed and Nala passed along the message.

"Fullmetal's wolf sensed there was something different about you the first time they met you at his entrance exam. It wasn't until Fullmetal and his brother had investigated the Fifth Laboratory and encountered the two homunculi that she realised what you were and warned him. In turn, he warned me," Mustang told him.

"Fascinating," Bradley murmured. "I knew the young man knew more than he should've. In fact, I've been meaning to summon him and his brother for a meeting to find out just how much they knew but I haven't managed to yet. I had no clue that their Animals could scent homunculi. No other Animal has," Bradley mused.

Mustang didn't say anything in response to that but Ed had a feeling that Bradley wasn't really expecting him too. Bradley seemed to come back to the situation at hand and glanced back at Mustang and Nala. Nala was quick to avert her eyes, making sure she did so in a way that wouldn't draw the Fuhrer's interest and have the homunculous question her movements. "How many other people know about myself and whatever else you've discovered? Aside, of course, from the Elrics and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes?" Bradley asked and Ed felt his heart clench in fear at the mention of Hughes.

"Several others," Mustang admitted. Bradley raised a brow slightly, obviously asking for more information but Mustang pretended not to notice. Rather, the alchemist decided to try and change the conversation course in order to move the Fuhrer's focus from who knows to something else. "How long has all of this been going on?"

"I'm surprised you or your youngest subordinate haven't figured that out, especially after what Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes has uncovered," Bradley said, giving Mustang a look that had the man realise the homunculous knew exactly what he was doing. "However, in answer to your question, the homunculi have been controlling this entire country since its inception."

"What are your plans for me, now that you know how much I know?" Mustang asked. Ed felt Nala's concern and protective instincts flare as if they were his own.

"I'm not going to order someone to kill you on your way home, if that's what you're worried about," Bradley told him, a hint of amusement in his voice. Nala glanced at her human in time for Ed to see the flash of surprise and relief cross Mustang's face.

"Why are you letting me live when I know what you are?" Mustang asked. Ed and Nala could hear the underlying shock and suspicion in his voice.

"Because you wouldn't learn your lesson if you're dead," Bradley said simply. Ed saw Mustang's slight recoil at the unexpected reason.

"How would Selim feel about finding out that his father is a homunculous?" Mustang asked unexpectedly, obviously trying to garner a reaction from the question that would give them a bit more information.

" _Remind me to murder Roy later for trying to bait a homunculous,"_  Nala growled in Ed's head.

"I will," Ed snorted.

"Ah," Bradley said. For some reason Ed and Nala couldn't figure out, Bradley looked almost amused at Mustang's question. "Trying to find if I have a weak spot are you? You'll have to do better than that," Bradley informed him. Mustang didn't say anything in response and Bradley finally sat back at his desk. "Your team can expect to receive new orders tomorrow morning when they report for duty. Warrant Officer Falman is to report to the Northern Command Centre, where he will be assigned to Fort Briggs. Master Sergeant Fuery will be sent to the Western Command Centre and receive further orders there. 2nd Lieutenant Havoc is to return to the Eastern Command Centre while 2nd Lieutenant Breda is to report to the Southern Command Centre. As for yourself and 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye," Bradley paused, seemingly in thought but Ed was almost certain the homunculous was relishing Mustang's shock, even if the flame alchemist was doing a phenomenal job masking it.

"You will remain here in Central, as will Lieutenant Hawkeye, however I am in need of a new secretary and have decided Lieutenant Hawkeye is just what I'm looking for. She will report to my office as soon as she has completed any remaining duties she has with your office," Bradley informed Mustang. "You will be assigned a new team of my choosing. They will be chosen and sent to your office by the end of the business day tomorrow."

"And what of Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, voice forcibly neutral. Ed didn't need to be linked to Nala so closely to tell that the removal and dismantling of his team had affected Mustang to the core. Ed was actually a little surprised that Mustang was even asking about him. He would've thought the loss of his team would've overshadowed literally everything else, including him.

Bradley hummed for a moment. "I see no reason for him to be removed from under your command at this time," Bradley said. "He, his brother and their Animals will be watched carefully, of course. We can't have two of our sacrifices getting themselves killed before we need them," Bradley said, a glint of humour in his eyes, like he was sharing a private joke with Mustang. Ed felt Nala's bite back her urge to snarl at the Fuhrer.

"Why has your father chosen those two as sacrifices? Out of all the alchemists out there, why is your father so determined to have them as sacrifices?" Mustang asked.

Bradley leaned back in his chair as he considered Mustang and his question. "I'm sure you and the Elrics have already figured out the answer to that question so why are you asking? Seeking confirmation, perhaps?" Bradley asked but Mustang didn't say or do anything. "They were chosen because they've met and survived Truth and their trip through their Gates, as well as the price Truth received as payment."

"How many sacrifices does your father need?" Mustang asked and Bradley quirked a brow.

"Five, at least," Bradley told him.

"When will your father's plan be put into affect?" Mustang asked but this time, all Bradley gave him a condescending smile.

"I truly hope you weren't expecting an answer to that," Bradley said, a touch patronisingly. A small flash of disappointment crossed Mustang's face that had Bradley clenching his jaw and anger flaring in his eyes. "Now, leave my office and if you value the lives of those you care about, you'll keep the reasons for your subordinates being reassigned and the details of this meeting to yourself. Do not speak of any of this with your subordinates either," Bradley ordered.

Mustang grit his teeth but gave a short, sharp nod. "Yes, Fuhrer Bradley," he said and Ed honestly thought Mustang would crack a tooth if he clenched his jaw any harder.

Ed thought he glimpsed Bradley looking down at Nala and dread set in his gut. If he saw Bradley looking down at Nala, that meant… "order your Animal to look at me." Ed heard Bradley instruct Mustang and he wasn't sure who was more surprised and worried in that moment; him or Nala.

"Sir?" Mustang asked, obviously not expecting the question.

"End sight!" Ed gasped just as Bradley repeated his order. The disconnection from Nala was just as disconcerting as the connection had been and he almost went stumbling as the darkened alley he, Al, Gluttony and the Animals were walking down came into view.

" _Ed!"_  Ayala cried as Al steadied Ed. Gluttony looked on with a confused frown, his finger back in his mouth.

"Are you alright, Brother?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah. Must've tripped on a cracked stone or something," Ed said, giving Al a self-deprecating smile. "I'll tell you what happened later," Ed said to Chester and Ayala, taking advantage of their bonds.

"You should be more careful, Brother," Al chided and Ed nodded in agreement.

"Father's this way," Gluttony said, making them startle slightly.

"Right," Ed said. "Let's keep going."

Gluttony nodded and continued down the path they'd been on before Ed came back to himself without another word. Ed could feel Chester and Ayala's curiosity but he was focusing back on Nala. Now that they weren't connected as closely, Ed was only getting her feelings rather than her thoughts and seeing everything. A big wave of relief rolled through the lioness and Ed exhaled sharply through his nose as his own relief overtook him.

"Let me know what happened once you sense I've got a few minutes," Ed said to Nala and felt her agreement.

The group remained silent, even though Ed could the burning curiosity coming from the Animals and Al, up until they rounded a corner and Gluttony froze. "I can smell the Ishvalen ahead. There's someone else with him," Gluttony told them. "Can I eat them?" He asked, looking imploringly at the brothers.

"No, let me go and tell them to leave. We don't have the time to wait for you to eat anyone," Ed told him, feeling sick as he did so. Gluttony's face fell but he nodded. "Al, give me the panda," Ed instructed quietly.

"Why?" Al asked, even as he followed Ed's order. Ed took the snarling panda from Al, making sure to use his right arm to so. It was a move that proved clever as the panda immediately started gnawing on his metal finger.

"I think that little Xingese girl is with Scar. If I have the panda, I can make them listen to me instead of attacking me right off," Ed said. He knew his brother wasn't impressed that he was basically using the panda as a hostage but he was beyond caring right now. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just hang out here until I am," Ed said. He didn't bother waiting for a reply as he and Ayala headed around the corner, the panda he was clutching growling ferociously as he walked.

"-feel something wrong with this country when I first stepped foot in it and this place is the centre of it. Can't you feel it?" Ed heard a young, girlish voice asking as he headed down the alley and he quickly found who he'd been looking for. He was a little surprised at how far away he was from the group. Gluttony's sense of smell must be phenomenal.

"Oi," Ed called as he stepped closer. Both the girl and Scar spun to face him but neither looked shocked to see him there. "I need to talk to the two of you," he said, walking forward as though he wasn't approaching a serial killer he'd fought only hours earlier and a girl who could wield alkahestry, something he had no clue how to fight.

"You're one of the people who attacked the servant of the Mr. Yoki!" The girl exclaimed once she saw his face. Ed saw Scar tense up but he wasn't sure if it had been because Ed standing there or the girl's words.

"I'm not here for a fight," Ed said, raising his left hand in a peaceful gesture. "From either of you," Ed added, looking directly at Scar. The Ishvalen man didn't react in the slightest.

"Then why are you here?" The girl demanded, cheeks puffing out in anger and suspicion.

"Two reasons," Ed said. "Firstly, I'm returning this to you," Ed told her, holding up the enraged panda.

The girl audibly gasped once she spotted it. "Xao-Mei!" She exclaimed and the panda squealed in excitement.

"If I put the panda on the ground, will it go to you?" Ed asked and the girl nodded violently enough that one of her braids hit Scar. "Alright," Ed said, crouching down and placing it on the ground. The panda didn't look back as it raced for the delighted Xingese girl.

Scar watched as his companion scooped up the panda they had spent most of the afternoon searching for and started cooing at it while he watched Edward and Ayala. "What was the second thing?" Scar rumbled, bringing the girl's attention back to the situation.

"You need to get out of here," Ed said while Ayala watched them steadily. "We're with the homunculous we captured and its creator's lair is nearby. We need to get in there and talk with it but we can't do that while you're here. The homunculous can smell you, which is how it knew you were nearby," Ed explained.

"You told me that these homunculi are the ones truly behind why our countries went to war," Scar said.

"They could be," Ed corrected, interrupting the Ishvalen. "I'm hoping to find out whether my suspicions are right when I talk to this homunculous but I can't do that if the two of you stay here. The homunculous we captured won't take us to its creator if you're here," Ed told them.

Scar and the girl exchanged a look. "We'll leave," the girl finally said. "Before we do though," the girl said before lowering herself in a deep bow, "my name is Mei Chang, princess of Xing and I'd like to offer my deepest gratitude to you for returning Xao-Mei to me," the girl – Mei – said.

"No problems," Ed said with a small shrug. "If you could leave now…" Ed trailed off pointedly.

"Of course," Mei said, exchanging another look with Scar and Ed had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time he saw the pair tonight. He watched as the trio – Xao-Mei firmly on the princess' shoulder once more – left the alley before he glanced at Ayala.

" _I'd bet they'll follow us the moment we're in the building,"_  Ayala said and Ed snorted.

"I'm not gonna take that bet," Ed told her as they started heading back. Again, it took them a few moments and Ed was sure he spotted a glimpse of Ling crossing rooftops as they walked. Finally, they rounded a corner and came face to face with Gluttony, Al and Chester. "They're gone," Ed told them.

Gluttony inhaled deeply before nodding. "This way. It's not long now," Gluttony told them before he headed down the alley Ed had just appeared from.

"Everything okay?" Al asked as the followed the massive homunculous.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Tell Al not to be surprised if we have two extra visitors during this talk," Ed instructed Chester.

" _You think Scar and the girl will gatecrash?"_ Chester asked and Ed nodded.

"The girl – Mei, by the way – probably wouldn't on her own but Scar wants to know about Ishval and I did tell him I thought the homunculi might be behind the slaughter of his people," Ed told him.

"In here," Gluttony said, pointing to a door.

"Ready?" Al asked, sounding a little apprehensive himself.

"Let's get this done," Ed said, steeling his resolve and feeling the Animals do the same as Gluttony pushed the door open and went inside.

They followed the homunculous inside and Gluttony led them down some stairs. There was barely any light, only what the streetlights outside managed to get through the sewer grates that sat alongside the gutters of the road above them. "I didn't know there were tunnels like this under Central," Al couldn't help but say as he took in their surroundings with some awe. At least, he did until he spotted some remains on the walkway next to them. To his shock, he even saw some human skulls amongst them. "Why are there human remains down here?" Al asked, voice rising a few octaves. He looked over at his brother and was a little surprised to see that Ed was paling slightly and that the Animals had their hackles raised.

"Oh, the gatekeepers did that," Gluttony commented, barely sparing the bones a glance.

"'Gatekeepers'?" Ed repeated, looking a little worried.

"They won't rip you up as long as you're with me," Gluttony assured them.

" _They're using chimeras as gatekeepers,"_  Chester told Al.  _"We can sense them nearby. Keep your eyes peeled,"_  Chester warned him and Al nodded. He could've sworn he saw a pair of red, glowing eyes just as Chester finished speaking, which didn't help him stay calm.

Al glanced at Ed, who gave him a small smile that Al thought was supposed to be reassuring but Al could tell his brother was scared as well. Gripping Ed's forearm and squeezing it lightly, Al hoped he was reminding Ed that he was there as well and that the four of them could take on anything together. Ed's answering smile was a little stronger this time and his expression became determined. Seeing his brother looking ready to face whatever lay ahead had Al's own resolve harden as the followed Gluttony further underneath Central.

* * *

"So this is it?" Al asked as they stood facing a massive set of stone doors. "Your Father is on the other side of these doors?"

"Uh huh," Gluttony confirmed. Before Ed or Al could say anything, Gluttony pushed open the doors with far more ease than the boys thought they would've used.

The room the five of them entered was enormous. On the far wall was a set of stairs that led to a platform that likely had doors that led to rooms they couldn't see. There were pipes of various sizes covering the entirety of the walls of the room that Ed could not figure out the purpose for. As his eyes followed the pipes down the wall, he noticed that several seemed to converge into one pipe that then ran along the floor and connected to a large stone throne that sat in the middle of the room.

"This place couldn't get creepier if it tried," Al muttered and both Ed and the Animals nodded in agreement. Gluttony strode into the room with no hesitation.

"Hello, Father!" Gluttony called gleefully. "I brought you two human sacrifices!"

Movement above them drew their attention to a figure that was standing on the ledge Ed had noticed before. As the figure moved into the dull light that shone into the room, Ed couldn't help but order Chester to warn Al once more that it wasn't Hohenheim. He didn't feel the irritation he'd expected from the leopard but he knew the message had been passed along by the subtle shifting of Al's armour.

"And who are they?" Hohenheim's doppelgänger asked, sounding vaguely curious. The moment the homunculous stood under the light, Ed was hit by the urge to punch him in the face however, after a moment of Ayala lightly gripping his sleeve to stop him if he did give in to the urge, he noticed several differences between their father and this homunculous. He had a more washed out appearance than Hohenheim did, obviously no Calix, he looked older than Hohenheim and he wore white robes and no glasses. His hair was tied back in a half-ponytail whereas Hohenheim wore his in a full ponytail and Ed was quick to notice that his hair and eye colour were a lot lighter than Hohenheim's. If Ed hadn't recently seen Hohenheim, he might've thought this homunculous was him.

"They're the Elric brothers, Father," Gluttony told him, a pleased expression on his face.

"There you are, Gluttony," a sultry voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs and everyone who wasn't a homunculous were startled to see a woman with luscious, long, black hair seemingly appear right out of the shadows before she walked towards the obese homunculous, ignoring the rest of them. Both Chester and Ed stiffened as they recognised the woman from the Fifth Laboratory. "Where have you been?"

"Lust!" Gluttony exclaimed delightedly as the women pet the top of his bald head. "I got captured by them and their friends," he told her.

Lust's face pinched in displeasure. "What have I told you about keeping out of sight?" She scolded and Gluttony's face fell.

"I tried, Lust, but the Xingese could sense me," Gluttony warbled, bottom lip trembling slightly. "Wrath tried to save me though but then he told me to go eat the Ishvalen while he dealt with the Xingese but one of them escaped him and those two helped him catch me," Gluttony told her, pointing to the brothers.

Lust's cold eyes turned to the four Elrics and a quiet rage filled them. "I didn't think the two of you would be the kind of humans who would exploit someone of Gluttony's intelligence level," she hissed and Ed felt both Ayala and Chester's hackles rise. A quick glance at the two Animals confirmed his suspicions that they were silently snarling at the woman.

"You're one to talk considering you and Palm-Tree attacked me and Ches when we were already injured," Ed snapped and Lust scoffed.

"You were sticking your noses into something you had no business knowing about. You're lucky Envy and I spared your lives," Lust informed him.

"Yeah, we're really grateful you decided to save our lives so you can murder us in the future," Ed snarked.

"You should show us more respect," Lust snapped. "Without us, you would be dead numerous times over."

"I consider the two of you to be vital resources," Father said, speaking up for the first time since Lust appeared and cutting off any biting retort Ed would've said back. "Both of you must remain healthy and alive until I require otherwise so you really should take more care. It's starting to get irritating hearing my children report back to me with new stories of you two almost getting yourselves killed for no good reason."

A noise from behind the Elrics caught everyone's attention and Ed looked over in time to see Ling appearing through the massive stone doors. He didn't see any sign of Mei or Scar but he knew they were there somewhere, or they would be soon. Ling was splattered with blood and other things that Ed refused to think about, telling the blonde that the prince obviously ran into some of the gatekeepers Gluttony had told them about. Laika's fur hadn't been spared the gory spray and there was a feral look in the marten's eye. "So this is the homunculous you told me about?" Ling asked and Ed nodded.

"I would ask who you are but I assume you're the Xingese who attacked Gluttony here," Father said, looking slightly bored. Lust and Gluttony had made no move in reaction to Ling's sudden appearance. "Gluttony, you can eat him and his Animal," Father said.

"No, wait!" Ed ordered when Gluttony made an excited noise and took a step forward. Ed was quick to place himself between Ling and the homunculi and Ayala was quick to place herself between Ed and the homunculi while Al and Chester readied themselves for a fight. "This guy's our friend. You wanna keep us happy right? So don't kill him. Please." Ed hated himself slightly for the slight begging he'd done but he quickly dismissed that feeling. If it kept his friends alive, he'd beg if necessary.

"But I have no need for him or for the others," Father told him. "Your friendship with him doesn't make him any less useless to me." Ed heard Ling's offended gasp as he stared incredulously.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Ed asked and Father gave him a slightly pitying look.

"I don't like him," Ling said from behind him as the prince drew level with Ed. Laika came to a stop next to Ayala, puffing himself up to look a bit more threatening. "I can tell he looks down on humans and calls us fools."

"When you notice an insect on the ground, do you stop and consider it a fool?" Father asked, sounding almost like a lecturer. "Or is the life of an insect so far beneath you that you don't even notice it? That would be an accurate summation of my feelings towards humans."

Though he'd figured the homunculi had no positive feelings towards humanity, Ed was appalled to realise that this homunculous thought so little of humanity that they didn't even register as living creatures to him. It did answer why Father hadn't asked about Ed's colouring or why he resembled Hohenheim. The homunculous had likely not even noticed or, if he had, didn't think the familiar gold of his hair and eyes were important enough to comment on. Knowing Hohenheim's plan to talk to this homunculous hadn't been enacted on since Calix hadn't told him and now knowing that Father hadn't figured out his lineage, Ed decided to keep it a secret.

"It's pretty apparent you're the root of all this evil and I'm gonna bring you down!" Ed declared, clapping his hands together as Ayala and Chester took up defensive stances, ready to protect their humans. "I don't care how many goons you've got!" Ed slammed his hands onto a nearby cable and blue energy raced towards Father.

The ancient homunculous looked unfazed by the cables Ed had transmuted to wrap around him and to Ed and everyone else's shock – minus the two homunculi – the cables Ed was manipulating were destroyed in a flash of red alchemic energy. Ed stared at the debris that fell from his defeated transmutation in shock.

" _He can use alchemy?!"_  Chester and Ayala both exclaimed in shock and their voices brought Ed back to the situation at hand.

"Ling!" Al cried and Ed watched as the prince flung himself to the side to avoid Lust's extended fingers. "What's going on here?" Al asked, a touch hysterically as his own transmutation was defeated by Father as easily as Ed's had been.

"How is he doing that?" Ed growled as another alchemic attack of his was countered effortlessly by Father. Ayala and Chester were doing their best to try and protect their humans and help Laika protect his from Lust and Gluttony. "It's like he can transmute just by thinking about it!"

"This is a waste of time," Father declared as he blocked another attack from the brothers.

" _Ed! Transmute your blade!"_  Ayala suddenly ordered.

Ed didn't question her, just obeyed. In the moment his transmutation finished and his familiar blade ready to be used, Father stepped forward and a massive wave of red energy washed over them. When it dissipated, Ed felt…  _off_. He glanced at Al and the Animals before he clapped – careful of his blade – and slammed his left hand to the ground. Instead of the stone spike he'd intended to send towards Father, there was absolutely  _nothing_.

"What's going on?" Ed asked as he tried again and watched as Al's sketched array failed to so much as spark. "I can't transmute!"

"Ed! Al!" Ling's fearful voice called and Ed spun in time to see Lust pierce him through the shoulder and pin him to the wall.

"Ling!" Ed called only to find himself grabbed by Gluttony and jerked back by the firm grip the homunculous had on his arm. Al was given the same treatment. Laika, Chester and Ayala were being held at bay by Lust's other hand. "What did he do to us?" Ed asked as he tried to process the fact that his alchemy – his main and most efficient weapon; something he'd always been able to rely on – was gone.

"I don't know," Al whimpered. "Why can't we transmute?"

"What are you bastards planning?" Ed growled, glaring at the cause of everything: Father.

"This one shows spirit, Father," Lust said, extracting her extended finger from Ling's shoulder and stroking his cheek. "We might be able to use him," she purred.

Ed started struggling against the hold Gluttony had on him. "Leave him alone!"

"I believe Lust is correct. You may prove to be rather useful to me after all," Father mused. "I can, after all, always use a new pawn in the rotation." The moment he finished talking, a vertical slit appeared in his forehead. To Ed's disgusted shock, that slit widened to reveal a third eye that then cried something thick and red. At first, Ed thought it was blood but he quickly realised what it was.

"Is that a stone?" Al was the one to ask and the question got Ling's attention.

"Really?" He asked, looking fascinated before his expression turned to one of apprehension as Father approached him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make a new homunculous," Father told him. "When a liquid stone is added to the bloodstream and successfully merges, a new human-based homunculous is born. Admittedly, it is more common for the stone to overpower and kill the human," Father explained, sounding completely unconcerned about the price of failure.

"I'm not gonna let you do that to him!" Ed shouted, renewing his struggle ten-fold against Gluttony's hold. He spared a moment to be grateful it was his automail Gluttony had hold of, even if it meant he couldn't use his blade because he was certain his arm would've broken with how much he struggled. "You bearded bastard, let him go! He's got people waiting for him to come back!" Ed had never wanted to see Scar's face more in his life but the serial killer wasn't anywhere to be seen and Ed mentally cursed him out. A look at Laika told him the Animal was trembling but he couldn't do anything to come to the aid of his human. The tip of Lust's finger was right at his throat and any move meant death.

"This is exactly what I want so stay out of it!" Ling ordered and Ed was shocked enough to cease his struggles for a moment.

"Seriously?" Ed asked incredulously.

"I came to your land to find the Philosopher's Stone and this guy's just gonna hand it over," Ling told him. "I'm not gonna turn this down." The absolution in Ling's voice should've had Ed back off but he couldn't.

"Think about what you're doing! Think about Laika!" Ed pleaded and saw a guilty look flash through the prince's eyes before stubborn resolution set in and Ed knew nothing would change Ling's mind.

"Well, this is a surprise but let's see if your body is as willing as your mind," Father said, nodding to Lust.

Taking the cue she was given, Lust used her finger to cut a small gash into Ling's cheek, causing the prince to flinch slightly. Father approached, holding the stone and grasped Ling's chin, forcibly tilting his head so the prince was looking away. "No, don't! Ling!" Ed tried again, his pleads joined by Al as Father pushed the liquid stone into the cut and stepped back with Lust, who had a smug smirk on her face.

"Don't interfere!" Ling snapped as dropped to the ground and Ed felt his heart clench as Laika dropped with him. Though Ling only grunted and groaned in pain, Laika screamed. "Stay back! I know what I'm doing! You're dealing with the future leader of Xing!"

Ed watched helplessly as Ling continued to writhe and groan in pain as the stone wormed its way through his body. Laika was still in a heap on the floor, trembling so violently that Ed was worried he'd hurt himself. Ayala and Chester were watching on in horror, unable to comfort the marten in fear of Lust staking them. Ed was still struggling against Gluttony, even though he knew it was too late to do anything, but now Al had redoubled his own efforts, making Gluttony's job even more difficult.

Suddenly, Laika stopped shaking and Ling grew quiet. Ed watched with bated breath as Ling got to his feet and scrutinised his body. "Ling?" Ed called, hoping his friend hadn't been overtaken by the stone.

Ling's eyes snapped to his and Ed that it wasn't Ling looking back him. Before, Ling's eyes had been black but now they were purple with slit pupils and he didn't even spare Laika a glance. "Oh, you mean the guy I took this body from?" Not-Ling asked, grinning cruelly. "Sorry but your friend just checked out and left Greed in charge." A stab of fear lanced its way through Ed's heart.

" _Laika is still alive. I can sense his vitals and they're steady. He's in no danger of dying soon which mean Ling still lives somehow,"_  Ayala soothed and Ed let his fear calm down.

"So you're not Ling?" Al asked, confusion in his voice and something clicked for Ed.

"Wait, didn't Gluttony say that Greed was destroyed because he kidnapped you and Ches?" Ed asked and Al nodded.

"So are you the same Greed than?" Al asked and Greed gave them a confused but bored look.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"From Dublith," Al said, trying to jog Greed's memory but there was no recognition in his eyes.

"You must've met some other Greed," he told them, shrugging a shoulder carelessly.

"He was my pawn before," Father said, apparently feeling the need to explain the confusion. It obviously worked because all confusion cleared from Greed's face.

"Oh, I got you. That makes sense," Greed said before looking at the two brothers once more. "No, I'm not the Greed you know," he told them.

"So, Ling?" Ed asked, a touch hopefully. If Laika was alive, that meant Ling was as well, at least in spirit.

Greed shrugged a shoulder, looking immensely bored with the whole conversation. "Well, he was an interesting kid. He gave up his body without any fight after all," Greed told them and Ed frowned.

"You're making it sound like he's dead," Ed commented and Greed nodded. "Well he can't be. Laika's still alive." Immediately, Ed regretted drawing attention to the weakened Animal.

"That could prove to be an annoyance," Father commented. "Kill it," he ordered Greed, who – to Ed's horror – nodded and headed straight for Laika.

"No!" Ed shouted, rushing forward only to be yanked back by Gluttony's grip on his arm, as the confused and terrified Animal curled away from Greed. Ed and Al fought with renewed energy, desperate to get to Laika first.

Chester and Ayala acted first. Chester, in a move that Al would likely yell at him later for, darted around an unprepared Lust's fingers and sank his teeth into whatever fingers he could grab, snapping them off and causing the enraged homunculous to shriek in pain and anger. With Lust occupied by Chester, who was now doing his best to dodge her retaliating strikes, Ayala didn't hesitate. She grabbed Greed by his arm as he stalked towards Laika and pulled him away from the trembling Animal. She immediately released him once he was pulled off balance and sprinted for Laika, hauling the Animal up by the back of his neck and heading back for Ed, dodging the angered Greed until she and Laika were behind Ed.

"Help Chester," Ed ordered and Ayala took off, arriving at the leopard's aide just in time to push him out of the way of a blow he hadn't seen coming. A flash of pain lanced up Ed's right side and he knew Ayala had been hit but it didn't feel overly painful.

"Lust!" Gluttony whimpered, fearful for his sister as he watched her trying to fend off the two Animals at the same time. Father was watching the scene with mild intrigue while Greed eyed up the Animal hiding behind Ed's legs.

"You can cut that out," Greed snapped at Laika. "He's not going to respond to your pitiful pleading. His soul might not be destroyed yet but it will be soon," Greed told him.

"Don't listen to him, Laika. Ling's strong and stubborn," Ed told the Animal, staring defiantly at the homunculous wearing his friend's face. "He wouldn't let some homunculous destroy him and his plans to save your clan." Greed's face twisted in a mock-pitying expression as he regarded Ed and Laika.

Before he could say anything, there was a commotion at the doors once more. Chester and Ayala took the opportunity that Lust's distraction gave them to retreat back to their humans. Ed twisted in Gluttony's hold and watched as Mei and Scar burst through the door. Like Ling, Scar was covered in blood and gore but, surprisingly, Mei's pink robes only had a few spots of blood on them. Xao-Mei was seated firmly on Mei's shoulder, snarling as ferociously as she could manage.

"That man is the source of evil I can sense," Mei said, tugging on Scar's arm and pointing at Father. "He's human but also not." She sounded a little confused and Ed wanted to roll his eyes.

"He's not," Scar rumbled, looking at everyone. "It doesn't look like any of them are human."

"They're homunculi!" Ed shouted. "All of them are!"

"That's the Ishvalen I never got to eat," Gluttony told Father, sounding mournful.

"So this is the insubordinate human who has been so carelessly interfering with our plans," Father murmured as he looked Scar over. "Go ahead and eat him. He doesn't have his alchemy," Father told Gluttony.

Gluttony grinned, tongue licking his chops as he let go of Ed and Al before he launched himself at the serial killer. Scar didn't do anything to defend himself. Instead, he twitched his fingers and – to everyone's surprise – alchemic energy sparked as he grabbed the entirety of Gluttony's face and activated his array. The whole of Gluttony's head exploded with a wet noise, sending blood, brains and bone shards flying everywhere. The mammoth homunculous' headless body collapsed to the floor as Scar and Mei walked further into the room though Scar was careful to keep Gluttony's body in view.

Ed and Al had used Gluttony's failed attack to move so they were no longer in between the two parties. Ed scooped Laika up, being careful with his blade, and was saddened that the Animal put up no struggle. "I know you're in shock but you need to keep it together. Ling isn't completely lost to us," Ed said, speaking directly to Laika.

" _You can speak to other Animals?"_  Laika asked and Ed mentally congratulated himself for distracting the Animal.

"Yes but don't try and tell Ling," Ed asked. "You heard Greed. Ling's not in control right now so all you'll do is tell the homunculi about my secret," Ed explained.

" _I'll tell Ling when we get him back,"_  Laika said, determination written on his face and Ed nodded.

"Looking forward to seeing his reaction to that," Ed said with a small grin. "Will you help us fight if need be?" Ed asked.

Laika looked at Greed, whose arm was now healed where Ayala had bit it.  _"I won't fight Greed. I can't fight him,"_ Laika told him and Ed nodded.

"That's fine. Just keep yourself safe," Ed said and Laika gave him an affirmative hum.

"How can you use your alchemy here?" Father's voice interrupted Ed and Laika's conversation. A look at Al – who shook his head slightly – and the array sketched at his brother's feet told him their alchemy still wasn't working.

"What do you mean?" Scar asked as the newly reformed Gluttony whimpered next to Lust. Greed was still watching everything as though it was the most interesting thing he'd scene lately.

"This doesn't make sense," Al muttered. "Why can they use alchemy but we can't?" Ed shrugged.

"The girl uses alkahestry. Maybe it's different enough to alchemy so it's not affected by that array?" Ed whispered. "I don't know about Scar though. Maybe Ishvalens have different alchemy to us?" Ed suggested. "It doesn't matter either way. This could be what we need to turn this fight around," Ed said. "Scar!" He called out, gaining the attention of Scar and the homunculi. "You wanted to know about what really started the war in Ishval, right? Ask Father how he knew that soldier would shoot the child," Ed suggested and Scar turned to face Father, who looked as uncaring of the Ishvalen Civil War as he had with everything else.

"I sent Envy disguised as a soldier to start the uprising so we could bleed Ishval to further our plans," Father told him, looking unfazed by Scar's snarl.

"They orchestrated the entire war! The Fuhrer's one of them! He ordered the State Alchemists to attack to further Father's plan!" Ed shouted.

"I'd like to know more details about this," Scar growled but Father regarded him disdainfully.

"Greed, take care of the outsiders," Father ordered as he walked towards the staircase.

"Sure," Greed agreed easily and started for Scar. However, he found himself facing off against Edward as the blonde launched an attack to draw the newest homunculous away from his target.

"I know Ling's still in there. Give him back," Ed ordered as they exchanged blows. As he hadn't been in Dublith with Al and Teacher when they faced off against the original Greed, all the information Ed had to help him in this fight came second-hand from Al, Chester, Izumi and Koda.

"Not for long," Greed said easily as he countered every blow Ed and Ayala hit him with. His ultimate shield – as Al said the original Greed called it – was obviously an ability that had been transferred to Ling's body but Ed had no way to counter it without access to alchemy.

Ed could hear the sounds of alchemy in use and knew Scar must've been drawn into a fight of his own but Ed paid no attention. Laika was helping Chester and Al against Lust, something Ed saw out of the corner of his eye as he dodged a blow from Greed, which meant Scar was against Gluttony or Father himself. Ayala had found herself struggling to land a blow and after she nearly snapped a claw on Greed's ultimate shield, she had to start being more careful. Even the two of them trying to land a hit at the same time had no effect on Greed's ability to get his shield in place. In fact, the only time Ed seemed to hit a blow was when his blade managed to graze Greed's cheek. Of course, it was healed immediately but it gave Ed a new surge of energy.

"Mr. Scar!" The sudden cry for help from Mei caught Ed's attention and saw Gluttony approach the down and obviously injured girl but before he could move to help, Greed landed a heavy hit to his left arm and Ed was drawn back into the fight.

* * *

"Mr. Scar!" The cry from Mei caught Al's attention and he watched as Gluttony approached the young girl, a hungry look in his beady eyes. "No, Xao-Mei!" Al saw the tiny panda stand in front of its owner, snarling a warning that had no effect. Lust's next attack barely missed him and Al took a page out of Chester's book. He grabbed the fingers and snapped them off, causing the homunculous to let out another shriek of pain.

" _Go. I'll hold her back,"_  Chester ordered and Al nodded, leaving the homunculous to Chester and Laika.

"I'm going to eat you," Gluttony said, drooling slightly only to go flying as Al slammed into him.

"Take her and get out of here, Al!" Ed's shout got Al's attention and he watched as Ed struggled to keep Greed busy with Ayala's help.

"Brother…" Al said as Ed threw a punch with his right arm strong enough to send Greed back a couple of steps. Ed's previous wounds had reopened and he'd accumulated new ones.

"Get out of here!" Ed ordered, dodging a retaliatory punch from Greed.

Al hesitated for only one more moment before he scooped the injured girl up. "Chester, stay and help Ed," he told his Animal.

" _Laika will. I'm coming with you,"_  Chester argued. Behind him, the marten dug its claws into Lust's leg and nodded to Al while the homunculous was distracted.

"Alright," Al said as he took off out of the room, Mei and Xao-Mei clutched in his arms. "You okay?" He asked the young girl.

"I never asked for your help," Mei scowled and Al wanted to roll his eyes.

"Save the stubborn pride for later," he snapped and the girl looked shocked. "Those things back there kill anyone they don't have a use for and in case you haven't figured it out, that includes you. I'm getting you out of here before you're killed," Al informed her before suddenly skidding to a stop. In front of him were dozens of chimera. All of them looked malnourished and starving and when he and Chester went to double back, they found even more waiting. "There's too many of them!" Al cried. A sudden, small explosion behind him had him turn around and he was greeted with the sight of a dozen destroyed chimera and a freshly-bloodied Scar standing there.

"You two," Scar said, looking a little confused. "I thought you made it outside."

"Scar, can you make it to the surface with Mei? I can give you the address of a doctor who will help and stay silent," Al said.

"You would allow me to escape even after I've almost killed your brother?" Scar asked and Al felt irritation flare at time they were wasting.

"Yeah, I'd rather beat you to a pulp and drag you to the authorities than ask for your help but right now we need to save Mei's life," Al told him bluntly. Scar looked at the barely-conscious girl in his metal arms and nodded.

"What's your plan to survive this?" Scar asked, gesturing to the chimera.

"I'm important to the homunculi. They need me alive so they won't kill me," Al said. Movement behind Scar got both their attention and they watched as Gluttony stalked towards them his presence caused the remaining chimera to flee.

"I doubt I can get her to the surface in the condition I'm in," Scar said and Al finally noticed that not all of the blood that covered Scar belonged to the chimeras, "and I have no intention of turning my back on this place just yet," Scar informed him.

"I'm going to eat you this time, Ishvalen!" Gluttony claimed, an angry look in his eye but Scar didn't care.

He raced forward and deconstructed Gluttony's neck, getting coated in more blood, before moving back to Al. He considered the young alchemist before he deconstructed some nearby pipes just as Gluttony started healing himself. Gas hissed from the pipes, rapidly growing the longer it was left and Scar snatched Al's helmet. "Hey! What are you doing?" Al demanded just as Gluttony got to his feet. Scar ignored him and struck the helmet against the pipes as Gluttony walked into the vapour. The resulting explosion sent Al, Chester, Mei and Scar backwards as it wiped out Gluttony and any chimera foolish enough to have been lingering. Scar tossed the helmet back and Al placed it back on.

"Get out of here," Scar ordered. "Get her to the doctor you told me about. I'll deal with this," Scar said, turning his back on them.

" _Let's do as he says,"_ Chester said.  _"Ed will be fine. He has Ayala and Laika with him and I told him to meet us at Doctor Knox's,"_ Chester told him.

Al was going to refuse, saying they needed to go back and help Ed but a small moan of pain slipped past Mei's lips and Xao-Mei started becoming more frantic. After a moment, Al decided to place his trust in his brother and Ayala. "Don't get yourself killed, Scar. You need to pay for your crimes," Al said before he and Chester raced for the exit.

* * *

"That was a good, solid kick!" Greed praised Ed even as he blocked the blow as if Ed hadn't put all his weight behind his left leg.

"Wake up, Ling!" Ed ordered even as he aimed a punch for Greed's temple.

"The name's Greed," the homunculous said as he deflected the blow.

"Shut up and give Ling his body back!" Ed demanded. Al and Scar had disappeared only a few minutes ago, Scar having left after Al only seconds later. Chester had sent him a message a couple of minutes after that, explaining quickly what had happened and that Al and he had made it to the surface. Lust had been sent to collect Gluttony by Father and she'd done so with only a small scowl to show her displeasure at having to find her brother.

"Sorry, can't do that!" Greed told him as he tried to kick Ed's sternum only to be stopped by Ayala throwing herself bodily against the raised leg and forcing the homunculous to do a half-pirouette as his balance was compromised.

"Give up already, you idiot!" Ed snapped, using his blade in a slashing motion against Greed's chest only for nothing but sparks to be made as it met the ultimate shield once more. "Come on, Ling! What about your country? Have you forgotten all about Lan Fan? Laika?" Ed tried every weak spot he could think of but there was no reaction except a snarl.

" _Ed, watch out!"_  Ayala cried but it was too late. Greed managed to slip through Ed's defences and grab him by the throat, constricting his airways but not enough that Ed couldn't breathe at all.

"Got him for you, pops!" Greed declared victoriously. Ayala snarled and Greed turned to her, waggling a finger. "Unless you want me to hurt him," Greed demonstrated by squeezing tighter and Ed choked as his air intake was restricted even further. His own scrabbling at Greed's hand did nothing as he'd covered it with his shield, "you'll back off," Greed finished, completely unaffected by Ed's attempts to free himself. He did loosen his grip when Ayala stopped and Ed could breathe once more, though a bit more painfully than before. He could already feel the bruises forming.

"Take him downstairs," Father ordered. "I want him taken directly to Wrath." Father watched uncaringly Greed started hauling Ed forward by his throat. Ed dug his heels in, struggling against being taken anywhere but Greed was unaffected by his efforts.

They made it the doors, both Ayala and Laika following as Ed continued trying to fight his way out, when a tanned hand shot out from nowhere and grabbed the wrist belonging to the hand Greed had wrapped around Ed's throat. Alchemic energy crackled as Scar's red eyes glared at Greed and Greed's wrist exploded, splattering hot blood and gore on Ed, Ayala, Laika, Scar and Greed himself. The part of the hand that survived the deconstruction thudded wetly to the ground as Ed hit his knees, coughing as he struggled to control his breathing now that he could draw in a full breath.

" _Ling!"_  Laika cried as the homunculous was sent stumbling back but before Ed could comfort the Animal, he found himself being hauled roughly to his feet and pulled forward, despite Ayala's growls.

It wasn't until he was partway down the sewer line that it even registered that it was  _Scar_  who had just rescued him. His throat ached and swallowing hurt in a way that he'd never felt before but he could breathe again. Ayala was running next to him with Laika on her back, something that would've been hilarious at any other time. Scar still had a grip on his left arm but it took a few moments for Ed to remember that he should shake it off. When he did so, the three of them slowed to a stop.

"Why?" Ed rasped slightly and Scar considered him for a moment.

"Because they started the war. They killed my people by using your people as the weapons and they killed your people by using us as weapons. Your Fuhrer has been manipulating everyone to further their plans. My need for vengeance against State Alchemists is still there but these homunculi are what truly deserve my wrath right now," Scar told him. Ed knew his surprise shone on his face and the unintentional gasp he inhaled aggravated his bruised throat enough that he couldn't suppress the resulting coughing fit. "Your brother saved Mei's life and he would've let me escape to do so. I owe Mei myself for healing me when I've been injured. That means I owed your brother for saving her. Do not think that just because I saved you this time, that my anger towards State Alchemists and their heretics alchemy has dissipated any," Scar warned.

"No chance I can talk you into a truce until all this shit is over? At least between you, me, Al, Mustang, Hughes, Armstrong and their teams? It'd be nice if we could try and come up with a plan to defeat the homunculi and save everyone – Amestrian and Ishvalen alike – from whatever Father has planned without worrying if you're gonna attack us," Ed said, voice still rasping slightly.

"The Flame Alchemist was one of those who fought against my people. His alchemy was one of the most destructive and devastating alchemies used against our warriors. Why should I agree to spare him for now?" Scar asked.

"You saw him using his alchemy in Ishval?" Ed asked and Scar nodded. "That's why," Ed said. "We'll likely need that kind of firepower against the homunculi and honestly, if you kill him, I'll be placed under someone else's command and they won't give me the same freedom Mustang does to investigate shit like this," Ed told him, gesturing towards where they'd just run from.

Scar considered him for a few moments before nodding. "I'm willing to extend a temporary truce until the homunculi are dealt with. After that though, we will be enemies once more," Scar said.

"Awesome," Ed said, extending his left hand since his blade was still formed. "Truce until this is dealt with." Scar grasped his hand and they shook just before the sound of footsteps could be heard echoing behind them.

"Get outside and meet up with your brother," Scar ordered. "I'm not finished down here yet."

Unlike Al, Ed didn't argue. "Don't get yourself killed, Scar. We might need you in the upcoming fight," Ed said before turning Ayala. "Laika, let me take you so Ayala can lead the way," Ed instructed. The marten didn't argue with him, just climbed up the extended arm and Ayala rolled her shoulders, adjusting to the weight loss. "Let's go," Ed said once Laika was situated. "Don't forget what I said!" Ed shouted as best he could over his shoulder as they ran away from Scar. The Ishvalen didn't acknowledge his words and Ed didn't look back.

* * *

" _Ed?"_  Ayala asked as they made their way to Doctor Knox's home-turned-temporary-practice. She sounded a little hesitant, which piqued Ed's curiosity.

"Yeah, Aya?" Ed asked as he hoisted Laika more securely on his back. The Animal had been extremely weak ever since they'd escaped the sewers. Ed suspected that it was a mixture of exhaustion from the fight, shock from what happened to Ling and mental and physical shock from whatever happened to their actual bond but he didn't want to ask right now. They'd only just forged their own bond and it had been made out of necessity so he didn't think it was his place to ask how Laika was feeling right now. Ed was also certain it was a stupid question.

" _I think you need to tell Calix and Hohenheim that Father can block alchemy,"_  Ayala said. Ed mentally groaned but had to admit she was right. However, her mentioning alchemy jolted him as he realised he hadn't checked to see if his alchemy was back yet.

"Laika? You holding on?" Ed asked, not using the bond.

" _Yeah, I've got a good grip,"_  Laika told him. Ed felt his claws dig in a little tighter, likely breaking skin slightly but after every injury he'd suffered that day, Ed barely noticed it.

Letting go of the supporting grip he had on Laika, Ed brought his hands together and nearly melted in relief when he heard the familiar echoing ring his clap made. Placing his left hand on his automail blade, Ed transmuted the metal back into its original form before he went back to holding Laika in place. He felt the marten loosen his grip slightly, offering small apology as his claws pulled out of Ed's skin.

"You're right, Aya. I'll contact Calix now," Ed told her, sounding completely unenthusiastic about the whole idea.

" _If you do it now, you won't have Al asking to pass on any messages later,"_  Ayala told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I was gonna do it. It's important information that bastard needs to know and even I don't hate him enough to hold that kind of information from him so there was no need to try and bribe me," Ed informed her. He did not appreciate the sarcastic 'sure you were' he got from her. Ignoring his wolf, he searched for his bond with Calix that was buried deep. "Calix?" Ed called through the bond and the stallion answered immediately.

" _Ed? Is everything alright?"_ Calix asked, sounding deeply concerned.

"Everything's fine. Tell Hohenheim that we beat him to the original homunculous," Ed said.

" _Are you alright?!"_  Calix asked before Ed could explain any further.  _"Did he hurt you?"_

"If you would let me talk," Ed snapped. Considering the shit he'd been through day, he felt his loss of patience at the interruption was excusable. Judging from what he felt from Ayala, she wasn't as agreeable. He felt Calix calm down, a strum of apology running through their bond. "As I was saying, we met the original homunculous. He's calling himself 'Father' now. We'd captured one of his homunculi – the one called 'Gluttony' – and he introduced us to Father and Lust. One of our friends," Ed choked on the word before clearing his throat – wincing as the action aggravated the injury – and continued, "he let Father introduce a liquid stone into his bloodstream. There was a fight but we got out of there with minimal injuries." Ed sighed slightly. "But that's not why I contacted you. You need to tell Hohenheim that not only can Father transmute with barely a thought but he is somehow able to turn off alchemy," Ed told him.

" _What do you mean by 'turn off alchemy'?"_  Calix asked perplexed.

"I mean that he unleashed this wave of red energy and then neither Al nor I could transmute any more," Ed told him. "I just tried my alchemy again and it's working so he mustn't be able to hold the array for long. Maybe half an hour? 40 minutes? It could've come back earlier than that but circumstances had my attention away from that particular issue," Ed told Calix.

" _What circumstances?"_  Calix asked curiously.

"Nothing that's any of yours or Hohenheim's business," Ed told him snappishly.

He felt Calix sigh.  _"I'm asking for me because I'm worried about what kind of circumstances would distract you from the fact that your alchemy wasn't working,"_  Calix told him gently.

Ayala gave him a look that had Ed rolling his eyes as he adjusted Laika a little. "The friend-turned-homunculous, now known as Greed, had no clue who we were," Ed told him. "He was ordered to kill his Animal and he fully intended too but Ayala and Chester got in the way. When a couple of temporary allies made an appearance, we learned that alkahestry isn't affected by whatever Father did. Also, whatever alchemy the serial killer hunting State Alchemists uses wasn't affected either," Ed told Calix, figuring Hohenheim should probably know about that too.

"Greed and I fought while Al took on Gluttony and helped the Animals with Lust. One of our allies, a Xingese princess named Mei, got injured and I made Al and Chester leave to get her medical aid. Greed and I continued fighting but he eventually slipped past my defences and got me by the throat." Ed heard Calix mentally inhale a concerned gasp and worry he felt flooded through their bond, almost overwhelming Ed. "The aforementioned serial killer rescued me from Greed and Ayala, Ling's Animal and I escaped and are heading to our rendezvous point with Al. Ayala suggested I use this opportunity to tell you what happened so you could tell Hohenheim," Ed finished saying, trying not to squirm at the intensity of Calix's concern for him.

" _We appreciate the heads up,"_  Calix told him.  _"And we're both glad you're alive."_  Calix didn't give Ed the chance to completely process what he said, let alone respond as he continued talking.  _"Van and I haven't uncovered anything useful on our side. We're still heading to where we need to set up the next lot of countermeasures but what you just told us will help. We'll try and figure out how he's able to turn off alchemy. Actually,"_  Calix paused for a moment,  _"it would be extremely helpful if you'd allow me to see the memory you have of him performing that feat. Not the whole memory,"_ Calix hastened to add when Ed bristled,  _"just that particular snippet."_

Ed sighed through his nose. "Fine," Ed agreed tersely just as Knox's house came into view. "I'm nearly at my meeting point with Al. Let me know what you and Hohenheim think," Ed ordered. Once he got Calix's agreement, Ed shared the bit of memory the stallion had requested before disconnecting from the bond.

" _I wonder if Hohenheim will figure out how Father managed to do what he did. It would be nice to be able to come up with a counter attack for that,"_  Ayala said and Ed nodded.

"I think I definitely would prefer to be able to use alchemy against that homunculous bastard the next time we go up against him. Maybe if I get close enough, I can just use the stone destroying array on him and end this whole thing," Ed mused.

" _That would be nice and easy. Which, of course, means we won't win like that,"_  Ayala said, a large grin on her face and Ed couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ed laughed.

* * *

Ed could feel the morning sun on his face, pleasantly warm as it started to rise over Amestris, signalling the start of a new day. Thankfully it was still early enough in the morning that most people were either only just starting their day or were still in bed. Apparently no one on Knox's street started work at this time as Ed didn't see anyone and neither Ayala nor Laika warned him that someone was watching and Ed was grateful. He didn't think it would be fair to the irritable doctor to have his neighbours ask why exactly a teenager who resembled the Fullmetal Alchemist covered in blood and other muck and someone else's Animal on their back while his equally filthy wolf walked beside them was knocking on his door at such a ridiculous hour in the morning.

"Who the bloody hell – oh, it's you," Knox said blandly once he recognised who was standing at his door. "You better come inside. I don't need the neighbours getting curious and coming over to try and talk to me," Knox grumbled as he stepped aside. Brian was standing next to his human and moved with him.

"Thanks, Doc." The rasp in Ed's voice must've been more pronounced than he thought because Knox's eyes immediately fell to his throat. It was either that or Knox was far more observant than Ed had given him credit for.

"Your brother's looking after the other Xingese girl the two of you decided to drop on me," Knox said before looking at him contemplatively. "Down the hall and the first door on the left is my bathroom. Get your shoes off and get yourself cleaned up. I'll give you a look over once you're done. Of course, since the chances of you already having picked an infection from who knows what in those sewers are probably high, it'll probably be a waste of my supplies but whatever," Knox muttered then looked at Ayala. "You might as well give her a bath. I don't need any of you infecting someone in this house."

"I appreciate it, Doc, but where's Lan Fan and Fu? I need to talk to them first," Ed said, kicking his shoes off and toeing them so they sat neatly and tilting his head back slightly to gesture to Laika. Recognition of the Animal flickered in Knox's eyes before he sighed.

"First door on the right," was all Knox said before he headed up the hallway himself, disappearing into the second room on the left with Brian right behind him.

Ed followed the doctor's instructions and knocked lightly on the door. Fu was the one to call for to enter and Ed did so. Lan Fan was bandaged around her missing arm and the top of her torso and her hair was loose around her shoulders as she lay propped up on a pillow. Fu was seated on her right, lightly grasping her remaining arm and Onyx was draped across her lap. Ed noted that she looked like she wasn't in much pain and wondered if it was because Knox had drugged her, if she was able to hide her pain well or a mixture of both.

"Edward," Fu greeted, looking over his shoulder, obviously expecting Ling to walk through the door after him. "Where is the young lord?" Fu asked when Ling didn't appear.

Ed shuffled his feet, felling a little uncomfortable under Fu and Lan Fan's intense gazes. "Before I tell you what happened, just remember he  _is_  alive," Ed told them. Though he'd held a slight hope this would relax them, he was completely unsurprised when they tensed even further. "He followed us to the original homunculous' lair – he's known as Father, by the way – and invited himself inside. Father ordered Gluttony to kill him but Lust – another homunculous – stopped Gluttony when Ling showed 'spirit', according to her. Father decided to introduce a liquid stone into his bloodstream and turn him into a homunculous, assuming he survived the procedure," Ed told them dully. "Father was able to do  _something_  that rendered me and Al unable to perform alchemy. We fought as hard as we could to try and stop Father but Ling told us to stay out of it; that he  _wanted_  this to happen so he could save your clan." Ed paused for a moment as he felt Laika shift slightly and offered the marten some reassurance and comfort through their bond before continuing.

"But something happened when his body didn't reject the stone. The homunculous the stone had originally belonged to, Greed, overtook Ling's mind or something. He didn't remember us or Laika and he didn't remember Al from when the original Greed kidnapped him a couple of months ago. Father ordered Greed to kill Laika since his still being alive meant Ling was as well and potentially fight for control of his body if he wanted to. Greed obeyed," Ed told them.

"The young lord would  _never_  try to harm Laika. You must've mistaken the situation," Fu told him and Ed nodded.

" _Ling_  would never hurt Laika but Ling isn't in charge of his body, the homunculous is. Greed doesn't care about Laika or us or the two of you. He was more than happy to try and kill Laika and drag me by my throat once he managed to capture me," Ed snapped, regretting it a moment later as both Lan Fan and Fu looked shocked to their cores.

"Prince Ling dragged you by your throat?" Lan Fan asked, looking aghast with what she was hearing. Both her and Fu were now looking at Ed's neck and really regretted letting that slip out. "Prince Ling is a formidable warrior and strong leader but he doe not partake in unnecessary cruelty."

" _Greed_ did that. Not Ling," Ed said firmly. "Once that stone entered his bloodstream and he didn't reject it, Ling stopped being in control. Greed is the one calling all of the shots with Ling's body now," Ed reiterated.

"What about Laika?" Lan Fan asked, eyeing the Animal who was still attached to Ed's back with a saddened look. "You said that he is alive but he hasn't moved. Laika has never been still unless he was asleep or unconscious," Lan Fan stated.

"He's in shock. Or he feels like he's in shock. I've never actually felt an Animal go into shock before," Ed told them and then proceeded to mentally curse himself.

"He feels like he's in shock? How would you know that?" Fu asked and Ed sighed.

"I can bond with, talk to and sight-share with any Spirit Animal I want. I gained the knowledge from my father," Ed told them. Technically it  _wasn't_ a lie because Hohenheim claimed that he would've taught Ed and Al how to talk to Spirit Animals using the technique he'd helped develop when Xerxes still stood. "When Ayala managed to get Laika away from Greed before he could be killed, she brought him to me. Once I was out of Gluttony's hold, I bonded with Laika to make sure he was alright and see if he would help us fight," Ed explained.

"I see," Fu said after a few moments of silence. The old man stood from his chair and Ed felt a moments panic. He knew how protective the two were of Ling and right now he didn't have the energy or will to fight back if they attacked him. Ayala snarled lightly next to him, warning Fu that she would not hesitate if he attacked her human but Fu did no such thing. Instead, he bowed. "Thank you for protecting Laika and keeping him safe so that we get our young lord back, he still has his Animal there for him. We apologise for the distress you have suffered by the hands of our prince, even though he wasn't in control of his body at the time."

"You don't have to apologise to me. I only did what anyone would've done," Ed said, shifting a little uncomfortably with the amount of gratitude the two were showing.

"Be that as it may, we are still thankful," Fu told him.

"What do you wish to do with Laika?" Lan Fan asked. Her grandfather hissed something in Xingese but she ignored him.

"Well, Doc has offered his bathroom to us to get cleaned up so I was gonna do that but then I was hoping he could stay with you guys?" Ed suggested. "I can't guarantee he'd be safe with me and I don't know what effects, if any, he'll suffer the longer Ling isn't in control. Plus, I'm still practically a stranger to him so I figure he'd be more comfortable with you guys. He can keep me updated with everything that happens to him or you that way as well," Ed said, a touch hastily.

"We would be honoured to look after our young lord's Animal," Fu assured him. "If you're agreeable, I can take him from you and clean him up while Doctor Knox examines you," Fu offered.

"You alright with that?" Ed asked Laika.

" _Yes,"_  he answered.  _"Thank you for everything, Edward."_

"Don't worry about it," Ed told him after nodding to Fu.

The old man took the cue given and walked behind Ed, helping Laika extract his claws as gently as possible from what remained of Ed's red coat. Though the yellow-throated marten truly wasn't heavy – maybe five kilograms, six at the most – Ed still felt relief at having him off his back, literally. Even five kilos seemed like a tonne after almost an hour of it clinging to you, especially after such an exhausting fight.

"Thanks," Ed said. "Ayala and I'll go get cleaned up now. Shouldn't take us long but I'll let you know when the bathroom's free before we go and check on Al, Ches and Mei," Ed told them, rolling his shoulders back to loosen them up while Fu placed Laika on the second chair in the room. The marten immediately curled up and fell into a deep sleep that Ed was a little jealous of.

"'Mei'?" Lan Fan asked and Ed nodded.

"A little Xingese girl who was with Scar for some reason. She lost her panda during the fight where Ling captured Gluttony and we found it. We ran into her outside the building that hid the entrance to Father's lair and reunited the two. She introduced herself as Mei Chang, a princess of Xing," Ed told them.

"The Chang girl is here?" Lan Fan asked, looking at Fu. "We'd heard rumours that the Chang clan were also seeking immortality to win the Emperor's favour and assume the title when he passed but we had no idea their princess would come up with the same idea to seek answers in Amestris. I'm surprised she survived crossing the great desert."

"How come? You guys did," Ed asked and Fu nodded.

"Yes, we did but we had each other and were able to carry enough supplies to last us, as well as bit extra in case of emergency. The Chang clan however would not have been able to afford to sent Mei with guards and she would not have been strong enough to carry a surplus of supplies, even if her clan could have afforded to spare her more food than she'd need. She would've only taken the bare minimum to sustain herself for however long she thought the journey would take her," Fu told him.

"Huh," Ed said. "She did say something about Scar being the servant of the man who saved her life. Perhaps that's how she survived the crossing," Ed said, recalling the comment the young princess had made while defending Scar from them.

"Perhaps," Fu echoed in agreement. "That is something we can ask the young lady when she's recovered a little more. You should get yourself cleaned up and let our host look you over before he retracts his offer," Fu suggested to Ed, who nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do that," Ed told him. "I'll let you know when the bathroom's free so you can use it," Ed said as he and Ayala headed for the door. "Thanks for agreeing to look after Laika."

"Thank you for saving him and trying to save our prince," Fu said, dipping into a deep bow.

"Yes, thank you, Edward," Lan Fan said, inclining her head since she couldn't exactly bow like her grandfather had.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't stop Ling from doing what he did," Ed told them, hand on the doorknob.

"I doubt anyone could've," Fu told him. "Our lord is a very stubborn man when his goal is within reach. However, you saving Laika has not only given us a way to know for certain that Prince Ling is alive but you have also have ensured that our prince would not have to suffer the loss of his Animal. That kind of pain may very well have killed his spirit and we could've lost him permanently." Ed was sure he didn't imagine how Fu's voice shook for a moment or the heartbreak that flashed in his eyes. The fact that Fu sounded horribly certain of just how agonising it would be for Ling to lose his Animal told Ed and Ayala that Fu had felt that pain first hand.

"I'm glad I could save Laika," was all Ed said, giving the still-sleeping marten a look before he looked back at the two Yao guards and gave them a nod. "I forgot to say before but I'm glad to see you're doing better, Lan Fan," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Thank you, Edward," Lan Fan said in response, giving him a small smile in response.

No more words were exchanged between the three of them as Ed and Ayala made their way into the hallway. Ed hesitated at the bathroom door for a moment, thinking he should go and check on Al and Mei first but Chester was in his mind a second later, informing him that he could smell the pair from where he was and that under no circumstances would he allow them into the room until they were clean. Ed mentally flipped the leopard off but didn't argue. To his surprise, neither did Ayala when he opened the bathroom door.

"Guess you're ready to get the stink off too, huh?" Ed commented as he followed his wolf into the bathroom.

" _More than ready,"_  Ayala said in agreement.

"Alright. Guess I'm cleaning you up first," Ed said. Ayala climbed into the bathtub without argument and Ed turned on the taps before using the hosed shower head attached to the spout to start washing her down. The blood mixed with slime and muck attached to her started to run down the drain as Ed soaked her fur. "How badly hurt are you? I'm sorry I didn't ask before," Ed said, trying to look through her wet fur himself for injuries.

" _Many bruises and a few small cuts and punctures. Nothing that won't heal in a few days,"_  Ayala assured him.  _"Don't worry about not asking before either. My injuries are minor so I'm not surprised you never noticed me getting them. How are you?"_  She asked him.

"Pretty much the same. I think I've sprained my left wrist and my throat's definitely bruised but that's it," Ed told her honestly.

" _Good. At least you won't have to come up with a cover story for the hospital,"_  Ayala said as Ed grabbed some shampoo from the little shelf.

"True," he agreed, squeezing some shampoo on to her.

Placing the bottle aside, he used both hands to scrub the shampoo in, taking care when he found an injury. Ayala closed her eyes in pleasure as he worked the suds through her fur, giving her a decent massage in his efforts to get her clean. It took three lots of shampoo to get her coat sparkling clean again and he let her jump out of the tub so he could dry her off. Once her golden fur was clean and dry, he inspected her wounds more closely. A couple were still bleeding sluggishly – both puncture wounds from Lust – so he healed them. The others, as Ayala had told him, were minor and since they weren't bleeding and Ed couldn't see any reason he'd have to heal them right now, so he left them alone to heal at a normal rate with Ayala's permission.

" _I'll wait outside while you have a shower,"_  Ayala told him once he'd finished checking her over.  _"I don't need my fur going all poofy because of the steam,"_  she told him, tongue lolling out of mouth as she grinned at him.

Rolling his eyes, Ed opened the door. "See you in a few," he said, as she headed into the hallway before shutting the door on her.

* * *

As soon as he did, he stripped off his jackets, shirt and leather pants, leaving him standing there in his boxers. The skin underneath – for the most part – was clean but bruised. Every injury he suffered from his fight with Scar had reopened but he had a few new minor wounds to add to his collection. He looked in the mirror and noted some slight bruising around his neck. It wasn't dark enough that someone would notice from across a room but if they stood close to him, they'd see it. Shaking his head slightly, Ed unbraided what was left of his plait and finished getting undressed before he stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water hit him, and started to clean himself up.

Once finished, Ed switched the water off and used the only dry towel in the bathroom. Wrapping the towel around his waist, Ed spread out his clothes and clapped. Using his cleaning array, Ed watched as the blue energy danced across his clothing with far more relish than the array actually deserved. He was never gonna take his alchemy for granted again now that he knew there was a way for someone to take it away from him, even if it had only been temporary. Once all of his clothing was clean and the dirt balls formed washed into the sink, Ed fixed any damage and pulled his boxers, pants and tank top on. He left his jackets and gloves off for the moment and, after debating for a moment, left his hair loose rather than braiding it. He stuffed his hair tie in a pocket and tidied up the bathroom, not wanting to irritate Knox any further, and joined Ayala in the hallway.

"All good?" He asked her and she nodded, pulling herself into a standing position. As promised, he rapped his knuckles against the door to Lan Fan's room before heading down to the room Knox had told him Mei and Al were in. Before he got there though, Knox intercepted him.

"Head to the lounge room so I can give you a look over," the doctor grumbled, moving past Ed and Ayala as he went into the living room himself. Brian gave them a look that told them not to keep Knox waiting before he followed suit. Ed and Ayala shared a look before Ed shrugged a shoulder and did as he was told. Ayala decided to follow him, wanting to make sure Knox treated her human right.

Ed took a seat on the couch Knox indicated to and removed his tank top at Knox's brusque command. Knox dug through his medical bag and pulled several bandages, alcohol wipes and some thread and a needle in case Ed needed stitches. "Alright. Don't move unless I tell you to," Knox ordered, eyes already locating his injuries and mentally cataloging them. He grabbed an alcohol swab and got to work.

* * *

It didn't take Knox long to finish treating Ed. Throughout the whole ordeal, Ed never so much as twitched though there had been a couple of close calls. Knox certainly hadn't been kidding when he'd warned Lan Fan that he would likely be a bit rough in treating her and Ed's respect for Lan Fan's pain tolerance ratcheted up another notch. He vividly remembered how much it had hurt having Granny treating him and she worked on living people all the time so the fact that Lan Fan had lasted as long as she had with someone who wasn't as used to living patients as Pinako was something to be in awe of.

"Try not to do anything with this wrist. If you do damage it more, go find another doctor to complain to," Knox said as he taped the end of the bandage he'd wrapped around Ed's left wrist to keep it in place. "Your throat should be fine in a few days. Try and refrain from yelling or getting choked again in the meantime," Knox ordered.

"Thanks, Doc. I'll do my best," Ed said as he pulled on his tank top and black jacket. "How are Mei and Lan Fan doing? Lan Fan looked like she wasn't in as much pain," Ed asked.

"Both of them will live. Lan Fan can get her automail installed whenever she wishes as soon as she's able to walk herself to the bathroom and back without collapsing," Knox told him as he cleaned up the rubbish. "Mei is still unconscious and likely will be for a couple more hours. She was hit pretty hard so I have to wait for her to wake up to see how much damage the little fool did to herself." Knox scowled at the idea of having someone else in his house for that long.

Ed didn't comment on his scowl. He just made a noise that told Knox he'd heard what he said. Ed actually went to say something back but a knock sounded at the door, causing all of them to jump. Both Ed and Knox looked at Knox's clock and saw that it was nearly six in the morning. Knox and Brian headed for the front door while Ed and Ayala slipped into the kitchen to avoid being seen and being asked awkward questions.

"There had better be a damned good – oh, it's just you. Get inside before someone sees you two. I've already got your youngest subordinate inside but he had the common decency to turn up before the rest of the street was awake," Knox told the person at the door.

Ed peeked around the corner to confirm his suspicions. "Mustang? Nala? What are you doing here?" He asked, coming out of the kitchen fully to find Mustang and Nala in the lounge room he'd just vacated. Knox didn't look impressed to have Mustang standing there but Ed figured Knox didn't look impressed about much to begin with.

" _Ed! I felt what happened. Are you alright?"_ Nala fussed as she beeline for him.

"I'm fine. Quit your worrying," Ed scowled even as he dropped into a crouch so Nala could hug him.

Mustang watched as Ed crouched so that Nala wouldn't have to tackle him to the ground, something the lioness definitely would've done since Ed had told her he was fine. "She sensed that you were on the move and ordered me to bring her here so she could see you were alive with her own eyes once she figured out where you were hiding out," Mustang explained, shooting the lioness an annoyed look.

Despite his annoyed tone, Mustang was doing his best to try and find the injuries he knew Ed had suffered. He spotted the hint of white under his left sleeve and he saw the faint bruising on Ed's neck, feeling anger rise in him at the thought of someone holding Ed tight enough by the neck that the injury bruised. Mustang knew about the neck injury because Nala had almost bolted  _through_  their front door in an effort to get to Ed's side when she realised what was going on. It had taken a lot of effort and time to get her to calm down enough to tell him what had happened and to make her see that waiting to find out where Ed would end up was the smartest move. She hadn't been impressed and spent the next half an hour or so completely ignoring Mustang's presence until she'd figured out where Ed was heading.

"Colonel Mustang? How come you're here?" Al's voice sounded from the hallway, surprising most of them with how silently he approached.

"Nala sensed your brother was in danger and ordered me to bring her here so she could check on him," Mustang told him.

"Oh. That makes sense," Al said, nodding slightly as he moved over to where Ed was still crouching. "Are you alright, Brother?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Doc checked me over," Ed told him. Mustang gave Knox a surprised look that had the doctor scowling at him. "Worst injury is a sprained wrist," Ed reported, showing Al his bandaged wrist to prove he'd had it looked at.

"What about your neck? I can see the bruises. What happened?" Al asked, starting his mother-henning.

"Greed got a hold of me but I am  _fine_ ," Ed emphasised, glaring a dare at his brother to ask again.

" _You know he frets because he loves you and is worried about you,"_  Chester told him, coming to sit next to where Ed was crouching so he was now surrounded by three large Animals.

Figuring he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, Ed dropped the rest of the way to the ground, wrapping an arm around Ayala's neck and leaning against her. Knox sighed and waved at his couches, silently telling the others they could take a seat. He and Brian took up residence on the armchair while Mustang sat himself on the same couch Ed had been on. Al decided to sit himself down next to Ed and the Animals. Chester immediately draped himself across Al's lap and Nala herself over Ed's leg, something the blonde rolled his eyes at.

"So what with the two of you after I dropped my link with Nala?" Ed asked, scratching Nala's ears.

"Wait, Brother, you haven't told us what even happened while you were sight-linked with Nala," Al interrupted before Mustang could answer.

"Oh, right, I haven't," Ed said as he realised his brother was right. "Well, Mustang there decided to go confront the Fuhrer about his being a homunculous, ignoring Nala's advice to not do that," Ed told him. "This means that I better never hear you give me shit about being reckless again," Ed told Mustang.

"You confronted the Fuhrer?" Al gasped and Mustang nodded.

"Yes," Mustang said. "I decided to go and have a chat with the Fuhrer to see if I could learn anything from him." Mustang paused for a moment before continuing. "We should assume that all of the military higher ups are corrupted. The only exceptions I can think of are General Armstrong and General Grumman," Mustang told them.

"The military knows about the homunculi?" Al asked. Knox looked as angry as Al sounded.

Ed shook his head but Mustang was the one to verbally answer. "No, Alphonse. They believe the Fuhrer is human but that he's angling for immortality by sacrificing the whole of Amestris. In exchange for their silence and support, Bradley has promised them immortality and control of an immortal army," Mustang told him.

"'Immortal army'?" Al asked. "What did he mean by that?"

"I don't know. He never explained that any further and I didn't ask," Mustang told him. Al slumped slightly where he sat, disappointed in the lack of information. "I found out why the two of you were chosen as sacrifices and how many Father requires for his plan to go into effect," Mustang mentioned and that brought Al out of his slump.

"What did he say?" Al asked, a touch impatiently.

Mustang looked at Ed, who rolled his eyes but did as he was silently ordered. "Bradley told Mustang that we were chosen because we survived our visit and payment to Truth and they need at least five sacrifices," Ed told him.

"So we were right about Teacher and dad being possible sacrifices," Al said and, though his eye twitched, Ed nodded.

"Looks that way. We may get lucky and figure which poor bastard they've chosen as their fifth sacrifice and get them out of the country or something before this plan can get under way," Ed said, sounding somewhat optimistic that they might actually be able to do that.

"I doubt it'd be that easy," Mustang said dryly. Ed shot him a glare that told the older alchemist that he didn't appreciate the negative, if realistic, outlook.

"Let's back up for a moment," Knox interrupted. "How do you know what the Fuhrer told Mustang? And what link with Nala are you talking about?" Knox asked.

"Ah," Ed said eloquently. "Long story short, I can speak, sight-link and bond with other people's Animals. It's not a full bond, it's more of weakened version of it. I can sight-link and speak with Nala or Chester from nearly any distance because our bonds are stronger but with Animals like Laika or Mark, the ones whose bonds with me aren't  _as_  strong, we're more limited," Ed explained.

Knox gaped at him in disbelief. "That's bullshit," he told him before looking at Mustang. "It's bullshit, right? No one can bond with someone else's Animal. There's never been a reported or rumoured case of that happening," Knox exclaimed.

"Until now," Mustang said calmly. "You know I am not someone who would lie to you about something like this. Fullmetal can and has bonded with numerous other Animals, including Nala. Heaven knows why she's so attached to him though," Mustang said, sighing a little.

"You're just jealous she likes me more," Ed snapped back. However, the come down from the adrenaline high mixed with the physical and mental toll the last 16 or so hours had taken on him were catching up to Ed so rather than his voice being laced with venom like he'd intended, it was laced with exhaustion.

"A stellar comeback, Fullmetal," Mustang drawled. "As I was saying, Fullmetal certainly can and will bond with an Animal, if he wants to. Because of his ability to sight-link with the Animals he's bonded to, he and Nala linked last night when I decided to talk with Bradley. That's how he knew what Bradley and I spoke about," Mustang told Knox.

"Assuming I believe any of that, how did the Fuhrer not notice Nala's eyes? They would've been ringed with blue while yours weren't. Fuhrer Bradley's Animal may have died when he was young but he would still know all about the bond," Knox said.

"Nala kept her eyes averted, for the most part," Mustang told him, giving Nala an admonishing look.

"What do you mean by that?" Knox asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. The tale was doing the partially intended job of drawing both Brian and Knox out of their shock.

"Unfortunately, just as Bradley dismissed us, Nala accidentally caught his eye and he noticed. Even though she immediately averted her eyes and she and Fullmetal ended their link in mere moments, Bradley noticed and ordered me to have Nala look at him. I believe it was at that Fullmetal and Nala ended their link, yes?" Mustang asked Ed, who nodded. "When Bradley repeated the order, Nala did as she was asked and, obviously, didn't see anything. When I queried the order since it was a highly unusual order, he told me he thought he'd seen the sight-link blue in Nala's eyes. I suggested the idea that it was a trick of the light or something reflecting in them since we hadn't been sight-sharing and nothing else could cause that particular blue in her eyes."

"What did he say?" Ed asked, sharing a worried look with Ayala and Nala.

"He didn't say anything. He just nodded and repeated his order for us to leave," Mustang told him. "I don't think he suspects that you and Nala were sight-sharing. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure if he believes that he saw what he saw. Like Doctor Knox pointed out before, Bradley  _did_  have an Animal in his early years. He would know what is and shouldn't be possible with a bond so I believe he believed my cover," Mustang told Ed. "The two of you, however, shouldn't try something like that again. He won't believe me a second time," Mustang warned.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have linked with Nala if you hadn't decided to confront the one member of the military we should be avoiding about the fact that he's a frigging homunculous!" Ed informed him hotly. "He could've killed you!"

"I didn't know you cared, Fullmetal," Mustang smirked and Ed glared at him.

"If you die, I'll be transferred to someone else's command and I won't get time to try and reach our goal," Ed snapped gesturing between himself, Al and their Animals. He could feel how warm his cheeks were. "Plus, if you died, so would Nala and I don't want that to happen," Ed told him, giving Nala's ears a scratch.

" _You say the sweetest things,"_  Nala teased and Ed rolled his eyes at her.

"Damn right I do," he said with a grin.

"Actually, speaking of the Fuhrer not killing you," Knox said, bringing the attention back to himself, "why didn't he? By all accounts, we should've been hearing about how yours and Nala's bodies had been found in some dark alley and I should've been called in to perform your autopsy and her necropsy." Knox looked intently at Mustang for an answer.

"I had expected Bradley to inform me that he would be placing an order for my death within a few days however, according to Bradley, I wouldn't learn my lesson if I was dead," Mustang told them. His top lip curled slightly in displeasure at the answer Bradley had given him.

"So how  _does_  he expect you to learn your lesson?" Knox asked. "What?" He asked as Mustang raised a brow. "You can't expect me to believe that he just let you walk out of his office with no repercussions, can you?" Knox scoffed.

"No, he didn't," Mustang confirmed before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Fuhrer Bradley will be issuing orders to my team this morning. Falman will be sent north to Fort Briggs, Havoc will report back to East City, Breda will be sent to the Southern Command Centre while Fuery goes to the Western Command Centre. Captain Hawkeye is to report to Fuhrer Bradley as his personal assistant as soon as she has finished any remaining duties I've assigned her. A new team will be assigned to me sometime this afternoon." Complete silence followed Mustang's revelation. The only ones in the room who weren't surprised were Ed, Nala and Ayala, since she'd been told everything as she, Ed and Laika headed for Knox's house.

"So he's taking away most of your support structure," Knox said. "That leaves you with Edward, Alphonse, Hughes and me in Central and not directly under Bradley's control. Not to mention your new team will likely be incompetent or acting as spies for Bradley or both. That's unfortunate." Ed almost snorted at how flat Knox's tone was.

"It's certainly inconvenient," Mustang agreed. "There are a couple of small silver linings to this situation though, so long as they prove fruitful," Mustang said. Ed glanced at him and silently wondered how long his boss had stayed up that night, trying to figure out a way to twist his teams dispersement to his advantage, no matter how slight.

"Are you gonna share or keep these ideas to yourself?" Knox asked impatiently.

"Well, with Falman heading to Fort Briggs, he might be able to talk to General Armstrong and convince her of the danger her fortress will be in," Mustang said, "and with Havoc going back east, he can rendezvous with General Grumman and start silently figuring out how they could help us if Central becomes a battlefield," Mustang told them. "We can utilise Fullmetal's ability to speak with Animals to pass along messages if time is of the essence or if whatever system Breda, Falman, Fuery and I come up with fails or isn't viable"

Ed scowled at the idea of being used as a messenger for everyone and Ayala showed verbally how she felt about her human being used like that with a snarl. "I better be a last resort. I don't need an Animal taking me by surprise when I'm in the middle of a fight or research to pass along something that could've been sent a different way," Ed informed him.

"I already said I wouldn't rely on your ability unless I had to," Mustang told him. "I'll use Nala before I use you," he told Ed and Nala snorted.

" _If he asks nicely, I might consider it,"_  Nala commented, a smirk on her lips. The scowl on Mustang's face told Ed that the flame alchemist had heard her as well.

Mustang went to say something but a small groan from one of the occupied bedrooms had Knox sighing and getting to his feet. "I suppose I should go and check on my patients and make sure they aren't dying," Knox grumbled as Brian joined him in standing.

"We should be heading into the office now anyway," Mustang said, giving Ed and Al pointed looks that had Ed rolling his eyes again before he climbed to his feet once Nala had gotten off his lap. "Thank you for your help, Knox."

Knox flapped his hand dismissively. "Don't bother thanking me. Just stop bringing me living patients. There's a reason I prefer working on corpses," Knox told him gruffly. He turned to Ed as the blonde pulled on his red jacket. "You," he said, pointing a stern finger at him, "better not come to me for any more patch-ups," Knox told him and Ed nodded.

"Have zero plans to, Doc," Ed told him. "Thanks for your help with Mei and Lan Fan, as well as for patching me up," Ed said and Knox muttered something under his breath.

"Like I said; don't thank me. Just don't come back for medical help unless you can't make it the hospital and even then, you'd better try getting there first," Knox told him.

"Will do," Ed agreed. "See you, Doc."

"I'll likely talk to you later, Doctor Knox," Mustang said once Al offered with own thanks and goodbye. "Have a pleasant day."

"It'll get better once you lot leave," Knox said in an unsubtle way to get them out of his home.

Mustang didn't look offended and offered Knox a nod before gesturing for Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester to follow him and Nala outside. A final goodbye was said but Knox's answer was to shut the door in their faces. Again, no offence was on Mustang's face and Ed was really curious about the kind of friendship the two had but figured it was a question for a later date. Mustang led them to where his car was waiting before he climbed into the driver's seat. After a moment of whispered arguments, Al shoved Ed at the front passenger seat while he and the Animals took the back seat. Ed glared at his younger brother before climbing into the front passenger seat.

"Why do we need to be at the office?" Ed asked as Mustang pulled away from Knox's house.

"Fuhrer Bradley's orders will affect the whole team and since you are part of it, you will be expected to be there," Mustang told him. Ed let out an annoyed sigh. "You can leave once the orders are issued and you've told us everything you've uncovered from your adventure last night," Mustang told him and Ed sighed again, though this one was one of resignation.

"Fine," Ed grumbled, sinking lower into the seat. "But we better stop for coffee and breakfast first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is my Christmas present to you all! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday and that you enjoy this latest chapter and if you were wonderful enough to leave a comment on the last chapter, I will be answering it tonight now that I've finally got a couple hours to myself. The schedule for this story will stay the same as always so there will be another update on this coming Sunday. See you then!


	34. Chapter 34

Even though they did stop to grab breakfast for everyone bar Al, they still made it to the office before most of the team had. In fact, they ran into Havoc just as he was about to enter the office and the shocked look on the 2nd Lieutenant's face at Mustang arriving early was something Ed seriously wished Hughes was there to take a photo of because it was hilarious.

"Colonel?" Havoc questioned once he managed to pull himself together. Mark echoed his human with a questioning cluck as he took in the trio of bonded pairs in front of him. Ed's suspicious cough didn't fool anyone and Mustang shot him a glare. It was then that Havoc realised that Ed had band-aids and bandages littering whatever skin Havoc could see. "Scar gave you a proper fight this time, huh, Chief?" Havoc asked and Ed grimaced.

"Well, he wasn't the only one to try," Ed told him. His crypticish answer had Havoc raise an eyebrow but the lieutenant had obviously caught onto the fact that Ed wasn't going to talk about it any further in public.

"Looks like you were patched up by someone," Havoc observed. "Al's handiwork?"

"Well I wasn't gonna go to the hospital with the extremely  _minor_  injuries I have," Ed grumbled, throwing a glare Al's way. To anyone else, it would seem like Ed was using the opportunity to make a point or further an argument with his brother who was notorious for fussing over him. To Havoc, however, he knew he was meant to hear what Ed  _didn't_ say; he hadn't gone to the hospital and Al hadn't been the one to administer first aid.

"I still think you should've gone for a check-up, Brother. What if Scar had caused internal bleeding?" Al said, continuing the façade.

"Well since I woke up this morning, safe bet is that I don't have internal bleeding so all your fretting is just wasted energy," Ed said, flapping a hand dismissively.

"If you boys could stop blocking the way into the office and finish your arguing inside, that would be wonderful," a new but familiar voice said from inside the office. The four humans and their Animals all looked up and saw Hawkeye and Soren looking at them flatly from the other side of the now open door. Her eyes moved to look at Mustang. "I must say, Colonel, that it's certainly a pleasant surprise to see you at the office so early. Dare I hope that this becomes a habit?" Hawkeye asked as Soren ruffled his feathers and hooted softly at Ed.

"I'm fine," Ed assured him through the bond, giving the owl a smile.

"Let's do as Hawkeye suggested and get ourselves inside. I'm sure the other officers and soldiers would appreciate us not cluttering the corridor," Mustang said. Ed wasn't the only one to notice that he hadn't actually answered Hawkeye's question about making early mornings a habit.

They all filed into the inner office once Hawkeye and Soren stepped aside to let them in. "I hope your injuries are as minor as you claim they are, Edward," Hawkeye said as she shut the door and strode back to her desk.

"They really are. The worst injury I copped was a sprained wrist," Ed told her.

"And the bruising on your neck?" Hawkeye asked, raising a pointed eye at him.

Havoc's attention was immediately on Ed, who was internally cursing Hawkeye's sharp eyes. "Nothing major. It's only bruising. No internal damage," Ed told her, glancing at Havoc as he spoke.

"It certainly hasn't prevented him from being his usual, vocally stubborn self," Mustang piped up, smirking when Ed glared at him.

"Morning! Oh – good morning, Colonel Mustang," Fuery said as he stumbled to a stop upon opening the inner office door and spotting the colonel. He snapped a salute that Mustang waved him out of just as he realised who else was in the room. Kara sung a low, happy tune upon seeing the two brothers and their Animals. "Hey, Elrics. How come you guys are here so early? I didn't realise you were gonna be sent on a mission, Ed," Fuery said as Kara settled on her perch and trilled a hello to everyone else.

"Hey, Fuery," Ed said. "I'm not here to be sent on a mission," he told him. As Ed expected, Fuery frowned in confusion but what Ed didn't expect was both Hawkeye and Havoc to have slightly confused looks as well.

"Fullmetal will explain why he's here later. After the rest of the team have arrived," Mustang said before Ed could say anything.

Hawkeye nodded once, her face clearing of any lasting confusion, though Ed saw it lingering in her eyes. "Very well," Hawkeye said. "I'm sure that in the meantime you'll want to catch up on any paperwork you missed yesterday, sir." Her tone of voice left no room for argument, not that Mustang was inclined to do so.

"I'll be in my office than. Let me know when everyone's here. I need to speak to you all," Mustang instructed. Hawkeye's confused expression flickered over her face but she quickly wiped it away and nodded.

"Of course, sir," she said with a crisp salute that, as he'd done moments ago with Fuery, Mustang waved her out of.

With that and a nod of his own, Mustang and Nala slipped into his private office, closing the door behind them as they did. "Mustang isn't going to tell them what's about to happen, is he? Bradley warned him not to and I don't think Bradley would take it well if Mustang ignored him. He could do something to the team!" Ed asked Nala through their bond.

" _I don't think he's planning on it. I think he's just gonna warn them that something will happen,"_  Nala told him.  _"I certainly can't feel him thinking about telling them everything beforehand,"_  Nala added and Ed breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," Ed muttered before disconnecting with Nala.

"All good, Chief?" Havoc asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, for now," Ed told him. Havoc seemed to accept that answer as he turned back to his desk to finish getting ready to start his day.

Falman and Rachel were the next to enter the main office and offered a good morning to everyone and queried after Ed's health. Once again, Ed found himself reassuring someone that he wasn't about to drop dead. Ayala's snickers in his head at his struggle to not show his embarrassment and annoyance at being asked about didn't help him. Hawkeye informed Falman that Mustang would be speaking to them as soon as Breda reported for the day. Falman raised a brow slightly but no one offered anymore information than that so he left it.

Ed watched as everyone got themselves organised, waiting for Breda, the days paperwork and Mustang to talk to them, and felt guilt and sadness creep in. After today, it was very likely that the only contact he'd have with everyone – except Mustang and perhaps Hawkeye – would be through their Animals. He couldn't help but feel guilty because none of the team knew what was about to happen and even though he did, he couldn't give them any kind of warning so they could prepare themselves; not without risking the Fuhrer's anger.

* * *

The moment Breda walked into the office, Dubuffet in tow, Hawkeye nodded to Soren. Obviously, it had been a signal to pass a message along to Nala because both the lioness and her human walked out of the inner office and joined the rest of the team. As military protocol dictated, the whole team – minus, of course, Ed and Al – saluted him upon seeing him. Mustang was quick to dismiss the salutes as he came to a stop next to Hawkeye's desk.

"Good morning, everyone," Mustang greeted and allowed the greetings echoed back to die down before he continued talking. "At some stage this morning, this office will receive new orders that will affect everyone. While these orders will seem out of the blue for most of you, Fullmetal and I were made aware of them last night," Mustang told them. "In the interest of full disclosure, the only reason Fullmetal even knows about them is because he and Nala were sight-linked together because Nala decided that what I was about to do was extremely reckless and she wanted someone else watching just in case." Mustang snorted derisively. "She wasn't wrong," he murmured before drawing his shoulders back slightly and meeting the confused and concerned looks of his team. A couple of them glanced at Ed, who gave them an apologetic look. "I can't tell you what these orders will be, not without going against orders issued to me by Fuhrer Bradley, but I could not let you all be taken completely by surprise," Mustang told them.

"What did you do that Nala deemed so reckless that there needed to be another witness, sir?" Hawkeye asked once she'd managed to absorbed what Mustang said. The rest of the team looked like they still needed a few moments or a bit more clarification.

"I had an impromptu meeting with Fuhrer Bradley about everything," Mustang told them. To Ed and Al's shock, there was a flash of anger in Hawkeye's eyes and the rest of the team looked dumbfounded, like they couldn't believe Mustang would do something like that. Ed could sympathise with that look since he'd felt the same when Nala had contacted him.

"I see," Hawkeye said, voice a little tense and disapproving. "Thank you for warning us as much as you could, sir. We appreciate it," Hawkeye said with a small nod. "Do you know when we should be expecting these orders to be issued or who should be issuing us these orders?" She asked but Mustang shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't. Other than that we should expect them sometime this morning, sooner rather than later I should think," Mustang told her before he addressed the rest of the team. "Once we've received these orders, Fullmetal and I will explain everything in more detail. Until then, this office will run as it should," Mustang directed.

"Yes, sir," Hawkeye said immediately. Her agreement seemed to jolt everyone else into remembering that they were at work and that they were receiving orders because they all nodded and echoed Hawkeye.

"I'll return to finishing my work," Mustang said. "Nala will let me know when we receive any visitors and I'll rejoin you all back out here. Do not try and get any further details out of Fullmetal or Alphonse. They're under orders not to tell you anything more," he instructed. Once he'd waved them out of their answering salutes and nodded to Hawkeye when she told him she'd bring in the days paperwork if it arrived first, Mustang headed back into his office, closing the door firmly behind him once Nala was through the doorway.

"Sergeant Fuery?" Hawkeye called, getting the aforementioned man's attention. "Would you mind doing a coffee run for us please? I have a feeling today will be a long one," she said dryly.

"Sure thing, Lieutenant Hawkeye," Fuery said, standing up from his desk. He still looked worried and kept glancing at Ed as though he was debating whether disobeying Mustang's order would be worth it but, to Ed's relief, neither he nor Kara decided to try. "What does everyone want?" Fuery asked instead and Ed loosed a silent breath of relief before he gave Fuery his order.

* * *

Fuery and the team's daily paperwork had arrived a good half hour before there came a short, sharp knock at the door. An uneasy feeling made its way through the team but Ed perked up slightly as he realised who he could sense on the other side of the door.

"It's Hughes," he quickly told Hawkeye, who nodded in thanks as everyone else relaxed slightly.

"Enter," the lieutenant called, voice clear and professional as always.

"Good morning, everyone," Hughes greeted as he walked inside with Leo on his heels. Both were quick to find Ed, Al and their Animals and Hughes visibly relaxed upon seeing them.

"Morning, Hughes," Ed greeted, giving the lieutenant-colonel a wave from where he sat. Al mimicked his actions.

"Good morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes. Was there something we can help you with today?" Hawkeye asked before Hughes could respond to Ed.

"No, I just wanted to see that Edward, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester were all alive with my own eyes," Hughes told them. "Leo sensed Ed's plans for Scar and I called Roy to make sure he was aware of what Ed was doing. Roy promised he'd make sure Ed swung by last night to explain himself but he never did. Leo and Lilith both promised he was alive and relatively uninjured but I had to make sure with my own eyes," Hughes explained and Ed felt himself gaping slightly at Hughes' complete transparency. Though he wouldn't have gotten in as much trouble as Mustang or the team for showing 'inappropriate attachment' to Ed, Hughes still had to take care with how much care he showed Ed, lest his actions be taken as favouritism or something just as bad.

"Well, I'm alive," Ed offered with a lopsided smile. "I'm sorry I didn't give Leo any messages to pass on but I didn't even spare a moment to think about letting anyone who wasn't with me know what was gonna go down," Ed told him, voice a mixture of apologetic and chagrined.

"It's alright, Ed. I know that giving us a heads up about your plans is something that you normally don't consider but that doesn't stop us from worrying," Hughes told him. "Also, I'm sure I'm not wrong in thinking Roy didn't even bother passing the message on," Hughes said with glare aimed at the closed inner office door.

"You're not wrong," Ed told him, feeling no guilt about doing so.

" _You're such a child,"_  Ayala sighed but Ed ignored her.

"I didn't think I was," Hughes told him. "So what's going on here? All of you are acting like you've received some bad news," Hughes said, looking at the team with concern etched on his face.

"You could say –" Havoc was interrupted by Mustang's inner office door opening. The man and lioness had only just exited the room, Mustang with a small stack of papers in his arms, when a knock sounded on the outer office door.

"Enter," Mustang called after a moment's hesitation.

The door swung open to reveal two soldiers Ed didn't recognise and their Animals. The first soldier – a 1st lieutenant according to his uniform's markings – had a small orange and white striped fish 'swimming' around his head while the second soldier – also a 1st lieutenant – had a Doberman dog standing directly next to his human's legs. "Colonel Mustang?" The first soldier asked and Mustang nodded, causing the two soldiers to salute and Mustang waved them out of the gesture. "I'm here with orders for your team from Fuhrer King Bradley," he told him, twitching the arm that Ed just noticed was holding six sealed envelopes.

"Very well," Mustang said, giving the soldier a nod.

The soldiers handed an envelope out to the person whose name was printed neatly on it. Mustang, to Ed and Nala's surprise, was also handed an envelope. A questioning brow from Mustang was raised at the soldiers when neither left the office. "We're under orders to wait until you've all read your orders so that Fuhrer Bradley can be sure you received them, sir," the soldier explained.

"I see," Mustang said simply.

Mustang nodded to the rest of the team, giving silent permission to open their orders and read. He did the same and for a few moments, all you could hear was the rustling as the envelopes were torn open and pages they contained pulled out to be read. Ed didn't even realise he was holding his breath until Ayala reminded him to breathe. Unsurprisingly, Hawkeye was the first to finish reading her new orders and her eyes widened slightly, the only sign of her surprise. One by one, everyone else finished reading through their new orders and not a single one of them managed to keep their shock off their faces completely.

The last one to finish reading was Mustang. Once he'd read the final words on the papers he held in his hands, he looked up and locked eyes with the waiting soldiers. "You can tell Fuhrer Bradley that his orders were received and understood," Mustang told them, voice flat and emotionless.

"Yes, sir," the soldier said immediately. "Fuhrer Bradley also instructed me to tell you that your team has two days to act on his orders," he told Mustang, though his eyes darted to the still-stunned team. The only one who seemed to hear the lieutenant was Hawkeye, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Understood," was all Mustang said in response. Realising that no one had anything else to say to them, the two soldiers saluted Mustang.

"With your leave, Colonel Mustang," the first soldier said and Mustang nodded, dismissing them on the spot. The soldiers didn't linger and took their leave almost before Mustang had finished nodding.

The click of the door shutting seemed to be the cue Hughes was waiting for as he turned to Mustang immediately after it sounded. "What the hell was that about, Roy?"

"Do you believe Gracia would refuse to have the team and I over for dinner tonight?" Mustang asked, ignoring Hughes' question.

"I don't see any reason why she would but Leo can ask Lilith now if you'd like," Hughes offered, sounding a little ticked at his question going unanswered. Mustang nodded and Hughes tipped his head to Leo.

There were a few awkward moments where no one said anything as Hughes waited for a response. But finally, one came. "Gracia said that so long as you aren't expecting anything elaborate, you're welcome to join us for dinner," Hughes told them.

"We'll see you tonight. 6:00pm?" Mustang asked and Hughes nodded. "Alright. I'll answer everyone's questions at that time. You never know when someone could be eavesdropping, after all." The subtle reminder of the fact that their office was bugged was the only thing that stopped anyone from protesting the wait for answers.

"We'll see you then," Hughes said. His tone left no room for argument and there was a slight undercurrent of threat that hinted at what would befall the flame alchemist if he didn't turn up. "What are your plans for the rest of the day, boys?" Hughes asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"We'll probably head back to the hotel room. I need a proper shower and Chester needs a bath," Ed gave the leopard's filthy coat a look, "and we'll probably catch up on some sleep. I'm waiting for someone to get back to me," Ed tapped the side of his head to indicate what he meant, "and there's some stuff Al, Ayala, Chester and I have to talk about in private," Ed told Hughes, giving Al a look.

"Gracia won't mind if the two of you turn up earlier than these guys," Hughes told them, jerking his head at the team in general.

"We'll keep that in mind," Ed promised. Both Animals and Al nodded in agreement and Hughes looked satisfied that he'd see them later that day.

"I should get back to work." Hughes didn't sound like he particularly wanted to. In fact, Ed could see him eyeing up the papers the team still clutched in their hands, like he was considering making a swipe for them to get some answers. "I'll see you all tonight."

"Have a good day, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes," Hawkeye said, offering Maes a salute that had the others mimicking, with the exception of Mustang, Ed and Al, though the two boys offered a wave each.

"You too, Lieutenant Hawkeye, everyone else," Hughes said with a dimmed version of his usual smile. After giving Mustang a significant look, Hughes and Leo left the office, shutting the door firmly behind themselves.

"We're being transferred?" Havoc asked the moment they couldn't hear any footsteps anymore. "Why are we going back east?"

"'East'?" Fuery asked, sounding confused. "My orders are to go west," he said, looking around at everyone else.

"I've been ordered to the Southern Command Centre," Breda told them.

"Fort Briggs," was all Falman said to their enquiring looks.

"Lieutenant?" Havoc asked, looking at Hawkeye.

"When I have finished any outstanding tasks for Colonel Mustang, I am to report to Fuhrer Bradley to begin my new assignment as his personal assistant," Hawkeye told them, voice as emotionless as Mustang's had been when he'd spoken to the two soldiers.

"Damn," Havoc muttered around the cigarette he was busy trying to light up. "So, we're being split up and sent as far apart as possible." Havoc dragged in a lungful of the cigarette toxins and exhaled a cloud of acrid smoke. "What about you, Colonel?"

"My orders are to remain here and continue my normal work. I'll be assigned a new team this afternoon, though they won't be ready to fully come under my command until you've all headed to your new postings," Mustang told them. "As I told Hughes, I'll explain more tonight. Until then, this office is still expected to run as it normally does," Mustang told them.

"Yes, sir!" The five chorused at him and the black-haired alchemist gave a slight nod of his head before he turned to Ed, Al and their Animals.

"I assume you'll be taking your leave now?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

"Unless you're planning on assigning us a mission, in which case I'll tell you right now that that would be a dick move," Ed said, aiming to bring some levity to the atmosphere, no matter how small.

Mustang rolled his eyes but Ed heard a couple of half-hearted scoffs of amusement and Al's whispered reprimand so he considered it a success. "No, you aren't being assigned any missions right now," Mustang told him. "Head back to your hotel and get yourselves cleaned up before my offices ends up permanently smelling as bad as the four of you," Mustang ordered, a small glint of humour in his eyes.

It was Ed's turn to roll his eyes, even as he moved with his brother and Animals towards the door. "Can't be any worse than the constant stench of your uselessness and burnt papers," Ed quipped back. "See you guys tonight," Ed said with a small wave and smile that he expected showed more of what he felt about the orders than he intended to show.

"See ya, Chief," Havoc called. "Bye, Al and co."

"Bye, guys," Fuery and Breda said in unison while Falman gave a nod.

"Stay out of trouble, boys," Hawkeye instructed and Ed gave her the best cheeky grin he could muster.

"No promises, Miss Riza," Ed told her jovially.

"Ayala and I will do our best to keep him and Chester out of fights for the rest of the day," Al promised, ignoring Ed's scowl and muttering of betrayal.

"We'd appreciate it, Alphonse," Hawkeye said seriously. "Have a good afternoon."

With a final goodbye to everyone, the four Elrics managed to leave the office with only a minor argument breaking out between the brothers as Ed tried to argue about what would necessitate an appropriate reason for him to fight someone. Mustang waited until the door had shut before promising Hawkeye that he would have the paperwork needed done that day on her desk by the end of the working day before he and Nala slipped back into his office.

"What a clusterfuck," Havoc said, leaning back against his chair.

"You're starting to sound like Ed," Breda observed and Havoc grinned.

"That's not really a bad thing," he chuckled before sobering up. "I wonder what happened that caused the Fuhrer to split the team up," Havoc mused.

"We'll find out tonight," Hawkeye interrupted before anyone else could answer. "I know that this has taken all of us by surprise and that you all have questions you'd like answers too but we won't get them right now and speculating about it will accomplish nothing. Colonel Mustang has promised answers tonight so until then, I suggest we go about the day as though nothing has changed as best we can," Hawkeye instructed.

"Yes, Lieutenant," came the four agreeing voices.

With the agreements came the sound of those in the office resuming their work for the day. Hawkeye allowed herself a moment to calm herself down internally so that the rapidly growing emotions wouldn't overcome her. She felt Soren press against her mind, doing the best he could to offer her as support and comfort as he could silently give and she pressed back gratefully. The fear she felt for not only herself but everyone else – especially Mustang who would soon find himself without the support from his team that Hawkeye knew he relied on – prickled uncomfortably under her skin.

Hawkeye drew in a quiet, deep breath and held it for a few moments before exhaling it in a controlled, silent manner in an effort to calm herself without drawing attention to herself. She repeated this action once more before the hot coil of bundled emotions in her gut loosened enough for he to be certain she could continue with her work unimpeded by the shock and resulting emotions. A glance up at her fellow teammates showed that they were working as diligently as they always did, though there was less chatter than Hawkeye was used too. Pressing her own pen to her paperwork, Hawkeye found herself hoping that the low murmuring and whispers would fill the room shortly.

* * *

The walk back to their hotel room was uneventful. Several people who were on the street gave Al and Chester confused or judgmental looks as they walked through the streets with muck from the previous day/night's events. Ed felt slightly guilty as he hadn't spared a thought that morning to cleaning Al or Chester up but Chester quickly pointed out that Al had been just as capable at getting them cleaned up but he hadn't so Ed wasn't allowed to feel bad about not thinking of it either.

The lady manning the front desk of the hotel merely glanced at them disapprovingly as they tracked mud and who-knew-what-else through the lobby. Ed quirked his lips apologetically but they didn't stop to talk to her. She didn't look like she was expecting them to as she turned back to the couple who were standing at the counter. Thankfully, the elevator doors opened to reveal it was empty so the four of them wouldn't have to deal with anyone during the ride up.

"What do you wanna do now, Brother?" Al asked once they were in their room.

Ed sighed. "I'll help you get cleaned up first if you want," Ed said. "After that, I'll give Chester a bath before I go for another one. I didn't clean out my automail properly at Knox's," Ed admitted.

"You know Winry will murder you if she ever found that out," Al scolded.

"Well, I didn't know if Knox was one of those people who watches how much water they use or not and I'd rather get on Winry's bad side than Knox's since he's currently in charge of healing two allies," Ed said defensively. "Besides, Winry said that this cold weather set isn't as prone to rust as my usual set so I figured it could handle being dirty for a couple hours longer."

Al made a noise that told Ed that he wanted to argue more but had decided against it. "Okay, Ed," Al finally said. "I can get myself cleaned up so why don't you give Ches a bath?" Al suggested.

"You sure?" Ed asked and Al nodded.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty good at using our cleaning arrays on myself," Al assured him.

"Alright," Ed relented before looking at Chester. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up," Ed said.

" _I really don't think I need one. I can clean myself up just fine,"_  Chester said and Ed raised a brow.

"You really wanna give yourself a tongue bath knowing where you've been and what you're covered in?" Ed asked incredulously. Chester grimaced in disgust and Ed nodded. "That's what I thought," he said. "Nice try but get in the bathroom," Ed instructed, pushing the bathroom door open.

" _I dislike you very much right now,"_  Chester grumbled as he walked towards the bathroom as though it held torture equipment.

"You love me and you know it," Ed told him as Al tried to cover his chuckles over his Animal's dramatics up. Chester decided not to bother with a reply as he entered the bathroom.

* * *

"See? Much quicker and more pleasant than a tongue bath," Ed said as he finished drying Chester off.

" _Yeah, you keep on believing that,"_  Chester grumbled as Ed rubbed the towel vigorously against his hair. Ed rolled his eyes at the sulking leopard as he continued drying him off. Finally, Ed decided he was as dry as he was gonna get without Ed using another towel or an array but the Animals had long since banned both of them doing so unless there was no other choice when they realised the array made the Animals coats poof up comically.

"All done," Ed said, tossing the damp towel into a random corner. "You can go see how Al did with the cleaning arrays," Ed told him, opening the door up so Chester could go do just that.

" _Thanks, Ed,"_  Chester said, rubbing affectionately against Ed's leg as he walked past him. The slightly damp patch he left in his wake was purely accidental.

"You're welcome," Ed said before smirking. "Even if you act like a baby when it comes to a bath." Ed shut the door before Chester could completely register what he'd just said.

" _Coward,"_  Chester grumbled as Ed stripped out of his jackets. Ed likely would've been offended if he couldn't feel the mirth the leopard's comment was tainted with.

Ed shook his head as he finished getting undressed, unwrapping his wrist, and turning the shower on so it was warm before he got in it. A few seconds later, Ed got in the shower and felt himself almost melt for the second time that day as the hot water worked its magic. Unlike at Knox's, Ed took his time with this shower. He paid extremely close attention to his automail as he scrubbed out the gunk from every crevice. Ed was a little surprised at how little there was still in the metal limbs. The water that pooled momentarily at his feet before it went down the drain was barely brown as he cleaned the limbs. Once the water ran completely clear, Ed quickly shampooed his hair and washed the rest of himself before he turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower.

He pulled on some clean boxers once he'd dried himself off. Grabbing a fresh towel, Ed left the steamy bathroom and joined everyone back in the small lounge room so he could talk as he dried his automail limbs properly. "How'd you go?" He asked Al as he sat down and got to work. He did give his brother's armour a once-over and noted that it was certainly cleaner than before.

"Good," Al told him. "Between Ayala and Chester, I managed to get everything on the outside of my armour clean completely. I'm fairly certain I got anything that managed to get on the inside as well," he said.

"Awesome." Ed flashed him a smile. "Well I haven't heard from Calix since I spoke to him this morning so I'm gonna assume Hohenheim either found something more interesting to occupy himself with or he's as stumped as we are about how Father turned off our alchemy," Ed reported.

"Or he's got a theory and is trying to prove it before he has Calix tell you anything," Al suggested rather pointedly and Ed conceded the point with a slight nod.

"Or that," he agreed. Silence reigned for a couple of moments as Ed worked on his limbs. "How are you handling everything?" Ed asked unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?" Al asked and Ed sighed.

"What happened with Ling, the news about the team, that kind of thing. How are you handling all of that?" Ed elaborated.

"Oh," Al stuttered slightly. "I don't think I've really processed all of what happened yet. I'm half-expecting Ling to pop up with no warning to try and con you into buying him some food," Al admitted and Ed sighed in relief slightly. He could intimately understand that as he felt the exact same way. "Have you spoken to Laika since we left?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head. "No. He's still asleep," Ed told him, not bothering to keep the worry out of his voice. While he didn't know Laika as well as he knew most the other Animals he was bonded too, he couldn't help but remember Lan Fan's comment about having never seen Laika so subdued before.

As if he could sense his older brother's thoughts, Al piped up. "I'm sure he's fine. What happened to Ling was probably just a massive shock in every way for Laika. Like what we went through was for Ayala and Chester. They were unconscious for quite a while after that," Al said. Ed gave him a grateful smile as he continued drying out his arm.

"Yeah, that's true," Ed said. "Hopefully we can get Ling back to himself before too long though. I have a feeling that Laika will suffer more the longer Greed is in control," Ed revealed. Now that he was finished with his limbs, he took up the bandages Knox had used on his wrist and wrapped it back up.

"I hope you're wrong but I think the sooner we get Greed out of Ling, the better," Al said.

" _We agree. That kind of impact to and suffocation of the bond can't be good for either Ling or Laika,"_ Ayala told Ed, looking at him from where she was laying on the kitchen floor. Chester was balanced on the back of the couch that Al was sitting on.

Ed stifled a yawn behind his hand, trying to pass it off as just him trying to wipe something away but Al saw the action. "You should get some sleep, Brother. It's been a long 24hours and you need to get some rest before tonight," Al told him.

"I'm fine," Ed grumbled. "You know I can go longer without sleep."

"Yes but you shouldn't," Al said. "You know that you should get the sleep while you can. What if you get assigned a mission tomorrow and don't end up getting any sleep for days?" Al pointed out and Ed rolled his eyes only to yawn mid-way through the action. He glared at the two Animals as their sniggers filled his head.

"I should wait until Calix gets back to me," Ed argued but Al shook his head.

"You know they might not contact you for days if dad's anything like you are when it comes to proving a theory," Al argued back.

Ed scowled at him but couldn't argue back because he knew his brother was right. Fighting back another yawn, Ed sighed and got to his feet. "Fine but someone had better wake me by 5 so we aren't late to the Hughes'," Ed instructed.

" _Oh, someone definitely will,"_  Chester promised, a slightly evil tone in his voice.

"Somebody other than Ches better wake me up," Ed told them, causing Chester to pout and Al to laugh.

"I'll wake you," Al promised.

"Alright," Ed said before he gathered up the towels he'd used to dry his automail off with. After tossing them in the bathroom and pulling on a tank top, Ed headed for the bed he and Ayala had claimed as their own.

Once Ed had gotten himself in bed and pulled the covers up around himself, Ayala trotted out of the kitchen and joined him on the bed. As she was making herself comfortable, Alphonse hauled himself up and made his way into the bedroom. He switched off the main light and drew the heavy curtains, letting the room fall as dark as could make it. The only light left on in the hotel room was the one from the bathroom since it was the only one that Al could read by that wouldn't shine into the bedroom and annoy Ed.

"Thanks, little brother," Ed said from where he was snuggled under the sheets.

"Get some sleep, Ed," Al said in response before he headed back into the lounge room as quietly as he could.

Scooping up the book he was currently reading, Al settled himself against the couch Ed had sat himself on to dry off his automail. Chester didn't move from his perch, far too comfortable where he was, but he did reposition himself slightly so he could keep Al better in his sights. From the leopard's position, he could see Al's helmet and shoulders and, if he shifted his head slightly, he could see the lump on the bed that was made up of Ed and Ayala's bodies. Satisfied that nothing would happen in the next few hours to disturb either boy, Chester closed his own eyes and let himself fall into a light sleep.

* * *

"Ed, it's time to get up." Ed blinked his eyes open blearily and found himself looking up at Ayala's face. For a few moments – longer than Ed would ever admit – he stared up at her in confusion because the voice that woke him up most definitely didn't belong to Ayala. "Are you up yet?" the voice called again and that was when Ed's brain managed to figure that Al had been calling to him from the kitchen.

"Yeah, gimme a sec," Ed called back, voice rough with lingering sleep.

" _Is your brain up and running yet?"_  Ayala teased, grinning at him as he shifted into a sitting position.

"Shut up," Ed grumbled at her, shoving at her face lightly to push her out of his way so he could get out of bed.

" _Rude,"_  she muttered in his head as he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself. He didn't respond in anyway except to poke his tongue out at his wolf.

Once he was finished in the bathroom, Ed walked out to find that Ayala had relocated to the couch Chester was on and a steaming cup of coffee placed on the coffee table. "You are my favourite brother," Ed told Al, who had taken a seat on the unoccupied couch, as he picked up the coffee and took a gulp, ignoring how hot it was.

"I'm your only brother," Al deadpanned as Ed sat next to Ayala and gave Chester a pat.

"What time is it?" Ed asked even as he twisted in his seat to try and find the clock.

"Just after 5, Ed. We have plenty of time," Al assured him.

"Once I've finished my coffee and gotten dressed, we might as well head over to Hughes'," Ed said. "He did say we could turn up early if we wanted too."

"Alright, Brother," Al agreed with a slight nod. "How did you sleep?" Al asked.

"Yeah, alright," Ed told him, taking another sip of coffee. "Probably won't sleep tonight but I was thinking," Ed said before Al could protest, "that we should go to the Second Branch Library and start reading everything we can on alkahestry," Ed suggested.

"Why?" Al asked curiously.

"Because Mei and Scar were able to use their alchemy while we couldn't," Ed reminded him. "While we don't actually know what the hell kind of alchemy Scar is using, we  _do_  know that Mei was using alkahestry. If we research it, maybe speak to the little princess when she's awake, we might be able to figure out a way to use it or incorporate it somehow into our alchemy so that Father's trick might not work on us again," Ed explained.

"It's a good idea but I don't think we should let our hopes get too high," Al said. "I have a feeling alkahestry would be difficult for us to learn."

"How so? We  _are_  geniuses," Ed said, looking curious and a little insulted.

" _Shut up and let him explain,"_  Chester said, flicking his tail to swat Ed lightly on the cheek. Ed swiped his tail away, scowling as he did so but the leopard just grinned as he curled his tail over his hips.

"Because of what Ling told us about alkahestry when we first met him in Rush Valley, remember?" Al said. "He told us that alkahestrists use it primarily for healing. Anything that's used for healing must take months, even years, to learn until you're at the point where you're confident enough to be able to use it on someone. We don't even know when this plan of Father's will happen! It could start tomorrow for all we know," Al pointed out. "All I'm saying is that I know what you're like when you get an idea like this and I don't want you to set all your hopes on this idea when we might not even have the time to talk to Mei," Al said.

"I know, Al, but I still think it might be a good idea and who knows? Maybe alkahestry combined with alchemy may give us a lead or an actual way to achieve our goal," Ed told him.

"I just wanted to make sure," Al said, voice sounding a little smaller than usual. "But I do think it's a good idea. Alkahestry might be able to help us out and it certainly wouldn't be a stupid idea to learn the healing side of it. Not without how often you get injured," Al said.

"I don't get hurt that often!" Ed protested. Three sets of eyes immediately looked at with judgmental disbelief. "I don't get hurt that badly that often," Ed corrected with a sullen look.

" _That's better,"_  Ayala said with a small laugh.

"Rude," Ed muttered, draining the last of his coffee. "Right. So I'll go get dressed then we'll head over to the Hughes' then the Second Branch Library and find out everything we can on alkahestry," Ed said, getting to his feet.

"Sounds like a plan," Al said, watching Ed head into the kitchen to rinse out his cup. "It'll be good to have a home-cooked meal with everyone again. Especially since… you know," Al trailed off awkwardly.

"Especially since we don't know when the next time will happen, if it ever does?" Ed finished, striding towards the bedroom, raising a brow at his younger brother.

"Yeah, that," Al agreed, voice saddened.

"It will be nice," Ed agreed, humming slightly. "However, there might be another silver lining to the team being split up like this other than the ones Mustang told us this morning and if I've thought of it, you can bet money that Mustang has," Ed said as he pulled on a clean pair of pants.

"What silver lining have you found that makes our friends being sent as far away as possible not a bad thing?" Al asked disbelievingly.

" _I'd like to know that as well,"_  Chester said, looking perplexed at the idea of anything good coming from this situation.

"Well, think about it," Ed said, muffled for the seconds it took for him to slip off his sleep shirt and put a clean top on. "They'll be able to make new contacts there and maybe even get some soldiers ready to fight on our side. Havoc especially," Ed told them, pulling on his black jacket. "The whole team has a rapport in East City and Mustang said we can trust Grumman not to be in on this whole plot so he might be able to give us an entire Command Centre's worth of troops, if we need them," Ed pointed out.

"I suppose so but that's not overly comforting and I don't think the team will think so either," Al told him glumly.

"Probably not but it's the only slightly positive thing I can come up with to make this shitshow seem better," Ed told him, tone a little waspish.

"There's no need to get so defensive, Ed," Al sighed. "I'm not attacking you or anything," Al muttered.

Ed felt his anger bleed out and sighed. "Sorry, Al. I shouldn't have snapped at you," he said, looking down at the floor.

" _No, you shouldn't have but we know you didn't mean it,"_  Chester told him.

"Ches is right. You're forgiven," Al told him. "Besides, it's not like we're not used to your temper by now," Al teased, making Ed roll his eyes even as he started to grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed grumbled. "If you've finished teasing me, we should start heading to the Hughes' now," Ed said, gesturing to the door.

" _Good idea. We can tease you while we walk,"_ Chester said, sounding far happier about that realisation than Ed thought he should've.

"You're awful," Ed told him, causing the leopard to chuckle.

"Be nice, you two, and let's leave," Al said, interrupting anything Chester would've said back.

Calling a temporary truce, Ed and Chester followed Al and Ayala out of the hotel room. Ed swiped the key on his way out, stuffing it in his pocket so that they'd be able to get back inside that night if they needed to before going to the library without resorting to using alchemy to unlock the door since the hotel frowned upon people doing that. The four of them got in the elevator and walked into the lobby once the elevator let them out. An employee they didn't know manned the front desk and watched them as they left, likely so he'd be able to recognise them when they returned to the hotel as guests so he wouldn't stop them to ask questions about why they were there.

They left the hotel and headed along the route that would take them to the Hughes', making their way through the people who were on the street returning home or running errands. Unlike the night they'd headed to Maes' when Ed had gotten back from Central, they didn't run into Nala or Mustang on their way. Whether it was because they were still on base or had decided to make sure they turned up on the agreed upon time rather than earlier like Ed, Al and their Animals were, Ed didn't know. He was a little sad that they didn't run into the pair before shaking his head and reminded himself that he only cared because it meant no Nala.

* * *

The walk was completely uneventful. Neither Animal sensed anyone following them – homunculous, Animal or human – and aside from a couple of people who recognised Ed as a State Alchemist and asked for his help in fixing some broken trinkets, the group were left alone. They discussed mainly what their plans were for after dinner and Al managed to talk Ed into leaving Mei alone for a couple of days so she would have a chance to heal before being interrogated by Ed about alkahestry. Ed glanced at Chester, silently seeking confirmation about his suspicions concerning Al's feelings concerning the little Xingese princess but the leopard wouldn't play ball.

The group arrived at the Hughes' residence fifteen minutes before the agreed upon time. They didn't have to announce their presence because the moment they'd shut the front gate they'd stepped through, Elysia came racing from the house. "Big brothers Ed and Al! Ayala! Chester!" She squealed as she threw herself at the closest Elric, who just so happened to be Chester and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Despite the fact that it was generally considered rude to touch someone's Animal without the Animal's permission, Elysia was still young enough to get away with it with only a gentle reprimand. However, both Ayala and Chester had told Ed and Al within a couple of weeks of meeting the Hughes' that they would allow hugs from the youngest Hughes. Once Elysia had finished giving Chester a hug, she moved to Ayala, then Al and finally Ed, who had been the furthest from the front of the house as he'd been the one to shut the gate.

"How have you been, El?" Ed asked as he scooped the little girl up.

"Good. Mummy and daddy took me to some schools yesterday," Elysia told him as they headed up the short front path.

"That sounds like it was fun," Al said and Elysia nodded enthusiastically.

"It was! We went to three different schools to see which one I'll get to go to next year," Elysia said.

"Which one did you like best, El?" Ed asked while Al called out a greeting to Gracia and Lilith.

"I like the second one we visited. That one was East-Central Elementary and it had the best art room!" Elysia told them. "There was so much room for sports and the teachers we met were all really nice."

"That's great, El," Ed said, giving her a grin as they entered the kitchen. "Hey, Miss Gracia," Ed greeted as soon as he spotted her.

"Hello boys, Chester and Ayala," Gracia said, giving them all a smile as she turned to face them. "How have you all been since we last saw you?" She asked as she continued working on the dinner she was cooking.

"Yeah, alright," Ed told her, placing Elysia on the floor. "Got in a couple of scrapes but we're fine," he assured her when she looked up in worry.

"We heard about your fight with Scar," Gracia said, glancing at him as Elysia chattered away to Chester and Ayala. "Lilith and Leo sensed your plan around lunch-time and told us," Gracia revealed just as her fox wandered into the room to see everyone.

"Hey, Lilith," Ed said to the fox. "I was wondering how Mustang figured out what I was up to. I thought I'd blocked all the Animals except for Ayala and Chester so they wouldn't know and warn everyone," Ed said, looking at the fox curiously.

" _You accidentally took the block down for a few moments around lunch time. I can't speak for all the Animals you're bonded to but Leo and I could sense what you were doing,"_  Lilith told him.

" _Must've been after we spoke to Fu and got a status report,"_  Ayala suggested, remembering when Ed had let his guard down as he'd silently hoped that Scar would get a move on.

"Yeah, I think so too," Ed said as he thought it through. "Do you need any help, Miss Gracia?" Ed asked, moving the conversation over to a new subject.

"If you wouldn't mind," Gracia said, giving him a grateful smile. "I love Maes dearly but sometimes I question how much when he springs something like this on me with only a few hours notice and no time for me to go shopping," Gracia told him with a small sigh but her lips were quirked upwards, a sure sign that she was only joking.

"I'm happy to help out," Ed said. "It is a little bit my fault they're all coming over," he told her, "so I don't mind."

"How's it your fault?" Gracia asked.

"Mummy, is big brother Ed going to help you with dinner?" Elysia asked, accidentally interrupting Gracia and Ed's conversation.

"Yes, he is. Why do you ask?" Gracia answered.

"Can I show big brother Al and Chester my new doll?" She asked, big green eyes widened in a pleading expression that had Gracia chuckling.

"Of course you can, darl," Gracia told her. "I want you both washed up and ready for dinner in no more than 20 minutes, got it?" Elysia nodded, curls bouncing vigorously with how enthusiastic she was.

"I'll make sure we do, Miss Gracia," Al promised before letting Elysia lead him away from the kitchen. A look from Al's glowing eyes had Chester following with a huff only Ed and Al could hear, leaving Ed and Ayala alone in the kitchen with Gracia and Lilith until the fox decided she preferred the armchair Gracia usually occupied in the lounge room.

"Where do you want me?" Ed asked as he removed his gloves and stuffed them into a pocket.

"If you could start with prepping the salad, I'll get started on tenderising the chicken," Gracia said.

"Chicken schnitzel?" Ed asked, recognising the line up of ingredients.

"Yep," Gracia confirmed, pulling out her meat tenderising hammer.

"Awesome," Ed commented as he took up the knife Gracia set out for him.

The kitchen was soon filled with the noise of Ed chopping up whatever salad-stuff Gracia had available while Gracia got to work on the chicken. This continued for a few minutes; them working in tandem while Ayala lay at Ed's feet, keeping herself out of the way but close enough to not miss any potential offerings Ed might slip her. "You didn't answer my question before," Gracia said after a couple of minutes. "How is the team coming over tonight with barely any warning a little bit your fault?" Gracia asked.

Ed sighed. "The fight with Scar wasn't the only one Al, the Animals and I got into yesterday," Ed told her. "I couldn't tell the team about it this morning because the office is bugged. That's not the only reason they're coming over but it  _is_  part of the reason they're coming here," Ed said.

"Are you alright?" Gracia asked, looking concerned all over again. "I'm guessing that second fight wasn't because you were trying to apprehend a suspect for a mission," Gracia said a little dryly.

"You'd be right but I am perfectly fine," Ed told her, giving her a smile. "A little bruised and pretty sore but nothing that won't heal in a couple of days."

"Does that include your wrist?" Gracia asked, giving his flesh wrist a significant look.

Ed wasn't overly surprised she'd spotted the bandages peeking out from under his jacket sleeves as he cut the vegetables up for the salad. "Maybe a week until it's healed completely. The doc I saw told me it was a severe sprain," Ed admitted.

"I'm a little surprised those are the worst injuries you've suffered," Gracia said with a small sigh. "I'm glad you are alright though and that they weren't worse." She gave him a smile that Ed returned.

"Me too. Can't do what I need to if I'm laid up in the hospital," Ed told her.

"As long as doing what you need to won't end up with me bringing Elysia to the hospital to visit you," Gracia said, a low warning in her voice.

"I can't promise it won't but I will promise to try my hardest to not to," Ed told her. "I don't like being stuck in hospital, remember?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, we know. I think the whole of Amestris has heard your brother lecture you about leaving against your doctor's medical advice more than once," Gracia teased, causing Ed to huff out some amused laughter.

" _She's not wrong,"_  Ayala chimed in.  _"Also, the team's nearly here, which you would've known yourself if you'd paid any attention to your bond with Nala or the others,"_ Ayala told him a little snippishly, causing Ed to feel a little sheepish as he realised she was right and that he could sense Mark, Nala and the other Animals.

"The team'll be here in a minute," Ed told Gracia, who had been watching him curiously.

She glanced up at the clock. "They'll be right on time," she said. "Can you tell if Leo's with them?" Gracia asked and Ed concentrated for a moment.

"No, he seems to be further behind them," he finally said. "I think he and Nala are walking together," Ed told her.

"I'm sure Roy is enjoying that immensely," Gracia said with an amused tone.

"Oh, most likely," Ed laughed. "I'll be back in a few seconds," Ed told her, placing his knife on the bench.

"Gonna surprise them by opening the door before they knock?" Gracia asked knowingly. Ed's answer was a massive grin. "Go on," Gracia said with a laugh.

Ed didn't hesitate as he headed for the door. A quick check with the Animals who weren't in the house told him that they were just pulling up and that Fuery was currently in the lead to be the first at the door. Kara giggled as she counted down for Ed and on her word, Ed pulled the door open to find Fuery with his fist raised and a shocked look on his face.

"Evening, guys," Ed said nonchalantly as Fuery overcame his shock.

"Hey, Ed. Good timing," Fuery said.

"Not really," Ed told him, grinning at Kara who warbled a happy noise back. Fuery's eye-roll when he'd put two and two together made Ed laugh as he stepped aside to let everyone.

"How are you now, Chief?" Havoc asked as he and Mark brought up the rear. Hawkeye and Soren looked up at Havoc's question.

"Yeah, fine," Ed told him. "Got some sleep and everything."

"Well, that's good. Your throat's not giving you any problems?" Havoc asked, glancing at Ed's neck.

"It doesn't hurt at all," Ed swore. Both Havoc and Hawkeye relaxed slightly. "Where's Hughes and Mustang?" Ed asked once he checked the two men and their Animals definitely weren't with the group.

"They elected to walk from the base," Hawkeye said, a slight scowl on her face and Ed knew that they'd declined Hawkeye's offer to escort them despite what Mustang had done the previous night. "They shouldn't be too much longer," she told him.

"Okay. I'm helping Miss Gracia with dinner at the moment but Al and Elysia are around here somewhere," Ed told them as he headed back into the kitchen.

"Hello, everyone," Gracia greeted, wiping her hands on her apron as she stepped out the kitchen.

Sensing what his human was about to do, Soren left Hawkeye's shoulder and settled on a startled Ed. "Hello, Gracia," Hawkeye greeted, giving the other woman a quick hug. "Sorry about the lack of warning you received," she apologised as she took a step back.

"That's alright, Riza. It didn't cause me any major trouble though Maes will be getting a talking to once more about inviting everyone over on a whim," Gracia told her, giving everyone a gentle smile.

"Still, thanks for having us over tonight," Hawkeye said. "There were some unexpected orders issued from Fuhrer Bradley this morning. Colonel Mustang has promised to explain the circumstances behind these orders," she explained as she straightened so Soren could settle back on her shoulder.

"What orders?" Gracia asked curiously before she realised she'd neglected something. "Oh! Do any of you want a drink?" She asked, looking around to everyone else.

"No, thank you," Falman replied, echoed by the others.

"Alright. You're welcome to go wait in the lounge room if you'd like. Dinner won't be too long," Gracia told the men before turning back to Hawkeye. "What orders?" Gracia repeated.

Hawkeye glanced at the others before answering. "The team, for the most part, are being split up and shipped to our sister cities to work under other officers. Colonel Mustang and Edward will be staying in Central and Edward will remain under the colonel's command but I have been ordered to start in my new position as the Fuhrer's personal secretary the day after tomorrow," Hawkeye informed her, keeping her voice level and emotionless.

Gracia looked stunned. "You've all been ordered away from Central?" Gracia asked, looking at the men who all now had varying degrees of morose expressions on their faces.

"Yes," Havoc confirmed when no one else seemed willing to say the word. "I'm to report to East City."

"Fort Briggs," Falman told Gracia.

"West City," Fuery murmured, barely loud enough to hear and Kara chirped sadly as she pecked his cheek lightly.

"South City for me," Breda grunted.

Gracia looked shaken. "Why on earth would they want to split you guys up?" She asked.

"We don't know but, as I said, Colonel Mustang has promised answers, hence why we are here tonight," Hawkeye said. "Our office is now bugged for both audio and visual and I believe Colonel Mustang decided that your home was the best place for us to give us those answers. After all, it's not unusual for us to gather in your home for dinner and with the Animals and security measures Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, Colonel Mustang and Edward have put in place, no one and no homunculous could get close enough to eavesdrop," Hawkeye explained.

"That makes sense," Gracia said, humming slightly. "I suppose I can give Maes some slack for the lack of warning," Gracia said, trying her best for a little bit of humour. It succeeded slightly as some of the team gave her a small, amused smile. Gracia inhaled a breath deeply through her nose in an attempt to calm herself. "Well, I'm sure Maes and Roy won't be long and neither will dinner. I just have a couple of things left to do in the kitchen. Make yourselves at home," Gracia said, giving them a smile before turning to go back to the kitchen.

"Do you need help, Miss Gracia?" Ed asked, taking a step forward, ready to follow her if need be.

"No, Ed, I'll be alright," Gracia assured him. "You can stay out here if you'd like."

"Alright," Ed said, pausing in his movements. "But if you want any help," Ed trailed off but the offer was understood.

"I'll let you know," she said, giving him a gentle smile before she disappeared into kitchen. Ed felt something brush against his leg and looked down to see Lilith disappearing into the kitchen after her human.

"Hey, guys." Al's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairway that led to the second story of the house. "Elysia thought she heard voices," he said as he, Chester and Elysia made their way into the lounge room the team had been heading into.

"Hello, Alphonse," Hawkeye greeted. "Hello, Elysia. How have you been?" The sharpshooter gave the young girl a smile as the almost 6-year-old ran to them with a big grin on her face.

"Hi, Miss Riza! I'm good! Mummy and daddy took me to some schools yesterday to see which one would be the best for me," Elysia told her as she gave her a hug.

"That's exciting," Hawkeye said, giving her another smile.

"So you're heading to school soon?" Havoc asked as Elysia made sure she gave everyone a hug.

"Next year," Elysia confirmed with a bright grin. "What did you guys do today? Big brother Al told me that he and Ed visited you this morning but he didn't get a mission," Elysia said, having finished hugging everyone.

"We just went about doing what we normally do today. We did receive some news this morning but your father and uncle want to talk about that with you," Hawkeye told her.

"So, I have to wait?" Elysia pouted, causing a couple of chuckles.

"I'm sure you'll survive, El," Ed teased, poking the girl's shoulder. "'Sides, they shouldn't be too long before they're here anyways," Ed told her.

"Alright," Elysia huffed, relenting to the fact that she'd just have to wait.

"Why don't you tell the team about the schools you visited?" Al suggested and Elysia immediately brightened.

"Okay!" She agreed enthusiastically.

* * *

It took another ten minutes for Mustang, Nala, Leo and Hughes to walk in through the door. They did so just as Elysia was finishing up telling the team about the second school – her favourite of the three – and she was the first to her feet when everyone who had normal human hearing registered the sound of the doorknob rattling as someone started turning it. If it hadn't been for the fact that Ed could sense the two Animals standing on the other side of it, he would've stopped the girl on her journey to greet who was at the door.

"Daddy! Uncle Roy!" Elysia squealed as she got to the door and started pulling it open, despite the fact that Maes was already pushing it open.

"There's my beautiful little angel!" Maes grinned as he swept Elysia up into his arms and gave her a hug, leaving Nala, Leo and Mustang to walk around them and close the door. "Were you good for your mum today?"

"Yes!" Elysia told him, nodding to emphasise her answer.

"She was," Gracia confirmed as she stepped out of the kitchen. "The two of you are late," she reprimanded as Elysia squirmed her way out of Hughes' arms so she could say hello to the fox, lioness and second human.

"Sorry, dear," Hughes apologised immediately. "The walk took a little longer than expected."

"What he means to say is that we ran into Sergeant Brosh on our way here and Hughes decided to show him his picture collection," Mustang said, glaring at Hughes as he held Elysia in his arms while he walked past the other man to give Gracia a kiss on the cheek, placing Elysia on the ground next to Nala at the little girl's request. "Thanks for letting us join you for dinner," he said as he stepped away, ignoring Hughes' protests at being thrown under the bus.

"The team told me what happened this morning," Gracia told him and Mustang's face fell slightly.

"Let's have dinner first before we talk about that," Mustang suggested. His eyes flicked to Elysia meaningfully and Gracia nodded, though her lips pursed.

"Dinner's ready," Gracia told them. "Someone who isn't an Elric can help me set things out on the table," she ordered.

"Why do they get a free pass?" Hughes asked as he shrugged his coat off and hung it up, doing the same to Mustang's when the flame alchemist handed it over.

"Al kept Elysia entertained and Ed helped me get dinner ready," Gracia told him.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help?" Al asked as the team filed into the kitchen to do as Gracia had asked.

"You've helped plenty this afternoon. Let the others lend a hand instead," Gracia said, patting his metal arm gently.

Getting a nod from both boys, Gracia headed back into the kitchen to direct everyone after giving Hughes and Mustang strict instructions to wash up. Mustang left to do just that, eager to get into the dining room since he'd not had an appetite for lunch after the meeting that morning. Hughes stuck around though, eyeing Ed – more specifically, eyeing his injuries up – before he asked the same thing Ed had been asked half a dozen times this afternoon already.

"How are you, Ed?"

"I'm fine, Hughes," Ed assured him. He didn't bother hiding the slight irritation he felt but Hughes seemed to realise that the annoyance Ed felt wasn't caused entirely by him.

"Good," Hughes said, ruffling Ed's hair, causing the blonde to growl with annoyance as he swatted at his hand.

"Leave him alone, Hughes. I don't need to hear him complaining for the rest of the night," Mustang drawled as he joined them.

"You're truly hilarious," Ed said flatly as Hughes chuckled before he retreated to the bathroom to clean himself up, as per his wife's orders.

" _He thinks he is,"_  Nala said, smirking as Mustang glared at her.

"I think we should go join everyone at the table before the food is all gone," Al suggested before Ed and Mustang could truly start arguing.

"That is a good plan. I'm hungry," Ed said, turning towards the kitchen.

" _I don't know why you keep telling us you're hungry since we already know,"_  Ayala commented as the small group headed into the dining room via the kitchen.

"You and Mustang should start a comedic act," Ed told her snippishly. She rolled her eyes as she sat next to him.

" _Wouldn't be that great since I could only speak to the Animals in the audience,"_ Ayala mused. Ed swatted her ear, making her huff in annoyance. Their horseplay was interrupted by Hughes joining everyone at the table.

"Help yourselves," Gracia said, gesturing to the numerous plates of salad, chicken schnitzel and the two gravy boats that sat on the table.

Ed was quick to nab three bits of schnitzel – one for him and two for Ayala – before loading his plate with salad and digging in. Alphonse helped himself to two bits of chicken but both went to Chester. The plate in front of him was loaded with a small portion of salad and a smaller piece of chicken but Ed knew that it would either slowly find its way to his plate or to Chester's. Although the team and the adult Hughes' knew the entire truth behind Al, Elysia didn't. It had been decided that they would keep the secret from her until she was old enough to understand why it needed to be kept a secret so Al continued the façade in front of her.

* * *

Since Elysia had ordered Mustang to sit next to her, he was being told all about her adventures the day before. Although everyone else had either heard all about it or lived it, no one tried to speak over or interrupt her retelling. Hughes and Gracia added a few things to the story – mainly their thoughts of each school and the faculty – every now and then but the main talker was Elysia. Mustang had listened intently and asked questions where appropriate. When she finished telling them all about the three schools, Mustang had turned to Hughes.

"Have you started running background checks on all the teachers?"

"And the aides, the administration office, groundskeepers. Every single person I met or heard about from the principals and other staff," Hughes told him. There were looks exchanged by everyone else at the table but no one was brave enough to comment on Mustang's or Hughes' extreme overprotectiveness of Elysia.

"Let me know if anyone flags," Mustang said, taking another bite of his dinner.

"Will do," Hughes agreed and that particular conversation came to an end there. Elysia was the only one at the table who hadn't reacted to the conversation with an amused look or slight eye roll.

The table fell silent for a minute while everyone continued eating since no one was really sure what to talk about now. Ed glanced up in time to see Hughes and Gracia exchange a look before Gracia dipped her slightly at Elysia. Hughes nodded near imperceptibly before stopping eye contact with her and locking eyes with Mustang instead. Hughes was the one to indicate to Elysia but added a look to the team for added clarity on what he was silently asking Mustang about. Ed thought he saw a flicker of sadness in Mustang's eye before he nodded once. Once everyone had finished eating, Hughes exhaled lightly before speaking.

"Elysia," the little girl looked up at her father calling her name, "there's a reason your mum and I invited your Uncle Roy and the team here for dinner tonight," Hughes told her. Elysia looked a little confused as she looked around and saw the saddened expressions on everyone's faces. Hawkeye managed to dial hers back quickly, as did Mustang, but not quick enough for Elysia to miss it.

"What's going on?" Elysia asked, her voice small and wobbling slightly as her green eyes flicked from her father to the others.

Hughes sighed slightly. "Something happened today and your uncle's team has been reassigned to other Command Centres."

"So everyone will be moving away?" Elysia asked, looking even more upset.

"No, honey. Your uncle, big brothers and Miss Riza will be staying in Central. Everyone else will be moving to other command posts. Tomorrow will be their last night in Central," Hughes told her. Elysia's eyes immediately watered and her bottom lip trembled as she looked at the four men who would be leaving.

"You're leaving?" She whimpered. "Why are you leaving without Uncle Roy or my big brothers or Miss Riza? You're a team so you shouldn't be going anywhere without them," she cried, tears rolling down her face.

Gracia was the first to move out of her and Hughes, knelt next to the chair Elysia was sitting on and gathered her crying daughter into her arms, shushing her gently as she held her. Hughes had moved a moment after only a moment and knelt next to Gracia so he could try and comfort Elysia as well. Her cries were increasing despite her mother and father's best efforts to get her to settle down.

"The Fuhrer issued orders for them to move to new command posts. Unfortunately, this happens sometimes when the military has too many new recruits who need training under people like your uncle. This means that the team needs to be split up and sent where they can help the military best while your uncle trains the new team." Hughes paused for a moment as Elysia sniffled and looked up at her father. "We can't do anything to stop them from leaving but it's not going to be forever and you will see all of them again before too long," Hughes told her, giving her a gentle smile while trying to keep the worry he felt off his face and out of his voice.

"How long?" Elysia asked, wiping her eyes.

"I don't know, sweetie, but hopefully not for more than a few months," Hughes told her. Elysia's face crumpled slightly.

"That's forever though," she whined, causing a couple of people at the table to chuckle lightly despite the solemn atmosphere in the dining room.

"I'm sure it won't seem that long," Gracia said, stroking her still-wet cheek. "When you see them next, it'll feel like no time has passed at all," she promised her. "Alright, honey?"

Elysia sniffled once more before nodding. "Good girl," Hughes said, ruffling her hair slightly.

"Why don't we go upstairs, Elysia?" Gracia suggested. "Your dad and uncle need to talk to everyone else about grown-up things," she told her, cutting off the whine she knew her daughter was about to let out.

"Can I say goodbye to everyone before they leave?" Elysia asked, eyes flicking between her mother and the four men who she wouldn't see again for an undetermined amount of time.

"Of course you can, sweetie," Gracia told her. "Someone will tell Lilith when everyone's ready to leave so you can say goodnight to them, alright?"

"Alright, mummy," Elysia agreed, still sniffling slightly.

"Good girl. Let's head upstairs now, okay?" Gracia said, straightening from the crouch she'd assumed to comfort her daughter.

They watched Elysia slide from her chair and take the hand her mother had extended to her. Hughes kissed the top of his daughter's head before her mother could finish leading her out of the room. While Elysia and Gracia headed upstairs, Hughes gestured for the other to head into the lounge room. Ed and Al stayed behind when Hughes did to help him clear the table of the dishes everyone had used while the others went into the lounge room to prepare themselves for what Mustang and Ed would be telling them.

When the last of the cutlery and dishes had been placed on the kitchen bench to be washed up when everyone who didn't live in the house had gone home for the night, Hughes turned to the two boys. "Thanks for your help, boys," Hughes said.

"It was no problems, Mr. Hughes," Al assured him, placing the last of the plates down. "Are you sure you don't want us to wash everything up now?"

"No, you two are guests and guests don't work under this roof," Hughes reminded him. "Also, I think everyone's growing impatient and I'm sure Roy would appreciate some back-up," he said with a grin as Ed predictably rolled his eyes.

"Fine but this is the only time I save that bastard from the team," Ed said, pointing a stern finger at Hughes.

Holding his hands up half-heartedly and obviously holding back a laugh, Hughes grinned. "Square deal," Hughes said, unable to keep a chuckle completely out of his voice.

* * *

The group of three headed into the living room and the two brothers headed straight for the couch Chester and Ayala had kept for them. The only person who had been brave enough to have them budge up to create room for them had been Hawkeye, who sat on the end of the couch furthest from the entryway into the living room while Ayala and Chester took up the remaining two-thirds of the couch. Mustang, Fuery and Havoc took up the other couch while Mark and Kara rested on their humans and Nala laid at Mustang's feet. Breda was sitting in the armchair Gracia and Lilith ordinarily sat in with Dubuffet resting next to his legs and Leo was curled up on his and Hughes' armchair. Falman and Rachel stood behind the couch that Hawkeye, Ayala and Chester were currently occupying.

"Budge up, you two," Ed ordered as he and Al made their way to their Animals. Chester rolled his eyes as he lightly hopped off the couch to join Al as the suit of armour sat on the ground and lent against the couch while Ed settled himself in the spot Chester had just vacated. Ayala was quick to curl up against Ed's side.

"Now that we're all here," Hawkeye said, gaining everyone's attention, as soon as Hughes sat down, "I believe everyone would appreciate more detailed answers than what we got this morning about why over half our team is being reassigned." Her expression told Mustang he wouldn't be given any leeway in how much they got told. She wanted to know everything and her intense gaze told him as much.

Mustang inhaled a deep, controlled breath before he looked at everyone and started talking. "Late last night, I decided to confront Bradley about everything that was going on." Despite the fact that Mustang had told them all as much that morning, there were still a few sharp gasps. "He confirmed he is indeed a homunculous and that the vast majority of the generals in the military are in on the plan to sacrifice the entire country for their gains. Mainly immortality for them and an immortal army to lead, from what Bradley said. They, of course, don't know he isn't human but I was right in my assumption that Armstrong and Grumman are the only generals we can trust to definitely not be on Bradley's side," Mustang told them. "He wouldn't tell me when this whole plan would be enacted on but he did confirm that Fullmetal and Alphonse were chosen to be sacrifices because of what they did and survived when they were younger." Mustang paused for a moment.

"However, because I revealed that we knew and weren't going to just stand by and let him destroy the entirety of Amestris, Bradley decided I needed to be kept in line somehow. Killing me straight out wouldn't work since plenty of other people knew what I did and Bradley knew as well as I did that killing everyone – bar Fullmetal and Alphonse until after they were needed, of course – would look far too suspicious and draw more attention than they'd want," Mustang told them. "Removing all of you from under my command was the only way Bradley could punish me and holding Lieutenant Hawkeye hostage as his personal secretary was the only way he could ensure I wouldn't move against him. Though he did imply there would be consequences for anyone who did continue plotting against him."

Knowing what they were likely thinking, Mustang continued. "I couldn't tell you all of this before your orders arrived because Bradley ordered me not to and I wasn't sure whether he would personally show up at the office to issue the orders. If you'd been told beforehand and he did turn up, it's possible he could've seen through your act and known I'd told you and I decided it wasn't worth risking what he'd do to you or me if I disobeyed. We don't know the extent of a homunculous' abilities after all and he might be able to tell when someone is lying." Having finished telling them everything he needed too, Mustang fell quiet.

Several seconds later, the silence was broken. "He didn't threaten me? I feel a little left out here," Hughes said. Though his familiar smirk was on his face and his tone was only mock-offended, there was an undercurrent of worry that he couldn't hide completely.

"The threat to you was implied," Mustang said flatly.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hughes' remark coupled with the 'are you serious' look Leo was giving his human and the deadpan expression on Mustang's face worked to remove some of the tense atmosphere from the room.  _"He has a talent for that, doesn't he?"_ Ayala observed and Ed snorted lightly. The noise he made was loud enough for Hawkeye to hear him and make her remember something Mustang had said that morning.

"Sir, how did Edward find out everything before we did if you went alone?" Hawkeye asked, looking back at Mustang.

This time when Mustang sighed, it was one of slight annoyance and it was accompanied by a glare aimed at Nala. "My Animal decided that someone else needed to witness my meeting with the Fuhrer in case he decided to have me killed on the spot so she decided to sight-link with Fullmetal. They stayed linked until near the end of my meeting," Mustang told them.

Hawkeye nodded as though she not only expected nothing less but also approved thoroughly. "I believe Nala was the only one out of the pair of you who was smart enough to recognise the potential danger and took the appropriate action to try and minimise it," she told him bluntly. The strangled noise Ed made as he tried not to laugh out loud once again brought Hawkeye's attention to him. "If you don't mind me asking, Edward, but how did you gain the rest of your injuries? When the Colonel and I left you and Alphonse last night, you hadn't injured your wrist and your throat wasn't bruised," Hawkeye asked, eyes flicking to the injuries she'd just mentioned.

"Well, I don't know if Mustang told you this but Al, Ling, the Animals and I decided to have Gluttony lead us to where his creator lived so we could question him about everything that was going on. Keep in mind that we weren't going to be in any true danger since they needed Al and I alive," Ed reminded them when he saw at least three of the team open their mouths to reprimand him, Al and their Animals for being reckless. Before he could continue though, he was interrupted.

"Who's Gluttony?" Fuery asked, not being able to stop himself.

"Uh, so I assume you all heard that Al, Ayala, Chester and I all went up against Scar yesterday, right?" Ed asked and everyone confirmed they had. "So the point of us doing that was so we could draw one of the homunculi out of hiding since Scar would be trying to kill me and they wouldn't want that. Gluttony was the one who got to us first. Ling took him down and he and Miss Riza got Gluttony out of the area before the MP's could spot him," Ed told them.

"So you and the Xingese are working together now?" Breda asked and Ed grimaced slightly.

"Kind of," he said but didn't give them the chance to question his answer. "After Scar escaped with the help of another Xingese – this time, a princess called Mei – Mustang and Miss Riza turned up and headed for where they were hiding Gluttony. The only detour we made was to pick up a doctor friend of Mustang's because Lan Fan – one of Ling's guards – lost an arm when she and Ling fought Gluttony and Bradley," Ed told them.

"They fought against the Fuhrer and survived?" Falman asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah. Lan Fan was badly hurt and she ended up cutting her arm off so they could tie it to a stray dog so Bradley would follow the blood trail it made while they used the sewers to escape," Ed told him and everyone who hadn't known about that looked impressed and in awe. "When we got to the hideout, Gluttony was tied up in a spare room. We didn't start interrogating him until Lan Fan had been stabilised by Doctor Knox and taken to his house, just in case Gluttony got loose somehow and tried to kill us," Ed explained.

"Gluttony didn't end up telling us much about what was going on but we did find out he has five brothers and a sister so there are eight homunculi all together, including the one that created the other seven and started all this shit," Ed told them. "Bradley is known as Wrath, by the way," Ed added.

"Gluttony? Wrath? Am I correct in my assumption that all of them are named after the deadly sins?" Hawkeye asked and Ed nodded.

"Except for the one who created them. He's known as Father to them and a massive bastard to me," Ed scowled. "Also, Envy was the one I killed with Hughes and Greed is the one who kidnapped Al and Chester when they were in Dublith when Archer was trying to 'persuade' me to move under his command," Ed told them. He almost missed the way a few of the team's jaws and fists clenched at the mention of the disgraced lieutenant-colonel.

"So you four and Ling decided to have Gluttony lead you to Father's lair. What happened when you got there?" Hughes asked, prompting Ed to return to what he was saying.

"Well, once we got back into Central, Nala asked me to sight-link with her so I'd be a witness to Mustang's possible death," Ed told them. "That lasted until we were almost at the entryway to Father's lair. After Nala and I disconnected the sight link, Gluttony had us stop because he could smell Scar and Mei. He wanted to eat them but I talked him into letting me make them leave by telling him we didn't have the time to waste waiting for him to eat them," Ed said, shivering slightly at the memory of how enthusiastic Gluttony had been at the idea of eating the Ishvalen and Xingese Princess.

"He wanted to eat them?" Fuery asked, his disgust obvious.

"Yeah, that's what he does apparently," Ed told them. "Anyway, I returned this panda thing Al had found to the princess and Scar and I formed a temporary truce. I let slip that Father might be the true reason the Ishvalen Civil War happened so that Scar would hopefully find a way in and become a temporary ally of sorts," Ed explained.

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'," Havoc quoted with a smirk. "Smart thinking, Chief."

"Cheers, Havoc," Ed said with a grin. "So once we got down into Father's lair." Ed paused for a moment. "It's guarded by hundreds of bloodthirsty chimeras, just in case you were thinking of trying to get in there," he told Mustang before focusing on the group as a whole once more. "Once in there, we met Father and Lust, who, by the way, is the woman who attacked me and Ches in Laboratory 5 with Envy and who confronted Hughes before he, Leo, Ayala and I went up against Envy," Ed told them. "Father confirmed that he doesn't appreciate Al and I almost dying every other mission so I've decided that we're gonna keep doing that to piss them off."

"Of course you would try and get yourselves killed to spite the homunculi," Hughes commented resignedly.

Ed just grinned at him and ignored his Animal and brother's mumbles of how they most certainly were  _not_  going to be doing that. "After that, Ling gatecrashed the party and we started a fight. Unfortunately no one – and by no one I mean that useless fucking bastard, Hohenheim – warned us Father knew how to use alchemy," Ed revealed and that bit of information got the only other State Alchemist in the room's attention.

"There's a homunculous who can use alchemy?" Mustang asked, exchanging a look with Nala.

"Yeah, I don't know how but Father is able to use alchemy. He doesn't have to sketch an array or clap either. It's like he does it by thinking. Not only that," Ed said with a sigh, "he can turn off alchemy." The stunned look on everyone's faces would've been comical if they had been talking about anything else.

"How do you mean?" Hawkeye was the one to break the shocked silence that had overtaken the whole room.

"We don't know how he did it and I shared my memory of the moment he did turn off our alchemy with Calix so he can share it with Hohenheim and maybe come up with a theory," Ed told her. "What he did though was release a wave of red energy and when it hit us, we couldn't use our alchemy anymore. Ayala had me transmute my blade so I wasn't completely weaponless but we couldn't so much as produce an alchemic spark."

"So what happened after that?" Breda asked. "How did you manage to get out of that one, big man?"

"Well, it wasn't easy," Ed admitted. "When Al and I lost the use of our alchemy, we tried taking them down with Ling but we were captured. Father ordered Ling to be killed because he didn't serve any purpose to his plans," Ed could see the disgust on some of their faces but continued, "and he wouldn't listen to us but Lust made a comment about Ling having spirit and Father decided to introduce a liquid stone into Ling's bloodstream. We tried to get out of Gluttony's grip to try and stop Father from doing that but Ling told us to stay away from him. He  _wanted_  the stone put in him so he could turn into a homunculous and become immortal."

"He wanted that to happen?" Mustang asked, completely aghast at the idea. Ed didn't blame him.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Father had Greed captured after kidnapping Al and Chester in Dublith and he reduced him down to his stone and reabsorbed it into himself. When he decided to turn Ling into a homunculous, he extruded the stone that had been Greed from himself and put it in Ling. The stone took but Ling's soul was suppressed and Greed was in charge. He didn't recognise any of us; not from Ling's memories or the Greed from Dublith's." Ed's face fell slightly before he shook himself minutely and got back to the report he was giving. "Laika – that's Ling's Animal, by the way – was still alive since Ling technically hasn't been killed yet and Father ordered Greed to kill Laika. Chester distracted Lust since Al and I were still being held by Gluttony and Ayala got Laika out of danger."

"That's when Scar and Mei joined us," Ed continued saying. "We found out from them dropping in that Mei's alkahestry and Scar's particular brand of alchemy weren't affected by whatever Father did to our alchemy. I guess they were different enough to ours to not be targeted by Father's attack." Ed shrugged. "They couldn't have chosen a better time to appear though. Gluttony was ordered to eat them, freeing me and Al and we took on Greed and Lust. Scar and Mei fought against Father and Gluttony but Mei was pretty injured in her fight so Al and Chester got her out. Scar followed them and Gluttony followed him on Father's orders while Laika took over helping Ayala with Lust." Ed went to go on but was interrupted.

"Wait, what happened with Scar, Al? How'd you get away from him? Did your alchemy come back?" Fuery asked before giving Ed an apologetic look. Ed waved it off and motioned for Al to talk.

"Scar helped me," Al told them. "He cleared a path through the chimeras who were blocking me from getting Mei to Doctor Knox since he couldn't take her himself because he was too injured. He owed Mei apparently so he didn't want to let her die. When Gluttony turned up, Scar took him on as well. I don't know how he managed that in the shape he was in but Chester and I didn't stick around to ask."

"He helped you?" Mustang asked, voice dripping with disbelief.

"Wasn't only Al he ended up helping out either," Ed said. "Greed managed to slip past my defenses and capture me, which is how I got the throat bruises. Lust was sent to go and find Gluttony when he didn't return and Greed was ordered to take me to Wrath, no doubt so he could threaten and blackmail me into behaving somehow. Ayala and Laika were forced to follow since Ayala didn't want me hurt and Laika was still trying to save Ling. Once Greed had me outside of Father's hideout, Scar deconstructed the hand wrapped around my throat while Ayala grabbed Laika."

"He saved your life? Scar saved a  _State Alchemist's_  life?" Hughes was the one to voice his disbelief this time and Ed nodded.

"He got me through most of the sewer system too before I managed to recover enough to figure out who was actually helping me," Ed told him. "His need for vengeance has now been aimed at the homunculi  _and_  I managed to get a truce between Scar, us, you guys, Hughes and his team and Armstrong and his team. Scar won't attack any of us until after the homunculi and their plan have been dealt with," Ed revealed and both Hawkeye and Mustang looked impressed before their passive masks could be put back in place.

"Damn, Chief, you really don't do things by halves, do you?" Havoc snorted, causing Ed to grin.

" _He really doesn't,"_  Ayala muttered despite the fact Ed was the only human who could hear her.

"What happened after that, Ed?" Fuery asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"Not much," he said. "Ayala and I headed to Doctor Knox's place so we could meet up with Al and Chester and so I could give Lan Fan and Fu Laika to look after while his human is possessed. Doctor Knox let me and Ayala get cleaned up enough to patch me up. He was finishing up doing that when Mustang and Nala turned up at his door." Ed stopped talking now that he'd caught everyone up and relaxed into the couch a little more. Ayala took this as an invitation to snuggle closer into him.

"Alright, so just so I have this straight," Hughes started saying. "You four decided to use Scar and yourselves as bait to lure a homunculous so you and the Xingese trio could capture it and interrogate it about the plan for the country. You and Hawkeye decided to help them with that by feeding false information to our troops about Scar's location," Hughes was looking at Mustang at this point, "before picking the boys and Ayala up and roping Knox into acting as a one-man hospital for the injured Xingese. The homunculous agreed to lead you four," Hughes' attention was back on Ed, Al and their Animals, "to its creators lair and while they were doing so, you," his attention went back to Mustang, "decided to confront the Fuhrer. Nala decided to sight-link with Ed while you did so just in case he killed you where you stood. Once the sight-link was over, you," Hughes' eyes fell back on Ed, Al and the two Animals lounging on them, "entered Father's lair where you confronted it after you asked Scar to leave the area while also giving him information that meant he might follow. You then found yourselves against three homunculi, including the oldest one, before Ling dropped in and got himself taken over by another homunculous. You all managed to escape thanks to Scar and Ed managed to get the mass murdering Ishvalen to agree to a temporary truce between him and our allies. Did I miss anything?" Hughes asked, looking like he certainly hoped he hadn't.

"You forgot the part where we learned our alchemy can be turned off by that bearded bastard but yeah, you summed it up nicely," Ed told him.

"Can you tell us what Father and Gluttony look like?" Havoc asked. "So we know if we spot them before our Animals sense them. We already know what Lust looks like thanks to Major Armstrong's sketches after the Fifth Laboratory incident," Havoc reasoned and Ed nodded.

"I'll do you one better," Ed said before closing his eyes to better concentrate on the links he had with their Animals, Nala included, as well as Koda, Suna, Michella and Den. Once he had all the links he wanted selected, he sent them a snippet of his memory that showed Father and Gluttony. For Nala, he simply sent her the one of Father since she'd been there when they'd interrogated Gluttony. He disconnected from them all with the exception of the Curtis' and Rockbell's Animals immediately after. He spent a few seconds explaining why he'd just shared the memory with them before letting their links go and focusing back on everyone else. "Good enough?" Ed asked and received no complaints.

" _Al says you should tell them that Father looks like Hohenheim so the team doesn't try killing him on sight if they ever see him,"_  Chester told Ed.

"And here I was hoping they would do just that," Ed said, sighing internally at Chester, who just laughed at him.

" _You can't use your team as unwitting assassins just because you still don't like your father,"_  Ayala berated and Ed rolled his eyes at her.

"It was a joke," he told her. "Kind of," he added when she gave him a disbelieving look. "So," Ed said this out loud, getting everyone's attention once more, "just so you don't put a bullet in him if you ever came across him, mine and Al's father looks exactly like the homunculous, Father. The only differences I spotted were his clothing, the fact Hohenheim wears glasses and that Hohenheim's colouring is more tanned and his hair is the same colour as mine whereas Father looked more like a washed-out version of Hohenheim." Ed received several nods of acknowledgment from the group.

"Edward, I think we'd all appreciate it if we could ask some questions. Just to get clarification on some things and more details on others. Is that alright?" Hawkeye asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, no skin off my nose. Ask away."

* * *

Thankfully for Ed and Al, they were only asked questions for a further hour or so. Their main interrogators had been Hawkeye, Mustang and Hughes, to neither of their surprises. Their questions had mainly been around where Father's lair was located, what it looked like, whether they knew of any other entrances to it. Hughes had been more interested in Scar and whatever Ed, Al or their Animals had observed during their fight. Mei had been asked about since she was a firm ally of Scar's but once Ed and Al had admitted they hadn't seen much of her fighting style and that they didn't know much about alkahestry, the questions about her ceased.

Once everyone had finished asking what they needed to, those who didn't live in the house stood to leave only to be stopped by Hughes when he reminded them that they'd promised Elysia she could say goodbye to them. A quick message from Ed to Lilith had her alerting Gracia to the fact that the team wanted to leave. It only took a couple of minutes for Elysia, Gracia and Lilith to join the rest of them in the living room. Elysia had obviously gone for a shower while they'd all been talking because her blonde locks were still damp and she was dressed in her pyjamas.

"Mummy says you're leaving," Elysia said as she came to a stop next to her dad.

"Yes, we are, Elysia," Hawkeye confirmed. "The team need to go home to start sorting out their belongings for the move and to get some sleep before we report for our last day under your uncle's command tomorrow." Elysia's face fell slightly at the reminder that her uncle's friends would be moving away from Central.

"Remember, Elysia. It won't be forever," Hughes reminded her when he saw her expression.

"I know, daddy," Elysia said before she started giving everyone hugs goodbye. When she'd hugged the last person – her uncle – she looked back up at everyone. "Bye-bye, everyone. Don't forget that you won't be away for forever and then you'll be back here again with Uncle Roy," she told them, trying to make them feel better when she noticed that Fuery and Breda hadn't looked happy when Hawkeye had mentioned them leaving.

"You're right, Elysia. We won't be kept away from Central for too long," Havoc said, giving the young girl a smile. Falman, Fuery and Breda all nodded or murmured their agreements, making Elysia beam with pride at the realisation that she'd helped them feel better.

"We do have to leave now though, before it gets too late," Hawkeye said after giving Elysia a small smile. "Thank you for having us over, Gracia. Dinner was delicious, as always."

"You're welcome, Riza," Gracia said with a smile. "Make sure you drop by for a coffee if you have the time when you take on your new duties."

"I will," Hawkeye said, a warm smile on her face as she accepted the offer. She turned to Ed and Al next. "If I don't see you in the office tomorrow, look after yourselves. I don't want to hear any reports about you ending up in the hospital again," she told them sternly and Ed gave her a grin.

"We'll try, Miss Riza, but that depends entirely on the intelligence of the criminal I get sent after," Ed told her. She nodded in acceptance of his words but Ed knew the shine of amusement he saw in her eyes wasn't a figment of his imagination.

* * *

By the time everyone left the Hughes' house – the four members of the team who would be moving cities having wrangled promises from Ed and Al to have them come see them off at the train station – another three-quarters of an hour had passed. Hawkeye had left with a curt reminder to Mustang that he'd better turn up on time in the morning to start the day. Mustang had promised her he would and Ed had told Hawkeye that Nala had every intention of making sure her human did as the lieutenant ordered. Mustang had still been scowling at Nala when the two of them headed for Mustang's private car so they could get home, leaving Ed, Al and their Animals alone with the Hughes'.

"It's passed your bedtime, Elysia," Gracia told the little girl. "Say goodnight to everyone."

"But, mummy, I'm not tired!" Elysia whined. Her claims would've been more believable had she not yawned in the middle of her protest.

"Sure you're not," Gracia said. "You still have to go to bed," Gracia told her gently but firmly.

Elysia had obviously sensed her mother would not budge on the matter and turned to her father, likely looking for some help from him but all he did was scoop her up and plant a kiss on her cheek. "Night, princess," Hughes said as he set her back on the ground.

"Night, daddy," Elysia said with a massive, defeated sigh that had Ed doing his utmost to hide his amusement so he didn't encourage Elysia's dramatics. "Night, big brothers. Night, Ayala. Night, Chester," Elysia said as she hugged the four of them in turn.

"Night, Elysia," they chorused back, though Ed and Al had had to pass along Ayala and Chester's wishes.

"I assume the four of you will be leaving shortly so I'll say goodnight to you now. Stay safe on your walk back to the library," Gracia said. She'd offered for the boys and their Animals to stay the night but Ed had turned down her offer since they had plans to go to the Second Branch Library.

"We will. Have a good night, Miss Gracia. Thanks for having us over," Ed said and Gracia gave him a warm smile as she held Elysia's hand so she could lead the girl up the stairs.

"You're always welcome here. All of you," Gracia reminded them. Only when they nodded, telling her they'd heard her, did she lead Elysia up the stairs so she could get her daughter into bed for the night.

"I take it you'll be heading out now?" Hughes asked and was a little surprised when Ed shook his head.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you before we leave," Ed told him. Hughes looked intrigued and gestured for Ed to continue. "I was wondering if you'd be able to give me some pointers about making and using throwing knives, like the ones you use." Ed could feel Al's shock from where his brother stood behind him.

"What brought this on?" Hughes asked, looking as surprised as Al felt. "I've seen you use throwing knives before and your technique is excellent already."

"Well, I noticed when I was fighting Greed after Father cut our alchemy off. My blade, while useful for the most part, isn't as versatile as throwing knives or daggers since I can't detach it from my arm," Ed told him. "I know I'm already good with blades but you're better so I was hoping you could give me a couple of lessons so I can improve. I'm thinking it's probably not a bad idea for me and Al to carry weapons on our person. That fight with Father showed me how much we rely on our alchemy in a fight," Ed told him though he did glance back at Al, trying to gauge his reaction.

"I think that's a good idea, Brother. Our hand-to-hand combat is almost unbeatable but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for us to carry other weapons," Al agreed.

"Well, I'm more than honoured that you would ask me for help with this," Hughes said, a wide grin on his face as he latched an arm around Ed's shoulders and squeezed him tight. "I'll be more than happy to give you some pointers. Why don't you come over every afternoon you have free and are in town until your next mission? We should take advantage of any free time you have in Central while we can," Hughes suggested.

"Yeah, I don't have a problem with that," Ed said. "Al?"

"No, I think Mr. Hughes has a good point. Since we don't have any idea when we'll leave next for a mission, we should get as much help as possible," Al said.

"You two?" Ed asked the Animals but both shook their heads. "Thanks, Hughes. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Just have Leo let me know a time," Ed said as he started extracting himself from the hold Hughes had on him.

"Will do!" Hughes said cheerfully, tightening his grip on Ed, causing the blonde to snarl slightly. "You better get going before my angel realises you're still here and tries to escape her mother," Hughes said, finally releasing Ed.

"Thanks, Hughes," Ed grumbled as he straightened out his jacket, taking a step further away from the man than strictly necessary, not willing to keep himself within easy reach just in case Hughes tried something like that again. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Mr. Hughes. Thank you for dinner again. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon," Al said with a slight bow before following Ed, Ayala and Chester to the front door while Hughes followed him.

"No problems, boys and Ayala," Hughes said, certainly sounding like it hadn't been any problem having them there and agreeing to make time to help them out. "I'll let you know a time tomorrow. Have a goodnight and keep yourselves safe," Hughes said, leaning slightly in the open door-frame as the four Elrics headed down the stairs into the front yard.

"See you, Hughes," Ed said once more, raising a hand in goodbye. Al mimicked his brother as they made it through the gate and headed down the street. Hughes and Leo watched them walk down the road until they were out of sight before he closed the door and headed upstairs to say goodnight to his daughter.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester continued towards the Second Branch Library. The two Animals were on high alert and neither human was relaxing as they walked. They knew they would be under closer scrutiny after their confrontation with Father and Mustang's confrontation with Wrath. During the day, they'd likely be giving more breathing space since Lust had scolded Gluttony about being seen, leading the four to believe they kept to the shadows as much as possible but at night they wouldn't be given that space. As they walked to the Second Branch Library, Ed knew that the tense, suspicious and slightly paranoid atmosphere that surrounded the four of them would be something they would have to get used to feeling until the homunculi were defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to those of you who left me a comment on the last chapter! I really loved them so much so I hope to see more comments about this chapter! See you next week!


	35. Chapter 35

The next morning found the boys getting ready to start the new day in their hotel. Their visit to the Second Branch Library had proven as fruitless as Ed had feared. Though an impressive size, the Second Branch had nothing on the First Branch and Ed knew it was likely a waste of time when the librarian the boys and Animals had approached hadn't looked hopeful when she'd heard their request. Despite the fact that she didn't believe they'd find anything of use in the books, the librarian still went ahead and pulled all the books she could find. Bringing them back to the table the boys and Animals had claimed, she wished them luck in their search. Ed, Ayala and Chester had shared a grimace at how few books there were in front of them and how much they'd likely need the luck that the librarian had wished them.

Still, the boys and their Animals had read through every text or report that had so much as hinted at alkahestry. Even Chester had joined them in their reading, despite the fact that he found it a little tedious. Unfortunately, they'd been forced to admit that nothing in the library would be of any use after about three hours of searching and reading and Al had used it as an excuse to get Ed to agree to go back to the hotel and get a few hours' sleep. Ed had eventually agreed on the condition that Al wouldn't argue against him talking to Mei the next day.

"We don't even know if she's conscious yet!" That had been Al's argument as they left the building the military had procured to act as the library.

"Laika is though and he told me that Lan Fan had asked after Mei when Knox checked on her arm. She'd been told that Knox was expecting her to wake up in the next couple of hours," Ed had told him. What Ed didn't tell Al about was the relief he'd felt when Laika had reached out. Ed had been extremely worried about the marten and the longer he'd slept, the more his once run had grown.

"Fine but," Al said as they headed for the hotel, "you have to call Doctor Knox before you go to visit, just in case," he said, laying out his only condition in a tone that told Ed he wouldn't budge.

"Ugh, I suppose I can," Ed sighed, relenting to Al's demand. Truth be told, he likely would've done that anyway since he didn't think Knox would appreciate another unannounced visit from them, whether they needed his skills or not.

" _He definitely wouldn't have. In fact, I'm almost certain he would've just slammed the door on us,"_  Ayala had said dryly in response to Ed's private thoughts.

"That would've probably been the nicest response he would've had," Ed had said in response.

The rest of the walk back to the hotel had been mostly in silence since it was so late in the evening and Ed hadn't wanted the hassle of someone complaining about them making too much noise. The four of them were also still on high alert and wary of their surroundings but they'd made it back to the hotel with no issues arising. Al had barely given Ed enough time to give the front desk employee a greeting before he had his older brother and their Animals in the elevator and heading up to their room.

Despite his nap earlier in the day, Ed had fallen asleep fairly quickly after he'd gone for a shower and dressed in his sleep clothes. Ayala and Chester had both curled up on his bed with him; Ayala because Ed was her human and Chester because he wanted to sleep next to a warm body. It wasn't the first time Chester had needed that kind of connection and for several months during Ed's automail rehabilitation, he'd refused to act on it. At first, it had been because he hadn't wanted to hurt Al's feelings but Al had told him he understood and wouldn't be angry or upset over it, once he'd figured what had been causing his leopard such distress. Still, Chester couldn't bring himself to do so and soon his answer had changed to not wanting to accidentally hurt Edward since he was still recovering from his injuries and the surgery and the bed didn't offer a lot of extra room but then Ed had used his new-found connection with the leopard and discovered what was wrong.

Once Ed had found out, he and Chester had had a lengthy conversation. Ed understood Chester's guilt about wanting something his human was unable to give him more than most people would've been able to. By the end of the conversation, they'd come to an agreement. Chester could seek him out at any time if he needed a warm body to sleep next to with no questions asked. Ayala hadn't done much more than budge over the first time Chester had joined them for a nap so he had some room. It wasn't very often the leopard needed that kind of comfort. In fact, as Ed felt Chester settle against his legs, he was certain that the last time Chester had done this was a month or so before their disastrous run-in with the rogue alchemist who targeted Animals with his alchemy. As he settled himself further into the bed, Ed did nothing more than wish Al and the Animals a good night before he drifted off into sleep.

* * *

When he'd woken up the next morning, Chester and Ayala were both already awake though only Ayala was still on the bed with him. Al and Chester were missing from their room entirely but a quick question sent to the leopard had Ed relaxing when he was told that they'd just ducked out to pick up some breakfast for them all. Ed used the time Al and Chester were gone to get himself showered, dressed and caffeinated so he would feel slightly more human when their two missing family members came back.

"We're back," Al announced completely unnecessarily as he and Chester walked through the door. Al was carrying three medium-sized bags that emitted a mouth-watering aroma and a large coffee. Both Ed's and Ayala's stomachs let out growls as the scent hit them.

"We can see that," Ed told him before making grabby hands at the bags.

"Hold your horses, Ed!" Al laughed at his brother's antics. "I need to sort them out. Go sit at the table," he instructed as he walked around his now scowling brother and into the kitchen. He was nice enough to give Ed the coffee first though.

Ed did as he was told and sat at the small, round table that was the only thing that gave any indication there even was a dining room in the hotel room. Ayala and – at Al's order – Chester joined him, sitting themselves on either side of the blonde, making sure they could both peer over the table so they could stare Al down. The suit of armour ignored the three sets of eyes boring holes into him as he removed the food from the bags and plated it.

" _He wouldn't let me have anything while we walked,"_  Chester sulked to Ed.

"Now that's just rude," Ed told him before looking at Al. "How could you deprive your own Animal of food like that?"

If Al had a flesh body, Ed had a feeling his eye roll would've been of epic proportions. "It was a less than ten-minute walk and he survived, didn't he?"

"Cruel," Ed said as Chester nodded vigorously.

"Are you going to call Doctor Knox after breakfast?" Al asked, ignoring his brother and leopard.

"Yeah, I probably should," Ed said. "I don't know his number though," Ed told him.

"How did you not get his number before we left yesterday?" Al asked in disbelief. He was finally finished plating breakfast and was now carrying it over.

"He was busy kicking us out and I didn't get the chance!" Ed said hotly. The scowl at being questioned by Al disappeared when the food was put in front of him. Three breakfast wraps were waiting for him but he first took a plate from Al that was loaded with the same quantity of food and gave it to Ayala.

"Maybe you can ask Nala. Colonel Mustang might give you his number," Al suggested as he gave Chester his breakfast and Ed nodded, stuffing as much of the first wrap as he could into his mouth.

"Good idea," Ed said around his mouthful of food. Both Chester and Ayala gave him the reprimanding look he knew Al would've given him if he could've. Swallowing his food, he gave them a slightly sheepish look. "Sorry," he offered. "I'll ask her after breakfast," Ed told Al, who nodded in agreement.

Thanks to how hungry he was, it didn't take long for Ed to finish his breakfast. Both Ayala and Chester had finished long before he did so they were both having a post-breakfast doze on the couches while Al sat up against the couch Chester was on with a book in his hand. Swallowing the last bite of food and washing it down with remaining coffee Al had bought him, there was a moment's hesitation before Ed got to his feet and cleared up the dirty breakfast plates. Once he'd thrown the empty coffee cup in the bin, Ed went and sat next to Ayala and reached for his link with Nala.

"Hey, got a sec?" Ed asked the lioness.

" _For you? Always,"_ Nala said warmly. _"What's the matter?"_ Nala asked and Ed huffed slightly.

"I'm hurt that you'd think something was wrong. Can't I just want to check up on you?" Ed asked, tone faux offended, and was rewarded with Nala's laughter.

" _Of course you can but I think you've forgotten that I can sense your thoughts. I know you aren't just checking in on me,"_ Nala told him.

"Alright, you got me," Ed grinned. "I need Knox's number. We couldn't find any information on Xingese alkahestry in any of the books the Second Branch Library has so we want to talk to Mei. Al wants me to call the doc first to make sure Mei is up for visitors before we head over but I never got Knox's number when we left," Ed explained.

" _That was a bit silly of you,"_  Nala teased lightly. Ed rolled his eyes, making sure Nala knew what he was doing.  _"I'll ask Roy for it. Hold on a moment,"_  Nala said, chuckling slightly. There was almost a minute of silence and with each second that passed, Ed could feel his patience grow a little thinner but before he could act rashly, Nala was back.  _"Ready?"_  She asked and Ed nodded.

After rattling the number Nala gave him to Ayala, Ed turned his attention back to the lioness. "Thanks, Nala," he said, making sure she could sense that he truly was thankful.

" _You're welcome,"_  Nala said and he could feel her smile.  _"Though I did have to tell him why you wanted it and explain why it was a good idea for you to call Knox first rather than dropping by unannounced,"_  Nala told him, answering his unasked question.  _"Honestly, he's been friends with the man for over a decade and he actually_ asked _why you wanted to call him first."_  Ed could feel Nala's eyeroll and he was honestly impressed.

"I'm sure I've said he's an idiot before. You can't refute that now," Ed said gleefully and Nala huffed in laughter.

" _As his Animal, it's my duty to defend him so all I'll say in response is that you're not wrong,"_ Nala laughed.  _"You should call the doctor before it gets too late. If you're lucky, you'll catch him before he's due to go into work now,"_  Nala told him.

"Right, no worries. Thanks heaps, Nala. Talk to you later," Ed said, letting her offer her own goodbye before disconnecting from their link. "Alright, I've got Knox's number," Ed told Al.

"Let's go call him now," Al suggested, unknowingly echoing Nala which made Ed grin.

"Sure. Let's go," Ed said, already climbing to his feet.

Both Ayala and Chester followed their lead, causing Ed to raise an eyebrow at them in amusement. After all, they were only going down the hall to make a phone call. A two-Animal escort seemed a little excessive to the blonde. While Ayala was content with just giving him a flat look in response to his thoughts, Chester gave a verbal one.  _"Trouble follows you around like a love-sick puppy. I wouldn't put it past your luck to be attacked while you're just making a phone call,"_  Chester drawled.

The snort Al gave had Ed shoot him a glare as he flipped the leopard off. Ayala's muttered comment about how Chester wasn't wrong weren't appreciated by Ed either and he scowled at her to make sure she knew. His scowl deepened when the golden wolf looked remarkably unaffected by it. When they reached the phone, Ed would internally admit he picked the receiver up and dialed the number with a little more force than necessary.

" _What do you want?"_  A gruff voice snapped once the phone connected to the number Ed dialed was picked up.

"It's Ed Elric," Ed said in lieu of a polite greeting. He had a feeling the doctor wouldn't be any more pleasant if he gave him one anyway. "Al, the Animals and I were wondering if your youngest patient is up for visitors yet. We want to talk to her about her alchemy," Ed said.

" _Well, good luck with that,"_  Knox said.  _"She's gone."_

"What do you mean she's gone?" Ed asked. He felt Ayala's worry as well as Chester's. "When did she leave?"

" _Sometime this morning,"_  Knox grumbled.

"Did she say where she was going at least?" Ed asked. Any hope he had was dashed when Knox snorted softly.

" _She didn't say anything to me,"_  Knox told him.  _"If that's all you're calling to bother me about, I'm hanging up,"_  Knox warned him.

"Yeah, that's all. Thanks, doc," Ed said with a sigh. He placed the phone back on its cradle and looked back at the Animals and Al.

" _She left Knox's, huh?"_  Chester asked and Ed nodded.

"We can still find her. Go out and look," Ed suggested, not willing to give up on this. Mei was their best chance at being able to fight against Father with their best weapon; their alchemy.

"This city is huge, Brother, and we don't have any clues," Al pointed out but Ed was already shaking his head.

"But we do," Ed told him. "Her panda is unusual enough that people might have noticed it," Ed pointed out.

"But what if people haven't? They could've just assumed the panda was Mei's Animal," Al argued.

"Good point," Ed said, putting his chin in his hand as he thought the problem through. Moments later, Ed snapped his fingers and gave the three of them a grin. "Her clothes! They don't exactly blend in here. The combination of the tiny panda and her exotic clothing is sure to stick in people's minds so we'll start there," Ed decided. He could feel himself getting pumped up now they had a plan of sorts.

" _That might actually work. Xingese people visiting Amestris is rare enough that her ethnicity might help even more,"_  Ayala said, her human's excitement rubbing off on her.

"Ayala has a point," Al agreed when Ed repeated what she'd said for his brother's benefit. "I think it could work," Al finally said.

"It  _will_  work," Ed told him. "Let's head back to the room and try and get some kind of sketch done to help jog people's memory," Ed said. He'd already started heading back to the room before he'd finished speaking.

"Why don't you let me draw the sketch, Brother?" Al asked, mind already thinking of ways to convince Ed. He didn't want any small children to be scarred by the sketch his brother would produce. "You can contact Laika while I do so. See if Mei told Lan Fan or Old Man Fu where she was going," Al suggested. He flicked Chester's ear lightly before Ed could see or sense the leopard's laughter.

"Yeah, that's a good idea but I'm not gonna hold my breath that she did," Ed said, oblivious to Al and the Animals amusement. "I don't think her clan and Ling's clan get along too well so I doubt she would've told either of Ling's guards."

"It wouldn't hurt to just check," Al said as they entered their room. He shut the door once everyone was inside.

"True," Ed hummed in agreement as he dug through his signature red jacket's pockets. "Here, think quick," Ed said as he tossed his journal at the suit of armour.

Al caught it with ease. "Are you sure you want me to sketch the picture into this? I can just use my notebook," Al told him.

"Nah, just tear a page out of that and use it," Ed instructed as he sat on the couch. "I'll contact Laika now. Also," Ed said suddenly, giving them a slightly evil look, "don't think I didn't notice you making fun of my amazing drawing skills. I  _will_  get you all back for that at some point," Ed promised, pointing a warning finger at them all.

" _Consider us warned and appropriately fearful,"_  Chester said, sounding far more amused than Ed was aiming for. Ed's response was to flip him off before he closed his eyes to better concentrate.

"Hey, Laika, got a question for you. Is now a good time?" Ed asked, ignoring any noises around him.

" _Hello, Edward,"_ Laika greeted warmly.  _"What do you need to ask?"_

"We heard from Knox that the little Xingese princess left his care this morning. Did she happen to tell Lan Fan or Fu where she was going?" Ed asked.

" _Not that I know of but let me ask Onyx,"_  Laika said. Ed felt his connection with the Marten become slightly unfocused as Laika's attention was away from their bond. It didn't take more than a minute for Laika to come back with a response.  _"Onyx asked Lan Fan but she says that neither she nor Fu spoke to Mei before she left and no one overheard her mention a destination,"_  Laika told him apologetically. There was a note of something else in his voice that had Ed struggling to identify until he realised the Marten seemed to be feeling conflicted about something.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked and he heard Laika's mental sigh.

" _It's the Chang girl,"_  Laika admitted before continuing when Ed nudged him into doing so.  _"I don't like the fact that she's here in Amestris. The Yao and Chang clans so not get along since we're two of the lowest clans. I can't remember there being a time in Xing's history where our clans have worked together,"_  Laika said.

"I get that but why are you worried about Mei? I mean, I get your clans don't get along but it's not like you're being forced to work together," Ed said and Laika nodded.

" _She's here for the same reason we are. To seek immortality,"_  Laika said and Ed nodded. He wasn't truly surprised to hear that.  _"But the thing that has me so conflicted is that I admire her,"_  Laika told him.  _"The Chang clan is a tiny clan. There aren't many left in it and it wouldn't take much effort on the part of any other clan to wipe them out. No one would really blink if they did so since the Chang's aren't influential in Xing. So the fact that Mei was willing to leave her clan so she could cross the Eastern desert with no more than her panda for company so she could try and find something to win the Emperor's favour is something I can't help but admire her for. As a Yao, we don't really have the same struggles. Ling, Lan Fan and Fu leaving to head to Amestris wasn't a massive deal because our clan's position isn't so unstable that we would truly fear returning home to find our clan decimated. Even if Ling doesn't find the secret to immortality before we return to Xing, it wouldn't be as devastating for us as it would likely be for the Changs,"_  Laika told him and Ed had a feeling he'd been needing to get all of this off of his chest for a while.  _"I find myself almost hoping she finds the secret before we do but at the same time, I don't want her searching for it at all."_

"I get why you're conflicted and I don't know enough about your clans and your country to truly give you any sort of advice about how you should feel but I don't see why you can't admire Mei's devotion to her clan while also not wanting her to succeed," Ed told him. "I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who don't like someone but admires something that person did. It doesn't mean that they're suddenly best buddies or something," Ed told the Marten.

" _I didn't think of it like that,"_  Laika admitted.  _"Thanks, Ed,"_  he said with a mental smile and Ed felt the Marten's internal war cease.

"Happy to help out," Ed told him. "How are you going now? With the thing with Ling and everything," Ed asked. No one knew what to expect when it came to the effect Greed would have on Ling and Laika's bond so Ed was still worried and had decided he'd take any opportunity he could to check on him.

" _I'm doing as good as could be expected,"_  Laika told him. Ed wasn't sure if the Marten had even bothered trying to hide his sadness from the blonde.  _"I'm worried about Ling's soul. I know it's alright for the moment since I'm still here but how long will that last? How long can Ling survive his soul being unattached from his body like this?"_  Laika asked, his voice sounding slightly hysterical, but Ed had no answers for him.

"I don't know, Laika. Ling's as stubborn as me and more so when it comes to saving his clan so I doubt he'd give in or let himself be destroyed any time soon but I can't give you a specific time frame," Ed told him. "All we can do is hope that Ling holds out long enough for us to figure out what to do about Greed." Ed paused for a moment. "Can you track him? Using your bond?" Ed asked but his hope was dashed when he felt Laika's mental shake of his head.

" _No. Lan Fan already asked me but I can't. Greed being in charge of Ling's body must block everything a bond is supposed to let us do. I can't sight-share, talk to Ling or track him with the bond. I'm not even certain I would be able to use my healing energy if I got injured like I would if Ling was unconscious because I don't know if this counts as him being unconscious,"_  Laika told him and Ed felt a flash of fear for the prince's Animal.  _"Lan Fan and Fu have already informed me that I'm not allowed to do anything that could end up with me injured. They told me that they couldn't do anything more than try and find Ling right now but they certainly wouldn't be letting me take unnecessary risks in the meantime because they wouldn't allow the 'young lord's Animal to get injured when there was no guarantee he would be able to be healed',"_  Laika said a touch sullenly and Ed had a feeling that his reaction at being told that had been a little more heated than his retelling.

"They just want to make sure you're safe," Ed told the Marten and got a long sigh in response.

" _I know but I want to be able to help them!"_  Laika exclaimed.

"I understand that but you have to be smart about it. If you can't be healed than Lan Fan and Fu would be distracted trying to keep you safe if you got into a fight. The best help you could offer is keeping yourself safe and focusing on your link with Ling. If he manages to break free from Greed's hold on him, even for a moment, you might be able to get his location and Lan Fan and Fu can find him, once Lan Fan has recovered from her injury," Ed said firmly.

" _I know. I just wish I could help more,"_  Laika muttered.

"You are helping more than that. Every time Lan Fan and Fu looks at you will be a reminder that Ling is still in there somewhere and will bolster their hope in getting him back," Ed told Laika, giving the Marten a mental smile.

" _I suppose you're right,"_  Laika said and Ed snorted softly.  _"Thanks, Ed,"_  the Marten said sincerely.

"No problems. I need to go now but don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything, even if it's just someone to talk to. I'll try and keep you guys in the loop about everything that happens my end if you guys keep my up to date about your search for Ling," Ed said and felt Laika nod in agreement.

" _Of course I will. You and your family try and stay safe while you're out there, okay?"_  Laika said and this time, it was Ed's turn to nod in agreement.

"We'll try but I'm not making any promises," Ed told him with a smirk that had Laika huff out some laughter in response.

" _I suppose that's the best answer I'll get, huh?"_  Laika said and Ed grinned as he mentally nodded.  _"I'll take it. Talk to you later, Edward. Good luck with your search for the little princess."_

"Cheers. You guys stay safe as well. Chat to you later," Ed said and felt Laika's agreement before the Marten pulled back from their link and they disconnected from each other. Ed opened his eyes to find Al still hunched over his journal while Ayala rested on the other couch and Chester sat on the chair next to Al, giving him some pointers on the drawing. "How are you guys going over there?" Ed asked his brother and leopard.

"Nearly finished, Brother," Al told him. "How did your talk with Laika go?"

"No dice. Mei didn't even speak to Lan Fan or Fu while she was there and Laika says no one overheard her mention anything about a place she would be going to," Ed told him.

"Well, we knew it was a longshot but at least we know for sure now," Al hummed. "How's Laika?"

"He's fine. A little annoyed that he can't help Fu find Ling with their bond but he's dealing with it," Ed reported as he walked over to the table to look at their progress.

" _I'm sure his human will fight back soon and Laika will find him,"_  Chester said optimistically. Both Ed and Al nodded in agreement.

"Looks good, Al," Ed said as he took in the drawing. The likeness to the tiny panda was remarkable and Ed had no doubt that anyone who saw the drawing would recognise Xao-Mei immediately.

"Thanks, Ed," Al said as he finished putting the final few touches on it. "Do you want to head out now and get started?" Al asked.

"Might as well. We should start in Knox's neighbourhood and work our way from there," Ed said decisively as Ayala hauled herself off the couch and joined them.

" _Should we work our way towards the city centre?"_  she asked and Ed considered her question.

"That's probably a good idea. Even if it takes us a few days to find a lead, the city centre makes sense since everyone has to go to the shops at some time," Ed finally said. "Once we've covered Knox's neighbourhood, we'll head there and ask around. Hopefully we'll get lucky." Ed didn't sound overly confident that they would though but no one commented on it.

"Alright, I'm all done. We can go now," Al declared as he carefully tore the page the drawing was on out of Ed's research journal.

"Awesome," Ed said as Al and Chester moved away from the table. He took back his journal and placed it in the pocket it usually lived in. After a moment's consideration, he slipped his red jacket on. He'd almost not worn it since it was so identifiable but he then realised it didn't matter if people knew who he was and that he was looking for Mei. She  _had_  helped Scar escape their custody so he could just claim that was why they were searching for her if anyone asked. "Let's get going."

* * *

The next week saw them going through the same motions with very few exceptions. They'd started and covered Knox's neighbourhood with a couple of hours to spare before dinner. They'd not uncovered any leads and had made the decision to head to the centre of town to start asking around there when Leo had contacted Ed to let him know that Hughes would be home in half an hour and would be happy to start Ed's lessons if he was still willing. Torn between wanting to go to the Hughes' since it had been his idea and the lessons would be immensely beneficial for him and continuing their canvas of the townspeople, Al had eventually made the decision for him by offering to stick with the search while Ed went and got the lessons.

"Are you sure, Al? You could use any tips he offers as well," Ed had asked and Al nodded.

"I'm sure. You'll tell me everything you've learned and this way we don't have to stop our search. Tell Hughes and everyone I said hello," Al had told him and, sensing his little brother wouldn't let up, Ed and Ayala had promised they would and left for Ed's lessons.

The lesson had proven a boon for Ed as he'd learned several new things from Hughes that Izumi hadn't taught the two boys. Hughes had even helped him create a set of throwing knives of his own by giving him feedback on every knife he'd made until he'd gotten it perfect, according to Hughes. They'd spent an hour working on Ed's aim and stance and Ed was a little surprised to realise that his automail made it so he had to change his stance far more than he thought he'd had too. He'd known, of course, that his automail arm would affect how he'd used to throw bladed weapons but Hughes had had him adjust for his left leg as well. Ed had made the minor adjustment Hughes had suggested, thinking he'd humour the man but wouldn't see any improvement only to have his jaw hit the floor when the next knife he'd thrown had hit the target with more accuracy and speed than before. Hughes' smug smirk had stayed on his face for the entirety of their lesson.

Ed had left the Hughes' after dinner that night – having joined because Elysia had begged and Ed had found himself unable to say no – and met back up with Al and Chester. They'd resumed their canvasing but after a couple more hours, they'd still come up with no leads and the number of people on the street were rapidly dwindling. They'd picked up food, despite the fact that Ed and Ayala had eaten at the Hughes' and headed back to the hotel room.

"I saw Lieutenant Havoc today while you were gone," Al had mentioned as they headed for the hotel, food in Ed's hands.

"Really? How's he going?" Ed had asked. A flash of guilt swept through him as he realised he'd not spared the four reassigned men a thought the entire day.

"He's alright. He says that he and the others have finished packing their belongings and have bought their train tickets for tomorrow. Warrant Officer Falman will be the last to leave Central and Sergeant Fuery will be the first to catch his train west," Al had told him in response.

" _Maybe we should head to the train station tomorrow and question people there. It is possible someone visiting Central has seen Mei on their travels, if she's left the city already,"_  Ayala had suggested casually. Ed knew the ulterior motive behind his wolf's suggestion and gave her a grateful, yet reprimanding, look.

"The train station is a good idea," Al had said and Ed's eyes flicked over to Chester, who was doing his best to look innocent. "If we're lucky, we'll run into the guys and get to say goodbye to them and ask them to keep an eye and ear out for any news about Mei. We did promise them that we'd see them off," Al then reminded him. The hope in his brother's voice had been the only reason Ed had bit his tongue with the automatic dismissal of the idea he'd been about to voice. Ed had then felt another surge of guilt as he realised what he'd been about to say and the only reason he had was because he still felt guilty over their new orders.

"Yeah, that's true. Let's head over there tomorrow morning. We can spend the day there until Hughes summons me for my next lesson," Ed had said decisively. "Plus, we can't break a promise like that," Ed had said with a grin. The two Animals had made affirmative noises while Al had simply nodded.

* * *

The next day, they'd done just that. A quick question from Ed to Kara had confirmed Fuery's train's departure time and they'd gotten to the station, armed with two drawings of Xao-Mei this time, with an hour to go before Fuery was scheduled to leave. They spent the thirty minutes it took for Fuery and Kara to arrive asking the people at the station about whether they'd seen the panda in the sketch or a young girl with long, braided hair and pink and white robes recently. When Fuery and Kara did turn up, the boys and Animals had stopped to take a break and grab a coffee with him.

"I'm worried about moving to Western Command," Fuery had admitted when Al had asked whether he was nervous about the move. "There are reports that Aerugo has started making threats towards Amestris. There's a very real possibility that Western Command's troops will go to war with them in the near future," Fuery had revealed. Kara let out a sad warble as she rested her head against Fuery's cheek comfortingly.

"Maybe your communications skills will keep you from being on the front lines," Ed had said, unsure of what else he could say. Fuery had given him a weak smile that fell almost immediately.

"I know it's probably a bad thing to think but I'm kind of hoping that Aerugo isn't able to strike before this whole plan gets underway. That way I'll likely be recalled back to help here," Fuery had shared, slightly ashamed.

"I don't think anyone blames you for hoping that. We certainly don't," Al had assured the young sergeant. Ed's nod had backed up his young brother's words. Fuery had relaxed slightly and Kara had thanked both of the boys before the conversation had moved on to slightly less morose topics until Fuery's train had been announced as the next to depart.

"Thanks for seeing us off," Fuery had said as they stood from the table. "Kara will let you and Nala know when we've reached Western Command and are settled in. You guys stay safe, okay? Keep in touch as much as you can," Fuery had instructed, flicking concerned looks between the four Elrics.

"We'll do our best," Ed had promised wryly and Fuery couldn't stop his small chuckle.

"You stay safe as well. Let us know if you need help and we'll do our best to try," Al had said and Fuery had nodded gratefully.

The final announcement had come from the train and Fuery and Kara had disappeared into the crowd with a final goodbye to the boys and their Animals. They'd glimpsed the pair as they took their seats and waved goodbye to them. They watched as the train pulled away from the station before getting back to their canvasing of the crowd until the next ex-member of Mustang's team arrived at the station to catch their train.

* * *

Breda and Havoc had turned up with Dubuffet and Mark within ten minutes of each other, almost an hour and a half after Fuery's train had departed. Dubuffet had been the first to spot them, having spotted Ayala's golden fur and a flicker of Ed's red jacket and had bolted for the pair, giving his human a heart attack as he disappeared into the crowd. Once Breda had caught up and lectured the pig about once again running off with no warning because he'd spotted the blonde, the six of them had gone to grab a coffee.

They'd just placed their orders when Ed had perked up slightly and sent a message to Mark as he'd sensed the rooster was nearby. He'd not been impressed when Mark had relayed a message from Havoc, asking Ed to place an order for the blonde smoker but he had done so, making sure the waitress knew that he'd send Havoc in to pay for it once he'd arrived. They choose a table and sat themselves down as they waited for the couple of minutes it would take for Havoc to meet them. The lieutenant had pouted when Ed informed him that he had to go pay for his meal and had grumbled something under his breath when all Ed did in response was smirk.

Unlike their earlier conversation with Fuery and Kara, this time the atmosphere hadn't been filled with a depressive note. There had been a tinge of sadness at the fact that this was the last time they'd likely have coffee with each other like this for several weeks, if not months, but Breda, Havoc and Al had been seemingly determined to not let it dominate the tone of the conversation. They told Ed and Al about their last day in Mustang's office and how Mustang had been on his best behaviour for the entire day so Hawkeye wouldn't be forced to put a bullet in him on her last day under his command. Ed had pouted at the fact that they didn't have an entertaining story for him but his pout had disappeared when an announcement sounded through the station, telling those that the train bound for South City was five minutes from departure.

Breda and Du had taken to their feet but stopped them when Havoc, Mark and the Elrics had gone to follow him, telling them that they didn't need to see his train off. His parting words to Ed and Al had been very similar to Fuery's and Ed had scowled when he realised that Havoc and Falman would likely have him promise them the same thing. They'd exchanged goodbyes and watched as Breda had headed in the direction of his train, Du following dutifully behind once Ed had given the pig one last scratch under the chin. Only a couple of minutes later did they hear the sound of the train's warning whistle and its engine exuding a lot of energy to get itself going.

Havoc, having sensed Ed's disappointment with the lack of threats to Mustang from Hawkeye the previous day, had spent the next fifteen minutes entertaining the brothers with Mustang's reactions to the files he'd been given that morning on his new team. The highest-ranking officer was a 2nd lieutenant while the others had been a warrant officer, sergeant and master sergeant but it hadn't been their ranks that had irritated the colonel, it had been their service records. For one reason or another, none of the four new team members had seen any decent kind of combat and would be considered barely competent compared to the standards their ranks demanded. Ed had found himself barely able to breath as he cackled at the mental images his mind had painted of Mustang scowling at the files as he realised he would actually have to get up off his arse and do more work than he was used to with a team as excellent as his had been. Al, however, had asked why Mustang had only been given four new team members when he'd lost five.

"The bossman is getting five new people under his command," Havoc had told him. "However, his fifth isn't military. They're civilian and they'll be taking over most of Lieutenant Hawkeye's duties. From what I understood, it's Kate who has been assigned the position," Havoc had revealed and Ed's eyebrow's had shot up in surprise.

"Kate? As in Fuhrer Bradley's secretary? That Kate?" Ed has asked, stunned. Both Ayala and Chester weren't in any better shape and Ed could've sworn he heard Al's gasp of surprise.

"The very same," Havoc had confirmed. "I'll tell you now, Chief. She didn't look awfully impressed when she'd reported to Mustang yesterday morning, confirming her duties and what time she should expect to report to his office each day."

"I can't imagine she would've been," Ed had said. "My guess is she thinks that Hawkeye and her switching jobs is likely a result of something Mustang and herself had done to displease the Fuhrer. Being the Fuhrer's personal secretary was probably a cushy job too so it's likely she'll be suffering a significant pay loss as well," Ed had surmised and Havoc nodded.

"Could be. Just figured you guys would appreciate the heads up. I don't think Kate is someone who will likely put up with the same things Lieutenant Hawkeye did so you should watch yourself," Havoc had warned. Ed would've commented on the unnecessary warning except Mark had spoken first.

" _Mustang and Hawkeye believe Kate will likely be acting as a spy for Fuhrer Bradley,"_  Mark had told him. Ed had been quick to pass the message on to the two Animals with him and trusted Chester to pass it on to Alphonse.

"Cheers for the heads up, Havoc," Ed had said instead. "I bet Mustang is looking forward to having to act like respectable officer people think he is rather than the lazy bastard he actually is."

Havoc snorted and grinned while Al had berated Ed but before he could say whatever he'd been about to, his train was announced and Havoc has sighed. "Guess that's my cue," he'd said as he got to his feet. Mark ruffled his feathers next to his legs and looked around at everyone. Unlike Breda, Havoc hadn't stopped the Elrics from joining him and Mark on their walk across the station to where his train waited.

"Have fun in East City. Say hi to Grumman for us," Ed had said as he, Al, Ayala and Chester came to a stop next to the train.

"Will do, Chief. You guys keep yourselves out of as much trouble as possible," Havoc had said, smirking as Ed hadn't been able to hide his scowl quickly enough. "You won't have me here to patch you up so try your best not to get injured, Chief. I'm not sure Mark would be pleased if he got a frantic message from Ayala or Chester asking for instructions on how to patch you up." Mark had clucked in agreement, causing the other two Animals to laugh silently.

"We'll try and keep him out of danger," Al had promised but his tone had betrayed just how fruitless he thought that endeavour would be, causing Havoc to chuckle.

"Good luck with that, Al," Havoc had said dryly. "Make sure you say hello if you're ever in East City before I get back to Central," Havoc had instructed and all four Elrics had nodded.

"Will do," Ed had promised, giving Havoc a wave. Satisfied with their response, Havoc had loaded himself and Mark onto the train and found their seats. Once Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester had located the window he was next to, they moved back. "Make sure you keep in contact. Let us know if anything happens," Ed had said, tone serious.

Havoc's response had been equally as serious. "I will, Chief. You do the same." Ed had nodded in agreement. The train whistle had blown piercingly, causing Ayala and Chester to snarl in annoyance, and causing the humans to wait until it had finished before speaking again. "See you when we see you next." Havoc then raised his hand in goodbye and the boys had mimicked his actions. Moments later, Havoc's train started moving and soon enough, was out of sight.

"Let's get back to work," Ed had sighed once Havoc's train was gone and got no resistance from the other three.

* * *

It had been just after lunchtime when Falman had turned up at the station, Rachel floating around his head. Ed and the Animals had just decided that they should stop and grab a bite to eat when their stomachs had all growled almost simultaneously, causing Al to laugh at them. Ed had been about to snap at his brother when Rachel had interrupted, letting him know that she could sense they were at the train station and wanting to know if they wanted to have lunch together. Ed had immediately accepted the invitation and led the group to where Rachel had told him they were waiting.

Falman had greeted them with the level of enthusiasm he normally did while Rachel let Ed and Al give her a small pat hello before her human suggested they head into the café Ed and Al had had coffee with the others earlier in the morning. The waitress had greeted Ed with a slightly confused look, obviously wondering why he was ordering from her for the third time inside four hours but she didn't end up saying anything as she took down his, Al's and Falman's orders. As usual, Al had ordered as though he'd planned to eat and drink but he'd made sure he'd ordered the same coffee Ed had and a sandwich that all three members of his family would eat, just in case they decided to share.

Once the orders had been placed, the three bonded pairs had headed for the same table Ed, Al and their Animals had sat at with Breda, Havoc and their Animals. Though Falman had never been one for small talk unless it was necessary for getting information from someone, he started bringing Ed and Al up to speed on everything he'd sussed out on the new team Mustang would be in charge of as well as any gossip and rumours he'd overheard around the base. News had broken almost immediately about the team being split up and removed from Mustang's command – with the sole exception of Ed – and the base had been buzzing, wondering why such a prominent and effective team would be split up with no warning.

They'd continued talking about the rumours and new team for the majority of the time they spent at the café table, pausing only when their lunch and coffees had arrived. Falman had also made sure to pass along instructions from Mustang that the colonel expected Ed to be at the office the next day to meet the new team, since it was likely that Ed would have to interact with them at some point before the homunculi's plans came to fruition. Ed had rolled his eyes but immediately sent a message to Nala, telling her that Falman had done as he was told and that he would be at the office tomorrow before lunch. Nala had been grateful for Ed's agreement to be there and Ed's curiousity was piqued. It took a little prodding but the lioness had finally fessed up that Mustang didn't want there to be any reason for any spies amongst the new team to report anything negative back to the Fuhrer and that having Ed there would likely give the impression that they were taking the Fuhrer's warnings to heart.

Unfortunately, Falman hadn't been able to talk with them for long as his train's departure was announced over the system only minutes after the waitress had cleared their table of dirty plates. Getting himself to his feet, Falman had been completely unsurprised to see Ed, Al and the Animals do the same thing. Despite having expected them to do so, their unspoken decision to accompany him and Rachel as far as they could did warm his heart and he'd allowed himself a small smile. They'd paused next to the train Falman and Rachel were scheduled to board and the warrant officer turned to face the four of them.

"I'll be sure to pass along anything of interest or note to you as soon as I can," Falman had promised them. "I'll also do what I can to talk to Major-General Armstrong and convince her that what I say is true while I'm there."

"We'd appreciate it," Ed had said in response. "Thanks, Falman."

"It won't be a problem, Edward," Falman had assured him. "Make sure the four of you don't get yourself into any unnecessary trouble. Keep your noses down unless you don't have another choice."

Ed had almost rolled his eyes but had refrained when he saw the concern flicker in Falman's eyes. "We'll do our best but we aren't promising anything more," Ed had told him firmly.

"I'll take it," Falman had said with a nod. Another whistle sounded and – like they had for Havoc – the boys, Chester and Ayala had located Falman once the grey-haired man and his stingray had found their seats. "If you're ever up north, let me know. I might be able to find a reason to get out of Fort Briggs to meet up with you while you're there," Falman had suggested and both boys and their Animal nodded.

"We will," Al had promised. "Stay safe in Fort Briggs, Officer Falman." With a final nod, Falman and Rachel had soon disappeared from their sight as their train left the station. They'd stood in silence as the train left, occasionally being bumped and jostled by passing people who were trying to get where they needed to be before Al had broken the silence. "Should we get back to our search?" He'd asked and Ed nodded before letting out a small sigh.

"Might as well," Ed had said, sounding slightly unenthusiastic about the whole thing. Neither Al nor the Animals had commented on it as Al pulled out his sketch of Xao-Mei and joined Ed in searching for the missing panda and alkahestrist.

* * *

The day after Falman, Havoc, Fuery and Breda had been shipped off to their new posts, Ed had been awoken by Ayala reminding him that he'd promised to go into the office and meet the new team before lunch. Ed had groaned, feeling his muscles stretch and loosen as he did so. They'd ended the previous day's search for Xao-Mei and Mei when Leo had contacted Ed, letting him know that Hughes would be home shortly if he was good for another lesson. This time, Al and Chester had joined them, something Elysia had been delighted about when she'd opened the door to reveal the four of them standing on the other side.

Ed had grumbled about being woken up before he saw the time and cursed when he saw it was nearly 10:00am. He'd pulled himself out of bed and into the shower, grabbing clean clothes on the way to the bathroom and barely giving his brother or their Animals a proper good morning. Once out, he drained the coffee cup Al had wordlessly handed him in three big gulps. As the caffeine started waking him up, Ed poured himself a second cup and sat at the table with Al, drinking it a lot slower than he had for the first one.

"What are we doing today, Brother?" Al had asked, cleverly waiting for Ed to be half-way done with his second coffee before asking him questions.

"Well, I have to go and see Colonel Bastard and meet the stellar new team Bradley forced under his command. You and Ches are welcome to join us or you can start asking about Mei in the city centre again. Up to you," Ed had told him.

There had been silence as Chester and Alphonse discussed their options before Alphonse finally spoke. "We'll come with you, Ed. It's probably a good idea for us to meet them too," Al had told him and Ed nodded in acceptance. He'd figured Al and Chester would come to that decision anyway.

"Alright, let's get going then. We can grab breakfast to go on the way," Ed had ordered, sculling the rest of his coffee before putting the cup in the kitchen and grabbing his red jacket. The three others had followed with no complaints and Al shut the hotel room door behind them, ensuring it locked before catching up with his brother and the Animals.

Breakfast had been scoffed down as quickly as possible. Partly because the group had wanted to get this over and done with so they could get back to their search but mainly because Ed and the Animals were starving by the time they got to the small restaurant they'd decided to have breakfast at. As Ed had said before they left the hotel, they'd elected to buy breakfast food that the Animals would be able to eat quickly and that Ed could eat while walking. Bacon and egg rolls had been the unanimous decision and Ed had ended up ordering eight of them for the three of them to share. Ayala and Chester ate one of theirs every time they'd been forced to wait for traffic to clear so they could cross the road while Ed was able to eat his as he walked.

When they'd finally gotten to the base, Ed had flashed his watch and was waved through by the security guards. Nodding his thanks since his mouth was full of food, Ed had led the way through and towards the office. He gave Nala a silent heads up that she'd thanked him for before he finished the last of his roll and disposed of the rubbish. Wiping his face on his sleeve had resulted in Al lecturing him about manners and how he should be acting in public. Ed had, for the most part, ignored the familiar lecture, though he had questioned why the Animals still found it funny despite this being a monthly occurrence. He hadn't been impressed when they told him that that had been the reason why.

When Ed had reached the outer office door, he knocked but entered immediately without waiting for permission. Instead of being greeted by the five people he was used to seeing in the office, Ed found himself looking at four complete strangers and one person he would loosely classify as an acquaintance. Kate glared at him as he stepped aside to let Ayala, Chester and Al walk through the door before he shut it. "Major Elric," she'd greeted tersely. "I'm sure you're aware that protocol dictates that you should wait to be granted permission before entering a room."

"It certainly does," Ed had agreed. "Mustang in?" He'd asked, jabbing a thumb at the inner office door and Kate scowled.

"He is," she'd told him. "Let me see if he's available to see you since you aren't in his schedule for the day," she'd said pointedly.

"Weird. It's almost like I never told him I was turning up. Ayala?" Ed had looked down at his wolf who smirked slightly.

" _Nala says he's free,"_  Ayala dutifully reported.

"Nala says he's free," Ed repeated as Kate lifted the phone to her ear and went to dial. Kate had either not heard him or was flat-out ignoring him because she dialled the number to Mustang's personal line.

"Colonel Mustang, Major Elric is here to see you. Do you wish for me to permit him?" Kate had asked, glaring at Ed. He didn't take it personally since the Fuhrer's ex-secretary had never taken a liking to him the few times they'd met. "Very well," she'd said, bringing Ed's attention back to herself. "You may enter," she told him and Ed had given her a thumbs up before gesturing to the others to follow him.

"Brother, you shouldn't be so disrespectful," Al had hissed, keeping his voice low so no one else would overhear them.

"I don't care," Ed had told him simply. "I'd rather them be pissed off with how I act so they don't try and cosy up to me to get me to spill anything." Al hadn't been happy about it but he'd accepted Ed's reasoning. Though Ed didn't kick the door open as he normally would've, he didn't knock as military protocol dictated he should and he was almost positive he heard Kate's teeth grind together as she gritted them and he'd been forced to hide the grin curling his lips upwards. "What up, Mustang? Hey, Nala," Ed had greeted as he entered the inner office, shutting the door behind him. He'd made sure it wouldn't count as a slam but only just.

"Good morning, Colonel Mustang," Alphonse had greeted far more politely than Ed thought was necessary.

"Fullmetal, Alphonse," Mustang had said, barely looking up from his paperwork.

" _Hey, Ed. How are you feeling today?"_  Nala had asked as her eyes roved over his form as though she would be able to see any injuries he might've recently acquired and was hiding from them.

"Completely fine," Ed had told her honestly as he joined her on her couch. Ayala and Chester quickly followed suit while Al chose to sit on the other couch. After a moment, Chester had also chosen to sit on the other couch with Al and had changed direction mid-stride, leaping up onto it and settling himself next to the armoured boy.

"I take it you've met the new team," Mustang had drawled but Ed had a feeling he hadn't been the only one to hear the faint notes of moroseness in Mustang's voice.

"If by 'met' you mean walked past them as Kate took her secretarial duties to the extreme by calling you when I already knew you were free, then yes, we've met," Ed had told him and Mustang hadn't looked awfully impressed with his response.

"I suppose I should introduce you to them properly," Mustang had sighed. "Before I do though, why am I getting reports of you and Alphonse conducting a canvas of your own?"

Ed had sighed and sunk back into the couch. "Mei left Knox's care and didn't tell anyone where she was going. We're looking for her so we can ask her some questions about alkahestry," Ed had told him. "We figured since her alchemy still worked while ours didn't that she might be able to give us some tips on how her alkahestry works. That way we might be able to mix her alkahestry with our alchemy somehow so we stand a chance if we find ourselves in that kind of situation again," Ed had explained when Mustang had raised a questioning brow.

"You don't say. Xingese alkahestry," Mustang had mused. "I'll ask around and let you know if I hear anything about her or Scar's movements."

Ed's retort about not wanting to be any further into Mustang's debt had been interrupted by Nala before he could voice it.  _"He's not offering so you'll owe him anything. He's offering because he wants to help and he thinks it's a good idea even if he's too emotionally stunted to tell you that himself,"_  Nala had said, shooting Mustang a nasty look that had his eyebrows shooting up in surprise and confusion.

"We'd really appreciate that, Colonel Mustang. The more eyes and ears, the better. Right, Brother?" Alphonse had said, emphasizing the last part of his statement and causing Ed to roll his eyes.

"What he said," Ed had told Mustang, jabbing his thumb at his brother. The mutter Al had given under his breath had been too low for Ed to hear him clearly. That hadn't stopped Ed from smacking the back of Al's helmet, making a clanging noise ring through the office and causing Al to yelp in surprise. "Don't sass me."

" _Be nice to your brother,"_  Ayala had admonished Ed. His response had been to simply stick his tongue out, which had caused Ayala to flick him lightly on the arm with her tail.

"If you're quite done acting like a child, we should go out and introduce you to the new team," Mustang had drawled, watching the four of them with a raised brow.

"Technically, we still are kids," Ed had reminded him, causing Nala to chuckle lightly, before he got to his feet. "But you have a point. We need to get back to looking for Mei so let's get this over and done with," Ed had said. Al had followed his brother's movements, creaking slightly and the three Animals had also followed their lead, leaving Mustang to be the only one not on their feet.

Mustang hadn't gotten to his feet immediately, despite him being the one who first decided they really should've been out in the outer office. Instead, he'd taken a couple more minutes to sign some more paperwork, testing Ed's patience to the point where Ayala had to remind him that striking or manhandling a superior officer was an offence that could have him court-martialled. Finally, Mustang had gotten to his feet and gestured for Ed, Al and their Animals to lead the way.

Once in the outer office, Mustang had been the first one speak after he'd dismissed the salutes his new team had automatically given him. "Everyone, I'd like to formally introduce the sixth member of this team. This is Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist," Mustang had gestured to Ed before continuing, "and his brother, Alphonse Elric. Alphonse is not a member of this military but has clearance to shadow his brother on his missions and with his research as granted to him by Fuhrer King Bradley." Mustang had paused before continuing.

"Fullmetal, I believe you know Ms. Kate Messer," Ed had dipped his head towards the slightly glowering Kate as Mustang continued. "These are 2nd Lieutenant Scott Coleman," Mustang gestured towards a man who had black hair cut like Havoc's and a face that reminded Ed slightly of a rat. His Animal was a large blue and golden macaw that sat perched on the back of the chair Coleman was standing next too. "Warrant Officer Taylor Murphy," the man Mustang gestured to had brunette hair that was cut similarly to Brosh's, Ed noticed, and his smile was friendly enough. His Animal was a large, mostly white koi fish that was swimming lazily around his head. Ed and Al nodded to him as Mustang continued. "Master Sergeant Robert Harper," the man whose name Mustang had just said looked up from the box he was unpacking. His blue eyes sparkled with nerves as he nodded towards Ed and Al and his Ibis made a gentle click of its beak that made Harper relax slightly. "and Sergeant Samantha Buckley." The final person to be introduced – and the only other woman, aside from Kate – had given a small wave as her name was mentioned. She had strawberry blonde hair tied back in a low ponytail and her green eyes were hidden behind glasses that reminded Ed of Sheska's. Her Animal was a large bearded dragon whose scales gleamed orange and sat perched on her shoulder with its tail wrapped behind Buckley's neck.

"I'll leave you all to introduce your Animals," Mustang had said, stepping back and placing his hand on the doorknob of his inner office door. "Fullmetal, I expect you to resume your search for the girl assisting Scar promptly." Mustang hadn't given Ed the chance to reply as he and Nala slipped back into his inner office.

"Let your human know he's an arse and that I'll get him back for this," Ed had told Nala whose response had been laugh and promise she would.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Al had broken the awkward silence that had threatened to take over once Mustang had left the room. "This is my Animal, Chester." Al had then ruffled Chester's ears to indicate who he was speaking about.

"This is Ayala," Ed had said, taking his brother's cue. Ayala had made an obvious show of looking over all of the strangers with an aloof indifference.

"It's good to meet you, Major Elric. I've followed your career as a State Alchemist for a while now," Murphy had said, getting up from his chair to shake Ed's hand and Ed was slightly amused to see his koi fish raise a fin in its own 'hello'. "This is my Animal, Stella," Murphy then went on to say, raising a hand and letting Stella brush past it as she swam through the air.

"Pleasure," Ed had said, accepting the handshake. "Don't bother addressing me by my title. I don't care about it. Ed, Edward or Fullmetal is fine," Ed had told them. The only one who didn't look taken aback by Ed's bluntness had been Kate.

Eventually they had worked through the team and everyone's Animals had been introduced to Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester. Kate's budgie was called Adam, something Ed and Al hadn't known even though they had met the woman a few times over the last few years. The macaw's name was Lindsay, the Ibis' name was David and the final Animal to be introduced was Buckley's lizard, Eli. The boys and the Animals had been polite and stayed for a couple of minutes making small talk with the new team, trying to get a feel for them and giving Ayala and Chester an opportunity to form an opinion before Ed had sent Chester a silent message to have Al remind him of Mustang's orders, something his brother did with no hesitation.

"It was a pleasure to meet the four of you. We're thinking of holding a team dinner later, once we're all settled in, assuming Colonel Mustang is happy to do so. You're welcome to join us," Murphy had offered, looking at the rest of the team and receiving confirming nods from them. Even Kate had nodded, though she hadn't looked awfully enthusiastic about it.

"Yeah, if we're in town and aren't needing to do research we should be able to join," Ed had said, carefully wording his answer so he would be able to refuse any future invitation if he wanted or needed to. The new team had seemed to accept it as an answer and soon both Ed and Al were saying their goodbyes and leaving the office with Ayala and Chester following them out into the corridor, ready to get back to the search for Mei and her panda.

* * *

The next two days had passed without any distractions to their routine of trying to locate Mei. Neither day had produced any viable leads and by the time Leo had contacted Ed to see if he would be coming by for lessons in the afternoon, Ed and Al had been more than eager to get off the street and do something that would yield more productive results, even if those results had nothing to do with their search for the Xingese princess.

* * *

On the fifth day, just after lunch, the four of them had decided to swing by Doctor Knox's house when Ed had received word from Lan Fan that Knox had declared Lan Fan's possibilities of dying from her injuries low enough that the two Xingese could leave his house. They had called the doctor's house the moment they'd gotten the message as they hadn't wanted to risk the doctor's anger. Knox hadn't been pleased but when Ed had said they wouldn't be there longer than ten minutes, he'd reluctantly agreed and given them permission to arrive after lunch.

Knox had opened the door with a grumble once Ed had knocked and permitted them entrance into his house. Brian was lounging on the armchair Knox had sat in while Mustang and Ed had caught Al and Knox up on what had happened with the Fuhrer and Father. The bulldog had looked up at their entrance but didn't bother to move from his position. Knox had disappeared into the back of his house, leaving the boys and their Animals with instructions to get out of his house as soon as possible.

"Edward, Alphonse. We weren't expecting you to visit," Lan Fan had said once the boys had entered her room after Fu had opened the door for them.

"Sorry for dropping in on you guys unexpectedly. I thought Knox or Laika would've mentioned we were heading here today," Ed had said as Fu closed the door.

"Laika had told Onyx that you had called but neither he nor Knox had mentioned anything," Fu had said. "May we ask why you're paying us a visit?"

"Two reasons," Ed had told them.

"We wanted to know how you were going. We know Doctor Knox has said you could leave his care but we wanted to see for ourselves," Al had admitted.

"I am healing sufficiently. Doctor Knox believes that I should be able to have automail surgery in a few days," Lan Fan had told them. Onyx let out a happy chirp as she rubbed up against her human's chin. Fu had taken a seat in his usual spot on Lan Fan's left and a quick look had confirmed that Laika was curled up on a small bed that must've been moved into the room since the last time they'd seen the Xingese.

"That's awesome to hear and actually brings us to the second reason we dropped by," Ed had said, giving Lan Fan a genuine smile at the news of her recovery. "I did promise you that I'd introduce you to one of the best automail mechanics in Amestris," Ed had told her.

"We decline," Fu had said, surprising the four Elrics. "We appreciate such a kind gesture but you've already helped us enough. I'm sure we can find a mechanic on our own if we must."

"Are you sure? She would have no problems taking you on as a client," Al had said. "We want to help you somehow after everything the four of you have gone through to help us," Al had insisted but Fu shook his head.

"The enemy has clearly seen Lan Fan's face," Fu had told them. "We refuse to risk the life of your mechanic friend." The expression on Fu's face and resolution in his voice told them that he would not be changing his mind and a look at Lan Fan had told them the same.

"Alright than," Ed had said, submitting to their decision. "Thank you for everything you've done to help us."

"There is no need to thank us," Fu had told him just as Knox entered the room. "We should be thanking you. You and your commanding officer were the ones who brought Doctor Knox in to help my granddaughter," Fu had said before turning to Knox himself. "You are the only reason my granddaughter is still alive. You have my eternal gratitude," Fu had said sincerely before swooping into a low bow.

"What?" Knox had exclaimed, staring slack-jawed at the bowing Xingese. "Do I look like the kind of doctor that wants gratitude?!"

"Thank you, Doctor Knox," Lan Fan had said, ignoring Knox's protests as she bowed as much as she could in the bed she was still seated on. "Thank you for saving me."

"Just clear out already!" Knox had almost shouted, clearly uncomfortable with the appreciation he was being shown. "I'm not such a pushover that I'm gonna let you take my spare bed for an extra night! Now get out!" With that, Knox had left the room, muttering under his breath about his house not being a hospital or a hotel.

"Every day that passes is another day the Emperor is closer to making a decision as to his successor. Without the Young Lord, we cannot return and hope the Yao clan will be named. We won't have much time to find Prince Ling and his secret to immortality," Fu had said solemnly. "We need to get moving." He had looked at Lan Fan, who had shared a look before nodding in agreement and determination.

"Right," Lan Fan had said. "I promise that we will help you rid this country of the evil I can sense in it. Once we find a mechanic for my automail and I have healed from the surgery, we will come back to help. Don't forget about us."

"We won't," Ed had replied. "We'll keep in contact with Laika as much as possible while you're gone and keep you up to date with everything that happens here. You guys make sure you look after yourselves and if you do end up needing our help, don't hesitate to have Laika ask us for it. We'll do whatever we can to help," Ed had told them sternly and once more, Fu and Lan Fan bowed.

"Thank you for your offer. If we need to, we will be sure to reach out so long as you do the same for us," Lan Fan had said and both Ed and Al had nodded their agreement.

"Keep safe, Laika," Ed had said to the Marten, using their bond to do so.

" _You too, Edward. I'm sure we'll meet again before too long. You were right in your assumption that Lan Fan is strong. It won't be long before she's back at full health, I'm sure,"_ Laika had told him, making Ed smirk in agreement.

"I'm sure you'll be proven correct," Ed had told him before focusing back on the Xingese in the room. "We promised Knox we'd be in and out so we'd better go before he comes back. Thanks again for everything you guys have done."

"And thank you for everything you have done for us. We will forever be in your dead for your help in saving Lan Fan and Laika's lives," Fu had told him, bowing once more. Lan Fan mimicked his actions and even Onyx and Laika had given their own versions of bows.

With nothing left to say to the Xingese or the two Animals with them, the boys and their Animals had left them to finish getting themselves ready to leave while they headed out to continue their search for Mei Chang. They'd made sure to say goodbye to Brian so he could tell Doctor Knox that they had left the house within the time they'd said they would. With a heavy sigh once they were outside, Ed had suggested they head back into the town centre and keep questioning people there. With no arguments forthcoming from any of the others, that's exactly what they did.

* * *

By the time a week had passed since starting their search for the elusive princess, Ed was slowly losing faith that they'd ever find any trace of Mei or her panda. The lessons with Hughes were still the only thing they did during the week that wasn't a complete waste of their time. They'd finished up with the Hughes' after the seventh night of lessons and fruitless searching and headed back to their hotel room. Al had tried to keep Ed's hopes up by telling his older brother that maybe the next day would give them more than false leads as Ed crawled under the covers of his bed. Ed had acknowledged the attempt with a murmur that he hoped so before he and Ayala fell asleep.

The next morning had been spent with the four Elrics doing the same thing they had been doing every morning for the previous week. After a shower for Ed and breakfast for the three who could eat, they left the hotel armed with the worn and crumpled sketches of Xao-Mei to keep going with their canvas. Unlike previous days though, Ed got a surprise in the way of Nala contacting him just as Ed was about to suggest to the others that they stop and get something to eat and drink.

" _Hey, Ed. Got some news for you,"_  Nala said in lieu of greeting, startling Ed badly enough that he jumped.

"Jeez, Nala. Give a guy some warning before you do that," Ed complained as Ayala and Chester's laughs filled his head. He gave them a look that told them to expect retribution at some point. "What's up?" He asked when he felt the Animals with him were appropriately fearful.

" _Roy's heard from a contact who spotted Mei heading north. She was in the company of an older man but it wasn't Scar,"_  she reported and Ed felt the dying ember of hope in his chest flare up once more.  _"The contact is reliable and Roy was able to confirm with a couple more sources who spotted a young girl wearing the same clothes you described with a small black and white panda on her shoulder boarding a train bound for North City,"_  Nala told him before Ed could ask if Mustang actually trusted his source.

"That's awesome. Thanks for telling us, Nala," Ed said, sighing in relief. They  _finally_  had a lead and a strong one at that. "We gotta head north now and see if we can catch up to her."

" _Roy said you'd say that. He wants you and Alphonse to come into his office after lunch. He has a new mission for you,"_  Nala told him. A flash of annoyance and a general 'is he serious?' feeling rolled through Ed but Nala was quick to stop him from thinking or saying anything about where Mustang could shove his mission.  _"You need a reason to go north and Mustang can get you as far as North City."_  Ed sighed as he realised that his anger might have been unfounded.

"Alright, I get it. We'll grab some lunch then head over. See you soon," Ed said. Nala said her own goodbye before they disconnected and Ed focused on the group again. "Mustang came up with a lead. We're heading north and we've gotta head into the office after lunch to get mission details," Ed told them.

"Mei's heading north? I wonder why," Al said curiously but all Ed could do was shrug.

"I dunno but I guess we'll find out once we manage to catch up to her," Ed said. "Now, let's go order some lunch so I don't smack Mustang because he says something dumb and I'm too hungry to be held accountable for my actions." This time when he heard Ayala and Chester laughing in his head, he joined them. The only one not laughing was Al.

"You shouldn't hit him anyway," Al muttered, causing Ed to roll his eyes. "But getting some food into you wouldn't be a bad idea. At least it'll save us from listening to you complain about how hungry you are on the way to Colonel Mustang's office," Al drawled.

"I don't appreciate the attitude, Alphonse," Ed sniffed, ignoring Ayala and Chester's giggles.

"I don't care," Al told him. "Where do you want to eat? We should head there now so we can leave as soon as possible," Al said, ignoring Ed's grumbles.

" _What about that restaurant near Central Command? The one that does that really good chicken caeser wrap?"_  Chester asked and Ayala immediately nodded in agreement.

" _I second that suggestion,"_  Ayala said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, let's head there. I wouldn't mind one of those wraps," Ed said. "We'll head to Colonel Bastard's after that."

"You should stop calling him that, Ed," Al said before realising Ed and the Animals were already walking towards the restaurant. "Ed! Chester! Ayala! Wait for me!"

* * *

"Major Elric. Colonel Mustang informed me that you were expected some time this afternoon and had left instructions that you are to be allowed in his office once you arrived," Kate told him the moment he stepped through the door. All members of the team, with the exception of Murphy, were present in the office when Ed, Al and their Animals arrived.

"Cheers," Ed said, returning Buckley's small wave and Harper's slight smile. Coleman was too busy with whatever he was working on to notice Ed or the others walk in, something Ed was a little amused about. Since he knew Nala had already told Mustang he was in the office, Ed didn't bother with knocking on the door before he entered. He didn't notice any reaction from Kate which he was mildly disappointed about but Ayala nudged him forward before he could try anything else.

"Ah, Fullmetal. I didn't expect you quite this soon," Mustang said once Al had closed the door behind them.

"Nala said to turn up after lunch. It's after lunch. Not my fault you didn't specify a time to expect me by," Ed told him as he and Ayala took their customary seats on the couch Nala was on. "So I'm heading north, huh?" Ed asked.

"Yes," Mustang said as he handed Al the file Ed had pretended not to see him pick up as the blonde walked past his desk, "you are." He didn't look overly impressed with Ed but Ed figured that was nothing new so he wasn't overly fazed by it as he accepted the file from Al. "It's been nearly a month since you allowed Colonel Moon to run point on your investigation into the isolated quakes reported up north. Technically,  _you_  are still in charge of that investigation even if you physically aren't working it. I'm ordering you to head back up north so you can get a report from Colonel Moon and conduct any further interviews if required. You are to leave tomorrow," Mustang told him as Ed flipped through the small file in his hands.

"Cool," was all Ed said in response. "Is Moon expecting me?" Ed queried and Mustang nodded.

"He was made aware that you would be in North City tomorrow. Kate has procured you your train tickets heading there and a hotel room. Colonel Moon will call the hotel and leave a message for you with them regarding a time for a meeting," Mustang told him. "You'll also be expected to book your own tickets back since we can't be certain when you'll be finished in North City. Just charge them to this office," Mustang instructed.

"I would've anyway," Ed told him. "I take it since the tickets and whatnot aren't in here, Kate has them?" Ed asked and Mustang nodded.

"She should've organised them already for you," Mustang said. "If you have no other questions, you're dismissed." Mustang looked pointedly at the door and Ed rolled his eyes.

"You didn't get anything more solid from your contacts? Just the direction?" Ed asked as he stood up. Ayala followed him quickly, as did Chester – who'h had claimed the other couch – but Al had stayed standing.

"Only what I've told you. Scar's accomplice was seen sneaking aboard a train bound for North City with an older man who – according to my contact – was  _not_  Scar. She only glimpsed him but she described him as a white male in his late forties to early fifties. He was wearing a white jacket with a hood or scarf and what she saw of his face she described as badly damaged. She didn't see any animal with him, Spirit or otherwise, but she did spot the panda on the girl's shoulder," Mustang told him. Ed's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out who the mystery man was.

"Mei did call Scar the servant of the man who rescued her, remember, Brother?" Al piped up. "Maybe it was him with her?" he suggested and Ed shrugged.

"I dunno. It's as good a theory as any," Ed said. "We'll find out once we catch up to her." Ed gave Al a smile before turning to Nala. "See you later."

" _Let me know when you're in North City,"_  Nala requested. Ed rolled his eyes at her slightly fretting tone but nodded all the same as he gave the lioness a scratch behind the ear.

"Will do," he promised, giving Ayala a look and silently asked her to remind him. His wolf mimicked his eye roll but agreed. "Let's go pick up our tickets, Al," Ed said, heading for the door.

"Try not to get yourself in trouble, Fullmetal. I do not need another stack of papers to deal with because of you," Mustang said from his desk. Ed's response was to flip him off before he disappeared through the door, Al's tired reprimand following him as the suit of armour headed after his brother.

"Have a good afternoon, Colonel Mustang. I'll make sure Ed checks in with you," Al promised as he held the door for Ayala and Chester to walk through. Mustang could hear Ed talking to Kate out in the outer office.

"You too, Alphonse," Mustang said, inclining his head at the youngest Elric before the door shut closed, leaving only Mustang and Nala in the office once more.

* * *

"Al, there you are. Kate gave me the tickets and whatnot we need. We're leaving on the 10:00am train tomorrow," Ed told Al once the youngest boy joined back up with his brother and their Animals.

"So we'll have time to see the Hughes' before we leave. Elysia will like that," Al said as he took a look at the information Ed held up to show him.

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "We should head back to the hotel first. Pack all our crap up and see if Hughes will hold it for us," he said and Al nodded in agreement. "Thanks for getting this for us, Kate," Ed said, nodding towards the brunette woman. "Let's go, you lot."

Ayala was the first to lead the way to door and made an impatient noise when she saw the new team holding her human up so they could question him about where he was going. Unfortunately this team wasn't as well trained as the old team was so they didn't recognise the noise Ayala made for what it was, something that Ayala was extremely unimpressed with. Giving the two who were predominately holding up her boy – Buckley and Harper – a flat look, she headed back to Ed and grabbed him by the sleeve and started tugging on it. The unsubtle gesture was definitely noticed by Buckley and Harper, both of whom grinned, unaware that most of Ayala's impatience was because of them.

"I think Ayala is ready to get out of here, Sir," Harper said and Ed shot him a glare. "Er, I mean, Ed," Harper was quick to correct and Ed nodded in satisfaction.

"Yeah, she gets impatient when she's hungry. See you guys later," Ed said, letting Ayala pull him away slightly before he wrested his sleeve back from the wolf before she could accidentally tear it.

"Bye, Edward," Buckley said as Harper and Coleman – who had just noticed Ed was even there – waved goodbye. Kate merely gave him a nod, her lips still pursed in annoyance, likely because the three team members in the office weren't doing their work.

Finally released from the clutches of the new team, Ed and Al left the office with their Animals in tow. They got a couple of corridors away when Ayala gave Ed an irritated look.  _"Did you really have to use me as an excuse?"_  she asked and Ed raised a brow at her.

" _You_  were the one who was tugging on my sleeve like a toddler," Ed reminded her. "Besides, what else could I have said?"

" _You're their superior officer, technically. You could've just told them to leave you alone so you could go,"_  Ayala grumbled at him.

"You know I don't like using my rank like that," Ed told her and she sighed.

" _Yeah, I know but you still didn't have to say that about me! Now that's all they'll think when they see me,"_  Ayala whined. Ed couldn't help it; he laughed even as he rolled his eyes.

"Next time we see them, we'll make sure they get to see how fearsome you truly are," Ed promised hastily when Ayala turned to glare at him.

" _Good,"_  she said with a nod.

"I don't even know what the two of you are talking about but I'm sure it's not so important that you can't pay attention to where you're going," Al said flatly, bringing Ed and Ayala's attention back from themselves only for them to find that they'd almost walked completely past the corridor they were supposed to turn into to leave the base.

"Oh," Ed said as he and Ayala doubled back. "Cheers, Al."

"That's what I'm here for. Making sure you and Ayala don't get lost in a base you should know backwards by now," Al teased lightly.

" _Now that we're on the right track, what's the plan?"_  Chester asked as Ed tried to glare holes into Al's helmet.

Ed sighed, glancing at Chester before he focused back on where he was going. "We'll do as I said before," Ed said. "We'll head back to the hotel room and pack everything up. I'll ask Hughes if he can keep whatever we aren't taking to North City with us at his and if he can't, maybe Miss Riza can," Ed told them. "After that, it depends on Hughes. If he can look after our stuff or if we're still good for a lesson this afternoon, we'll head over there. If he can't do neither, we'll see if Miss Riza can keep our stuff and we'll figure out what to do while we wait to catch tomorrow's train."

"I don't think Mr. Hughes would have a problem with keeping our things and he never told us about anything possibly stopping us from having another lesson today when we were at his yesterday," Al said and Ed nodded.

"True but you never know," Ed said with a shrug. "Come on, let's get something to snack on before we get to the hotel room. I'm hungry again and you two," Ed gestured to the Animals, "better not bother lying about you not being hungry. I can sense it," he told them sternly.

" _We weren't even going to try,"_  Chester told him, voice amused as Ed narrowed his eyes as though he was scrutinising him before finally nodding. Chester rolled his eyes at his human, something that made Al have to try and stifle his chuckles so Ed wouldn't hear him. Ayala gave them a knowing look as she kept pace with Ed. Al raised his hand in an apologetic manner, something the wolf seemed to accept as she turned back to watching the path in front. Chester gave Al a grin as they continued following behind the two.

* * *

At 9:30am the next day, Ed, Al and the two Animals left their hotel room for the last time for this stay so they could get to the train station in time to catch their train bound for North City. Ed had already given Rachel a heads up that they would be in North City today and would likely be paying Fort Briggs a visit if they could manage to come up with a halfway legitimate reason to risk the Ice Queen's wrath after she explicitly told them to leave her fortress. Ed had a feeling that she would've also ordered them never to return if it hadn't been for the fact that he, Al and the Animals had left before she could.

As they had done when they were waiting for the train that took them to North City for the first time, Ed and Ayala headed to the bakery to grab some coffee and stock up on snacks for the trip while Al and Chester went to collect their tickets from the booth. Once they'd all completed their missions, they boarded the train so they could have first pick of the available seating and settled in for the trip. The only major difference had been the fact that Falman and Rachel weren't with them on this trip.

" _Hey, Ed. Has the train left yet?"_  Nala asked suddenly and causing Ed to jolt. He hadn't been expecting to hear from the lioness until they were close to North City.

"Hey, yourself. No, it hasn't. Why? Has something happened to change our plans?" Ed asked telepathically, not wanting to disturb his brother or their Animals unless he needed to.

" _No, Roy hasn't said anything of the sort. He's asked me to let you know that Colonel Moon has contacted Miss Messer and has told her that he has cleared two slots in his schedule for the two of you to meet. The first is at 4:00pm this afternoon but he has also slotted you in for 8:00am tomorrow morning just in case your train runs in late and you can't make the meeting this afternoon,"_  Nala told him and Ed felt surprised at how eager Moon was to accommodate him. In this kind of case, Ed would've expected the superior officer he'd requested a meeting with to schedule only one time for him to show up before dropping comments about how busy they were and how Ed shouldn't expect them to be able to fit him in again for a while if he was late to the scheduled meeting.

"Moon really is eager to talk to me about these tunnels," Ed commented incredulously and Nala giggled.

" _I think so. Maybe he found proof that it is a homunculous who is digging those tunnels,"_  Nala said optimistically.

"Eh, I don't know. I think Bradley or Father would've had him killed if he had," Ed told her and felt her hum in agreement.

" _Yeah, you're probably right. Unless,"_  Nala said conspiratorially,  _"he was smart enough to keep the information to himself until he could tell you."_

"You could be right. Though I would've thought that if he'd discovered something like that, he would've contacted me or Mustang to ask me to visit North City again so he could tell me about it," Ed said, leaning back against the bench seat's back. The train's whistle pierced the air suddenly and Ed almost startled when he realised he must've missed the announcement for the train's departure while he was talking to Nala.

" _I assume the train's about to leave and on time for once. It's a minor miracle,"_  Nala drawled though Ed could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Yeah, it is," Ed told her, a laugh in his own voice. "Did Mustang turn up late this morning? Has Kate thought about getting herself a gun so she can emulate Hawkeye?" Ed asked as the train started pulling away from the station.

Nala let out a bark of laughter before she answered.  _"Actually, Roy has been a model colonel since the team was replaced. He hasn't been late once and he hasn't neglected his paperwork. In fact, he's been working on it so diligently that he's even finished early a couple of times,"_  Nala revealed and Ed didn't even bother hiding his shock. It would've been too difficult anyways.

"Really? How come I haven't heard about that from Hughes? I figured Mustang would've been crowing about that accomplishment from Central Command's rooftops," Ed said and Nala chuckled.

" _You would've been right any other time but he's not been leaving the office until his day is supposed to end and he hasn't told anyone he finished early so he doesn't have to answer questions about_ why _he's been staying his office until knock-off time if he could leave early,"_  Nala told him. Ed felt his confusion grow at her words.

"Why wouldn't he be heading home early? I'd have thought any chance to escape his new team, he would've taken it," Ed said.

" _He doesn't want the Fuhrer to think he's sneaking away to continue investigating and plotting against him, the homunculi and corrupt military higher-ups,"_  Nala revealed.  _"He believes that by turning up for work when he should, leaving the office at the time he should be and behaving in the way that's expected of him that anyone keeping an eye on him for the Fuhrer or Father will eventually get bored or complacent enough that they won't notice him doing anything against the orders he's been given,"_  Nala explained and Ed nodded without even realising he was doing so.

"I'll never say this again but that's pretty smart," Ed said begrudgingly. Almost immediately he felt Nala's smugness roll through their bond in a thick wave and knew what was coming before it did.

" _I'm so telling Roy that you said that,"_  Nala told him. Ed could picture her grinning widely and resisted the urge to groan out loud.

"He'd never believe you," Ed immediately said but to his dismay, Nala chuckled.

" _Oh, yes he will. He knows I wouldn't lie to him about something like this,"_  Nala said.

"You're a horrible lioness, do you know that?" Ed groaned. All Nala did was cackle in his mind as he sunk lower into the train bench, scowling at nothing since he couldn't aim the glower at the one who deserved it.

" _How about we change the subject, hm?"_  Nala offered and Ed didn't get to do much more than internally sigh in relief when Nala continued.  _"How did Elysia take it when you and Al told her that you were going on a mission again?"_

Ed sighed through his nose as he patted Ayala who had moved to curl up so her head was on his lap. "She wasn't very happy about it. Especially when we couldn't tell her when we would be back in Central. Actually, I'm not too sure who was more upset about it; her or Hughes," Ed told Nala.

" _I bet he wasn't happy. About the fact that you were leaving on a mission and the fact that Roy never told him,"_  Nala said and Ed nodded in confirmation.

"I'm pretty sure he plans on paying Mustang a visit today, assuming he can get past Mustang's guard secretary," Ed told her. "Give me the rundown when he does. I can't imagine that being anything less than hilarious," Ed said, a smirk on his face as he imagined how the scene would play out.

" _As if I would keep that from you,"_  Nala scoffed, faux-offended that Ed would even think that, something that caused Ed to laugh lightly.  _"Do you think you'll be able to visit Fort Briggs? Get another crack at convincing Major-General Armstrong that you're telling the truth about everything?"_  Nala asked after a couple of moments of silence.

"Not unless she asks me back to Fort Briggs herself," Ed told her. "I told Rachel that we would be in North City so she can tell Falman. I imagine that he will either tell Armstrong himself or he'll let it slip to someone so the rumour can circulate through the fortress until she hears about it herself. If she wants to talk to us, she'll know to contact the Northern Command Centre by tomorrow, I guarantee it," Ed said confidently.

" _You think the gossip will have reached her by then?"_  Nala asked.

"Yeah. Gossip circulates quicker there than it does in Central. Seriously, we made it through ten interviews last time I was there before the next person asked me if I was the State Alchemist conducting interviews about the tremors," Ed told her. "It was unbelievable how quickly word spread!" Nala laughed softly at his exclamation.

" _I'm not truly surprised to hear that. It's not like those soldiers and civilians would have anything better to do at knock-off than pass on interesting information they've heard,"_  Nala mused and Ed felt himself nodding in agreement with her words.

"True," was all Ed said. He felt Nala go to say something else when she was distracted for a couple of moments.

" _I have to go. Roy is heading to a meeting with a general and I have to accompany him."_  Nala sounded as enthused as Ed would've if he were in her position.

"Sounds fun. I'll let you know once I'm in North City," Ed said after she'd huffed at his first statement.

" _No worries. Have a safe trip,"_  Nala said. Once Ed had thanked her, they disconnected from their conversation and Ed was able to wholly focus on the train ride and those travelling with him.

"Who were you talking with, Brother?" Al asked as soon as he realised Ed was no longer speaking to someone only he could hear.

"Nala," Ed told him before he rummaged through one of the paper bags for the chocolate muffin he'd bought.

" _What did she want?"_  Ayala asked, looking up at him from where she lay her head on his lap. Chester was watching Ed intently from where he sat next to Al on the opposite bench.

"Just to tell me that Moon had contacted Kate with a time for our meeting and pass on some gossip about Mustang," Ed told her, speaking out loud since he knew Al would be asking that question as well.

"Oh that was good. When do you need to meet with him?" Al asked.

"Actually, he's scheduled two meetings," Ed told Al. "One for 4:00pm this afternoon but he's also got me booked in for 8:00am tomorrow morning in case the train isn't in on time." Ed could feel the slight surprise from the two Animals.

"That's considerate of Colonel Moon," Al said after a moment and Ed almost failed at hiding his laughter at his brother's slightly stunned tone.

"Yeah, it is," he said in agreement once he'd managed to shove down his laughter. "Either he's found out something really intriguing or interesting or he's just really excited to talk about his progress. Those tremors have been his personal obsession for decades and now he finally gets to study them on the military's cenz. I wouldn't blame him if that's all it ends up being," Ed said.

"From what you told us about your first meeting it's him, I think it's most likely he's just excited to talk about it," Al agreed.

" _I've never been more grateful that the two of you are obsessed with interesting things like alchemy. I couldn't imagine the boredom I'd feel if your obsession was_ _isolated tremors,"_ Chester said dryly from where he lay curled next to Al.

"I dunno. Dirt  _is_  fascinating. Who knows? Maybe after this whole thing with the homunculi is over, we might start studying it closer," Ed said with a shit-eating grin.

" _I know you're teasing but I'm gonna request that you never joke like that again,"_  Chester said, causing the other three to laugh at his serious comment.

"Don't worry, Ches. We wouldn't do that to you or Ayala," Al assured his leopard, giving him a scratch behind the ears as an added promise.

"Aw, Al, you spoilsport. Imagine the fun I could've had teasing Chester with that," Ed whined. Though he couldn't show any expression, Ed just knew that Al was levelling him with a flat look.

"Don't be mean to Chester," Al ordered as the leopard in question gave Ed a smug grin.

" _Yeah, don't be mean to me,"_  Chester echoed. Ed's only response was to flip him off as he squirmed to get himself in a comfier position on the train bench but that only caused Ayala and Chester to laugh at him while Al muttered something unflattering about his maturity level.

* * *

Thanks to the train being forced to stop halfway through their journey because of an obstacle on the tracks, the Elrics didn't arrive in North City until half five that afternoon. Ed had spent the last half of their trip pissed off because his offer to help move the obstacle – a massive dead tree that had been uprooted during a storm the previous night that no one had noticed since the train Ed, Al and the Animals were on was the first to take this route today – was turned down until almost an hour had passed with no headway being made by the railroad employees. One transmutation performed by a smug yet irate blonde alchemist later had the tree in tiny pieces stacked on either side of the tracks for anyone living nearby to help themselves to for firewood come winter and the train back on route.

Once in North City, the four of them headed immediately for their hotel – having stayed in the same one when they were here previously – so they could relax after the trip. Their only stop had been to grab some dinner for Ed and the Animals from a place that had smelled too irresistible to leave until later. Once dinner had been eaten and they'd rested for a bit, Ed grabbed his winter coat and the four of them had decided to head out to find the State Alchemist's library. Al ended up stopping a random soldier – despite Ed's hisses that they didn't need to – and asked for instructions when they realised they had no clue where they were supposed to go.

The soldier and her Animal – a massive polar bear that loomed over his human's shoulder to watch them – did one better and escorted them to the library. She waved off their protests that it wasn't necessary and they didn't want to take up her time with assurances that she didn't mind and claims that it was easy to get turned around in the snow-blanketed city if you didn't know it well. The bear led the way with his human and the four of them admitted defeat and followed the pair, making sure to keep an eye on their surroundings so they would be able to find their way back to the room that night. Once they were at the foot of the library, they thanked the soldier – Jess Connors – and her Animal – Graham – for helping them before entering the library, Ed flashing his pocket watch, once the pair who'd escorted them had left.

Though not as big as the library in East City, it was far bigger than the Second Branch Library in Central and Ed could feel an ember of hope glowing strongly in his chest that there might be some information on Xingese alkahestry in amongst the books lining the shelves. Back in Central, once they'd realised how little information the Second Branch had on alkahestry, Ed had realised that it was possible that East City Library might have more since it was closer to the desert, thus closer to Xing. As they approached a librarian, Ed decided that he would talk with Al, Ayala and Chester and see if they could find some excuse to get back to East City so they could utilise the library there if they didn't find any information in the North City Library or Mei herself.

" _I think it's a good idea. If we're lucky, some East City alchemist went to Xing to study their alkahestry and wrote a step-by-step instruction manual on how to utilise alkahestry,"_  Ayala said as Al spoke to the librarian.

"I don't think we'll be quite  _that_  lucky but I would settle for more information than what we got from the Second Branch Library," Ed told her.

"Xingese alkahestry?" The librarian asked, bringing Ed's attention back to him as Al nodded. "We don't have much on that subject. If you'd like to find a table, I'll pull the books we do have," he offered.

"We'd appreciate that. Thank you," Al said. Ed gave the librarian a nod to show his own thanks and the man left them to find the books as he'd promised. "Come on, Brother, I think there's a table just over there," Al said, pointing across the room to an empty table.

"Okay, let's take that one," Ed agreed.

Ayala and Chester led the way to the study table and Ed took the opportunity to have a look around properly. The library was only one floor with books lining nearly every wall and at least three dozen bookshelves spaced throughout the middle of the room. Each shelf stood at least four metres tall and there were ladders placed within easy reach of each shelf. Ed glimpsed another librarian sorting through books and one more with an armful of books amongst the shelves. Ed didn't spot any other alchemists or soldiers in the library but Ayala and Chester both told him they could sense more Animals throughout the building so he knew there were some other people in the library.

The Animals settled at the table while Ed and Al decided by silent mutual agreement to spend the time waiting for the librarian helping them out by checking out what was on the shelves closest to their table. To Ed's disappointment, it didn't take too long for the librarian to find them. In his arms were the books he'd found regarding alkahestry and Ed's disappointment grew when he saw how few the man carried. With a jerk of his head at Al, gesturing to the man, the two brothers headed back to their Animals and table.

"This was everything I could find solely on the subject of alkahestry. There are a few books that mention it or have a few paragraphs discussing the topic if you'd like me to find them," the man offered as he relinquished the books to the two boys.

"Thank you, Troy," Al said and Ed felt his brow crease as he tried to remember when they were told his name before realising it must've been when he and Ayala were talking. "We'll let you know if we do."

"No problems. I'm assigned to the front section where you found me for the rest of my shift if you need to find me for any reason," Troy told them and with a final nod, left them to their own devices.

Ed and Al settled at the table next to their Animals and Ed sighed as he looked at the dozen or so books in front of them. "I guess we won't be here all night," he said as he split the books between him and Al.

"Try and be positive, Ed. Maybe one of these books will give us some tips," Al said, trying to be optimistic as he sifted through his own pile.

"Well, I know these two won't since I read the copies Central had," Ed said as he placed two books back in the middle of the table, leaving him with five. Al didn't say anything as he placed a book of his own on top of the two Ed had discarded, leaving him with seven. Wordlessly, Al handed Ed one of his own books to even out their piles. "Let's see what these tell us," Ed said, settling into the cushioned seat he and Ayala were sharing and grabbed a book at random, flipped it open and started devouring the words in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are love and I am in desperate need of some love today please!!!


	36. Chapter 36

"Brother, you need to get up so you aren't late for your meeting with Colonel Moon!" Ed's eyes snapped open as Al's voice succeeded in getting him up. As Ed had sullenly predicted the previous afternoon, they hadn't been at the library for more than a few hours. Even after they'd had Troy help them pull any book that had more than a paragraph about alkahestry, they'd still left the North City library at a respectable hour and Al had teamed up with Ayala to convince Ed to get some sleep. Ed had  _not_  appreciated the fact that his brother and Animal always managed to get him to do what they wanted and he certainly hadn't appreciated Chester's amusement at the fact.

"I'm up. Stop yelling," Ed grumbled as he rolled over, dislodging Ayala from where she laid sprawled along his side.

" _Why couldn't Colonel Moon have made an afternoon appointment?"_  Ayala yawned, teeth glinting as the light from the kitchen/dining room/lounge room part of the hotel room reflected off of them.

"He did, remember? We missed it because of the train yesterday," Ed reminded her. The glare she levelled him with probably would've killed him if he'd been looking at her instead of getting out of bed.

" _You're not funny,"_  she informed him haughtily.

"I'm sure I can find plenty of people and Animals who'd say otherwise," Ed said, gathering up clean clothes and flipping Ayala off when she muttered something unflattering about him before he headed to the bathroom to get changed out of his sleepwear.

Ayala contemplated lounging on the bed until Ed was ready to go but reluctantly decided against it when her bladder informed her uncomfortably about how full it was. Once she'd relieved herself, she was too awake to head back into the bedroom so she headed into the kitchen where Al was busying himself by making a cup of coffee for Ed. Even though he had no sense of smell or taste, Al was still able to make a hot drink since it didn't require either sense for him to make it. He just had to remember what coffee grounds and sugar looked like.

" _How'd you sleep?"_  Ayala asked Chester as she settled on the couch he was currently perched on the back of.

" _A lot better than I normally do in Central. It's so much quieter here,"_  Chester told her and she nodded in agreement.

" _I noticed that as well. It's probably because of all the snow. No one's driving in that at night unless they need to and they certainly aren't walking around in it for the hell of it,"_  Ayala commented.

" _Yeah, that's what I figured too,"_  Chester said.  _"Al managed to get through all but two of the books he'd brought with him last night."_

" _Huh. Guess the boys will be on the lookout for a bookstore or two today,"_  Ayala said, sharing a grin with the leopard.

" _What's the bet on how long it takes for Al to tell Ed that he's almost out of books?"_  Chester asked and Ayala hummed in contemplation.

" _I say… within a minute of Ed finishing his coffee,"_  Ayala said.

" _Nah, I reckon it won't be until Ed asks how Al's night was and prompts him into telling Ed about it,"_  Chester told her.

" _Usual stakes?"_  Ayala asked and Chester nodded in agreement just as Ed walked out of the bathroom, a billow of steam following him before he closed the door shut behind him.

"What are the two of you scheming about over there?" Ed asked as he dumped his clothes on his suitcase and joined everyone else. Both Animals gave him their best innocent looks and Ed gave them an obviously disbelieving look. "Fine. Keep your secrets," Ed said, ruffling Chester's ears as he walked past the big cat. When Ayala whined at him, Ed rolled his eyes but doubled back a couple of steps to give her ears a ruffle before he went and sat at the table Al had just placed the steaming cup of coffee on. "Thanks, Al," Ed said as he inhaled the vapours rising from the cup before taking a fortifying sip. "Are you and Ches coming with me and Aya to talk with Colonel Moon?" Ed asked.

"If you want us to but I was hoping to explore North City a little bit? Maybe find a bookstore or two? I'm running low on books again," Al said and both Chester and Ayala's jaws dropped.

"Yeah, that's fine. Just make sure you memorise where any good ones are so you can show me later. I wouldn't mind looking for a couple of new ones myself," Ed said, taking another sip as Al nodded in agreement, his helmet clanking softly.

" _Well,"_  Ayala said, slightly stunned,  _"who won that one?"_  Ayala asked and Chester shrugged.

" _I have no idea,"_  Chester said.  _"Draw?"_  he suggested.

" _Yeah, alright,"_  Ayala agreed, settling back on the couch.  _"I'll win next time though,"_  Ayala muttered, causing Chester to huff in amusement.

" _Not likely."_ Ayala let out a low growl in annoyance at Chester's gloating tone but she couldn't figure out something clever to come back with considering the leopard had won 293 out of 422 of their bets.

"You ready to head out, Ayala?" Ed's voice broke through her ideas to get Chester back for his winning streak. Her golden eyes picked up the empty coffee cup and his questioning expression before she nodded. By the time she'd gotten to the door of the hotel room, Ed had put the coffee cup in the sink and was grabbing his winter coat. "See the two of you later. Ches, let me know if you get to the room before we do. I'll grab a spare key from the front desk on my way out and you guys take that one." He gestured to the key sitting innocuously on the small hallway table against the wall next to the door.

"Alright, Brother. You two stay safe and contact Chester immediately if something happens and you need help. Try not to get into a fight with anyone, okay, Ed? It'd be nice to leave a city with no injuries on anyone's part for once," Al said wistfully and Ed let out a snort of laughter.

"I'll promise to stay out of trouble if no idiot criminal decides to make any for me," Ed told him and he could've sworn he saw Al's metal shoulders actually droop in resignation.

"Be nice to Colonel Moon. See you later, Ed and Ayala," Al said, not bothering to acknowledge Ed's words.

"We will. Have fun exploring," Ed told him and Al nodded.

" _I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't run up a tab at the bookstores,"_  Chester promised Ed, who grinned and dipped his head in gratitude.

" _Tell Al I'll keep this one out of trouble as best I can,"_  Ayala instructed the leopard.

" _Good luck with that if any criminal does make themselves known to him,"_  Chester chuckled.

" _Thanks, I'll need it,"_  she said dryly as Ed let her walk through the open door first.

"Quit that," Ed berated the both of them as he followed Ayala out of the room and shut the door after giving Al and Chester a final wave goodbye.

" _I don't know what you're talking about. We were merely saying goodbye,"_  Ayala told him and Ed couldn't stop the snort of derision even if he'd tried.

"Sure you were," he said. "Looks like we're running a little early so let's grab some breakfast first, alright?" Ed suggested and Ayala nodded enthusiastically as they headed to start their day.

* * *

"Ah, Major Elric. I'm glad you were able to make this appointment," Colonel Moon greeted as Ed and Ayala were escorted through his office door by his 1st lieutenant. He dismissed Ed from his salute and gestured for him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Thanks for taking into consideration how unreliable the train system can be," Ed said, giving the short, stocky man a smile.

"Ah, I think everyone on base has a horror story or two of train trips. I thought it was better to be safe than sorry," Moon commented and Ed nodded in agreement. Ronny – Moon's ferret – peeked out from under the colonel's desk, catching Ed and Ayala's attention as he took a closer look at the golden wolf laying at Ed's feet.

"I'm sure Colonel Mustang told you why I wanted a meeting with you," Ed said and Moon nodded before opening one of the drawers on his desk.

"Indeed, though I think I would've been able to make an educated guess about why you decided to return to North City to seek a meeting with me," Moon said, giving Ed a wry grin the blonde returned. "During the month it's been since I agreed to help you with this mission, I've had the specialists we discussed sent to areas where we know the exact point a tremor originated. After a few days of digging to retrieve soil samples from various levels, the team came back to North City and ran all the tests they could on the samples they'd collected. I believe they collected samples from fifteen different sites, including ones in the east, and the deepest they dug to was thirty feet." Moon paused in his report once he finally produced the files he was after and thrust them at Ed.

"What did they find?" Ed asked as he accepted the thick files with slight trepidation. Ayala's chuckled remark about how he and Mustang weren't all that dissimilar when it came to paperwork was rewarded with a swift kick from his right foot to her shoulder and a glare.

"As you'll see in the files, they found nothing out of the ordinary," Moon revealed. "Certainly they found some deficiencies in certain areas while others seemed to have an abundance of those types of minerals and elements but that was to be expected. The research they conducted continued up until yesterday and while it will benefit Amestris as a whole since they now know what they have to add to the soil if they wish to grow certain crops in an area searched, it doesn't help us with our investigation into the isolated tremors," Moon told him, sounding mildly disappointed by that fact.

"The higher ups did theorise that it could be a deficiency or an abundance in the areas that made it unstable or that there was something affecting the tectonic plates. Since we've ruled out the first theory, I think it's likely the second one may be behind the tremors," Ed said, not looking up from the reports he was still reading. Though not something he would ordinarily find interesting to read, the results from the studies and tests conducted were intriguing. At the very least, Ed would likely have a leg up in knowing what elements were readily available and in how much quantity if he found himself needing to transmute in any of the areas the scientists had looked on Moon's orders. Ed looked up for a moment to meet Moon's eyes before he went back to reading. "I'll admit that I'm not sure how we'll find out if it truly is the tectonic plates though," Ed said.

"I can put some feelers out to see if there are any up and coming researchers in that area who might be willing to conduct a study for us," Moon told him. Ed had been about to respond when he noted the hesitant tone in Moon's voice.

"Colonel Moon, is there something else?" Ed asked, looking up once more from the files. Ayala lifted her head, ears perked forward as she listened intently to the conversation. "Something you want to discuss that I haven't read yet in the report?"

Moon sighed, looking annoyed at how transparent he'd been before nodding. "When the team were investigating Vodgy, since we knew it was the most recent place the tremors had been observed, I joined them. While I was there, I witnessed one of the soldiers accompanying us snap at an assistant to one of the scientists when they suggested that it might be beneficial to the study if they dug further than thirty feet. This soldier berated the assistant for trying to go against Fuhrer Bradley's orders. I intervened since I hadn't heard anything about Fuhrer Bradley giving any sort of direct orders and the soldier explained that she had received the orders from Fuhrer Bradley to prevent anyone digging more than thirty feet in any one area in case digging further caused a far more severe tremor that could result in damage to civilian properties," Moon explained. "I asked for the written confirmation and the soldier handed it over. I deemed it legitimate and issued orders to the teams assigned to other areas to dig only to thirty feet. I wanted to discuss this with you since you never mentioned Fuhrer Bradley's interest in this investigation and I would like to know why," Moon said, tone making it known that he wouldn't be accepting 'no' as an answer.

"Unfortunately, Colonel Moon, I had no clue he was until just now. Your guess is as good as mine," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder. He caught sight of the disappointed look in Moon's eye before he quickly averted his own back to the file so Moon wouldn't be less likely to realise he was lying. "If that isn't evidence that it's a homunculous causing those tremors, I don't know what is," Ed said to Ayala, keeping the conversation silent.

" _I think it's safe to say you're right. Whatever homunculous they're using must be strong and resilient. I can't imagine that it would be an easy or quick process, carving an array underground without drawing attention to yourself, with the exception of the tremors,"_  Ayala commented and Ed nodded internally in agreement.

"Which means we'll have to be careful going up against it. If it can carve an array underground with no help, it must be ridiculously strong. I don't think I'd want to go up against something strong enough to carve a series of tunnels without mine and Al's array," Ed admitted.

" _We can't rule out that it's not working alone or using some sort of tool. Remember, Greed has his shield while Envy had his shapeshifting, Lust her nails and Gluttony his superior sense of smell. Perhaps this homunculous has some kind of ability that helps it carve the tunnels. It's even possible that Father designed something to help it with its mission,"_  Ayala pointed out.

"Yeah, you have some good points. We should talk about this with Al and Chester this afternoon," Ed said. Once he'd gotten an agreement from Ayala, he looked up at Moon and spoke out loud. "Colonel Moon, with your permission I'd like to take these files back to my hotel room to read over with my brother. I'm sure you'll be able to get more work done without Ayala and I taking up space in your office and my brother may be able to spot something in the files that both you and I could have missed. I promise that we would only need the files for tonight and that I will return them to either yourself or one of your team members before lunchtime tomorrow," Ed said when Moon didn't look awfully happy about his request.

"I suppose it would be beneficial if the two of you were to look over the files together and you are correct; I will need this office clear for meetings later today," Moon admitted though he looked like it was a difficulty for him to do so. "So long as the files are returned in the condition they're in now and by no later than lunchtime tomorrow, you may borrow them," Moon agreed finally.

"Thank you, Colonel Moon. If Alphonse and I discover anything missed or overlooked, I'll be sure to let you know in person," Ed promised.

"That would be appreciated," Moon said, dipping his head slightly in gratitude. "If you have no further questions or requests regarding the mission, you may take your leave," Moon said. The colonel was surprised when Ed didn't move immediately.

"Actually, Colonel, I did have one more question. Can you describe the soldier who informed you of Fuhrer Bradley's orders about how far the scientists could dig?" Ed asked and Moon's only tell of his surprise was the two or three rapid blinks he made.

"She had long brunette hair twisted into a bun and a tall, striking figure. If I had been a younger man and not involved with the military, I would likely have asked her out for dinner. She was very beautiful, almost sinfully so. Her uniform covered any unique identifying marks she might have had. Why are you asking about her?" Moon asked.

"Just curious to see if I knew who she was," Ed said simply. Moon didn't look overly convinced that Ed was telling the whole truth but he obviously decided against questioning him further on the subject.

"If that's all?" Moon said, pointedly looking at the clock and Ed wasted no time in getting to his feet and saluting the colonel.

"Yes, Sir," Ed said, dropping his hand when Moon dismissed the salute. "Hopefully when I see you tomorrow, it's for more than simply returning the files."

"I hope so too," Moon said. "Have a good day, Major Elric."

Ed and Ayala bade Moon and Ronny a similar sentiment before leaving the office, files tucked securely under Ed's automail arm. He nodded to the soldiers in the office, though both Hardy and Song weren't present, before he and Ayala entered the corridor and started on the barely familiar route to get back to the streets, relying mainly on Ayala's superior nose to track their way. With a nod to the soldiers manning the front gate, Ed and Ayala started for their hotel.

"We're done with Moon. Al and I have some homework to do tonight. Where are the two of you?" Ed asked Chester as soon as he was able to.

" _Back in the hotel room,"_  Chester told him before pausing for a moment.  _"Al wants to know what kind of homework you have,"_  Chester said and Ed huffed lightly.

"And he calls  _me_  impatient," Ed muttered. "Moon let me take the files he's got on the tremors so we can go over them together and see if we can figure out what's going on," Ed told him.

" _Are you actually expecting to find anything?"_  Chester asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder, forgetting the leopard couldn't actually see him.

"Not really but I'm hoping that by me asking for the files to read in more detail, it'll make it look like I don't know what's causing the tremors any more than Moon or his team do. It'll keep the homunculi thinking we're in the dark still about how they're making the physical array," Ed told him and he felt Chester's understanding.

" _Makes sense,"_  the leopard finally said.  _"Al said he'll see you soon and wants to remind you that it's your turn to grab food,"_  Chester informed him, making Ed roll his eyes.

"I'll get something on the way," Ed promised, knowing full-well that Al likely said no such thing and that it was Chester's subtle way of telling him that he was hungry and wanted food.

" _Good. See you in a bit,"_  Chester said before cutting the connection.

" _We've been ordered to get some lunch, huh?"_  Ayala said knowingly and Ed nodded.

"Sure have. Let's see if that deli we passed this morning is still open. Their sandwiches looked pretty good," Ed suggested.

" _Sounds like a plan,"_  Ayala said before taking a slight lead through the snow-covered streets.

Arctic wolf she may be, she still wasn't a fan of the cold, wet substance that blanketed their surroundings. Her coat was designed for this kind of environment so she didn't have to utilise the energy Ed held for her to warm herself up like Chester did however she didn't like how the mushy snow drenched her paws and lower legs or melted on her coat, making it so Ed always took a towel to her when they got back from an outing in the snow. So far she'd never managed to avoid or distract her human enough to get out of the scrub-down but maybe this time…

"No, you're still getting dried off when we get back. Don't even bother," Ed told her, shifting his hold on the files to better secure them as they walked. Her begging pout was met with a simple "deal with it" paired with an unimpressed look from the blonde. She let out a huff of annoyance before she faced forward once more, ignoring the amusement she could feel from Ed through their bond. Ed shook his head lightly at her before reaching out and ruffling her ears. "It won't be that bad and you know it so stop sulking," Ed instructed. She levelled a flat look at him that had him letting out a bark of laughter. "You're such a diva. Come on, let's get some food," Ed said, opening the door of the deli and holding it open for Ayala to walk through.

Ed rolled his eyes at the way she held her nose up at him before he entered the store so he could place an order for himself and the two Animals. He was pleased to see the store didn't have an awful lot of customers waiting in line as it meant his order would be finished relatively soon. The quicker this meal was prepared; the sooner he and Ayala would be back in the warmth of their hotel room and the sooner they would be able to start reading over the files with Al and Chester. With any luck, the four of them would be on a train back to Central by tomorrow afternoon and able to continue planning their course of action for the plot against Amestris with Hughes, Mustang and all the other main players. Shaking his head to bring his mind back to the present, Ed took a step forward and placed their order. He could worry about when they were going back to Central later on.

* * *

"Well that was a bust," Ed sighed as he closed the final file and placed it back on the pile Colonel Moon had put together and allowed them to read. "I know I wasn't truly expecting to find anything in those files that confirmed our theory or the theories I've been telling people the higher ups came up with but I'm still annoyed it didn't," Ed grumbled as he watched Al sort the files so they were back in the order Moon had given them to the boys in.

"I know, Brother, but at least we know Moon and the others didn't find anything that could put them on the homunculi's bad side," Al said and Ed nodded.

"True," Ed said. Looking over at the clock on the wall, Ed noted it was barely past 10:00pm and groaned. "What should we do now?"

" _You_  should be getting some sleep, Brother. Just like Ayala and Chester are," Al told him, jerking his helmet over to where the two Animals were indeed asleep on Ed's bed. Though Ayala enjoyed reading with Ed and Chester didn't mind it an awful lot, both Animals had found the files far too dreary for their tastes and they'd given up trying to help only half a file in.

Ed let out another sigh as he slumped further on the couch. "I'm not tired though," Ed whined. His eyes caught sight of the small pile of books Al and Chester had bought earlier in the day. "Mind if I steal a couple of your books to read?" Ed asked even as he moved to grab a couple of them.

"Fine but only because I know you'll just whine until you get too," Al said. Ed stuck his tongue out at his little brother before he grabbed the first couple of books off the pile.

" _That was very mature,"_  Ayala informed Ed. The blonde looked over the couch to see his wolf's golden eyes peering back at him from the head of his bed. Chester was still asleep on the foot of the bed but Ayala was now sitting up on her belly.

"Weren't you asleep because you were too tired to help Al and me with the reading?" Ed asked, a brow raised pointedly at her.

" _You should know better than almost anyone the wonders a nap can do for a person or an Animal,"_  Ayala grinned toothily as Ed rolled his eyes at her.  _"Besides, it's not like you and Alphonse were being particularly quiet. I'm surprised Chester hadn't said anything earlier,"_  Ayala told him.

"Obviously he wasn't as fazed as you since he's still asleep," Ed said. Ayala rolled her eyes at him this time as she leapt off the bed, managing to do so without disturbing the snoozing leopard.

" _Maybe he's got a bigger tolerance for you two than I do,"_  Ayala suggested teasingly as she joined him on his couch.

"Well, that's just rude. Maybe you should go and find someone who isn't as annoying," Ed sniffed, holding the book out of her line of sight. He noted the way Al's armour shook lightly and gave his younger brother a dirty look for finding amusement in this situation.

" _Don't be so dramatic,"_  Ayala told him.  _"You know I'm only teasing,"_  she said, nuzzling against his cheek until he gave in and returned the affectionate gesture with a hug.

"You're lucky I love you or I wouldn't put up with your shit," Ed informed her, moving the book back so both of them could read it easily.

" _I could say the same for you most days,"_  Ayala sniped back at him. In retaliation, Ed flicked her ear and she immediately nipped his hand as payback, causing him to yelp in surprise as he pulled his smarting hand away.

"Would the two of you behave before you wake Chester up?" Al said, sounding slightly exasperated with the two of them.

"Ayala says she's sorry for acting like a child," Ed said, completely straight-faced. The 'are you serious?' look Ayala gave her human caused Al to burst into a fit of giggles.

"One of these days, Ayala is going to bite you properly and no one will wonder what you did to deserve it," Al informed him. One look at Ayala's golden eyes told Ed that she was already considering making today that day.

"Sorry, Aya. You know I love you," Ed said, giving her what he hoped was a winning smile. From the flat look she gave him, it wasn't as winning as he'd hoped and that he'd still likely pay for the comment at some time in the future.

" _I love you too but you keep that kind of shit up and I'll do as Alphonse said,"_  Ayala told him, confirming that Ed hadn't read the look he'd noticed in her eyes before incorrectly.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ed promised, something Ayala seemed pleased about.

" _See that you do,"_  she said before turning back to the book.  _"Can we can get back to reading now?"_  Ed huffed in laughter as he tilted the book back into the position it had been before Ed had tried throwing his wolf under the metaphorical bus. The two of them elected to ignore Al's incomprehensible mutters as he walked towards Ed's bed to be near Chester, scooping up a couple of books on his way over to keep himself occupied while the leopard slept. The room fell into silence as Ed and Ayala continued reading until either the two of them were too tired to read properly or they wasted enough time where they could walk into Northern Central Command at a time that would be more appropriate to return the files than it was right now.

* * *

In the end, Ed and Ayala only ended up taking a nap when Al realised it was nearly 5 in the morning and Ed hadn't gotten any sleep that night. The youngest Elric had put his foot down and made his older brother promise to get at least two hours of sleep before he would let him have any sort of caffeine. Ed hadn't been overly impressed with Al but had complied when Al had actually gone so far as to move the coffee the motel supplied up onto a shelf Ed wouldn't be able to reach without the help of a ladder or alchemy. Ed had sworn vengeance at a later date to all three of his family members as Ayala and Chester – now awake – cackled in his mind as he headed for the bed the leopard had vacated. Ayala attempted to soothe his anger by joining him on the bed and it worked so far as to lessen the grumbles aimed towards her.

They ended up sleeping for three hours before the sunlight had shifted enough through the curtains to wake Ed back up and force Al to return the coffee he'd hidden so he could have a cup before heading out to return the files to Colonel Moon. Of course, despite being some of the better motel coffee he'd had, the coffee wasn't that great so Ed had decided to forgo making breakfast out of whatever breakfast staples the hotel provided and get something on the way to the Northern Command Centre so he could get another cup of coffee that would hopefully prove better for his tastebuds. When Ed announced his plans, Al and Chester decided to join him in seeing Colonel Moon this time.

"I hope the colonel isn't too mad that we couldn't find anything to helpful for him," Al said as they headed towards the command centre. He held a large cup of coffee delicately with his metal hand since he'd bought one so the barista wouldn't question him if he'd neglected to put an order in for himself. He got away with not ordering food by claiming he'd eaten earlier and Ed had chimed in with a grumbled 'yeah, all the food which is why  _I'm_  buying some' paired with a glare at Al that had had the barista nod understandingly and go into a small vent about her own struggles getting to the food before her brothers growing up.

"I doubt he would be. I'm sure he realised it was likely a long shot," Ed said around a mouthful of the food he was eating.

" _That is disgusting,"_  Ayala said, glaring at her human.

"Sorry," Ed mumbled as he swallowed the food. "But, seriously, Al. It wasn't like I promised him that we'd find out all the answers for him," Ed told him, shrugging the files being held under his right arm a little further up so they were being held more securely.

"That's true," Al said after a moment. "Do you think we could ask him to stop looking into it? Maybe tell him that Fuhrer Bradley sent orders to stop the investigation? I just don't want him stumbling onto something he shouldn't because we asked him to keep looking," Al said, voice quivering slightly with worry.

Ed sighed through his nose as he tossed his empty coffee cup into a garbage can as they passed it and wordlessly took the one Al handed him after he'd clapped his hands and warmed the coffee back up. "Al, we can't lie like that to him. Anyone ranked under 'major', yes, we probably could get away with it if I pulled rank and ordered them to stay out of it but I can't do that with Moon," Ed started saying. "What if Moon asks to see the orders from Bradley? I know," Ed said, glaring at Alphonse when he went to say something before he continued, "we could lie and say the orders we received were verbal but what if Moon decided to look into why Bradley would order them to stop if the higher ups were the ones to order me to look into this matter to start with?" Ed asked but didn't give Al the chance to answer him before he continued. "That's not even mentioning the fact that Moon was looking into this well before I asked him to. Even if he believed us about Bradley ordering us to stop this investigation and he didn't question the higher ups about why, he would  _still_  investigate this on his own. He wants to know what's causing these tremors and he won't stop just because we ask him too or because he thinks the military has ordered the investigation to cease," Ed told him, scowling slightly as he did so.

"I get your point, Brother. I just hope he doesn't get himself into trouble," Al said, voice a little morose. Ed didn't say anything but Al saw the way his jaw seemed to clench slightly, indicating his brother was thinking the same thing but didn't want to admit it. He knew he definitely wasn't the only one thinking like that when he felt Chester brush up against their bond in a show of solidarity.

The rest of the walk to the Northern Command Centre was done in silence and with minimal chatter between those who could talk to someone else telepathically. As he'd done the day before, Ed flashed the soldiers guarding the front entrance his pocket watch and the four of them were nodded through the gates. Ed and Ayala led the way through the buildings since they obviously had more familiarity with them but Chester felt like he probably could've found the office by tracking their scents left from the previous day. Since it hadn't been more than a day since Ed and Ayala had walked through the corridors and there was minimal interference from the weather, their scent hadn't diminished enough for Chester to not be able to pick it up, not even with the fresher scents of those who had walked the corridors after them.

"This is it here," Ed said as they entered a corridor lined with several offices. He was pointing to the fourth on the right, a completely unnecessary action considering he was already walking right up to it. He knocked on the door firmly yet politely and waited patiently for someone to call for them to enter.

" _I didn't realise you knew what military protocol actually dictated as the correct way to enter a superior's office,"_  Chester exclaimed mockingly. Ed flipped him off and Chester was a little in awe with how he managed to do so considering his automail arm was occupied with the folders and his flesh hand was currently turning the doorknob so he could open the door.

"Sorry for interrupting but I've got some files I borrowed from Colonel Moon and I was hoping to speak to him if he has a couple of minutes free," Ed said once they were in the room and had the door closed.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry, Major Elric, but it slipped my mind. Colonel Moon warned us that you would be dropping by before lunch today," the lieutenant sitting at the desk closest to Moon's office said.

"Happens to the best of us," Ed said, giving her a smile. "Is he free now by any chance?" Ed asked, looking at Moon's closed office door expectantly.

"Yes, he's in between meetings right now so all he should be doing is catching up on paperwork. We received standing orders that so long as he wasn't in a meeting with anyone else, you should be permitted entrance immediately," the lieutenant told them.

"Oh awesome," Ed said in response, a little bit stunned if he was being honest. Maybe Moon had that much faith in him and Al that he actually  _had_  expected them to come up with something after all. The lieutenant gave him a smile as she moved to open the door for them. "Thanks," Ed said, smiling back at her.

"Colonel Moon?" The lieutenant called as she knocked politely before opening the door slightly. "Major Elric and his brother are here to see you, Sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Let them in," Moon called from inside the office. The lieutenant did as she was ordered and stepped aside to let the brothers and their Animals through.

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Ed said as they passed her, Al echoing his sentiments. She nodded once to them before she closed the door behind herself, leaving the Elrics alone in the office with Moon and Ronny. "Good morning, Colonel Moon," Ed said, offering the man a salute that he was immediately dismissed from.

"Morning, Major Elric," Moon greeted back before looking over at Alphonse. "I take it you're Alphonse Elric? Pleasure to meet you," Moon said as he extended a hand for Al to shake.

"You as well, Sir. I've heard a lot about you from my brother," Al said as he shook the colonel's hand.

"While I would prefer to chitchat, I do have a meeting in a few minutes that I unfortunately can't avoid and I would very much like to know if the two of you found anything in those files," Moon said, nodding towards the files still under Ed's automail arm.

"Unfortunately, Colonel Moon, we didn't find anything that could've been any help in figuring out what's causing those tremors," Ed told him as he handed the files back over. Moon looked slightly crestfallen as he accepted the files back from Ed.

"Nothing at all? Not even something for a theory other than the ones you or the higher ups had before?" Moon asked and his face fell even further when Ed shook his head.

"No, Sir. We couldn't come up with anything new," Ed told him, sounding appropriately apologetic about it.

Moon let out a sigh that had Ronny poke his head of the bookshelf he was hiding in to check on him before the ferret ducked back in once he was certain his human was alright. "I know I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up but I find myself more upset than I oughta be that you hadn't managed to find anything new," Moon admitted.

"We might be geniuses, Sir, but unfortunately this whole investigation really didn't involve any area we're currently well-studied in. Maybe in a few weeks or months' time when we've got a bit more research in broader areas that aren't directly linked to alchemy under our belts, we might be able to come back at this investigation with a new set of eyes, so to speak," Ed told him.

"Well, there are still plenty of reports from eastern Amestris and I've heard rumours from some other officers who have turned over reports that there have been tremors in southern Amestris dating well before the tremors in eastern Amestris were recorded," Moon told them, his demeanour perking up slightly as he spoke. "I'm planning on having my teams follow the map I have so they can investigate the rest of the tremors I've marked, starting from the most recent and working their way down. Maybe in a couple of months, I'll organise to have the two of you come back for a visit so you can go over any new reports and see if anything sparks for either of you," Moon said, a shimmer of optimism in his voice.

"We hope so too, Sir. We're very interested in learning what's behind these tremors as well," Al told him, his younger voice seeming far more optimistic than Ed thought was possible for this kind of situation. However, it seemed to be what Moon needed to get over any remaining disappointment he felt, as evident by the large grin on Moon's face as he looked at Al.

"Then let's keep our fingers crossed that we both get the answers we seek the next time we see each other," Moon said, tone a little more invigorated now than it had been for most of their conversation. "Unfortunately, since there is no new development to this mission, I can't postpone my meeting to discuss it further. Unless you have something else you need to report, you're dismissed," Moon told them, tone far more professional than before. It only took a quick check with Ayala and Chester from each of their human's to confirm that there were footsteps approaching the outer office doors. Ed assumed that if Ronny hadn't picked up on the footsteps – he wasn't sure about whether ferret's had better hearing than humans – he was likely told by the beagle that had been relaxing next to the lieutenant's chair when they approached.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Colonel Moon. Please keep us up to date on the investigation into the tremors," Ed said and Moon nodded, both in response to Ed's request and to dismiss him from the salute Ed had given. Knowing there would be nothing more to say from either side, Ed gestured for the others to follow him out. "Have a good day, Lieutenant," Ed said, nodding to the woman as they passed her desk.

"You too, Major Elric, Mr. Elric," the lieutenant said just before a knock sounded on the outer door. "Enter," the lieutenant called, shooting Ed, Al and the Animals an apologetic look that had the boys dismissing it with a friendly wave and smile from Ed.

"Ah, good morning, Lieutenant Warwick," the man who entered greeted the lieutenant with a warm smile.

A glance at the man's stars on his uniform's shoulders told Ed he was a lieutenant-general but Ed couldn't place him. A quick and silent check with Ayala and Chester had them confirming they'd never met him either and Ed knew Chester would've already checked with Al on the off chance his younger brother had met the general without either Chester or Ed with him. He had grey, short cropped hair with slightly darker facial hair styled around his mouth and a tanned complexion. There were quite a few medals pinned on the right sight of his uniform jacket and the corner of his eyes were crinkled with crow's feet, telling Ed that he smiled an awful lot.

"Good morning, General Raven," Lieutenant Warwick greeted, snapping a salute once she was out of her chair. Raven was quick to dismiss her salute with a friendly grin and flick of his wrist. "Colonel Moon will be with you momentarily. He's running a few minutes behind," Warwick told him. Her eyes flicked towards Ed and his group momentarily before they met the general's once more.

Raven, however, turned to face Ed, as did the two soldiers accompanying the man. The soldiers on Moon's team who were in the office seemed more intrigued with the scene in front of them than any work that was in front of them. Ed met Raven's gaze dead on and didn't flinch under it. "Am I right in assuming you're the Fullmetal Alchemist? I don't know any other teenager with a red coat, golden wolf and is always accompanied by a suit of armour who is allowed on military bases," Raven commented, a slight lilting laugh in his voice.

" _Ed, I don't trust him. He smells of Bradley far too much for my comfort,"_ Ayala warned Ed while Raven was talking. He brushed against their bond to show he'd understood and believed her.

"Ed Elric," Ed said, introducing himself. "This is Ayala, Chester and Alphonse." He gestured to each as he said their name.

"Lieutenant-General Raven," the general returned the favour and introduced himself properly. "This is my Animal, Bella," he said and a weasel Ed hadn't noticed sitting on the general's shoulder lifted her head to look at them. "I'm sorry we've never gotten the chance to meet before now. I am based in Central and have been meaning to find a reason to drop by Colonel Mustang's office to officially meet you but alas, I've never quite managed to find the time. It's a pleasure to meet you now, however," Raven said, certainly sounding delighted about getting the opportunity to speak with Ed now. "May I ask why you were meeting with Colonel Moon? I didn't realise you had any business in North City."

"Colonel Moon and I met roughly a month ago when I was assigned the mission to investigate the cause of a series of isolated tremors that appeared to be moving towards the north of the country. Two of Moon's soldiers had personally witnessed the tremors and I interviewed them regarding the incidents. Colonel Moon had a vested interest in the case as he'd experienced the tremors several times when he was younger and he offered to help with the investigation by running point for me. Since I'm based in Central while he's here in North City and closer to the recent tremors, I took him up on the offer," Ed explained, keeping his voice level. He could feel both Ayala and Chester's distrust and had to force himself to keep a calm face. "I'm just here for a couple of days to get the latest reports before I head back to Central."

Raven chuckled knowingly. "Ah, yes, there is no rest for the weary, eh?" Raven said, eyes twinkling slightly. "I heard about those tremors. Did anything ever come about from those reports?" Raven asked casually. If Ayala hadn't snarled in Ed's mind, he might have bought the act for what it was.

"Nah, unfortunately we still can't figure out what's causing them. We'd thought perhaps there was a deficiency or overabundance of certain minerals or elements in the earth that destabilised the areas affected but we've ruled that out. Our working theory is that something is happening with our tectonic plates but we don't have the means to find out for sure yet," Ed told him, looking the appropriate amounts of annoyed, upset and frustrated.

"Ah, well, I'm certain that if anyone can figure it out, it'll be our youngest and most talented State Alchemist," Raven said confidently, pairing the tone with another wide smile. "I'm sorry, but I must cut our talk short though. I do need to speak with Colonel Moon before I return to Central. I hope we'll run into each other in Central Command so we can speak some more about this and other subjects," Raven said.

"I'm sure we will," Ed said, giving him the politest smile he could manage while both Ayala and Chester's metaphorical hackles were raised against his bond with them. "Have a good day, General Raven." Ed made sure to give the man a salute, realising just in that moment that he'd neglected to do so when the man had first entered the office.

"You as well, Major Elric," Raven said. "A pleasure to meet all of you," Raven said, nodding for Ed to release his salute and his silent permission for them to leave.

"Same here, General Raven. Have a good day, Sir," Al said, forever polite even in the face of a possible enemy. Raven gave him a polite smile before he nodded to his escorts and gestured for Lieutenant Warwick to announce him to Colonel Moon. Ed took the opportunity granted to him and the others to slip out of the office, waving goodbye to the soldiers in the office as he, Al and the Animals escaped as quickly as they could without making it too obvious what they were doing.

* * *

They didn't say anything to each other as they headed off base, back to the relative safety their hotel room would offer them from eavesdroppers and spies. Ed made sure to nod goodbye to the front gate guards, doing his best to look completely at ease so as to not raise any concerns or suspicions from any soldiers who noticed them. Ayala and Chester's pissed off looks aimed at any soldier who tried to start a conversation that lasted longer than a polite greeting and well-wishes for their day had them off the base quicker than usual.

Ed barely remembered to buy lunch for the three of them who could eat, knowing that if he didn't he would have two hungry and annoyed Animals to deal with later. The pitstop for lunch was the only one they made on their way to the hotel room. Ed had spared a thought to maybe going to the train station to get the schedule for the trains bound for Central on their way but decided it wouldn't hurt if that waited a few hours. There was no reason they had to be back in Central immediately so it wouldn't matter if they missed any train that left this afternoon.

"Alright, explain why you guys almost tore Raven's throat out when you first saw him," Ed said once their hotel door was closed and locked and the two Animals had promised there wasn't anyone or any Animals nearby acting suspiciously.

" _I told you; he smelt like Bradley,"_  Ayala grumbled as she and Chester made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"Smelt like him as in he was also a human-turned-homunculous or smelt like him as in he was around Bradley recently and his scent lingered?" Ed asked, still standing next to Al and watching their Animals.

" _The second one,"_  Chester said.  _"Except that the scent is far stronger than it should be for just a couple of casual encounters or meetings. Raven had to have been around Bradley for hours at a time, a few times a week for his scent to still be_ that _strong,"_ Chester told them and Ayala nodded in agreement.

Ed frowned. "Yeah, but – and I'm not saying I don't trust you two because I do – but wouldn't he be expected to smell like Bradley? He is a Central higher up and I wouldn't be surprised if they gathered for meetings a few times a week. Mustang bitches enough about being summoned to meetings with the generals about missions I complete or tasks his team have handled," Ed pointed out.

" _I know that but Bradley's scent wasn't the only thing that made us distrust him,"_  Ayala said.  _"I could just tell he was trouble. He put up a good show when he was talking to you but I could smell the deception on him. There's something about him that's slimy. I'm surprised his Animal isn't a snake,"_  Ayala spat viciously enough that even Ed flinched back.

"First off, that's racist to snakes. Secondly, that still doesn't make him in cahoots with Bradley. He could just be a corrupt military official who we should stay away from but isn't connected to Father's plans," Ed pointed out. He felt both Chester's and Ayala's frustrated sighs. "Why don't I ask Nala? Mustang's probably had more interactions than us with Raven so he might be able to give us some more context?" Ed suggested.

"I think that's a good idea, Brother," Al piped up. "It wouldn't hurt to have someone else's opinion on Raven. Someone we know we can trust," Al said, ignoring the way Ed's face scrunched up at the mention of trusting Mustang.

" _When Nala confirms we're right, you'll owe both of us the best steak you can buy,"_  Ayala told him firmly.

"Sure, Ayala. It's a deal," Ed said, laughing slightly despite the tense situation. Finding his bond with Nala, he sent her a message. "Hey, Nala. Got a query for you if you've got some time," Ed said once he'd established the connection.

" _I've always got time for my favourite Edward. Especially when it pisses Roy off,"_  Nala said immediately. From what he could feel through their bond, Ed knew she was likely throwing Mustang a dirty look.

"What did that bastard do this time?" Ed asked, letting himself get side-tracked from the reason he'd contacted her to start with.

" _He's behaving himself, that's what he's doing! He hasn't set fire to anything except the fireplace or candles if needed. He's turning up to work on time like he should. He'd being unbelievably polite to everyone. He's not even giving Maes any lip when he visits during work hours!"_  Nala exclaimed in anguish and frustration and it took everything in Ed to not let any of his amusement slip through their bond.

"I'll act extra insubordinate when I report back to Central and see if I can't get a rise out of him," Ed promised, completely serious.

" _I'd appreciate that,"_  Nala said.  _"Now, as much as I appreciate you letting me vent, I know that wasn't why you wanted to speak with me so what's up?"_  Nala asked.

"I wanted yours and Mustang's opinion on a Lieutenant-General Raven. We ran into him at Northern Command when we returned Moon's files to him this morning and both Ayala and Chester are very invested in keeping me and Al away from him at all costs. Both of them are very distrustful of him," Ed told her. He could feel her surprise at the query before there was a lull in their connection, a sure sign she was talking to Mustang. "She's asking Colonel Bastard now about Raven," Ed told the three others since he could feel Chester and Ayala's curiousity and impatience and knew that Al was likely curious too.

"You've really gotta stop calling him that, Brother," Al sighed. "You managed to follow military protocol this morning in Colonel Moon's office and when General Raven started speaking to us. Why can't you do that with Colonel Mustang?"

"The day I listen to you and call him by his appropriate title and name, that's the day you'll know I'm in some deep shit and am trying to signal you," Ed told Al, completely serious. "Also, I behaved that way because I needed to. Besides, I couldn't pull the shit I pull in Mustang's office in front of Moon or Raven. Moon, I actually respect somewhat and I need Raven to think I haven't uncovered anything more than we had when Mustang confronted the Fuhrer. I can't have Raven reporting back to Bradley that we're still sticking our noses into Father's plans instead of just lying down and waiting for whatever they need us for, assuming Raven is actually working with Bradley to achieve the whole destroying-Amestris-to-become-immortal thing," Ed explained much more thoroughly than Al thought he needed to.

" _Roy has asked me to tell you to tread lightly around Raven,"_  Nala's voice was back in Ed's head before Al could say anything and Ed raised a hand to silence anyone before they could try.  _"Before he confronted Bradley, Roy would've considered Raven a good man. General Grumman has always said that Raven is someone Roy should trust and he would've gone to confide in about his suspicions had he not decided to just confront the Fuhrer directly,"_  Nala told him. Ed was surprised to hear that. As far as he knew, Mustang held Grumman in high regard and would trust his opinion almost as much as Hawkeye's own so for Mustang to warn Ed away from a general Grumman has said he trusts was unexpected, to say the least.

"What changed that?" Ed asked curiously.

" _What Bradley said about the generals,"_  Nala told him.  _"Bradley didn't name any of the generals, as you know, but Roy is of the opinion that, at the very least, every general stationed in Central is in cahoots with Bradley, including Raven."_

"I get that but why does Mustang now think that someone Grumman trusts and he used to think he could trust if need be suddenly can't be anymore? Like you said, Bradley didn't actually name the generals helping him and from what I saw this morning, if Ayala and Chester hadn't of told us not to trust Raven, I likely would've at least developed a decent opinion about the man," Ed said and Nala sighed lightly.

" _Because after Roy finished up with Fuhrer Bradley, I've been paying closer attention to every general we've had a meeting with or bumped into. I agree with Ayala and Chester. You should be careful around Raven, all four of you,"_  Nala told him. There was another lull for a moment before Nala was back.  _"Roy has requested that you tell him about any other interactions you have with Raven while you're still up north or if you run into him again back here in Central."_ Nala chuckled as she felt Ed's eyeroll through their bond.  _"There is something else Roy wants you to know about. He only learned about this a couple of hours ago. A former State Alchemist by the name of Solf J. Kimblee, AKA the Crimson Lotus Alchemist or Crimson Alchemist, has been fully pardoned and released from death row and reinstated to his former position in the military as per orders issued by Fuhrer King Bradley,"_  Nala told him and Ed knew his surprise would be showing on his face.

"Why the fuck would he do that?" Ed asked and Nala gave another sigh.

" _From what Roy's contacts in the prison have told him, Kimblee has been ordered to hunt down Scar and anyone who is helping him, including a doctor who was a former State Alchemist,"_  Nala said and Ed's breath hitched.

"Marcoh?" Ed asked.

" _We're not certain. There were never any names specified other than Scar's,"_  Nala told him.  _"Edward, you need to be careful if you ever come face to face with Kimblee. He's sadistic and insane. He was imprisoned because during the Ishvalen Civil War, he decided to turn against the military and slaughter his supervisors for reasons still unknown. Kimblee isn't someone you'll be able to talk out of killing someone else,"_  Nala warned and Ed felt dread settle in his gut. He truly hoped he would never run into this man. _"Roy says the man never understood why other people and alchemists on the frontline of the war felt awful and disgusted with their actions. He puts on a good show with his gentlemanly act but he is an amoral psychopath, Edward. He is calculating, methodical and an expert on reading people and gathering information to best manipulate any given situation to suit him best."_

Ed took in a deep breath as he allowed himself to process all of that. "Alright, I understand," Ed said. "What does he look like and what kind of alchemy does he use?" Ed asked and another bout of silence followed as Nala repeated the questions to Mustang. Ed made a calming gesture to Ayala, Chester and Al since he knew they would be getting impatient with the lack of answers.

" _According to Roy's contacts, Kimblee left the prison dressed in pristine white three-piece suit with matching hat and overcoat paired with white dress shoes and a purple tie. His hat has a pastel purple band and he's wearing a scarf that matches it. He has a thin build, blue eyes and long black hair tied back in a ponytail,"_  Nala told him and Ed nodded as he took in the description.  _"His alchemy is used to transmute ordinary matter into explosives. He does this by clapping his hands together, combining the two arrays he has tattooed on his palms and touching whatever he wanted to transmute. Roy says that he creates an unstable imbalance of energy in whatever matter he touches before causing it to explode in a violent matter. Roy has also observed him somehow directing those attacks to create localised explosions from long range but he's not entirely sure how he manages that, even if he won't admit it,"_  Nala said and Ed knew she was giving Mustang a smirk and couldn't hold back his chuckle.

"What arrays does he use?" Ed asked. "Can Mustang describe them? It'd be handy to know what specifically I'd be going up against if I ever did have the misfortune of doing so."

" _He can,"_  Nala told him.  _"On his right palm he has an array with a triangle pointing downwards, representing water, that contained the sun symbol for gold and on his left palm he has the same array with a triangle pointing upwards, a representation of fire, that contained a crescent moon, symbolising silver. When combined, the triangles form a hexagram which is what initiates the transmutation. Roy says there is writing inscribed around each circle but he's never studied the arrays closely and he's never felt inclined to ask Kimblee to translate them for him,"_  Nala informed him and Ed gave her a mental nod.

"Alright, thanks for the info, Nala," Ed said after a heartbeat of waiting, just to be certain nothing else was forthcoming. "Does Mustang think Kimblee's heading north? Is he going to go after Mei?" Ed saw Al's armour shift as he straightened at the mention of a possible threat against Mei and once again, Ed felt his suspicions about how his little brother felt about the Xingese Princess rise once more.

" _He's not sure. He can't look too closely into Kimblee's actions without arousing suspicions. All he knows is Kimblee isn't in Central anymore, according to rumours swirling around base,"_  Nala told him and Ed gave a small sigh of annoyance at the lack of information.  _"Sorry, Ed. I wish I had more to give you,"_  the lioness apologised, sounding truly upset at the fact that she couldn't give him every answer he was looking for.

"Nah, it's all good, Nala," Ed assured her, sending her the equivalent of a warm smile through their bond. "I got one more question about Kimblee before I let you go back to trying to see if you can get Mustang to make your day less boring," Ed said, grinning when he felt her mischievous amusement.

" _Shoot,"_  she said.

"What Animal does Kimblee have?" Ed asked and he felt a small pang of sorrow from Nala.

" _He had a raven,"_  Ed wasn't oblivious to the coincidence it was that Raven was a general he was being told to avoid and that Kimblee had a raven as a Spirit Animal,  _"called Chad,"_  Nala continued, seemingly oblivious to what Ed was thinking.  _"However, you won't need to worry about him."_  Nala's voice sounded a little sad and disgusted.  _"As per military protocol, Chad was euthanised shortly after Kimblee was convicted."_

Ed suddenly remembered what one of the Slicer Brothers had told him when they were fighting in Laboratory 5 about their Animals. "Right, the military kills the Animals of anyone who's sentenced to a life term or death because 'it's kinder to the Animals than letting them live out their lives in a metal box' but one of the Slicer Brothers told me it was an extra punishment to the human. Probably a way for the military to make the human suffer as much as possible, knowing they got their Animal killed because they decided to break the law," Ed said, scoffing slightly in disgust, echoing Nala's own feelings on the matter.

" _Most likely,"_  Nala agreed.

Ed sighed as he collapsed on the couch, almost sitting on Chester's tail as he did so. The leopard was not impressed and made sure Ed knew it from the dirty glare he aimed at the blonde. "Alright, thanks for everything, Nala. Unless there's something else that bastard wants us to know or wants to ask us, I'll let you go," Ed said, making Nala chuckle and his little brother give a long-suffering sigh.

" _Roy may not but I do,"_  Nala said.  _"When will you be back in Central? You've only been gone three days and I miss you,"_  Nala whined and Ed grinned, even as he laughed.

"You mean you miss the entertainment I bring into the office," Ed said, misquoting what Nala had said earlier and causing the lioness to laugh.

" _Yes, that's half the reason I want to know your ETA,"_  Nala confirmed, voice light with mirth.

"Al, the Animals and I will be heading down to the train station this afternoon so probably not until tomorrow, likely tomorrow afternoon so long as nothing happens to stop us from getting on that train," Ed told her.

" _If something does, I'll find the person responsible and make them pay,"_  Nala promised, a flash of maliciousness in her voice.

"I feel sorry for anyone or anything that tries," Ed said sincerely. "I'll let you know what time we should arrive in Central once I know," Ed promised and he felt Nala's hum of satisfaction.

" _Okay, Ed. I suppose I'll hear from you later this afternoon, if not tomorrow morning,"_  Nala said and Ed gave her his word she would. Once she had it, they disconnected from their conversation and Ed focused back on the three others in the room with him.

"Sorry about almost sitting on your tail," was the first thing Ed said to a still-annoyed leopard.

Chester gave a small huff out loud before he lessened the ferocity of his glare.  _"I suppose you're forgiven,"_  Chester said graciously.

"Thank you so much, your majesty," Ed said, voice dripping with over-politeness. A look from Ayala told Ed she didn't appreciate his unintentional stalling. "Right, so firstly, I owe Ayala and Chester some steak because Mustang has ordered me to stay away from Raven if we can manage it," Ed told them and he felt a mixture of victory and worry from the two Animals. "Right, so here's what Nala told me," Ed said before repeating everything the lioness had told him about Raven and Kimblee, sparing no detail.

* * *

"I really hope we don't run into Kimblee. He sounds far more dangerous than anyone we've gone up against," Al said fretfully once Ed had finished giving them the rundown on everything he, Nala and – through the lioness – Mustang had discussed.

"Hopefully we won't even see him," Ed said. "We're heading back to Central tomorrow so if we're lucky, this Kimblee psycho will be at the other end of the country."

" _I really wish you wouldn't say things like that, Ed,"_  Ayala sighed.  _"You always tempt fate into proving you wrong every time,"_  she said when Ed's brow raised in question to her statement. Chester chuckled in agreement.

" _She's not wrong,"_  Chester told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

"If we do run into him, we'll just have to deal with it as best we can. I'm sure that since Bradley's the one who released him, Kimblee will have been told about what they're planning, or at least what the High Command in Central have been told by Bradley, which means he should know that we are important to their plans and that he can't kill us," Ed told them. Ayala and Chester didn't look as though they had the same level of faith Ed did in his statement.

"Do you really think so, Brother?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"It wouldn't make sense for Bradley to release someone  _that_  psychopathic and chance him running into me, someone whose thoughts on those who take pleasure in killing people are well known and whose short fuse is legendary, and risking us clashing," Ed told him. "If Kimblee takes as much pleasure in killing as Mustang says he does, what do you think he would do if faced by me, someone who would challenge his views and likely piss him off?" Ed asked.

" _He'd try to kill you,"_  Chester said immediately and with no doubt in his voice.

" _He wouldn't succeed because I'd stop him,"_  Ayala growled protectively.

"Precisely," Ed said, pointing to Chester while he gave Ayala a one-armed hug. "Bradley would never risk that. Kimblee would have to be under orders that if he ran into the four of us, he was to avoid physical conflict where possible and to only take us down, not out, if we did start a fight," Ed said confidently.

"I think I would rather it if we just avoid him at all costs than risk you being wrong, Brother," Al said and Ed only managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes because he knew his little brother was just scared for their safety. Kimblee did not sound like someone Ed would win a fight against, what with his absolute refusal to take a life and Kimblee's reported eagerness to do so.

"Well, hopefully Mustang will hear about where Kimblee's heading soon and we'll at least know where to avoid for a while," Ed said, trying to put Al at ease a little. As soon as he said that though, he felt someone trying to contact him and it took him a moment to realise who it was and let them talk to him. "Leo?" Ed asked and he felt the grey fox's confirmation.

" _Yes,"_  he said.  _"Maes wanted me to pass along a message. Scar has been seen heading west with another accomplice. This one is a man of thin build and a nervous disposition. That was the only description we got of him from the soldiers who tried to capture them. Scar escaped their clutches but he was spotted once more, heading towards West City,"_  Leo reported and Ed sighed. At least the Ishvalen wasn't heading this way to meet back up with Mei.

"Alright, thanks for letting us know, Leo," Ed said gratefully. "Hughes hasn't got any additional news about Mei or her companion's movements?" Ed asked but the fox was quick to report back that they only knew as much as Mustang had told Ed. "Okay, thanks anyways," Ed said.

He felt Leo roll his eyes at Hughes before the fox spoke again.  _"Maes would like to know when you think you'll be back in Central. He'd like me to tell you that Elysia is badgering him and Gracia about when you lot will be back,"_  Leo dutifully passed on but he did nothing to hide the exasperation he felt towards Hughes and Ed suspected that Elysia wasn't the only one who was annoying someone for information about their whereabouts and travel plans.

"We're gonna go check the train schedule in a few minutes but we should be back tomorrow afternoon with any luck," Ed said and felt Leo's relief at the fact that his being annoyed for news about Ed will soon come to an end, causing the blonde to laugh.

" _You try putting up with Maes when he wants information about someone he cares greatly about,"_  Leo grouched, displeased with Ed's amusement at his predicament.

Ed felt himself freeze slightly at the grey fox's casual mention of why Hughes was pestering him, unused to someone being so nonchalant about revealing that sort of thing, but he recovered quickly enough he didn't think Leo noticed. "Nah, I think I'll leave that for you to deal with," Ed teased and was rewarded with an annoyed, but fond huff from Leo. "I promise I'll get the train schedule ASAP and let you know when we're back in Central so you can get Hughes off your back," Ed said.

" _Thanks, Ed. Talk to you soon than,"_  Leo said gratefully. Ed gave a mental nod before he and Leo dropped their connection.

"So, Leo's just told me that Scar is heading west which means Kimblee should be as well," Ed told the others. He could feel the undiluted relief from the Animals and knew that Al would've sagged in relief as well if he could've. "So long as Hughes continues to keep tabs on Scar, since he  _is_  in charge of the investigation to hunt him down still, we should know where Kimblee is. I can ask Mustang to try and avoid sending us to any area where Scar has been sighted. If need be, I can claim that I don't want to run into Scar and take him on for a third time if anyone questions why," Ed said, though he wasn't pleased about the idea. To him, it seemed rather cowardly to request that his commanding officer not send him to an area just because he didn't want to fight someone.

" _It's smart,"_  Ayala corrected and Ed jolted slightly. He'd actually forgotten his Animal could read his thoughts like that.  _"Besides, I'm sure that if Bradley heard about the request, he'd fully support it under the guise of not wanting to lose such a valuable asset to the State Alchemy program,"_  Ayala said, a small amount of disgust in her voice.

"Yeah, you've got a point. They certainly wouldn't want their sacrifices in such a dangerous position again," Ed said with a sigh. Silence fell between the four of them before Al decided to break it.

"We should go get the train schedule. You did promise both Nala and Leo you would," Al said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, why not? Give us something to do," Ed said, getting to his feet once more. Both Animals were quick to jump off the couch. "Were any of the bookstores you visited yesterday worth it?" Ed asked as he tugged his winter coat back on.

"Yeah, there was one up just off the main street that seemed to have a lot of different alchemy texts. It's where I got most of mine," Al told him, voice far chirpier than it had been since they'd left Colonel Moon's office.

"Awesome. We might swing by there and I'll have a look. See what they've got," Ed said. Chester was not as excited about that plan as Ayala was but Ed knew it was primarily because he'd seen the shop the previous day and just didn't want to visit a second time so soon.

"Okay, Brother, but we're going to stop at the train station first," Al told him sternly and Ed laughed since he knew the reason behind that decision. It wouldn't have been the first time Ed and Ayala had lost track of time in a library or bookstore and tuned out both Al and Chester and neglected another, more important errand.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said, pairing it with a roll of his eyes that Ayala echoed. "Let's head to the train station than."

* * *

"You can tell your humans that I'm booked on the 2:00pm train out of here tomorrow," Ed told Nala and Leo as he, Al, Ayala and Chester left the station. Al and Chester were the ones in the lead this time since they knew where the bookstore was.

" _So you'll be back around dinner?"_  Leo asked and Ed nodded through their bond.

"So long as nothing happens to hold the train up on its way to Central," Ed confirmed.

" _I already told you that if anything delays your train, it'll have me to deal with,"_  Nala told him, sounding completely willing to rain hell down on anything that tried.

"You know, I almost want something to happen to the train. I'd like to see you put the fear of you into a mechanical problem," Ed said, a grin on his face that grew wider as Ayala rolled her eyes at him, though Ed was certain she also informed Nala the eyeroll was for the lioness as well.

" _Please don't say that because something will happen and Maes will become insufferable,"_  Leo said pleadingly. Ed was not surprised when Nala laughed at the fox nor with what Leo said next.  _"If Ed's train is delayed, I'm sending Maes to talk to Mustang about it,"_  Leo threatened the lioness, causing her to stop laughing almost immediately.

" _I shouldn't encourage that but if it means I get some entertainment in the form of Roy trying set your human on fire because he's being too annoying, I think I'm gonna ask Ed to miss his train or damage it somehow,"_  Nala told him.

"I'm not damaging the train and I'm not going to miss it on purpose," Ed said immediately, cutting off the fox before he could say something choice about what Nala could do with herself if she did try something like that.

" _I wouldn't let him anyway,"_  Ayala decided to say, injecting herself into their conversation. Ed could feel Nala's pout and Leo's silent gratitude at their words.

" _I was joking,"_  Nala insisted.  _"Sort of,"_  she added quietly when the three of them raised their metaphorical brows at her.

"That's what we thought," Ed laughed.

" _We're nearly at the store and you're gonna run into something if you don't start paying attention to where you're walking,"_ Chester interrupted them and Ed took a moment to glare at the leopard.

"I would not walk into anything. I haven't done that for ages!" Ed reminded the leopard haughtily. Chester's bark of laughter was not something Ed appreciated and he flipped his brother's Animal off so he knew it. "Chester has a point though. We are nearly at the bookstore so I should say goodbye before I accidentally ignore you guys completely. You know how I get," Ed said and both Leo and Nala laughed in agreement. Both had, at one time or another, found Ed in a bookstore or library and tried unsuccessfully to pry him away from it.

" _See you tomorrow, Ed,"_  Leo said before dropping their link with little fanfare once Ed had returned the goodbye.

" _I'd better see you tomorrow. You know Roy wants you to report back once you've arrived back in Central, right?"_  Nala said and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I do now," he said and Nala giggled.

" _Good. Bye, Ed, Ayala,"_  Nala said and dropped the link just as Leo had done once Ed and Ayala had said their own goodbyes.

"Is everything alright, Ed?" Al asked once he realised his brother was no longer talking to any of the Animals and Ed was quick to nod.

"Yeah just letting them know when the train should be in Central. Nala almost wanted me to miss it or delay it so Leo would make Hughes annoy Mustang about it and provide her some entertainment," Ed told his brother, laughing slightly.

"No wonder you and she get along so well," Al said, shaking his head. "It's a wonder Colonel Mustang hasn't banned the two of you from being near each other yet or been driven insane yet."

"Wouldn't do much good since we can talk to each other telepathically," Ed reminded Al. "And if you think Colonel Bastard isn't at least a little insane than you haven't been paying attention to him," Ed said, grinning widely at his little quip even though Mustang wasn't there to hear it.

Ed just knew from what he could feel from Chester that Al would've rolled his eyes if he could've. "Pretty sure that that insanity is a result of the last four and a half years of having you as a subordinate," Al muttered and Ed flipped him off. "This is the bookstore here, Brother," Al said, stopping suddenly and almost causing Ayala and Ed to run into his back.

The store was innocuous looking and if Ed hadn't been told it was there, he likely would've walked right by it. There was no big sign advertising what it contained and sold to draw attention to it. Rather it had its name and opening hours engraved on a small wooden board that hung inside the window to the right of the dark wooden door. Ayala was quick to let Ed know there wasn't anyone other than who she presumed was the owner or employee and their Animal inside. With a nod of thanks to his wolf, Ed followed Al inside and held the door open until Chester and Ayala were both inside the store far enough that their tails wouldn't get caught in the door.

"Oh, wow, I didn't realise it was so big," Ed said as he took in the hundreds of books in front of him. This bookstore rivalled the main ones in Central in sheer volume of stock.

"Everyone says that when they walk in here the first time," an unfamiliar female voice laughed, grabbing Ed and Ayala's immediate attention. "Welcome to my store. I'm Morgan," the young, plump brunette said, giving Ed a massive smile. Her eyes flicked up to Al and Chester and she gave them both an equally big smile. "Welcome back, Alphonse and Chester."

"Hi, Morgan. We're just having a look around today. My brother wanted to check out a couple of the bookstores I went to," Al told her and she nodded. Al and Chester looked back at Ed and Ayala before they moved further in the store. Ed went to follow when Morgan's expectant look stopped him and he realised he'd neglected to respond to her introduction.

"Edward. This is Ayala," Ed said, introducing himself and his wolf. Morgan gave Ayala a friendly smile before she looked over her shoulder.

At her silent call, a medium sized, brown speckled owl appeared from wherever it had been perched. It took him a moment but Ed was finally able to place the species just before Morgan introduced it. "This is Amy. She's a Tawny Frog-Mouth Owl, just in case you couldn't recognise her species. Not many people do," Morgan said, giving Ed a slightly apologetic smile and Ed was quick to realise it was likely because she'd either scolded for not identifying Amy's species or she'd been scolded because she had and a customer had taken it as her believing they were too stupid to figure out Amy's species themselves.

"Nice to meet the both of you," Ed said, nodding to both of them politely.

"We'll leave you to have a look around but feel free to give a shout if you do need any help," Morgan said. "We'll be over by the checkout." She pointed towards the small thin counter that obviously acted as their transaction point and Ed gave her another nod.

"We will. Thanks," he said, returning the smile she gave him before he headed further into the store to have a closer look at the books Morgan's store offered, Ayala following close behind him while Morgan and Amy took their place at the counter as the four explored her bookstore.

In the end, Ed bought himself only four books to add to the small collection Al had bought the previous day. Morgan had obviously been expecting him to grab as many as Al had done but she didn't comment on it, just gave Ed the total. He paid her what she'd asked before asking her to keep a look out for any books containing information about the Philosopher's Stone and if she did come across such a book, to give him a call. When she agreed, he gave her the direct number to Mustang's phone and told her to give the information to whoever answered. Morgan had looked immensely amused when Al had – for the hundredth time – lectured Ed about giving people Mustang's direct number so they can call about books. For the hundredth time, Ed ignored him and thanked the person he'd given the number to.

It was a little early for it but Ed decided they ought to grab dinner once they'd left Morgan's bookstore so they wouldn't have to go out again later. Ayala had rolled her eyes and Chester had teasingly called him lazy but all Ed had to do was tell them they were welcome to find a way to get their own dinner later to get them to stop. They were both very agreeable with Ed's plan when Al piped up to say he didn't want to leave the hotel room either once they got back to it until the next day. Ed had grinned triumphantly and Al accepted the fist bump with minimal laughter from his brother.

After dinner was grabbed and eaten, Ed, Al and the Animals had settled down, one bonded pair per couch and read their way through a good number of the books Ed and Al had purchased. The boys ended passing the time by debating many of the theories the book they were reading contained. Ayala and Chester inserted their opinions where they could and asked questions that drew one of the boys (usually Ed) back from turning the debate into a full-blown argument when the other (usually Al) wasn't onboard with the theory. When they finally called it a night – Ayala practically forcing Ed into doing so by threatening to lay on the book he was reading – it was nearly three in the morning. Once Al had realised that, he was quick to join Ayala in badgering his brother and Ed was all but forcibly put in his bed. Any argument or protest he tried to make was quickly ignored or cut off by everyone as Chester joined in on the fun and eventually, Ed caved to the others' whims and fell asleep with Ayala curled up smugly against his back.

* * *

When he woke back up, the clock read close to 11 in the morning, something that startled Ed. Usually Ed didn't sleep so long, especially if he'd gotten sleep the previous night, no matter if it had only been for a few hours. Stretching, Ed felt something warm, furry and solid behind him and a reach through their bond confirmed it was Ayala. A check told him that Chester was still in the room which likely meant Al was as well.

" _Morning, sunshine,"_ Ayala said, a smirk in her voice that got Ed's attention.

"You're one to talk," Ed quipped back, ruffling Ayala's ears as he got out of bed.

"Morning, Brother," Al called once he spotted Ed walking towards the bathroom.

"Morning," Ed offered, covering his mouth as he yawned. Chester opened one eye and watched Ed from where he lay lazily on the back of the couch but he didn't say anything. He usually kept his greetings for after Ed had coffee. The only exception to that rule was if he was bored and needed entertainment in the form of a half-asleep and defensive Ed.

Ayala jumped off the bed the moment her human had both feet off the ground and followed him as far as the lounge room. At that point – since she didn't need to use the bathroom herself – Ayala joined Chester on his couch and waited for Ed to join them. She and Chester spoke between themselves about what they thought the old team were up to – with the exception of Falman and Rachel since Ed had spoken to the stingray recently – and how Ed's report to Mustang would go later that day. Chester was of the opinion that Mustang would continue acting how he had been, thus depriving both Nala and Ed of any kind of entertaining reaction, while Ayala was confident her human would be able to annoy Mustang enough to provoke a response typical of their interactions.

"Don't you two bother placing bets on that," Al warned as he bustled around the kitchen, giving the two Animals a knowing look.

"Chester, Ayala, we've had this discussion," Ed chided as he headed out of the bathroom. "You're supposed to let me know when you're placing bets so I can get in on them."

"Don't encourage them!" Al scolded his brother. Ed's response was a massive cheeky grin as he headed back to the bedroom to grab himself some clean clothes to change into.

"I wasn't. I'm just reminding them of our agreement," Ed informed him, a smirk on his face that had Al wishing he could roll his eyes for the millionth time since their accident.

"Come and drink your coffee before I tip it down the drain," Al threatened and Ed gave a faux gasp of horror.

"You wouldn't do that to something as precious as caffeine, would you?" Ed said, his dramatics muffled slightly as he pulled his shirt on over his head. Feeling the flat look Al was somehow managing to give him, Ed huffed out a chuckle before facing Al, now dressed for the day minus his red coat since he didn't really need it on inside the room. "Sorry, Al. I promise I won't encourage them to place bets on anything else," Ed swore solemnly before glancing at the Animals and adding on a 'because they'd better remember to tell me about them' using the telepathic bond he had with the two of them.

"I know you just said something to the two of them and I just want you to know I'm extremely disappointed in all three of you," Al told them.

" _Now that is just cruel,"_  Chester whined at his human as Ed took his seat at the table.

"Then stop plotting behind my back," Al snipped at his leopard as he placed the coffee in front of his brother.

"Cheers, Al," Ed said as he took the coffee with tired glee, taking an invigorating sip. "What time is it now?" He asked and Al checked the clock.

"Not even 11:30am, Brother," Al told him and Ed groaned.

"So we've still got another two hours before we need to be at the train station?" Ed asked and groaned once more as he heard the familiar sound of Al's helmet clanking as he nodded. "What should we do to kill the time?" Ed asked, drinking some more of his coffee.

"Well we could go and get some food once we've packed up all our gear and checked out of the hotel," Al suggested. "That might kill an hour, maybe more."

Ed sighed. "I suppose that's probably all we can do around here," Ed said. "Despite how massive this city is, the snow makes it difficult for us to explore it and we really shouldn't risk wandering too far from the station, just in case."

Ayala, Al and Chester all nodded in agreement.  _"It's probably in our best interest to stay near the station. I don't think Nala's fondness for us will protect us from her wrath if she discovered we missed our train because we got distracted by something,"_  Ayala pointed out and Ed couldn't do anything except agree with her.

"Since we've all agreed on a plan, how about we get started on it?" Ed suggested, draining the last dregs of his coffee with minimal enthusiasm.

" _What's the bet on how far Ed has managed to spread his gear?"_  Chester asked Ayala as they hopped off the couch to help their humans locate everything.

"No betting!"

* * *

Somehow the four of them had managed to waste almost an hour and a half by cleaning their hotel room of their gear and finding a nice restaurant that served some of the better tasting Drachmann food they'd had so far. Ed and the Animals ordered enough food between themselves that they probably could've fed another four people, not including the small meal Al ordered to keep the waitress or any other customers from asking questions or giving them judgemental looks. The restaurant ended up being a nearly twenty-minute walk to the train station so they were in no rush to get to the train station when they ended up leaving the restaurant after settling the bill.

"We've still got to go and pick up our tickets," Al reminded Ed and his brother nodded.

"I know. We'll do that as soon as we get to the station," Ed told him, rolling his eyes at his brother's obvious worry that he'd somehow manage to forget they hadn't picked up the tickets they'd booked the previous afternoon.

Both Ayala and Chester were trotting slightly in front of the two boys, keeping anyone on the streets out of their path. Both Animals were feeling a slight amount of apprehension, like something was about to happen but both of them – after checking with each other quickly – put it down to the fact that no one had tried committing a crime in front of Ed, starting a fight with Ed or made an attempt at kidnapping Ed for the duration of their stay in North City. It was a rarity when they could spend almost four days in any town or city without anything happening to provoke Ed into beating on some criminal.

Just as the train station came into view, Ed came to a sudden stop. As the others came to a stop with him, they noticed a look of confusion on his face that rapidly turned into one of concern and horror. Before anyone could ask him what was wrong or even before Ayala could make sense of what he was feeling and thinking, Ed spoke but not to any of them. "What do you mean Fort Briggs has been attacked?"

* * *

Major-General Armstrong had been in her office working on the paperwork that came with her duty as commander of Fort Briggs when a soldier whose name she didn't recall immediately entered her office mere milli-seconds after she'd called for him to enter. Immediately she took in the disbelief and – to her disgust – fear in his face but before she could berate him for showing such emotions as a Briggs soldier, he spoke. "Forgive the intrusion, Sir, but there's something you must know immediately."

The only thing that saved the soldier from a verbal slaughtering from the general for the complete disregard for military protocol he'd shown was the soldier's fear. All of her men, bar none, were exemplary examples of the Fort Briggs code so for one to show such blatant fear, Armstrong knew this man would not be here just to report an attack from a measly platoon of Drachmann soldiers. "Well?" She snapped. "What is it?" She asked, tone telling her soldier he had mere moments to give her the information she wanted before she lost whatever ever patience she held.

"The men working in the lowest basement of the fortress have reported that someone broke through the floor. They're saying it's a monster, Sir," the soldier informed her and Armstrong scoffed.

"A monster?" She sneered as she stood from her desk, making sure her sword was strapped to her hip. "For your sake, you had better hope that this monster is real and not just some Drachmann who got lucky because what I do to him will be nothing compared to what your punishment will be," Armstrong informed him, blue eyes colder than the mountains outside. Anahlia hissed her own threat from where she sat wrapped around Armstrong's left wrist.

"Sir, that's not all," the soldier said, gulping slightly. "The soldiers who responded first tried to stop the intruder with intent to kill." Armstrong wasn't surprised to hear this. After all, she did train her soldiers to shoot any who dared infiltrate her base first and ask questions later. "Sir, the bullets didn't even  _scratch_  him. They didn't even seem to affect him, Sir."

This information piqued Armstrong's interest immediately and she couldn't stop herself from thinking momentarily of the letter her soft-hearted fool of a brother had included amongst the letters from her mother, father and younger sister. The letter had started the way all of Alex's letters had – few as they thankfully were – and she'd almost torn up the flowery-worded letter before she'd finished reading the first page when she'd come across a term she'd only ever heard once before: homunculous. For a few moments after she'd processed the word she'd just read, she trembled in fury. It had only been a few days since she'd threatened the Elric brothers and their Animals off her base for what Edward Elric had told her but her anger at the two still simmered under her skin.

It had only been because of Anahlia that she'd even read the rest of Alex's letter instead of tearing it into tiny shreds. Her Animal had managed to wiggle past her rage in order to encourage her to read the rest of the letter. The snake had pointed out that it was possible that Alex was writing to warn her that the Elrics might try peddling such an unbelievable story but, Anahlia had been quick to add, he could be writing to confirm their story as true. Either way, Anahlia had claimed, it was in her best interest to find out which scenario was true. So, as reluctant as she was to do so, Armstrong had read the letter in its entirety. By the end of the letter, Armstrong knew two things: the threat to Amestris and the traitorous high command Edward and Alphonse Elric had warned her about were real and there was the slightest chance she might owe the Elrics an apology. They'd never receive such weakness from her but she still didn't like the fact that she had been proven wrong.

"Bullets aren't damaging it, you say?" Armstrong queried as she strode out of her office, the soldier on her heels. She spared only a moment to note that the soldier's Animal, a black pig, joined them once they were outside her office.

"That's right, Sir," the soldier confirmed. "I witnessed it myself. Bullets just bounced off his skin without inflicting any kind of damage to the monster, Sir."

"Where are Buccaneer and Miles?" Armstrong demanded as she and the soldier stepped into the elevator. There was a slight delay as the soldier's pig caught up to them and one look at Armstrong told the soldier that she didn't appreciate it and he was quick to get the elevator going.

"Captain Buccaneer is on his way down to help the men with the monster while Major Miles hasn't been in touch since he left for North City an hour ago, Sir," the soldier reported and Armstrong mentally cursed. She'd hoped that Miles' car hadn't left yet or had been delayed long enough that the driver would still be in range of their radios.

"Which floor was this monster on when you left to inform me of the threat?" Armstrong asked instead of responding to what the soldier had said.

"He hadn't made it out of the basement yet, Sir. My commanding officer had me report to you before I could engage the monster," was the answer she got.

"Did the monster say anything? Anything about who sent it?" Armstrong asked.

"He said something about finally being finished and wondering if he could rest now," the soldier told her. "I don't think this monster is very intelligent, Sir. He didn't seem to notice us and he barely reacted to the bullets. His speech is very slow and he seemed focused on getting some rest," the soldier reported.

"Very well," Armstrong said. "Stop this elevator on the transport floor. We'll make sure this monster hasn't managed to make his way up from the basement. Surely whoever made and sent this creature is looking to cripple our research and development floors," Armstrong said and the soldier nodded in agreement, releasing his weapon from its holster and holding it with the barrel pointing down but ready to be fired at a moment's notice.

The soldier made the elevator stop on the floor the general had instructed and the sound of multiple weapons being fired, men shouting orders, shouts of pain from human and Animals alike and a slow, confused, unfamiliar voice met Armstrong and the soldier as soon as the elevator door slid open. The soldier barely waited for Armstrong to order him into the fight before he was racing out of the elevator, aiming his gun and squeezing off rounds as soon as he was level with the soldiers already defending the fort with everything they had.

Armstrong allowed herself exactly three seconds to take in the battle in front of her. There were soldiers scattered in small groups around the floor, keeping themselves out of the way of fellow soldiers and making sure every angle of the behemoth in the centre of the room was covered and fired at. She could see the unarmed civilians who worked on the floor were being evacuated alongside the few soldiers who were too injured for them to continue fighting. Animals capable of attacking and inflicting damage to someone were taking advantage of the minimal opportunities offered them to try and take down the intruder. When she spotted Buccaneer and Eric, she barked their names, getting their immediate attention and they were by her side as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Report," Armstrong ordered, keeping one eye on the battle and the other on her captain.

"He came up through the floor of the lowest level of the fortress, Sir," Buccaneer informed her, nodding to the creature. "So far, no one or their Animal has managed to inflict any kind of damage on the creature. A few officers have tried interrogating him but he either doesn't understand their questions or he is ignoring them completely as he's answered nothing."

"Do we know what he wants? Who sent him?" Armstrong demanded and growled in annoyance when Buccaneer shook his head.

"Our theory is that he was ordered to dig a tunnel from wherever he originated from in order to infiltrate the fortress and destroy it from the inside. A team of men have volunteered to investigate the tunnel once the creature is dealt with," Buccaneer told her.

"Then we best deal with this creature swiftly and without mercy before it does any serious damage," Armstrong said, glaring at the creature as it swung its massive wrists and destroyed a car with the broken length of chain locked on one wrist and took out three soldiers who hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way of the second one.

"I WANT TO REST!" The creature bellowed, seemingly frustrated at the continuous fighting.

"How do you want us to deal with him, Sir? Bullets are useless against it, no matter the calibre or gun used. Bladed weapons shatter against its skin when their wielders can get in range and the Animals who can help are unable to so much as bruise him," Buccaneer told her.

Armstrong's eyes roved once more over the chaos in front of her and they landed on one of Briggs' latest and deadliest invention. "Find me the crew trained to operate one of our tanks," Armstrong ordered. "No creature, no matter its size and brute strength, can survive a direct hit from one of our tank missiles." Her malicious grin as she looked at the creature whose size would've made her coward of a brother look like an ant in comparison had a couple of nearby soldiers gulp nervously while Buccaneer merely grinned.

"Yes, Sir!" He snapped a salute before doing as she ordered.

" _Whatever that creature is, Olivier, it certainly isn't human,"_ Anahlia told her, hissing at the creature as it swung another chained fist. Armstrong fired a couple of shots from her own weapon as she strode towards the nearest tank.

"How is it not human?" Armstrong asked, a scoff in her voice. "It certainly  _looks_  human."

" _I don't know what it is but it smells evil. I can't believe no one noticed it as it was digging,"_  Anahlia said.  _"Perhaps this is one of the homunculi the Elric brothers tried to warn us about,"_  Anahlia mused.

"It doesn't matter what it is. It's invaded my fortress and it shall be dealt with in a manner befitting the reputation of Fort Briggs," Armstrong said, knowing full well her Animal was trying to admit she had been wrong in the whole fiasco with the Elrics.

"Sir!" Buccaneer's voice caught her attention and she saw him rapidly approaching with three men on his heels. "The tank crew as requested."

"Excellent job, Captain. Join the fight but keep yourself within earshot. I may have new orders for you soon," Armstrong instructed. She didn't wait for the captain to leave before facing the crew. "Prep this tank immediately. I want it battle ready yesterday," she ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The men shouted, snapping salutes before they did as instructed. It only took a few minutes for the leader of the crew to appear from the hatch at the top of the tank to inform her they were ready.

"Very well," she said before climbing the tank herself and entering the hatch halfway. "Aim a missile at the creature and fire," she ordered.

"Sir!" The gunner nodded to his left at the loader. The man immediately prepared a missile for launch and moments later, the gunner got the nod telling him the weapon was ready. "Ready to fire, Sir!"

"Fire at will," Armstrong ordered and watched as the missile launcher in front of her swung into position.

The gunner waited as the driver of the tank drove the metal contraption forward a few inches, successfully letting everyone in the vicinity know the tank was in play. The creature itself looked at the tank with a dull expression, almost like it didn't realise the danger the machine facing it possessed. There were a few moments as the soldiers scrambled out range and the moment a clear path presented itself, the gunner fired the shot.

There was a deafening bang as the missile flew towards its target at speeds so great, no one could track it. Armstrong grinned in victory through the smoke the missile launcher emitted as she watched the explosive slam into the creature's broad abdomen dead-centre. The creature slid backwards with the force and let out a pained and surprised grunt as its body seemed to swallow the missile. A second later, there was a loud explosion, causing everyone nearby to cover their ears and brace for the shockwave that was created. To Armstrong's disbelief, the smoke cleared to reveal the creature alive, in one piece and looking completely unfazed by what had just happened.

"What a pain," the creature moaned. "All that work's finished and I still can't rest. Why can't I rest?"

"Fire again," Armstrong demanded and moments later, another round was fired to no effect.

"Sir, the missiles aren't affecting it! What do you want us to do?" The gunner asked and Armstrong snarled in annoyance.

"If we can't kill it, we must stop it," Armstrong snapped. Spotting some fuel cans nearby, an idea sparked and she wasted no time. "Buccaneer!" The man looked up at ready, ready to follow her orders. "Gather some men and start driving that creature towards the elevator! Falman!" The grey-haired ex-subordinate of Mustang's looked up at the sound of his name. "Gather four men to carry fuel cans and meet Buccaneer one level up. We're going to freeze this monster!" She ordered. Falman and Buccaneer did as the were ordered while Armstrong ducked fully into the tank. "Use this tank as a battering ram and help drive it into the elevator." Not waiting for the response, she resumed her previous position and watched as Falman and four men raced up the stairs with jerrycans in their hands.

Buccaneer had organised the men to surround the creature on one side while the tank covered the other, giving the creature nowhere to go except the elevator. The soldier who'd informed Armstrong of the intruder was manning the elevator controls, ready to close the doors and send the elevator up as soon as the monster was inside. At Armstrong's shout, bullets once again rained down on the creature, pushing it back inches at a time. The tank assisted with three more fired missiles and finally, the creature was in the elevator car. The soldier hit the button with no hesitation and the doors closed before the intruder could do anything.

"Buccaneer! Join Falman!" Armstrong ordered and the captain sprinted for the steps. "The rest of you! Wait in this room in case the intruder comes back down!" Armstrong instructed before looking at the soldier controlling the elevator. "Bring it back down and open it."

The soldier nodded and pushed another button, a look of worry on his and the other soldiers' faces as they watched the elevator anxiously. The doors opened to reveal nothing inside, just as Armstrong had expected and a firm order had the driver creep the tank into the elevator car. Another order to the soldier had him closing the doors and sending the car upwards one floor. The seconds it took for it to do so grated on Armstrong's patience and she unsheathed her sword. "Move forward!" She barked, sword pointing to the doors as they started opening and the driver did as he was told.

Armstrong spotted two of the unnamed soldiers who'd accompanied Falman lying on the pipes above them, empty jerrycans next to them. The shock on their faces at her entrance almost made her growl at them but she forced her attention towards the now fuel soaked creature. She could with the soldiers at a later date. The creature stood confused in the middle of corridor leading to the outside walkway that stretched along this level. It's lank black hair now looked wet and shiny and the strong fumes the Fort Briggs fuel emitted almost made Armstrong's eyes water when it hit her.

"Fire!" She ordered, effectively dismissing the salutes she'd received. Bullets from six guns sounded as Buccaneer, Falman and the four soldiers fired rounds at the creature. It worked as it had done to get the creature into the elevator, only at a slower rate than before as there wasn't the same amount of firepower available. "Launch missile!"

"We're out, Sir!" Came the unwanted response and Armstrong snarled, sheathing her sword and reading her own firearm.

"Leave the tank and start shooting," Armstrong ordered, moving out of the way and the three soldiers were out of the tank in no time.

The shots kept coming and the group of ten continued pushing the monster back. It was three metres from the end of the corridor when the first shout of 'I'm out!' sounded and Armstrong bit back her frustration. All too soon, other shouts came, leaving them four men down and the creature still four metres from the railed edge of the walkway itself. They pushed the monster back another metre and Falman and one member of the tank crew joined the unarmed men, their bullets spent. Armstrong reloaded her weapon when it clicked empty and the moment she had, the two other tank crew members were forced to retreat, leaving her and Buccaneer as the only ones standing between the creature and the base.

The second the creature was past the walls of the corridor and on the open ledge way, Buccaneer moved, throwing his gun aside and aiming a lightning-fast punch that hit the monster in the centre of its chest with his automail. The icy floor mixed with the fuel that soaked the monster's feet and the strength behind Buccaneer's punch was enough to get its back against the rail and almost over it completely. A final shot fired into the centre of the creature's forehead from Armstrong's gun provided the last push needed to send the intruder toppling over the rail completely.

Armstrong joined Buccaneer at the rail and together they watched as the extremely cold weather froze the fuel, freezing the monster in turn as it tried to get back to its feet. "You can wait there until spring, monster," Armstrong said coolly as her icy eyes watched the creature freeze. Once there wasn't so much as a twitch, Armstrong turned her back on it and headed towards the eight men. Buccaneer immediately followed behind, only stopping briefly to retrieve the gun he'd thrown to the side. "Get this tank back downstairs and inform everyone that the situation has been dealt with. Let it be known that I want a complete report about damage sustained to the base from whoever's responsible for that on my desk by the end of the work day," Armstrong ordered. "Lieutenant Falman," her words stopped the grey-haired man from joining the others in collecting empty jerrycans or moving the tank, "you are to report to my office in half an hour. We need to talk."

* * *

"Enter," Armstrong called from her office half an hour after dealing with the monster who'd infiltrated her base. The door opened to reveal the man she'd summoned to her office. "Have a seat, Lieutenant." Her tone made it an order, not a friendly offer and Falman did as he was told. His Animal – a stingray named Rachel, Armstrong believed – floated around his shoulders.

"You wished to speak with me, Sir?" Falman asked and Armstrong nodded.

"I understand you're friends with the Fullmetal Alchemist," she said bluntly. Falman nodded and she continued. "Do you know what he told me the last time he stood in this office?" She asked and again, Falman nodded. "We just dealt with a homunculous, didn't we?"

"I believe so, Sir," Falman said. "I've never personally faced one before so Rachel only has the knowledge passed to her by Major Elric, his wolf and Alphonse Elric's leopard. From what she told me before I had her leave for her own safety, the creature who we just battled smells like what she'd been told to expect a homunculous to smell like," Falman told her. "That plus the fact that nothing we used against it had any effect leads me to believe we have just successfully defended the fortress from a homunculous."

"That's the conclusion I drew as well," Armstrong said, leaning back in her chair slightly. "Major Elric told me he had an array he'd created to destroy monsters like that. Is that also true?"

Falman nodded immediately. "Yes, Sir. Again, I've never witnessed it myself but from what Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes and Major Elric has told us, the array destroys the artefact known as a Philosopher's Stone that acts as the homunculous' life force. Once it's destroyed, the homunculous cannot heal or regenerate as it normally can after being injured or killed another way," Falman reported, repeating what Armstrong had been told be Ed himself, only in a far more condensed and concise way.

"I need you to find a way to contact your previous commanding officer and have him send Major Elric to Fort Briggs so he can deal with that monster permanently," Armstrong said, lip curling in displeasure at the thought of Mustang knowing anything about this.

"I don't believe that's necessary, Sir," Falman said. "Major Elric contacted Rachel three nights ago to pass along a message that he was in North City and wished to meet up if we happened to be in the area. As far as I know, he hasn't left yet," Falman said, looking at Rachel for confirmation and she nodded in agreement with his statement.

"Why was he in North City?" Armstrong asked. She hadn't failed to notice the oddity that was the comment on how Edward had somehow contacted Rachel directly but she left it for now. She could get answers later.

"I believe he was following up with the same mission that had him visit Fort Briggs, Sir," Falman told her.

Armstrong took a moment to think about how they could manipulate Edward into paying Fort Briggs a visit without arousing suspicion or revealing what had happened. "Contact Major Elric and inform him that tremors were detected a few minutes ago near Fort Briggs. Inform him that I have asked that he personally looks into them," Armstrong instructed and Falman nodded.

"Yes, Sir," he said. Armstrong gave him a cold look.

"You do not have permission to tell him the real reason he is being summoned. Do you understand, Lieutenant Falman? You are not to utter a word of this to him," she ordered. Her glacier-cold told informed Falman exactly what kind of consequences would await him if he disobeyed.

"Yes, Sir," Falman said and Armstrong's frigid glare softened into the usual mask she wore.

"Use the phone outside and report back with an ETA on Major Elric once he's given one," Armstrong instructed and Falman nodded, standing from the chair as he did so. Once she'd dismissed him from the salute he offered, he left the office.

" _Do you want me to tell Ed?"_  Rachel asked as she swam alongside him. When Falman hesitated, she scowled at him.  _"Not only does Ed deserve to be warned about what happened, just in case that homunculous somehow gets loose, but Ayala and Chester will be able to tell the moment they catch its scent,"_  Rachel told him and Falman sighed as he grabbed the phone.

"Alright, you have a point. Just make sure Ed claims Ayala told him once she caught the scent when they arrived and not from you, okay?" Falman said and she nodded, allowing him to breath a sigh of relief as he dialled the number for the hotel he knew Ed was staying at. "Good morning. This is 2nd Lieutenant Falman. I need to speak with Major Elric," Falman said politely.

" _I apologise, Lieutenant Falman, but Major Elric, his brother and their Animals have already checked out of the hotel. They mentioned they had a train to catch at 2:00pm, if that's any help,"_  the lady told him and Falman bit back the groan of annoyance.

"Thank you, ma'am," Falman said before hanging up the phone and turning to Rachel. "Once you've told Ed everything, ask him to head our way and get an estimated time of his arrival."

" _I'm already talking to him but I will,"_  Rachel said as there was a pause in her and Ed's conversation as the blonde explained the situation to Al and the other Animals. " _I haven't explained everything in detail but I thought it best for him to get the details from General Armstrong. That way Ed's reaction will seem more believable if General Armstrong does give him all of the details,"_  she explained.

"Good call," Falman praised as he settled against the desk to wait for Rachel to finish talking.

Three minutes later, she was.  _"Ed said he'll be here in a few hours. He's going to try and find a lift to get him to Datepul at least. He said he and the others will walk the rest of the way if they need to but I've told him to let us know if they end up without a quicker way here from Datepul in case we're able to convince Major-General Armstrong to send them a car,"_ Rachel told him.  _"He'll let us know which way he has to go once he's there."_

Falman nodded and straightened. "Let's go tell the major-general," he said, heading towards Armstrong's office. Rachel swam along beside him obediently and they entered the room once they'd gained permission from Armstrong. "Major Elric is on his way. He's planned to find someone to drive them to Fort Briggs or Datepul at the very least. He should be here by the end of the day," Falman reported and Armstrong nodded, despite the displeased look on her face. She obviously didn't want to wait that long for them but knew she couldn't do anything to get them to Fort Briggs quicker.

"Very well. Inform me the moment Major Elric and his brother arrive," Armstrong ordered and Falman saluted. "Dismissed," she said, waving Falman out of his salute and her office. Falman nodded once before leaving the office swiftly.

Armstrong leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment, giving herself a few moments to organise her thoughts before she grabbed the letter from Alex out of the locked drawer next to her. Anahlia tightened herself around Olivier's wrist slightly in a show of solidarity that Armstrong allowed herself to appreciate before she opened the letter once more and skipped to the section where Alex wrote about the homunculi and threat to Amestris once more. She wanted the story fresh in her mind when Elric arrived so she could question the boy more thoroughly once he was in her office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! I would really adore it if you could leave me one with your thoughts on this chapter please! See you next week!


	37. Chapter 37

"What do you mean Fort Briggs has been attacked?" Ed asked incredulously, standing stock still near the steps that led up to the North City train station. Al, Ayala and Chester had all come to a stop next to him when he froze and it was only thanks to the surprise and caution he could feel from the two Animals that he knew he was speaking out loud. Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone else within earshot of them so he likely hadn't been overheard but he had a feeling that this was something General Armstrong wouldn't want publicized, if he was reading Rachel's thoughts correctly so he made sure he continued the rest of the conversation telepathically. "Who attacked it?"

" _I have every reason to believe it was a homunculous,"_  Rachel told him and Ed felt his blood run cold. A homunculous showing up only a few hours from where he and Al were right now? Ed couldn't believe it was just a mere coincidence. Was the homunculous sent as a warning for Ed and Al to back off? If so, why was it sent to Fort Briggs? Unless, Ed thought with horrified realisation, it was sent to prepare Briggs to be bled for the final point of the array.  _"I can't be certain since Vato and I haven't seen or been near enough to a known homunculous for me to learn their scent. However, from what Ayala, Chester, Nala and Leo have all told me, this creature smelled like what I would expect one of them to smell like,"_  Rachel explained.

"Is everyone alright? What happened?" Ed asked, moving to a nearby bench and sitting on it, mindless of the snow that covered it. He had a feeling this conversation might take a while. He heard and felt Al and the Animals moving with him and two warm weights were sitting on either side of him.

" _There were no deaths and no one – as far as Vato and I know of at the moment – were injured seriously enough to have permanent damage. As for what happened, it appears you were right in your theory that one of them were digging the array under Amestris because it dug itself underneath Briggs then came up through the floor of the basement level,"_  Rachel told him. Ed sighed in relief that no one was seriously injured or killed but that begged the question of  _how_  no one was injured or hurt.

"What happened with the homunculous?" Ed asked, not believing for a moment that the Ice Queen would let something that managed to infiltrate her base so successfully just walk out alive, even if she was working with Bradley. It wouldn't do any good for the reputation and respect she had gained for herself and the fortress for her to just let something like that go with no Fort Briggs justice inflicted on it.

" _We couldn't do anything to it,"_ Rachel told him, a healthy amount of fear in her voice.  _"Bullets bounced off it, blades shattered against its skin, none of the bigger Animals so much as scratched it. Even the tanks' missiles did absolutely nothing to put this homunculous down,"_  she revealed and Ed reeled slightly with shock. The homunculi he'd come across and fought before – Envy, Gluttony, Lust and Greed – had all been able to be injured by guns, blades and claws so why couldn't this one? Did it have some sort of ultimate shield like Greed?

When he asked, Rachel informed him that she didn't think so.  _"He didn't cover his body like your memory showed Greed doing. It seemed like this homunculous was just bullet-proof,"_  Rachel told him and Ed sighed. That was just what they needed right now: a homunculous they wouldn't be able to knock down so Ed or Al could get close enough to use their array on him without risking their lives more than necessary.

"Alright. I'm glad you and Falman are safe," Ed said, giving the stingray a mental smile, "but I'm assuming there's another reason you're telling me all of this other than letting us know you've run across a homunculous."

" _General Armstrong has asked Vato to ask you to report to Fort Briggs immediately to dispose of the homunculous and answer some questions for her,"_  Rachel revealed and Ed knew his shock had to be showing on his face.

"She wants us back at Fort Briggs?" Ed asked incredulously. "The last time I spoke with her, I was certain she was trying to find a way to kill me without leaving any evidence or risking Aya's wrath!" Ed exclaimed, causing Rachel to chuckle.

" _Well, you can rest assured that she won't shoot you on sight when you come back,"_  Rachel promised and Ed sighed once more.

"Nala is going to be very unhappy," Ed said, this time out loud for the benefit of the others. "We'll see if we can hitch a ride, at least to Datepul. I'll let you know how I go with traveling," Ed promised Rachel.

" _Thanks, Ed,"_  Rachel said gratefully.  _"Hopefully we'll see you before the end of the day."_

"I hope so too. I don't think I want to spend a night outside in a northern winter," Ed said, chuckling slightly.

" _You really don't want that. If something happens that delays you, let us know. We might be able to convince the general to send a car to Datepul to meet you."_  Ed sincerely doubted that but he thanked Rachel anyway, promising to do as she asked and they let go of their connection.

"I take it we're heading to Fort Briggs, Brother?" Al asked and Ed nodded as he stood and took a look at the train station.

"Yup. They have a problem they think we are the best ones to deal with and General Armstrong has ordered us to report to Briggs immediately," Ed told him. "We need to see if we can find a ride to Datepul, Briggs if we're lucky enough," Ed said, already dreading the thought of trying to track down someone who would be able to take them to Datepul  _and_  keep their mouth shut about it, since he had figured General Armstrong didn't want the world – or the military, at least – about this attack.

Ed swore he heard Al sigh somehow before he realised it was Chester.  _"That's a tall order. It's not like we know people here in North City who would do us this kind of favour,"_  Chester explained when Ed queried the sigh.

"Chester has a point," Al said, worry tinging his tone. "Why would a North City soldier do us – people they barely know, if they know us at all – a favour like that?" Al asked.

"I don't know, Al," Ed said with a groan. "It's not like the universe enjoys making our lives easy so we can't exactly expect an answer to drop in our laps," Ed said, snarling slightly.

"Major Elric? Alphonse?" a barely familiar voice called in surprise and both boys and their Animals spun on the spot to find Sergeant Kemp out of uniform and looking as shocked to see them in North City as they were to see her near the train station. "I thought that was the two of you. I heard you were supposed to be leaving North City this afternoon though," she said, giving them a smile as she approached them. James waved his small paw at them from where he sat on Kemp's shoulder.

"Hey, Sergeant Kemp," Ed said, giving James a small wave back. "Yeah, we were supposed to catch the 2:00pm train back to Central this afternoon but something's come up and we need to get to Fort Briggs ASAP," Ed told her.

"Oh, I hope it's nothing too serious," Kemp said, face pinching slightly in concern.

"We do as well," Al said. "Actually," Al went on to say, voice sounding a little hopeful, "maybe you can help us. Brother and I need to get to Fort Briggs but we don't want to bother the military with arranging a car and a driver. Is there some sort of taxi service or something who will take us to Fort Briggs? Or at least Datepul?" Al asked and Ed mentally grinned at Al. He hadn't even thought of the possibility of public transport so he was glad one of them had. Ed didn't appreciate Ayala's mental eyeroll and quip about how thankful she was that one of the brothers had some smarts about them.

"Well, sure," Kemp said, obviously thrown by Al's casual comment about the military since she knew as well as the boys did that the military wouldn't question why they needed a car and that they wouldn't keep them waiting for any longer than it took for a driver to be found. "There are a few taxi's who will drive you to Datepul but they charge you ridiculous amounts for the trip. I don't know of anyone who will risk the drive to Fort Briggs though," Kemp told them. They went to thank her and ask for the names of those taxis when they noticed she seemed to be debating something with herself. "I'm actually going to be leaving for Datepul in half an hour to stay with a friend for a couple of days while I have the time off. If you're willing to wait, I can give you a lift. My friend may even know someone who can take you the rest of the way to Fort Briggs," Kemp offered, looking a little unsure of herself. Ed had the feeling that she thought they might take her offer as an insult or something.

"What does Al think?" Ed asked Chester.

" _He's a little unsure about her offer. On one hand, he thinks it might bring her trouble but on the other hand, we don't really have any other feasible opportunities right now,"_  Chester told him and Ed nodded slightly. He truly hadn't expected a different answer from the leopard.

"We'd be extremely grateful for that lift, Sergeant Kemp," Ed said, giving her a blinding smile that she returned.

"I just need to pick up some things for the trip but if you'd like to, there's a coffee shop just down this block on the corner," Kemp said, pointing in the direction she was talking about. "I can meet you there once I've finished packing, if that's agreeable?" Kemp asked and the boys exchanged a look.

"Yeah, I think we could use a coffee," Ed said. "Thanks, Sergeant Kemp."

Kemp waved a dismissive hand. "You're welcome, Major Elric. Always happy to help out someone when I can," she told him, giving him a smile. With final nods all around, the group left Kemp to finish her shopping while they headed to the recommended café.

"That was extremely nice of Sergeant Kemp," Al said as they walked and Ed nodding, letting loose a breath of relief.

"Yeah, that was a massive stroke of luck," Ed said in agreement.

" _So much for the universe having it out for us,"_  Chester said with a toothy grin that had Al and Ayala chuckling and Ed rolling his eyes.

"You know full well that if the universe really could work for or against a particular person, it would've heard me and decided to prove me wrong  _again_  even if it meant doing me a solid at the same time," Ed grumbled at the leopard, scowling when no one had the decency to hide their laughter.

* * *

As Kemp had promised, she and James had picked the four Elrics up from the coffee shop half an hour after they had left her to finish her packing. The trip to Datepul was completely uneventful once they managed to figure out seating arrangements since Kemp's car was a little smaller than most of the military cars so Ed ended up in the front with Kemp. Chester had to sit on the floor between Ed's legs while Ayala stayed in the back with Al, sitting half on him and half on the little of the seat that remained. Neither Animal was very happy to be seated where they were but they didn't put up anymore fuss than a small grumble.

"My friend's house is only a couple of streets away," Kemp assured them as they travelled into Datepul.

"No worries," Ed said, giving her a smile that told her he wasn't annoyed in the slightest.

When they did pull up, Ed took in the house they parked in front of. It was a non-descript wooden house painted cream that would likely need a touch up in a couple of years, if the small amounts of chipping paint Ed could see on the corners and edging of the house were telling him anything. It had a small porch, only three steps from it to the front path that led to the gate a handful of metres from the front door. There wasn't any garden in the front yard to speak of but Ed wondered if that was more because of the time of year than anything else. It was only a little one-storey building but from what Ed had seen during their last brief visit and the drive through just now, that seemed to be the norm for houses in Datepul. Kemp pulled the car in front of the house rather than in the small carport Ed could see that sat on the left of the house but he was quickly able to see that it would only hold one car and it already had a car parked in it.

"What's your friend's name, Sergeant Kemp?" Al asked as Kemp turned the car off.

"Sarah Russell," Kemp told them as they climbed out of the car.

" _Sweet freedom!"_  Chester moaned happily as he stretched languorously in the middle of the road.

"Stop bitching. It wasn't that bad," Ed chided as he took a moment to crack his back. Chester glared at him but elected not to make any sort of comment back just yet.

"Miranda!" A voice called excitedly from the direction of the house and the six humans and Animals looked over to see a woman waving to Kemp from the small porch of the house. The brunette seemed to notice there were others with her friend and Ed could see the confused look she was shooting Kemp. "I didn't realise you were bringing friends. Come on in when you're ready," she called though she made no move to enter the house.

"Do you guys want to come in for some tea or coffee? You can ask Sarah about public transport inside, if you'd like," Kemp suggested once more and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," he said, glancing at Al, Ayala and Chester and got no arguments from them.

Kemp smiled at them before she grabbed her bag and locked the car. "Just follow me," she said and they did as she said, following her through the front gate of her friend's property and towards the front door. "Hi, Sarah!" Kemp greeted with a delighted grin that her friend returned with just as much enthusiasm.

"Hey, Miranda," Sarah said, giving the other brunette a hug.

"I'm sorry for the surprise guests but I promise they don't want a place to sleep. They just want to ask someone local a couple of questions," Kemp assured the woman, who seemed to relax slightly.

"Good, because I do not have the room to put up with three extra bonded pairs for the night," Sarah said with a laugh before she faced the Elrics. "Hi, I'm Sarah Russell," she introduced herself, holding out a hand for them to shake.

"Edward Elric," Ed said, grasping the woman's hand. "This is my wolf, Ayala, brother, Alphonse and his Animal, Chester," Ed introduced the three with gestures.

"Pleasure to meet you," Sarah said, nodding to the others. "My Animal's running around somewhere in the house but I'm sure he'll come out to say hello eventually." She shrugged in a 'what can you do?' motion. "Do you want to come in for a coffee? It's not the warmest environment to have a conversation in," she half-joked.

"Coffee would be appreciated immensely," Ed told her, voice completely serious.

" _You need help with your caffeine addiction,"_  Ayala muttered as Sarah chuckled slightly.

"You need to hush," Ed sniped back as they followed Sarah's silent invite to follow her inside her home.

Sarah's home was warm and cosy and Ed almost shivered at the drastic temperature change. The source of the heat became apparent as they entered the sitting room and spotted the large, open fireplace set against the back wall. Lounging in front of it was a large Siamese cat with white fur, a brown face, ears, paws and tail. When it blinked its eyes open, they were bright blue and Ed was reminded quite harshly of Cleo. This cat looked unnervingly similar to his mother's Animal, with the only major differences were that this cat had more brown on it and shorter hair than Cleo. The cat – upon seeing Sarah – stretched where it lay before getting to its feet and meandering over to her.

"I figured you'd be sprawled in front of the fire," Sarah said affectionately as the cat jumped onto the back of the couch to make it easier for Sarah to pat him. "This is my Animal, Nick," she told them before she went silent for a few moments, most likely using her bond with her Animal to introduce them, Ed figured.

"Hey, Nick. Good to see you again," Kemp said with a smile once she'd felt Sarah was finished speaking with him. The cat made an affection chirping noise at Kemp but he didn't move any closer and Kemp didn't try to touch him.

"How do the two of you have your coffees?" Sarah asked, taking a couple of steps towards the kitchen. Once she was given Ed's coffee order and was assured that Al didn't drink coffee as much as his brother and he was alright for the moment, Sarah left them with instructions to make themselves comfortable in the lounge room while she got those who wanted coffee their order.

It didn't take very long for Sarah to come back with three coffee cups in her hands and hand them to those who wanted them before she took her own seat near the fire. She waited until Ed had taken a couple of sips of his coffee before she asked the question she wanted to know the answer to ever since her best friend had turned up with two bonded pairs of strangers. "Miranda said you wanted to ask a few questions. What do you need to know?"

"We need to get to Fort Briggs but we couldn't wait for a military vehicle to take us. Is there anyone in Datepul who could take us? A taxi or something?" Ed asked. Sarah pursed her lips in thought for a few moments.

"There is someone who might take you most of the way to Fort Briggs. He won't take you all the way because he doesn't have permission to enter Fort Briggs' territory but he'll get you to its border. Should only be another hour or so of walking for you from that point," Sarah finally said. "I'll give him a call if you'd like," she offered.

Ed and Al glanced at each other for a moment before Al gave a slight incline of his head. A check with both Chester and Ayala tole Ed what he needed to know and he looked back at Sarah. "We would really appreciate it." She gave him a nod.

"I'll go call him now. I assume you guys want to leave immediately?" Sarah asked and Ed gave her a confirming nod. "Alright. It shouldn't take me long to get an answer for you."

True to her word, five minutes later Sarah joined them once more in her lounge room. They hadn't even heard her speaking with anyone, not even a muffled conversation, which told Ed the phone must've been in the other end of her house, perhaps her bedroom, or the conversation was behind closed doors. Sarah reclaimed her seat and her unfinished but cooler cup of coffee before letting Nick on her lap. Once settled, she faced Ed. "My friend will be happy to take you up as far as he can to Fort Briggs. He's not free and he's not cheap either," she warned.

"We weren't expecting another free ride today," Ed said. "What's he asking?"

When Sarah told him, Ed almost scoffed at the exuberant price-tag. Ayala did actually scoff.  _"That's a bit steep for a couple of hours' worth of driving,"_  Ayala said.

"Considering he could get shot if someone spotted him near Fort Briggs' perimeter? I don't think he'd charging enough," Ed said back before speaking to Sarah, who was waiting patiently for his answer. "Did he say where we should meet him?"

* * *

Three hours later found Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester fighting to walk through the knee-deep snow as they headed in the direction Sarah's friend, TJ – the only name they were given -, promised Fort Briggs was in. His Animal, a bloodhound named David, had been kind enough to imprint his memories and the scents he'd gotten on the few risky trips he and his human had taken to see Fort Briggs onto Ayala and Chester to help them lead their humans in the right direction. Once David had done so, TJ and he had left the Elrics alone in the middle of a snow-buried field with only themselves and a direction to start walking in.

"Who knew walking in this much snow would be so freaking difficult?" Ed grumbled as they forged their path.

"You could walk behind me, Brother," Al suggested. "I'm not having any trouble walking through the snow."

The two Animals snickered in Ed's mind as he did as his brother suggested. "Yuck it up, you two, but I know you're contemplating ways to ask Al to carry you so you don't have to walk in the snow," Ed said, smirking as their faces fell. "By the way, I wouldn't bother asking. Wouldn't be a good idea for your wet paws to be touching Al's freezing armour. It'd be very painful to get them back off," Ed informed them, grimacing slightly as he imagined what would happen.

" _You have a point,"_  Ayala said, swallowing slightly as she resisted the urge to hide her paws. Chester seemed to be doing the same thing.

"It was nice of Sergeant Kemp to offer to send our things back to Central for us," Al said as he followed Ayala through the snow. Since she was the one with the keenest senses in this kind of environment, everyone had elected her to be the leader. Ed had almost laughed at the conflicting feelings of displeasure and pride Ayala felt at that.

"Yeah, it was," Ed said, unconsciously clenching his automail fingers tighter around his suitcase handle. "Too bad we don't know how long we'll be stuck in Fort Briggs for so we couldn't take her up on her offer."

After Sarah had told them about TJ and how much he charged, Ed and Al had asked for any further details, such as meeting place and time. Once Ed had finished his coffee and the boys had thanked the women – Sarah for arranging the lift and Kemp for driving them to Datepul – they'd headed out of Sarah's house, intending to follow the woman's directions to the meeting place TJ had given her. Ed had wrapped himself up in his winter coat once more and pulled out the scarf, beanie and gloves Sheska's mum had knitted for him from his suitcase. He'd just finished putting the beanie on to go under his hood when Kemp had followed them out of the house.

She'd made the offer to take their suitcase back with her to North City in a couple of days and put it on the next train to Central and notify whoever they wanted to pick it up with an approximate time of its arrival. Ed and Al had thanked her but turned down the offer, citing they weren't sure how long they'd be at Fort Briggs so they'd possibly need their clothing and other gear. Kemp had then offered to take them to the meet up with TJ, worried they might end up turned around in unfamiliar town, but they'd assured her they weren't strangers to navigating places they didn't know and finding their way. Kemp had still looked unconvinced but she hadn't argued, instead she'd wished them luck and told them to have Ayala or Chester contact James if they needed her help. With a last round of thanks from the boys, the Elrics had left, waving goodbye to Sarah and Kemp, Sarah having joined Kemp on the porch.

"Do you think Nala's noticed yet?" Al asked and elaborated at Ed's questioning hum. "That you aren't on the train back to Central."

"Ah," Ed said eloquently. "Well, considering the lack of enraged screeching in my head, I'm gonna go with 'no'," Ed told them, causing all three to chuckle.

"Don't you think you should warn her?" Al asked and Ed sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ed said. Reaching for Nala's bond with him, Ed spoke. "Hey, Nala."

" _Hey, yourself? How's the train trip going?"_  Nala asked, her happiness at hearing from him and from possibly seeing the lot of them soon. She must've picked up something from Ed because she didn't sound as happy when she spoke next.  _"What happened?"_  she asked, sounding resigned and anxious.

"We didn't catch the train," Ed told her.

" _Please tell me you just missed this one and you'll all be on the next one,"_  Nala nearly begged.

"Sorry, I can't do that," Ed said, wincing as he felt her disappointment.

" _What happened?"_  she asked.  _"Please tell me you're at least safe."_

"Well, right now our biggest threat is not finding Fort Briggs before we freeze to death," Ed told her, trying to lighten the mood. Nala didn't seem impressed with his efforts so he moved on to answering her original question. "Rachel contacted me a few hours ago. Something attacked Fort Briggs and Rachel is certain that it was a homunculous. A new one, before you ask," Ed said before she could. "General Armstrong asked Falman to ask us to report to Briggs so we could deal with the homunculous and answer some of her questions," Ed told her.

" _Are Falman and Rachel alright?"_  Nala asked. Ed could feel her worry building before he could answer.

"They're fine. Not a scratch on either of them," Ed assured her.

" _That's good. So, you're on your way to Fort Briggs to speak with the Ice Queen?"_  Nala asked and Ed gave her a mental nod.  _"How long will you be in Fort Briggs for?"_

"We don't know," Ed said apologetically. "It depends on how long General Armstrong needs us around for," Ed told her.

" _Don't think this gets you out of trouble with me for missing your train and you'd better deal with that homunculous before I get my claws into him,"_  Nala said, voice growling slightly before sighing. " _I'll let Roy know what happened though but I know he'll want more details than what you've given me and he isn't the only one,"_  Nala said.  _"So, spill. What did Rachel tell you?"_

* * *

It took another hour and a half after his conversation with Nala for Ed, Ayala, Chester and Al to get any sign of Fort Briggs being within quick reach. After he'd finished being squeezed of all information she could get from him, Nala had threatened Ed with death-by-crushing-hug if he let anything happen to him or his brother and Ed had a feeling that she'd threatened both Ayala and Chester with worse things if something happened to them or the brothers. Once happy that they'd all do their very best to stay unscathed for their stay at the mountain fort, Nala had disconnected from Ed to fill Mustang in on everything while Ed focused back on following the path Al forged in the snow.

Their first sign of the fortress was actually a scent the wind carried. Ayala and Chester were obviously the only ones who picked up on it but there was no mistaking it: homunculous. The two Animals confirmed that it wasn't one they'd picked up on before so that left Ed to wonder if it would be Sloth, Pride or some other unmentioned homunculous they'd find frozen in the snow outside Fort Briggs. Once Ayala and Chester had informed their humans what they'd scented, Chester had joined Ayala up the front of the group and both of them worked together to try and keep on the scent trail, something that proved difficult in the fact that the wind would drop suddenly or change direction.

Finally though, they did manage to spot the intimidating walls of Fort Briggs only a kilometre or two in front of them when the snow and wind had died down enough to give them a clear view of their surroundings. Invigorated by the sight, the boys and the Animals picked up their pace. Of course, the closer they got, the more the wind picked up once more until they were unable to see more than a few metres in front of them once again and were relying on Ayala and Chester's superior noses to lead them to the fortress' front gates.

" _We can smell the homunculous a lot clearer. We can't be too far from it now,"_  Ayala warned Ed. The blonde nodded in response. From what he felt from Chester, he knew the leopard had warned Al.

"Stay sharp," Ed warned, speaking out loud for Al's benefit. "Rachel said Armstrong had frozen the homunculous but we don't know whether the stone will let it stay frozen for long."

" _Got it,"_  Chester and Ayala said in tandem while Al nodded once, moving his arms so he could bring them to defend himself easily.

Ed, despite wanting to stand next to him, stayed behind Al. His brother was still making a trench that allowed Ed freedom of movement he wouldn't otherwise have and in the event of an attack, he didn't want to be struggling to move in the snow if something came for them. It didn't hurt that his being hidden by Al's armour could potentially prevent him being spotted by anyone who did approach them and as a result, they could be taken aback enough by his presence that Ed and Al could take them down without much of a fight.

They continued moving forward as a unit. Everyone was on high alert as they continued walking in the direction of where they'd last seen the fortress' walls. It took nearly twenty minutes of them moving by sense of touch, smell and hearing alone to reach close enough to the fortress that Ed was certain he could almost make out the walls that towered over them in front of them. A couple more steps later, Ayala and Chester's hackles raised so high, Ed thought each hair was standing vertically on their skin. Another few steps and Ed and Al finally saw what had their Animals as high strung as they were.

The homunculous was frozen in a kneeling position, a confused look on his face that had Ed thinking that at the time he froze, the homunculous had no idea what was happening to him. His long hair was frozen in a way to look as though the breeze was still blowing through it. Like Ed had seen with Lust and Gluttony, this homunculous was wearing tight-fitting clothing made from what seemed to be the same material as them. Unlike Lust and Gluttony, the material was made into a pair of pants with suspenders over his shoulders and a band of the same material wrapped around his mid-chest area. When they got closer, Ed realised that what he'd thought was hair seemed to be a little more than that. The locks of black hair were shoulder length but seemed to melt smoothly into his head, covering his entire scalp before continuing down to cover his forehead and eyes.

"So that's the homunculous?" Ed asked, needing clarification.

" _That's him,"_  Ayala confirmed, nose scrunching at the scent of homunculous and fuel.

"Should we take care of it now or go knock on the front doors first?" Ed asked, shivering slightly as the perspiration he'd shed during the hike to Fort Briggs started cooling rapidly on his skin now that he was no longer moving.

" _Maybe it's a good idea to wait,"_  Chester suggested quietly.

"Why?" Ed asked as Al made a confused noise of his own. Ed hadn't actually expected anyone to suggest they wait on removing another pawn of Father's.

" _Mainly because I think it would be best if General Armstrong saw you destroy the stone with her own eyes. That way she can see we were telling the truth about having an array that destroys the stone and that we are definitely not on the side of the homunculi,"_  Chester said.  _"I think the only way we could convince her completely that we are definitely on humanity's side is if she sees us destroy the stone in front of her. Otherwise, it could look like we simply defrosted him and let him go to someone as suspicious of everyone as General Armstrong is,"_  Chester pointed out.

"Chester has a good point, Brother," Al said after a moment. Ed looked up at Al, slightly stunned. Despite being the one who asked, Ed truly expected everyone to have said to destroy the homunculous right away, that it was too dangerous to leave him sitting there on the off chance he thawed out somehow and got away. As though he'd been able to read his thoughts, Al continued. "I'm confident he won't be leaving under his own power for a while. We can wait a couple of hours before we take care of it." Ed went to open his mouth to argue when he realised what he hadn't before. Al sounded hesitant about what they'd be doing and Ed was quick to realise why.

"Al, we can't leave the homunculous alive," Ed said softly. The fact that Al didn't make a noise of protest or try to argue against Ed's statement was all the confirmation the oldest Elric needed. "It's dangerous. Even if we were guaranteed that it would stay frozen here until after the plans the original homunculous has, we would still need to deal with it eventually. It's best to do it now so it can't be used by Father to fight against us."

"I know, Brother, but still…" Al said, trailing off and Ed sighed slightly.

"Think of it this way, Al. We aren't taking a life; we're freeing the souls who would be sacrificed otherwise to hurt or kill innocent civilians," Ed said gently. "I don't like the idea any better than you but we can't let those souls suffer any more than they already have. They're our people, Al, and they'll be used to hurt even more of our people." Both Ayala and Chester didn't say a word but Ed knew that they were thinking the same as he was and he knew Al would be sensing Chester's thoughts just as well.

"You're right, Brother," Al said after a few moments. "We owe it to Dad's people,  _our_  people, to free them from the stones Father created and stop them from being hurt even more by his plans." Though Ed could hear his brother's displeasure, Ed could hear the resolution in his voice.

"Elrics," a voice snapped from in front of them and all four jumped before looking first at the homunculous then behind it when it became apparent the homunculous hadn't managed to become defrosted enough to speak and saw Buccaneer looming over the shoulder of the frozen creature, "we've been expecting you. General Armstrong is waiting for you in her office and her patience in wearing thin," Buccaneer informed them, a slight grin on his lips as though he was thinking of the trouble the boys would be in if they didn't hurry. "Follow me."

* * *

"You took far longer than Lieutenant Falman reported you would," General Armstrong said the moment Buccaneer led them through her office door before he took his side behind Armstrong's right shoulder. Eric stood in a similar position on Buccaneer's right. She sat behind her desk, much like she had been the first time the boys and their Animals had met, only this time she looked far angrier. Ed hoped it was because her base had been infiltrated for the first time in her reign over Fort Briggs and not because they hadn't been able to somehow get to the fortress quicker. Just as he trying to figure out if she was expecting an apology or something from them, she spoke again, stopping anything Ed would've said. "I assume you saw that creature outside?" She asked and they all nodded. "Well?" She barked when they said nothing.

"Ayala and Chester have confirmed it smells similar to the other homunculi we've faced," Ed said immediately and Armstrong's icy-blue eyes settled frostily on him. "Unless you or your men managed to damage it enough to make it use the stone and witnessed it heal itself, we fight it ourselves or we destroy it with our array, we can't confirm it for ourselves."

"Why didn't you destroy it out there? I'm sure you had plenty of time to do so between Captain Buccaneer spotting the four of you approaching the creature and when he spoke to you," Armstrong said, eyes narrowing slightly as she watched their reactions. Anahlia made herself known when she slithered up Armstrong to come to rest on the desk, just beside the paperwork in front of Armstrong.

"In the interest of full honesty, Sir, we didn't think you'd believe we'd disposed of the homunculous unless you saw us doing so with your own eyes," Ed said unabashedly. Only Ayala and Chester were privy to just how nervous Ed truly was.

To his surprise, Ed didn't see the anger he expected from Armstrong. Rather, he thought he saw a flicker of approval cross her face instead. "I do not need that monster somehow waking up and trying to infiltrate my base once more. You will be taking care of this creature now," Armstrong said, standing from behind her desk. Buccaneer didn't look surprised at this development, merely stood aside as Armstrong rounded her desk, pausing only to let Anahlia climb her way from the desk to Armstrong's shoulder.

Ed and Al barely managed to exchange glances with each other and their Animals before Armstrong swept past them, Buccaneer and Eric on her heels. They didn't hesitate as they followed behind Buccaneer and his Animal as Armstrong led them to the elevator. They all stood in the elevator car in silence for the entire ride down and when the elevator came to a stop, Armstrong barely waited for the doors to open before she strode out of it and onto the same floor she'd first faced the homunculous on. The workers and soldiers on the floor immediately saluted as they saw Armstrong but she paid them no attention except to dismiss them from their stances. Ed didn't spot Falman amongst the people on the floor but when he checked with Rachel – who was barely containing her excitement at seeing Ed and Al soon – he found out that Falman was working on a completely different floor anyway.

Armstrong didn't bother speaking to the soldiers standing guard at the door. She just glared at them silently as they sprung to do as she silently ordered. Ed had to brace himself against the cold as it barrelled into the room but neither Armstrong nor Buccaneer so much as twitched despite the fact that Armstrong had forgone her winter coat entirely and Buccaneer's was wide open. Not sparing the men a glance, Armstrong walked right through the doors and Buccaneer followed just as soon as he gave the order to keep the door open until they returned. Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester headed into the snow once more and followed obediently as Armstrong led them back to the creature.

"Destroy it," Armstrong ordered as Buccaneer came to stop behind her once more.

The creature was still frozen in the position Ed, Al and their Animals left it in. Ed glanced up at Al before stepping forward with Ayala and approaching the homunculous. Once he was within arm's reach of it, Ed clapped his hands together, visualising the array he needed and placed both hands on the homunculous' closest arm before activating the array against it. The blue energy created by the alchemic reaction danced its way across the homunculous' body, touching every inch it could reach as the array did what Ed and Al had created it to do.

Much the same as Envy had done, this homunculous started disintegrating into dust that was immediately blown away by the wind whipping around the group. Ed thought he heard a low groan from the homunculous as it disappeared before their eyes and, as had happened the last time he used this array, Ed felt the souls in the stone thank him as their prison was destroyed. Though he'd tried to prepare himself for it, the effect the souls' gratitude had on him was still the same and Ed took a step back as though trying to escape the overwhelming emotion he felt.

"So it was a homunculous," Armstrong stated, voice flat and emotionless as she watched the last of the creature disintegrate in front of her. Buccaneer seemed just as unaffected as his commanding officer was. Ed thought he saw some distress on Eric's face, which gave Ed some hope that the two humans weren't as callous as they seemed to be.

"Yes," Ed said simply.

"That array destroyed it completely? There is no way for it to somehow reform as a threat?" Armstrong pushed and Ed almost snapped before Ayala stopped him.

" _She's just making certain,"_  Ayala soothed and Ed nodded once.

"Unless the homunculous who created all of them has a way of recovering the souls I freed from this homunculous and the one who attacked myself and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes nearly two months ago than no, they can't be reformed," Ed told her. "The homunculous certainly never mentioned anything when we spoke to it," Ed muttered before he could stop himself.

"I have more questions for you and am in no mood to have to deal with any potential eavesdroppers," Armstrong said. "We'll discuss this further back in my office." Without another word, Armstrong turned back to Fort Briggs and started marching along the path that had been made towards the front door. "Captain."

"Sir?" Buccaneer asked

"Find Lieutenant Falman and escort him to my office. I have a few things to ask him as well," Armstrong ordered and Buccaneer saluted in response.

* * *

Once through the doors, Buccaneer and Eric split from the group and headed for a separate elevator while Ed and the others joined Armstrong in hers. There was no attempt at making conversation and Armstrong seemed unaware or uncaring of the tense silence in the elevator car. She didn't check to see if they followed her off when the elevator stopped on her office floor and Chester barely got inside her office completely before the heavy door swung shut, missing his tail by mere inches. Armstrong settled back behind her desk, allowed Anahlia to slither back onto it before addressing the Elrics since the destruction of the homunculous.

"Sit," she ordered, nodding minutely to the two chairs situated in front of her desk. Ed noted they looked almost brand new and wondered if that was because they were recently ordered or whether they'd just been rarely used. Not wanting to offend the general and because he didn't know how long it would be before they were dismissed from the office, Ed took a seat on one of the chairs. Al, however, remained standing since he couldn't fit into the chair and even if he could, there was the chance the chair wouldn't hold his weight anyway.

When Armstrong raised a brow at him, Al felt the need to explain. "My armour wouldn't fit, Sir."

"Surely you can take it off. I much prefer being able to see the face of the person I speak to rather than allow them to hide behind a suit of armour like a coward," Armstrong sneered slightly and Ed couldn't stop himself.

"He can't take the armour off," he snapped before Ayala could try and stop him. Not that she did try as at the same time Ed spoke, both she and Chester had loosed angry snarls at the general. It was the first time Ayala had ever become threatening towards any higher-ranked officer for something they said – aside from Mustang – since their first encounter with Archer.

"Guys, settle down," Al whispered, laying a calming hand on Chester and Ayala before moving one hand to Ed's flesh shoulder.

Armstrong didn't flinch at having two predatory Animals showing such aggression towards her but Ed knew he saw a minute flash of surprise and undiluted curiosity cross her face. Anahlia, on the other hand, was quick to raise herself and hiss dangerously in warning at the two Animals. "Now why would the three of you be so defensive over that comment?" Armstrong asked curiously.

Ed froze where he sat. Aside from Gracia, he'd never told anyone he didn't know very well what had happened that night and why Alphonse was forced to walk around as a suit of armour without circumstances forcing his hand. Even then, he'd trusted Gracia an inexplicable amount for someone he'd only had a handful of meetings with prior. General Armstrong wasn't someone Ed was sure he could trust with the truth about what they'd done. Never mind the stupidity and arrogance they'd shown by making that decision to activate that array, they'd broken one of the biggest military laws and the biggest taboo an alchemist could commit. They knew full well that it didn't matter how old they were at the time nor how many years had past, the military could and would have them face a firing squad, no questions asked, and Ed couldn't trust that Armstrong wouldn't turn them in.

"We apologise for our actions, General Armstrong. The lack of sleep and unexpected trip to your fortress has obviously taken its toll on my brother and our Animals," Al said politely. "I wear the armour for my alchemy training and am not permitted to remove it for any reason."

Armstrong's eyes narrowed suspiciously before she shook her head. "The two of you must truly take me for a fool," she sneered at them, making the four of them jump from her ferocity. "There isn't an alchemy teacher cruel or stupid enough in this world to order their student wear a suit of armour to Fort Briggs in the middle of winter! Unless you wish me to believe that the two of you were idiotic enough to travel north  _twice_  without informing your teacher that you would be absent for lessons both times?" She asked. Neither boy answered, sensing the questions were rhetorical. "There isn't a lot in this world that I can tolerate less than liars," she informed them, "so I'll ask one more time and only once more before I put you in our holding cells for refusing to follow a direct order from a higher ranked officer. Why exactly can't your brother take off the armour, Major Elric?"

"Ches?" Ed whispered quietly through their bond.

" _Al says it's not worth us being thrown in jail over this. It's not like Fuhrer Bradley would actually punish us for what happened – what with the fact that that would require sentencing us to death – and Al and I both share the opinion that General Armstrong won't turn us in. She didn't report us to Bradley before after all,"_  Chester said but Ed was still hesitant.  _"You have our permission to tell her what happened."_

" _I'm with Chester. I'm not sensing anything that's telling me that you filling her in on everything will end badly for us,"_  Ayala told Ed without any prompting.

Armstrong was still watching him carefully, her eyes betraying nothing as to what she was thinking or feeling. Anahlia was switching her gaze between Ed and the others, paying more attention to the two Animals than humans though Ed figured that was simply because of the way Ayala and Chester had behaved just a few minutes prior. There was silence for nearly two minutes as Ed had an internal fight with himself, his need to protect Al and their Animals from anything the military could do to them for that array in their basement and the assurances from Al, Ayala and Chester that telling General Armstrong everything was a good idea warring inside himself before he came to a decision.

"When I spoke to you last, I told you that there were homunculi and they were carving an array for some reason that would encompass the whole of Amestris," Ed said, forcing himself to keep his composure and not let his emotions affect him. "Since we last spoke, Alphonse, the Animals and I have discovered more about the plot, including how we factor into the homunculi's plans." Ed cleared his throat before continuing, not letting Armstrong interrupt him. "Just before Alphonse turned 10 and when I was 11, we moved back to Resembool from the town our alchemy teacher lived in after two years under her tutelage. A few months after we came home and after studying everything we could get our hands on a specific array; we readied our basement and the ingredients needed to commit human transmutation in an effort to bring our mother back from the dead."

The rest of the story spilled out of Ed almost without his say so. As he described the meticulous way they'd set up for the transmutation, gathered the ingredients, measured them obsessively, drew the array millimetre by millimetre to make sure not a single section of it was incorrect, Ed risked a few glances up at Armstrong as he continued speaking but saw nothing other than a blank mask that would've put Hawkeye to shame. Not even when Ed described what had happened in the basement did Armstrong so much as twitch a facial muscle. He finished talking by wrapping up the story with a very short description of what had happened in the first few weeks after their failed transmutation and the office sunk into silence.

"Why would these homunculous be interested in you because of this?" Armstrong asked, sitting straighter in her chair.

Ed didn't answer right away, too stunned by the fact that the general had seemed to brush aside the fact they'd committed the ultimate taboo like all he'd told her was they'd created a simple earth wall but he soon found his voice. "We survived the transmutation and our payment to Truth. For some reason, those are the requirements you need to fulfil to be chosen to be a sacrifice for the original homunculous," Ed said with no small amount of bitterness in his voice. "We still don't know when this plan will go down and we still don't know for sure what this array will do exactly but we've got a pretty good idea." Ed glanced at Al, not bothering to try and keep it subtle, and Al nodded once. "We think Amestris will go through the same thing Xerxes did over 400 years ago."

This time, Armstrong allowed herself to show her reaction in the form of a single raised eyebrow. "Major Elric, I do not doubt that you and your brother are geniuses and alchemic prodigies but even you cannot possibly know what happened to Xerxes four centuries ago. There is no written or spoken record and you certainly couldn't have found any surviving Xerxians or their descendants to hear their tales of what happened. The military tried for decades once it was established to locate anyone with Xerxian blood after the tragedy that befell Xerxes happened to try and learn what happened and they found no one. How could you possibly know?" Armstrong asked, her disbelief evident in her voice.

Ed sighed through his nose before asking both Chester and Ayala once more what their thoughts were and what Al's was on the subject. Once again, he got three go-aheads so he did so. "The day I arrived back in Central, I got word from my adoptive grandmother back in Resembool that she needed me to pay a visit. Only me and not Al," Ed explained before he started going into detail about the three days he spent in Resembool with Hohenheim. This time though, Armstrong was apparently dissatisfied with the details he gave as she littered his report with questions about everything from how Hohenheim survived to how he survived crossing the desert to Xing to what Xerxes was like and everything in between.

* * *

The time it took Ed to tell General Armstrong everything about Hohenheim and what Ed was told over the three days he spent with his father – the only exceptions were the things that were private and for Ed and Al only – and to answer all the general's question gave Buccaneer enough time to locate Falman and escort him back up to the general's office. Ed had just finished answering a question about Calix when a knock came at the door. Ayala and Chester were quick to assure Ed and Al that it was just Buccaneer and Falman and Ed assumed Anahlia had done the same because Armstrong called for them to enter with no annoyance in her voice at the interruption.

" _Hey, Ed!"_  Rachel greeted as she followed the men and Eric inside the office. The stingray flapped a fin at the group as she entered the room and neither Ed nor Al could resist waving back, Ed grinning as he did so.

"Hey, Falman. Hey, Rachel," Ed said, giving the lieutenant a nod that was returned.

"Major Elric. It's good to see you again. Thank you for taking my call," Falman said and Ed could hear what the older man wasn't saying.

"Yeah, you had some impeccable timing. We were just checking out of the hotel when one of the employees there told us you were on the phone," Ed said.

" _Are you alright? You didn't tell me what was going on after we spoke,"_  Rachel said, sounding worried and a little hurt.

Ed winced. "Sorry, Rachel. I forgot. We're fine, as you can see," Ed told her, speaking through their bond while Armstrong asked Falman something. "We ended up finding a lift to Datepul and from Datepul, we hired someone to drive us up to Fort Briggs' border and drop us off. We walked the rest of the way," Ed told her.

" _You're definitely alright? Captain Buccaneer told us you'd already disposed of the homunculous,"_  Rachel said and Ed winced slightly at the reminder.

"Yeah, I did but I'm fine," Ed reassured her. Since she was nearby and they were bonded, Rachel would've felt his reaction to the souls a lot more clearly than Nala or any other Animal he was bonded to – Ayala and Chester obvious exceptions – would have. "How are you and Falman?" Ed asked, changing the subject.

" _We're alright. We didn't even get a scratch on either of us,"_  Rachel told him.  _"Vato is about to give you guys the rundown on what happened, if you want to listen,"_  Rachel said, giving Ed a small smirk.

Ed grinned sheepishly. "I really do need to learn how to listen to two conversations at one time," Ed said before dulling his and Rachel's connection just as Falman started telling him, Al and their Animals about how this homunculous burst through the floor of the lowest floor level.

"Did the homunculous say anything?" Ed asked, interrupting Falman with an apologetic look. "Whenever we've gone up against a homunculous, it's bragged about something," he said in explanation to the looks he was getting.

"I didn't hear it say anything as I only faced against it when it moved up to the research and development floor but from the reports I've heard from those who were on the scene first, the homunculous was talking about being finally finished its task and wondering if it could finally get some rest," Falman reported.

"'Finally finished its task'?" Al asked and Falman nodded. "Does that mean it's finished carving the array?" the youngest Elric asked and Ed shrugged.

"I assume so. Unless it had some other task it needed to do," Ed said before sighing. "What happened after that?" Ed asked, prompting Falman to finish his report.

Falman launched back into the report he was giving, telling the boys and their Animals about how they drove the homunculous up another floor and how Armstrong appeared and took charge of the situation. Ed was impressed with how she thought of dousing the homunculous with the fuel and using the elements to put a stop to the homunculous. He wasn't egotistical enough to try and claim that he could've come up with a plan just as effective as that if he didn't have his array. Falman finished up by telling the boys about how Armstrong and Buccaneer managed to get the monster over the edge of the railing.

"Well, the homunculous is now dead but if it has finished carving the array underground, we can't really count it as a win against Father and his plan. That homunculous was likely just a pawn so all we did was rob him of one of his pieces in play. We still haven't managed to do anything to really hinder their plans," Ed said. "Maybe we should've started looking for this stupid tunnel earlier rather than just leaving it," Ed muttered, looking away from everyone.

" _We couldn't have known, Ed. We didn't even know for certain there was a homunculous carving the underground array,"_  Ayala said, trying to provide some sort of comfort to Ed. He thanked her by giving her a pat between the ears.

"I've sent a team through the hole that homunculous," Armstrong nearly spat the word, "created in my basement. They're all to return within a day or send a messenger back with a report if they've found anything. Until such time, you, your brother and you Animals are not permitted to leave this base. You are to stay here in case my soldiers come across another homunculous in that tunnel and require you to deal with it," Armstrong informed Ed, whose initial response was to gape in disbelief at her.

"Brother, it's not an unreasonable order," Al said but Ed could hear what his younger brother wasn't saying. He didn't have legitimate reason to refuse these orders since Al was right, they weren't dangerous orders that would put him or civilians in undue danger and unless Mustang or the Fuhrer called Armstrong to give him new orders, he didn't have any conflicting orders from his commanding officer or a superior of Armstrong's that would give him just cause to refuse Armstrong's command.

Rather than saying anything – knowing he'd likely give away his feelings by his tone of voice – Ed nodded, both to Al and Armstrong. The general didn't seem fazed by Ed's lack of verbal response but from the way she looked like she was still trying to silently weasel out any other secrets Ed, Al and their Animals held. Ed fought internally to make sure he didn't give her any reason to think he was still hiding anything from her but he knew from the look in her eye that he'd failed.

"Is there anything else I should be made aware of?" Armstrong asked, leaning back slightly in her chair and keeping her eyes on Ed specifically. "Unlike my snivelling coward of a brother, I am not one who is content to allow you four to walk freely in my fortress while you are still plainly hiding something important from myself. My brother may be willing to let you keep your secrets but I am not so what are you still hiding?" Armstrong asked, eyes daring Ed to try and deny it.

"Rachel?" Ed asked through their bond, a mimicry of what he'd done to get Al's opinion through Chester. "The only thing I haven't told her about is my abilities. Does Falman think it's a good idea to tell her?"

" _Vato believes that the only reason you should keep that to yourself is if you believe she could be on Bradley's side. Vato would like to go on the record saying that he is confident she isn't on his side and that she wouldn't betray your secret without a good reason,"_  Rachel told Ed. The eldest Elric looked up and over at Falman and met the man's eyes. After a moment, he nodded and Ed relaxed before he looked at his family. Receiving three more nods, Ed looked over at Buccaneer and Armstrong.

"During my trip through the Gate of Knowledge, I gained some unexpected information from it. As a result," Ed said, keeping eye contact with Armstrong, "I can bond with any Spirit Animal I choose. The bonds I create are basically the same as the one you would have with your Animal only less intense. This means I can talk with someone else's Animal but I usually need to be closer to it than I would Ayala. Same thing for sight-share, the ability to sense each other's location and pain, emotions, etc.," Ed explained. "The closer I am to an Animal, the stronger our bond but no bond will ever reach the level I have with Ayala."

"That is preposterous!" Buccaneer sneered. "No person can speak with other people's Animals! Do you truly expect us to believe that folly?" He snapped, stepping forward threateningly only to be halted by Armstrong.

"I assume you can prove this claim easily enough," Armstrong said, looking pointedly at Anahlia. "Let me be clear though. If you are lying to me, I will show no mercy," she growled. Ed had absolutely no doubts that she would keep her word.

"I'm not but with your permission, I'd like to prove it to you," Ed said and Armstrong gave one short nod. "Would you mind telling Anahlia something? A phrase or random word? Through your bond, please?" Ed asked. Armstrong's eyes narrowed slightly before she nodded and Ed focused on the snake on Armstrong's desk. "Anahlia, can you tell me what General Armstrong told you?" Ed asked out loud. "Just reach out like you did when you first initiated your bond with General Armstrong."

"Why didn't you do that?" Armstrong asked before Anahlia could say anything. "Reach out first?"

"If I am the first one to reach out and she responds, we form a bond," Ed told her. "I want her to have the option of choosing not to be bonded with me. The only way I'll end up with a bond with Anahlia is if she allows one."

Armstrong didn't say anything to Ed in response but she did glance at Anahlia, seemingly giving permission as there was soon an unknown voice in Ed's mind.  _"Olivier told me that her sword has been passed through her family for generations. Specifically, the sword was a gift from her great-great-great-great grandfather, David Joseph Armstrong, to her great-great-great-great grandmother, Eloise Layla Armstrong, for their tenth anniversary,"_  Anahlia told him.  _"Olivier also wishes me to tell you that she believes it would be in our best interests strategically to bond. Of course, she is aware that she cannot force you or I to bond but I have no objections. I believe sharing information prudent to our planning would be much easier if we were bonded,"_  Anahlia said, surprising Ed. He hadn't even realised Armstrong had discussed it with Anahlia.

Sensing no doubts or unwillingness from the snake, Ed gave her a slight nod. "Thank you," he said, completing the bond. "Your sword is a family heirloom. Your great grandfather, David Joseph, gave it to your great grandmother, Eloise Layla, for their tenth anniversary," Ed told Armstrong, who nodded in response.

"I assume you took up Anahlia on her offer," Armstrong said and Ed nodded. "Very well." Armstrong looked to Falman before she looked back at Ed. "Who else are you bonded to?"

Ed sighed for a moment. "Ayala and Chester, obviously," Ed said before continuing. "Nala, the Animals on Mustang's former team, my best friend's Animal, my adopted grandmother's Animal, my teacher and her husband's Animals, the Hughes' Animals, your brother's, Lieutenant Maria Ross' and Sergeant Denny Brosh's Animals, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes' secretary's Animal, Hohenheim's Animal, a Xingese prince's Animal and now Anahlia. I think that's everyone?" Ed said uncertainly and looked at Ayala, who nodded even as she rolled her eyes fondly. "Yeah, that's everyone."

"So you are bonded with Lieutenant Falman's Animal?" Armstrong asked and Ed nodded. "Which means that you lied to me, Lieutenant Falman, when you said you managed to get a hold of Major Elric at his hotel and that Major Elric was complicit in that lie." Both Falman and Ed paled considerably as she spoke and there was a small vindictive spark in Armstrong's eyes. "I'm sure I'll find a way to make sure the two of you are appropriately apologetic while Major Elric is staying with us." Armstrong seemed to consider them for a moment before she once again turned the conversation in a direction Ed hadn't expected. "Is there anything else, Major Elric, that you believe is important enough to be brought to my attention?" Armstrong asked.

"Ah," Ed said ineloquently as he tried to both adjust to the road this talk was now taking and to think of anything Armstrong would need to know.

" _Maybe you should tell her about Raven,"_  Ayala suggested and Ed would've given her a strangling hug if he'd been in front of near anyone else.

"Yesterday, Alphonse, the Animals and I returned to Colonel Trevor Moon's office to return some files we'd borrowed the previous day. Before we could leave the colonel's outer office, a General Raven arrived for a meeting with Moon," Ed told her and Armstrong scoffed.

"How is a general attending a meeting with a colonel something I should know about?" Armstrong asked and Ed shook his head.

"It's not the meeting that I wanted to tell you about. I don't even know what they were meeting about. It's Raven himself," Ed said. "Ayala and Chester both went straight into protective mode when he entered the room," Ed told her. "When I asked Ayala about it later, she told me that he smelled far too much like Fuhrer Bradley for her comfort." Again, Armstrong interrupted.

"He's a Central general. I imagine they have meetings with the Fuhrer every week, if not more frequently."

"Yes, but from how strong the Fuhrer's scent was on Raven, Ayala and Chester both believe that he's spent several hours several days a week with Fuhrer Bradley. Our Animals believe that General Raven is one of those corrupted by Fuhrer Bradley and the homunculi," Ed told her. "When I asked her, Nala confirmed that she and Mustang were keeping an eye on him in Central after their run in with Fuhrer Bradley."

"What run in?" Armstrong asked. She didn't look or sound impressed with the fact that Ed had neglected to mention anything about the confrontation.

"Oh, right. Ah so maybe two weeks ago now, Al, the Animals and I decided to lure Scar out into the open by using ourselves as bait because we were fairly certain that the homunculi would send someone to come and stop us from being killed by Scar," Ed started explaining.

Ed continued with the report, describing in detail how Ling, Lan Fan, Fu and their Animals overheard the conversation between him and Al about luring Scar into the open and offered their help. He then told her about the fight and how Gluttony came to find them. He moved on to tell her about them questioning the homunculous and how he, Al and the two Animals ended up escorting Gluttony back to Central to confront Father about his plans. Ed then went on to tell Armstrong about Mustang's talk with Wrath in as much detail as he could remember before doing a quicker overview on what had happened with Father, the homunculi and Scar.

"Since that meeting with Bradley, Mustang and Nala have been very suspicious about the generals in Central and they warned me to steer clear of Raven if I could help it," Ed said, wrapping up his report. "Also, Mustang had Nala warn me about the release of State Alchemist who had been on death row. A Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Lotus Alchemist, also known as the Crimson Alchemist," Ed told her.

"I know of him," Armstrong said, brows furrowing slightly. "My brother told me about his actions during the Ishvalen Civil War. I may not think much of my brother nor of his opinions but from what my own brief investigations into the man told me, he should never have been released."

"From what we've heard of him, we agree," Ed said. "Mustang told us that his release came from direct orders of Fuhrer Bradley. Kimblee was tasked with hunting down Scar," Ed revealed. "Last we heard, Kimblee was heading west after Scar was spotted that way."

Armstrong seemed to take a few moments to absorb the new information Ed had given her before nodding. "Very well. A few of my trusted soldiers and I will make sure to get our own readings on General Raven, should he pay a visit to this fortress," Armstrong said, glancing up significantly at Buccaneer, who nodded subtly in response. Armstrong turned back to Ed and the rest of his family before speaking once more. "Major Elric, I believe the room you stayed in last time is still free. You can stay there until you're permitted to leave. Dismissed," Armstrong said, effectively ending the lengthy conversation right there without giving them the opportunity to say anything else.

Following Falman's lead, Ed stood from his chair and saluted General Armstrong before leaving her office when she waved them out of the salutes. Buccaneer didn't follow them out and there wasn't anyone outside the office so Falman gestured silently for the boys and their Animals to follow him, something they did willingly. Rachel was very happy to be able to greet the boys, Ayala and Chester like she'd wanted to earlier and that greeting was a very enthusiastic one. Falman watched in amusement as Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester tried to give the stingray the attention she wanted without accidentally hurting her or themselves.

"Rachel, let them breathe," Falman said, managing to keep his amusement out of his voice as he watched his Animal flitting around the four others in the elevator, unable to choose the one human or Animal to stay near longer than a few moments.

" _Sorry,"_  Rachel said sheepishly to both Falman and Ed.

"Don't worry about it," Ed said. "We're happy to see the both of you too." He gave the stingray a smile that was nothing but genuine.

"Oh, congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant Falman," Al said, having remembered that Armstrong had greeted him by that title earlier.

"Oh, yeah, congrats," Ed said as well.

"Thank you, Alphonse, Edward," Falman said with a dip of his head. "Your room will be up ahead. Do you guys remember your way around here well enough that you don't need an escort?" Falman asked.

" _I think we can manage,"_  Ayala said while Chester nodded.

"Yeah, Falman, we're good. The Animals reckon they can manage on scent trails if we get in a bind," Ed told him and Falman nodded in thanks.

"I have duties to get back to and dinner will be served shortly," Falman said. "I doubt the general will expect you to do anything tonight but I'm sure you'll be given orders for tomorrow before long."

Ed nodded like he wasn't expecting anything else and he truly wasn't considering what their stay was like last time. The only differences were that Kemp wasn't there helping him with interviews and he and Ayala would be expected to help out around the fortress. Suddenly, Ed remembered something he'd noticed. "Is Major Miles out on patrol again?" Ed asked. "I haven't seen him around the fortress but considering he was with us when we last spoke to the general, I figured she would've had him attend the meeting as well," Ed said and was a little surprised when Falman shook his head.

"Major Miles was ordered to leave to for North City an hour before our unexpected visitor arrived," Falman told them. "I don't know the details about his orders but he should be back tomorrow morning at the latest, according to the talk around the fortress."

"Huh," Ed huffed, eyebrows raising slightly, "we didn't hear about anyone from Fort Briggs heading to North City while we were around town this afternoon," Ed said.

"It's not that unusual for someone from Fort Briggs to travel to North City for any reason," Falman told them. "It's likely that no one blinked an eye at the news," he pointed out and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, probably," Ed said as they rounded the last corner. "Hey, Falman?" Ed asked and the older man nodded to show he was listening. "What are your thoughts on Raven?"

Falman seemed to contemplate his answer. "I've never heard or witnessed anything that would suggest that Raven would have allowed himself to follow along with the Fuhrer's plan. I personally have not spent much time around the general myself so I haven't had much to form my own opinion of him," Falman told them. "However I will say that if Colonel Mustang, Nala and your Animals are telling you not to trust General Raven than I suggest you listen to them, as I will be," Falman said, giving the boys knowing looks that Ed felt was slightly unjustified until Ayala started running through a list of the moments he'd elected to ignore their warnings and had gotten hurt because of it until Ed told her she'd made her point and that she could shut her face. His suggestion had had Ayala grinning until they got to the door of the room the boys and Animals would be staying in.

"Thank you for escorting us, Lieutenant Falman, and we promise to listen to your advice," Al said before Ed could say anything. Ed just knew his brother was daring him to try and argue with him.

"Thanks, Falman," Ed said rather than rising to Al's bait.

"No worries, boys. Make sure you get some rest. I'm sure General Armstrong will have a long list of things you can help out with around for you," Falman said, one corner of his lips twitching up slightly, the only sign of his amusement.

"We will," Al promised him.

"See you around," Ed said, nodding to both Falman and Rachel.

" _You will. I'll make sure Vato finds some time while you're here to join you for a meal,"_  Rachel told Ed, who grinned at the stern tone directed at Falman. The grey-haired man simply nodded in surrender, knowing that a fight would be pointless.

"Looking forward to it," Ed said, not bothering to suppress his amusement. Falman didn't look awfully impressed with his amusement. Another round of goodbyes saw the boys and their Animals entering the room to get themselves settled and Falman and Rachel heading back down the corridor to get back to their work.

"Brother, I think you should use the time before dinner to talk to Nala. Get her and Colonel Mustang up to date with everything that happened," Al suggested as he helped Ed sort his suitcase out.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ed said as he pulled a book out to place aside for Alphonse later. "Hey, Nala? You too busy for some gossip?" Ed asked.

" _Never,"_  Nala told him immediately, causing Ed to grin widely and share a look with an equally amused Ayala.  _"What do you got for me?"_

* * *

As Falman had predicted, Ed and Al were met the next morning on their way to breakfast with the Animals by Captain Buccaneer who had a list of jobs Armstrong had created for the both of them. The captain seemed a little too happy to be giving them the lists and Ed had to wonder why considering none of the jobs seemed to be overly harsh or disgusting. In turn, Ed was almost tempted to ask if he even knew what Armstrong had written on the paper but in the end, he decided to leave it.

Ed had been assigned to the floors that had taken the most damage from the homunculous' unplanned tour, starting with the floor that held the tanks and other vehicles and projects, and helping the soldiers and civilians get their workstations and area back in order. Ed relished not being asked to use his alchemy for every little thing and being given the opportunity to learn from the Fort Briggs men and women. Al was sent to the medical wing to give assistance with any remaining patients from the previous day's fight and because – as Ed found out later when they met up for lunch – the medical staff had asked for him. Apparently, they'd taken a shine to him and Chester last time the Elrics had visited Fort Briggs, having been especially enamoured by how much interested Al showed in the medical field. Ed was less enamoured than they were when Al informed him that he was mostly interested in learning the procedures so he could help Ed when – in Al's words – Ed was too stubborn or stupid to find professional medical help himself. Ayala and Chester had thought Al's reasoning was extremely fair considering Ed's past. Ed hadn't appreciated that very much either.

* * *

Only two hours after they'd broken for lunch, Ed looked up from where he was working – helping one of the tank crews with their tank – and saw General Armstrong marching straight at him. Only Ayala's assurances that her thunderous expression wasn't aimed at him stopped Ed from immediately offering his sincerest apologies for whatever she'd thought he'd done and begging for his life. When she finally got to him, flanked by Buccaneer and Eric, she seemed to have to exert some self-control over herself before she spoke.

"Major Elric, where is your brother currently?" Armstrong asked and Ed sent Chester the question, though he was pretty sure he knew what the leopard's response would be.

"He's in the medical bay," Ed answered as soon as Chester confirmed it.

"Inform your brother that he is to get to your room immediately," Armstrong ordered.

"Why? What's going on?" Ed asked even as he sent Chester the order.

"I've just received a report from Major Miles. He was detained in North City to interview a man who was admitted to the hospital last night," Armstrong told him, obviously displeased with either Ed or the situation at hand. "He'd overheard some northern soldiers discussing a major being admitted to the hospital and they mentioned him by name. The moment he heard it was Major Solf J. Kimblee, he called me with the news, having recognised the name," Armstrong said and Ed shared a worried with Ayala. "He'd been admitted with wounds to his abdomen indicative of an impalement injury and Major Miles was ordered by myself to interview him."

"So Kimblee's been hospitalised in North City. I bet that means Scar has decided to rejoin Mei and whoever was accompanying her," Ed mused out loud but Armstrong didn't seem to hear him or care what he was talking about.

"I hadn't heard from Major Miles until twenty minutes ago when he radioed to report that he was accompanying General Raven to the fortress. Evidently the general wishes to speak with me about something," Armstrong said, a sneer on her face.

"And you want us to stay in our room?" Ed asked, a little confused. Ed knew that usually meetings happened inside offices and that generals didn't tend to stick around for chit-chat after the meeting's conclusion so Ed wasn't sure why Armstrong was having him and Al stay in their room like naughty children.

"No one knows you're here or about the attack on Fort Briggs yesterday. I don't need General Raven asking me questions about your presence and he's unlikely to do that if the four of you aren't anywhere to be seen," Armstrong informed him. "You can stay in the room you've been assigned or you can stay in one of our holding cells," Armstrong told him, giving him the ultimatum.

"We'll stay in the room," Ed said, wisely listening to Ayala's advice to not argue with the general. He went to turn away when an idea struck him and he turned back to the general. "General Armstrong, how far are you willing to go to help us with the fight against the homunculi and their plans?"

Armstrong raised a brow. "That, Major Elric, depends entirely on what you're thinking."

"I was thinking, General," Ed said, "that we may be able to lay and trap for Raven and if he manages to fall for it, you could possibly take his place in Bradley's inner circle."

"And act as a spy for you and those supporting you, including Mustang," Armstrong finished saying for him. The subtle snarl that flickered across her face at Mustang's name had Ed worried that he might've overstepped his bounds or somehow managed to insult her when her expression smoothed into one slight interest. "Tell me your plan. If it isn't as idiotic as I'm expecting it to be, I'll consider it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little late but here you go! Only 10 chapters after this until the story is finished! I'd love to know what you all thought! See you next week!


	38. Chapter 38

"General Raven." Armstrong's polite, professional tone drew the attention of anyone on the research and development floor who was within earshot and they joined Armstrong in saluting the seemingly friendly looking gentleman stepping out of the military car that had just been granted entrance into the fortress. "It's a pleasure to see you and Bella out of Central. May I ask whether there was a specific reason the visit?"

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, General Armstrong, Anahlia. Fort Briggs certainly seems to still be suiting you," Raven said, giving her a friendly smile. The weasel who'd followed him out of the car looked around with interest and Anahlia hissed lightly in Armstrong's mind. "As for the reason, I think it might be best for us to discuss that in private." His smile never wavered but Armstrong saw a glint pass through his eyes too quickly for her to make an accurate guess as to what it was.

"Very well," Armstrong said, nodding to Buccaneer. "Would my office suffice?"

"Perhaps. Would you happen to have a tea station in there? It was a long drive and I would rather enjoy a cup," Raven said and Armstrong nodded once.

"My office has no such amenities but there is a tearoom that I use when I require it. It's not close enough to any other offices or workstations so I usually am the only one who uses it. Would that be better suited, Sir?" Armstrong asked and Raven's smile grew wider.

"That sounds lovely," he said and she gave him another nod.

"Very well, Sir. If you'll follow me, Captain Buccaneer will see to it that your suitcase and other personal items are delivered to your room. I assume you'll be staying the night at least?" Armstrong said and Raven nodded.

"If that doesn't put you out at all, General Armstrong?" Raven asked but Armstrong could tell that he was fully expecting her to let him stay at the fortress for as long as he wanted with no complaints.

"Of course not, Sir," Armstrong said before gesturing in front of her. "If you'll follow me?"

"Lead the way, General," Raven said with another easy smile as he picked up his weasel and allowed her to sit on his shoulder. Armstrong turned on her heel, nodded once more to Buccaneer, who saluted before he moved to do as she'd ordered.

Miles and Amaya – both of whom had been waiting silently next to the car they'd stepped out of – both started following Armstrong and Raven as they walked towards the floor. A nod from Raven had the four Central soldiers who accompanied him stay with Buccaneer. Armstrong caught the side-eye Raven shot at Miles when Armstrong didn't order him off the elevator and, in a moment of rare pettiness, she acted as though she hadn't seen it and did nothing about Miles. Instead, she nodded at Miles when he reached for the elevator controls just so she could see what Raven would do. She was mildly annoyed when the grey-haired general did nothing more than purse his lips for a moment in displeasure.

"Thank you, Major Miles," Armstrong said when the elevator came to a stop on the floor she wanted. "I imagine there are things you need to take care of that have built up during your absence that require your attention and I also expect your report no later than the end of the working day. You may see to those now," she instructed, barely giving the man a cursory look.

"Yes, Sir," Miles said, making no further move to follow her and Raven off the elevator other than the half-step he'd already taken. The doors slid shut once more with Miles never removing his eyes from Armstrong while she'd turned her back and started leading Raven through the hall.

"This is the room, Sir," Armstrong said, coming to a stop in front of a door before opening it.

"Thank you, General," Raven said as he entered. "Ah lovely," he exclaimed upon spotting the tea station and walked over to it. "Would you care for a cup, General?" Raven asked as he filled the kettle with fresh water.

"Tea, if you would be so kind, Sir," Armstrong said, knowing that any refusal from her could be seen as an indication of what she would do should Raven decide whether to bring her in on the Fuhrer's plans.

Raven flashed her another one of his trademark smiles before busying himself with the items in front of him. While the general was busy doing so, Armstrong risked a glance up at the vent that sat in the ceiling almost directly above her. She was positive that the flash of golden eyes she saw wasn't her imagination and a tiny movement of something small being shifted on the side of the vent and she knew the microphone Edward had alchemised was being moved into the optimal spot. There was another flash of gold and soon, she couldn't see anything else moving so she moved her eyes back down to watch Raven.

Trusting someone she barely knew was not in her nature and trusting someone she barely knew with a plan as high-risk as this one was so far out of her nature that if she were anyone else, she might've considered the possibility that she was losing her mind. However, even without Anahlia's assurances that the Elric brothers and their Animals could be trusted, Armstrong found herself trusting the boys to a degree more than she granted most people. She was unsure whether it was because they hadn't bothered trying to hide anything from her about the Fuhrer, the homunculi or their plans once they'd decided she could be trusted with the information or because they hadn't hesitated to get themselves to Fort Briggs as soon as they'd been summoned or because of some other reason she hadn't yet figured out. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Raven clinking a teaspoon against the edge of a cup as he stirred the tea inside.

"Thank you, General Raven," Armstrong said politely when Raven placed the hot cup in front of her. Raven gave her another smile before he took a seat opposite her at the small table. Bella unwound herself from his shoulders and took up position on his right side and Armstrong's left. Anahlia made sure they remembered she was there by tensing and releasing her coils, causing her vibrant scales to reflect the light. "I apologise for the chaos you undoubtedly witnessed earlier, Sir. We were attacked yesterday," Armstrong said casually, taking a sip of her tea.

Raven raised his brows in surprise. "Attacked? By who?" He asked curiously.

"I think it would be more appropriate to say 'what', Sir," Armstrong corrected. "We were attacked by a monster," she revealed. "Fortunately we were able to successfully fend it off," she told him, pretending as though she thought his first concern would be the welfare of those stationed at this fortress.

"A monster?" Raven repeated, taking a sip of his tea. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"We killed it but it didn't die, Sir," Armstrong told him.

Raven let out a soft chuckle as he placed his cup back on its saucer. "Is that so?" He asked and Armstrong nodded.

"I had suspected that it originated in Drachma but I never got the chance to interrogate it for myself," Armstrong said, adding a small wistful sigh on the end of her words.

"It escaped?" Raven asked, sounding shocked at hearing the news.

"Unfortunately so, Sir," Armstrong confirmed, making sure she frowned lightly as though she was disappointed in herself. "We managed to get it out of the fortress however we lost it when a blizzard swept through the area just before I was able to scramble together a pursuit team. Once the storm had cleared, I sent the team out but as we'd feared, the storm destroyed any evidence of where the monster had gone." Her voice had remained professional as though she was delivering a normal report but she also made sure there were hints of regret, annoyance and the slightest amount of envy. She knew Raven had picked up on it almost immediately but he didn't comment.

"That's a shame to hear," Raven said consolingly and Armstrong had to fight the urge to snarl or throw up on him. "I would've liked to see such a monster."

"The funny thing is, Sir," Armstrong said, "when the Elric brothers were here a little over a month ago, the eldest one – Edward – had mentioned something about such monsters to his brother. Of course, he had no idea I was in earshot but I made myself known so I could ask him for more information. He refused to tell me anything about such a creature," Armstrong lied.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist?" Raven asked and Armstrong nodded.

"I only bring this to your attention because, as I said, I believe this monster to be a creation of Drachma sent to try and weaken my fortress. Obviously we have a serious problem on our hands if one of our State Alchemists is a Drachma spy," Armstrong said and Raven nodded far too quickly to be convincing.

"Certainly. I'll make sure Fuhrer Bradley is made aware of this the moment I'm back in Central," Raven said, doing a good job at sounding appropriately worried about their country's safety. Armstrong almost scoffed when she realised he truly was worried but about their plan being leaked rather than their country. Anahlia had to calm her down enough so she didn't end up sticking her sword through Raven's neck. "I actually ran into the Elric brothers quite by chance two days ago," Raven told her. "I had been on my way to a meeting and met them as they were on their way out."

Armstrong made sure she wore an expression that showed mild surprise before her eyes narrowed slightly. "Perhaps I may get the chance to question them about the monster after all, if they decide to visit Fort Briggs once more," Armstrong said, a touch of malicious hope in her voice that had Raven smile indulgently at her.

"They wouldn't tell you anything during their last visit?" Raven asked, bringing Armstrong back and she shook her blonde locks.

"No, they wouldn't," she confirmed and watched in hidden disgust as Raven relaxed slightly. "They'd claimed they'd only been here to investigate reports of isolated tremors in the area when I first met them but that overheard comment had my suspicions rise," she informed Raven. "I had thought about detaining them until I could verify their orders with Central Command but I ended up leaving them to their interviews in peace. I hadn't wanted to cause any trouble for them just because I am not one to give my trust easily," Armstrong said. She allowed her eyes to glaze over as though she was lost in thought. "I was thrown by how young the two of them were. There's no one in Fort Briggs even close to their age and I couldn't help but feel my maternal side when I saw them. The idea of such young boys being locked up in a cell because I ordered it? I couldn't stomach the thought." She allowed herself to adopt a startled expression, as though she couldn't believe she'd admitted that out loud.

Raven let out another soft laugh. "But, General Armstrong, aren't you known as the Northern Wall of Briggs? Walls aren't supposed to be as soft as that," Raven chided and Armstrong gave him an apologetic smile.

"You know, General Raven, that at my age most women are expected to have a child or two of their own at least," Armstrong said before letting out another wistful sigh. "Unfortunately I'm well passed that now," she said sorrowfully.

Raven reached across the table, their teas forgotten, and enveloped her hands with one of his own. "Come now," Raven said kindly and Armstrong once again had to resist the urge to tear his tongue out with her bare hands, "surely men are lining up to have children with a woman as beautiful as you."

"Hardly, Sir," Armstrong said, her voice wavering slightly. "I hate to say it but like everyone else, I am growing older and my body is too," she said, sounding regretful about missed opportunities. "That Drachmann monster though," she mused after a moment, "it had an outstanding body. An immortal body. It was like something from a dream," Armstrong told him, her tone reflecting what she'd just said.

She saw the moment Raven had come to a decision about her and almost smiled as she watched the disgusting traitor get to his feet and come to stand next to her. "What if I told you that very soon it won't be a dream anymore?" Raven asked, voice quiet and alluring. Armstrong wasn't a stranger to men trying to charm her into seeing things their way but she restrained herself from putting Raven on his knees as she normally would've. Rather, she made herself look up at him with cautious hope in her eyes. "Tell me, General, would you be in a legion of immortal soldiers? In never dying or getting old? You want it too, don't you?" Raven asked, obviously encouraged by her expression and believing he had her hook, line and sinker.

"Oh, it's such an incredible question," Armstrong said, voice breathy as though she was overwhelmed like some dainty woman. "I don't quite know what to say."

Raven looked a little annoyed but he was quick to smooth his features. "Well, are you interested or not? There are only two answers," he told her.

"It is intriguing," Armstrong said, enjoying how Raven seemed to grow a little more annoyed with her lack of answer. "Tell me, General, on the day this dream comes true, will my men share in this gift as well or is it just for me?"

"I can tell you when the time comes," Raven told her and Armstrong felt a spike of annoyance at his own avoidance.

" _I can almost guarantee what his answer would've been,"_  Anahlia hissed and Armstrong knew her snake was right.

General Armstrong went to open her mouth to say something, hoping to coax a bit more information out of the other general. She hadn't failed to notice that Bella didn't look as convinced she was on Raven's side as Raven did but Armstrong didn't bother with the weasel. She was positive Raven would just assure his Animal that Armstrong was merely hesitant but would be fully onboard in no time. Before she could say anything, a knock sounded at the door and she almost snarled at the disturbance.

"My apologies, General," Armstrong said as she got to her feet. Raven appeared as irritated with the interruption as she was but she paid him no mind as she opened the door to reveal one of her soldiers on the other side. "Yes? What is it?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sir, but the underground tunnel advance team –" the soldier started saying only to be interrupted by Raven who had come to stand behind Armstrong.

"What's this about an underground tunnel?" Raven asked, making Armstrong want to elbow him in the throat for daring to interrupt but once more she managed to resist the urge.

"Speak, soldier," she instructed the man.

"Yes, Sir," he said obediently. "Something's happened to the advance team," he told her and Armstrong felt a coil of worry. Not for her soldiers – those men knew their lives were on the line when they were sent into the tunnel – but for her fortress. She had no clue what happened to the men and until she could be certain, she couldn't help but believe another homunculous was the cause.

"Very well. I'll be right there," she told the soldier, dismissing him with a nod. She went to turn to Raven and offer a false apology but was prevented when Raven spoke once more.

"I'd like to come too," he told her and without any legitimate reason to have him stay behind, Armstrong could only nod.

"As you wish, Sir," Armstrong said easily. Raven seemed pleased and moved away from her to scoop up Bella so she could be carried on his shoulders once more.

As they'd done so before, Armstrong led the two of them to the elevator where the soldier who had delivered the news was waiting patiently. The soldier offered the two a salute but was dismissed from it quickly as the three waited for the doors to open. Armstrong was amusing herself by trying to remember the soldier's name but it kept slipping out of her grasp. His lack of Animal wasn't any help since there were quite a few Animals in the fortress too large to use this elevator and his could've been one of those. When the doors opened, the three humans and two Animals stepped inside and the soldier received a nod from Armstrong to take them down to the appropriate level.

* * *

When the doors next opened, Armstrong was surprised to find Miles waiting on the other side of them with a man dressed impeccably in a white three-piece suit, matching hat, shoes and coat and raven black hair tied back in a low ponytail. Though she'd never met the man, the description her brother and the Elrics had given her were more than enough for her to identify the stranger as Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist. Miles was quick to offer a salute while Kimblee was a little slower to do so and Armstrong would've snapped at him about showing superiors the appropriate respect had she not been in Raven's presence and unwilling to risk all her hard work at getting his trust.

"My apologies, Generals," Miles said as he dropped his hand. "We had no idea you were occupying this elevator."

"No worries at all, Major Miles!" Raven said jovially as he beckoned the two of them inside with them. Amaya sat right up against Miles leg as they joined them. "General Armstrong, I'm unsure if you've been made aware that I have a guest with me. He arrived a little later in another car," Raven said. "This is Solf J. Kimblee, also known as the Crimson Lotus Alchemist."

"A pleasure to meet you, General Armstrong," Kimblee said, sounding like a perfect gentleman and offering her a small bow. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Any guest of General Raven's is a guest of Fort Briggs'," Armstrong said, giving him a nod.

"What floor, Major Miles?" The soldier asked and Armstrong briefly felt bad for not knowing his name as he brought the attention off her and onto himself.

"Just one floor down, Hurst," Miles said and the soldier nodded, pressing the appropriate button.

It took only moments for them to reach the floor. Kimblee and Miles saluted once more before they left the car with Raven reminding Kimblee that they had a dinner meeting that night. Once the two men and Amaya had left the elevator car, Hurst had them travelling down to their original destination and Armstrong realised something.

"Inform Amaya about the Elrics being here and that Kimblee and Raven are not to know about their presence if it can be helped," Armstrong instructed Anahlia. "I suppose you had better warn Major Elric that Kimblee is here as well," she added as an afterthought.

" _I'll let them know,"_  Anahlia assured her.

The elevator doors opened a couple of seconds later and a soldier noticed them immediately. "General!" He called, getting her attention. Realising he was the one in charge of this situation, Armstrong made her way over to him, followed closely by Raven and Hurst. A nod to Hurst had him leaving to attend his other duties.

"What's the situation?" Armstrong asked, getting straight to the point.

"We lost all contact with the advance team that was sent down to investigate the tunnel," the soldier reported. "Shortly after, Smith's horse returned. It came back with what we assume is his arm." Armstrong felt a small amount of bile and regret make itself known before she managed to bury them.

"Just his arm?" She asked and received a nod. "Where's the rest?"

"It's still down there, missing, Sir," the soldier reported. A nod of his head had Armstrong looking in the direction he'd gestured to and Armstrong watched as Smith's bay horse – just a normal animal – did its very best to try and rip itself free from the reins and bridle tied to the steel post preventing it from fleeing. Armstrong could see the whites of its eyes as they bulged with naked fear and its terrified whinnies could be heard clearly despite the distance between them. "His horse can't lead us back. It's too terrified to be of any use," the soldier said unnecessarily.

"Get a reserve party!" She ordered.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, General," Raven said, preventing the soldier from doing as she'd ordered. Armstrong didn't bother hiding her disbelief and anger as she faced him. "That tunnel is far too dangerous to be sending anymore men down it." Armstrong was unsurprised at exactly how unsurprised she was that Raven was saying what he was. "You said the monster escaped, correct? So seal the tunnel's entrance, General Armstrong," Raven instructed.

"But there still might be-" the soldier tried to say but Raven shut him up with a glare far more angry than he'd ever shown himself to be.

"I am speaking to the General!" Raven snapped at the man before turning back to Armstrong. "See, I know the Northern law. 'Obey the strength and obey the power'. Isn't that the way it works around here?" Raven said and Armstrong's jaw clenched as she tightened it so she wouldn't spit what she wanted to say as she watched the general walk back towards the elevator car and get inside it, giving her a stern look as the doors slid shut.

The soldier – a man whose name was Penchel, Armstrong suddenly remembered – looked at her with a small amount of hope. "General, are we sending in a search team to look for the missing team?" he asked.

"Quiet, Penchel," Armstrong ordered as she approached the barrier of the deck that overlooked the workers down below. "Attention, everybody!" Armstrong's strong voice carried down to the workers below clearly and they all halted in their movements to look up at her. "You have new orders to seal the entrance created by the monster who invaded our fortress. Leave the tunnel unobstructed! I expect this to be done swiftly!" She informed them, noting the confused and outraged expressions on the faces she could make out before she stepped away from the railings to find Penchel looking at her in disbelieving horror.

"We can't just abandon them down there! They might still need our help!" Penchel protested, following her as she walked by him.

"I said to be quiet, Penchel!" Armstrong snapped. "Be quiet and obey," she snarled at him as she pressed the button for the elevator. She refused to look guilty or regretful as she entered the car and turned to see Penchel's betrayed expression. Though not part of the plan she and Edward had discussed earlier that morning, Armstrong's fists shook as she clenched them tightly as one thought ran through her mind: Raven would pay for ordering her to do this.

* * *

Edward, Alphonse, Buccaneer, Eric, Ayala and Chester all waited until they heard the doors shut closed on the elevator before they so much as twitched after Armstrong and Raven's discussion had been interrupted by the soldier reporting the problem with the underground tunnel advance team. Once they were sure they wouldn't be caught spying, Ed and Al packed up the recording equipment and followed Buccaneer back through the access vent the room next door had offered. Ed had barely gotten to his feet when he felt someone trying to connect with him.

" _Olivier wished for me to inform you that Kimblee is in Fort Briggs. You are still under orders to stay out of sight of both Raven and Kimblee,"_  Anahlia informed him before abruptly disconnecting from him and Ed swore.

"I didn't think I'd ever meet an Animal who got to the point and disconnected from me quicker than Michella," Ed joked to Ayala, who had given him a worried look.

" _Anahlia?"_  she asked and Ed nodded.  _"What happened?"_

"Kimblee's in Briggs, being escorted by Major Miles," Ed revealed, speaking out loud for the benefit of Al and Buccaneer, who'd looked moments away from demanding to know what Ed was talking about, "and Anahlia wanted to remind me that we're still expected to stay out of sight of the two visitors if possible," he added. Buccaneer nodded once.

"Eric, where's Amaya and Major Miles now?" Buccaneer asked his Animal. He must've gotten an answer almost immediately because not even ten seconds later, he was addressing the Elrics. "They're on a different floor to your rooms. Let's get moving before that changes," he ordered. Ed was tempted to point out that he was technically higher ranked than Buccaneer but ended up remembering that he didn't care enough about his rank to raise any sort of fuss.

The four followed Buccaneer and Eric out of the room and down to the elevator. They didn't worry about who was in the elevator car with them as every single man and woman stationed at Fort Briggs had been informed that the Elrics were no longer in the fortress and that they hadn't been since a month ago, should anyone decide to ask. The thing that amused Ed the most was that Armstrong hadn't had to order them to lie about it. In fact, she hadn't even said anything to those in the fortress about it. The word had spread from the research and development floor where someone had obviously overheard Ed and Armstrong talking that morning and, in typical Fort Briggs fashion, everyone knew about it within an hour.

"Stay in here. Someone will bring you some lunch later," Buccaneer ordered as they came to a stop and Ed was a little surprised to find himself standing outside his temporary room.

"Thank you, Captain Buccaneer," Al said as he opened the door to let the Animals and Ed through. Ed simply gave the captain a nod of thanks that the man returned before he and Eric headed back down the corridor. "Come on, Brother," Al said, jolting Ed out of his slight trance and got him moving into the room. Al shut the door firmly behind him and locked it, making sure no one would be able to surprise them by barging in unannounced.

"I can't believe Kimblee's here," Ed grumbled as he sat then collapsed backwards onto his bed. Ayala and Chester joined him, Ayala laying next to him with her head on his abdomen while Chester was situated on the head of the bed, since Ed wasn't using it. "Raven was bad enough. Why does the universe hate us so much?" Ed muttered and Al gave his knee a comforting pat as he passed by his brother to sit on the other bed where his books sat neatly next to it.

"You should tell Nala that she and Colonel Mustang were right not to trust Raven," Al said, electing to ignore Ed's question.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ed reluctantly said. Though he had no problem with telling Nala she had been right, he did have one with telling Mustang he had been proven right about something. "Nala?" Ed called mentally and the lioness was quick to answer.

" _What's wrong? You seem worried and annoyed,"_  she said and Ed huffed slightly.

"You guys were right about Raven," Ed told her and felt her shock and a slight amount of smugness.

" _How do you know for sure?"_  Nala asked, concern drenching their bond.

"He's here in Fort Briggs," Ed said. "He and Kimblee both, actually."

" _Kimblee's there?"_  Nala asked and Ed nodded in confirmation. Nala seemed to disappear for a moment but Ed knew it was only because she'd started talking to Mustang, likely relaying the news to the man.  _"Roy wants to know what's going on and so do I,"_  Nala informed Ed. The blonde knew that Nala had only added the part about herself wanting to know so that he didn't refuse to tell them just on the principle of pissing Mustang off.

So Ed relayed to her everything that had happened since Armstrong had found him helping the tank crew. He revealed the plan he'd come up with Armstrong to take Raven's place in Bradley's inner circle. Ed also revealed that he was certain that Armstrong was planning on killing Raven to do so and that he wasn't sure whether he was alright with it. Nala had taken the opportunity to tell him that the guilt and disgust he was feeling over the idea of Armstrong killing Raven and Bella was a good thing but that sometimes there were no other options. Ed had nodded but Nala knew her words hadn't alleviated Ed's guilt over what was going to happen.

Deciding to move the topic along, Nala asked about what had happened after they'd come up with their plan and Ed launched into the tale. He told the lioness about what Raven and Armstrong had spoken about and how Armstrong had gained Raven's trust enough that he offered her the chance to become immortal, revealing that he was indeed on Bradley's side. He'd been forced to pause as Nala let out a string of expletives that had Ed almost grinning with amusement. Once Nala had calmed down and stopped cussing Raven out, she allowed Ed to wrap up his report by telling her about the unknown soldier's interruption and Anahlia's message.

" _So, Armstrong's plan is to have you on house arrest until Raven and Kimblee leave?"_ Nala asked and Ed gave her a mental nod.  _"That's alright for short-term but does she have a plan if they're there for more than a couple of days? I assume the reason Kimblee is even in the north because Scar's there,"_  Nala said,  _"and we know how well Scar can avoid capture if he wants to."_

"True," Ed agreed, "but I don't know what General Armstrong has planned if they stay here for too long. I think that Raven will be taken care of sooner rather than later but I don't know what her plan is for Kimblee, if she has one to start with,"Ed told her.

" _She better come up with one. I don't like the idea of you guys being stuck at Fort Briggs with those two in the same building as you. If you were in North City, you'd stand more of a chance of being able to sneak away,"_  Nala said, her protective nature flaring slightly.

"I know you don't and trust me when I say I would rather be in Central right now than here but we can't do much about it now," Ed told her gently and Nala sighed.

" _I know,"_  she whined slightly.  _"Do you think I could convince Roy that he needed to get to Fort Briggs now so I could take care of Kimblee before he becomes a problem?"_  Nala asked. The hope in her voice was almost overshadowed by her feral desire to draw blood from the Crimson Alchemist. Ed figured he should've been feeling afraid of her in that moment but just felt grateful she cared for him and Al so much.

"Something tells me that even if you managed to convince Mustang to come up here, your time would be spent making sure he didn't find himself with General Armstrong's sword through his neck because he pushed her buttons too much," Ed told her and she sighed.

" _Yeah, you're probably right,"_  Nala admitted and Ed felt the glare she sent Mustang's way that would likely confuse the older man until Nala decided to explain what he'd done this time to deserve it.

Ed sighed, already dreading the boredom that would soon hit him from being locked in a room with barely anything to do. Deciding he didn't want to read just yet, Ed changed the subject with Nala rather than letting her go back to whatever she had been doing. "So, what's been happening in Central while I've been gone? Has Kate tried killing Mustang yet?" Nala's soft chuckle she gave before she started giving him all the gossip from around the base had Ed smiling slightly as he closed his eyes to better concentrate on the lioness' voice.

* * *

Armstrong wanted to snarl as she received word that General Raven wanted her to escort him down to check on the progress the workers were making on sealing the hole the homunculous had made when it broke into Fort Briggs. It had been two and a half days since Raven had ordered her to seal the opening rather than sending a team as she'd wanted to do. The loss of respect from her soldiers had been a small blow but she was willing to bear it for the few hours it had taken for word to reach everyone on base that she'd had the Fullmetal Alchemist create a secret entrance into the tunnel that Buccaneer and a select few other soldiers had used to try and find any survivors of the underground tunnel advance team. Raven seemed none the wiser and she'd not seen any sign that Kimblee had overheard anything during his tour so Armstrong was willing to believe they'd gotten away with it, not that she'd expected anything less.

Shortly after the order for the hole to be covered was issued, Armstrong had ordered the Elrics and their Animals moved to a small suite normally kept for visiting generals or important visitors. This particular suite was on the opposite end of the fortress to the ones Raven and Kimblee occupied and they'd only been moved because the suites came equipped with bathrooms attached to them, unlike the room they'd been staying in. Though he hadn't asked when she gave him the orders, she'd informed Buccaneer that them not having to leave the room to use the shared bathroom and shower lessened the risk of Raven or Kimblee finding out they were here. Armstrong hadn't told him of her reasons because she felt she needed to justify her order but because she knew it was likely that the brothers would wonder about the order and she hadn't wanted Buccaneer to give the reason he thought her decision was based on and not the real reason.

Her afternoon had ended with a soldier delivering a report for her commander that detailed the materials they'd need to repair the damage to the floor. They needed to create a stable and strong base for the concrete to sit on before they could pour it. The good news, according to the lieutenant who'd written the note, was that they had the materials needed to start on the base right away. The bad news was they only had enough concrete mix to create a third of what they required and they'd need to order more. The lieutenant had helpfully written the amount they would require and made a note that if the requisitions officer ordered that amount, they would end up using all the concrete mix available without leaving any spare for future repairs. Armstrong had made a mental note to find the lieutenant and chew him out for not asking outright for her to give the requisitions officer permission to order surplus so they would have a supply for later use, if needed.

Armstrong had signed off on the order, giving instructions that the requisition officer was to call the store in North City that supplied the city and surrounding small towns with building materials immediately upon receiving her orders and placed the required order. She also instructed the officer to make sure the man who took the order was aware that the bill was to go to the military and not Armstrong personally. After some consideration, she also added a notation stating that the order was to be delivered so she wouldn't have to give the order to send almost all of her available cars and drivers into the city. Only an hour later did she receive a message informing her the order was successfully placed and that it arrive no later than 2:00pm the next day. She'd barely given the messenger a nod of thanks and that only happened because Anahlia reminded her to do so.

General Raven had not been impressed that the hole wouldn't be sealed immediately but he hadn't said anything, least of all to Armstrong. Armstrong had received word only two days after the requisitions officer had confirmed the order's placement that they were getting ready to lay the concrete an hour before Raven had sent her the message requesting to join her. She'd snarled internally when one of the Central soldiers who'd accompanied the general and Kimblee had informed her but she'd managed to keep her voice professional enough to send the soldier away with a message that she would be delighted to have his company.

Armstrong had left her office with Anahlia wrapped around her right wrist, sword strapped firmly to her left hip where it always was and Buccaneer at her side with Eric. They met Raven when she stepped out of the elevator and onto the balcony that overlooked the construction worked. They'd greeted one another with polite words before they moved down to stand next to the hole that was being slowly filled with wet concrete. To Armstrong's estimate, her workers had filled the hole one-third of the way with the liquid, stopping after each load was emptied so they could smooth the concrete to guarantee it would dry level.

The two generals watched the workers in front of them, Bella on Raven's shoulder as always, for a minute or so as Buccaneer stood a respectful distance away with Eric at his feet before the silence was broken by Raven himself. "You see, General? We are the chosen ones and we will soon receive near godly immortal bodies and rule the entire world," Raven said, an unsettling amount of glee and greed in his voice. His eyes flicked over to her face and something like pity crossed his features as he took a guess at what she was thinking about as she stared at the glistening unset concrete. "The name was Smith, wasn't it?" Raven asked, eyes looking back to the hole. "There was nothing we could've done to save them."

Armstrong willed her clenched fists to cease their trembling. "Those who aren't chosen; will they be sacrificed for those who are?" Armstrong asked, ignoring Raven's comment about Smith for the moment.

For a moment, Raven didn't say anything. Armstrong waited him out as he appeared to be debating about whether she'd proven herself enough to tell the whole truth to yet or not. He obviously came to a conclusion because he started speaking once more. "Yes," he confirmed. "Survival of the fittest, after all. I'm sure the Northern Wall of Briggs can appreciate that," he said, grinning as he looked at her. "The weak will become the foundation of the country and the strong will take their rightful place on top," Raven told her, apparently uncaring if anyone overhead them or not. Armstrong almost sneered in disgust as she realised it was likely that Raven expected her to order her men to be silent on anything they heard.

"Is that what happened in Ishval?" Armstrong asked casually and Raven nodded.

"Indeed," he said. "They were part of the plan. They were weak and they deserved to perish for their betters." The superior tone of his voice made Armstrong want to punch him in the throat. Her anger for Miles' people and knowledge that the people of Ishval were sacrificed for no reason except to further the eventual destruction of Amestris almost overwhelmed her and it was only thanks to Anahlia that she forced herself to present an unaffected mask.

"When did all of this begin?" she asked instead.

Raven hummed contemplatively before he answered. "From what I've heard, it began the moment this country was first founded and now my generation shall reside over its completion," Raven said with relish. He turned unexpectedly and grabbed Armstrong by her shoulder. She resisted the urge to shake it off as he spoke again or to let Buccaneer do as he wanted. "I'm grateful for your assistance. You're a true servant for your country. I'll speak with my superiors about preparing a seat for you back in Central," he told her as though this was some sort of award.

"There's no need," Armstrong told him and Raven looked confused.

"What's that?" He asked, obviously believing he'd misheard her.

In one fluid movement, Armstrong twisted and dropped the shoulder Raven had been resting his hand on as she drew her sword. Before the general could register what had happened, Armstrong thrust the blade of her sword through Raven's forearm. His and Bella's shrieks of pain were music to her ears and she couldn't stop herself from twisting the blade slightly, causing the blood-covered tip to glisten gruesomely in the light. Neither Buccaneer nor Eric so much as twitched at her sudden movement.

"Which arm did Smith lose in the tunnel? The left or the right?" Armstrong asked Buccaneer, voice nearly a hiss and Raven's eyes opened wide in understanding, fear and disbelief.

"Wait!" he begged, cutting off any answer from the captain, as Bella tried launching herself at Armstrong in a bid to help her human. Anahlia reared up from the wrist she was wrapped around and sank her fangs into the weasel's neck, earning herself a squeal of pain from the Animal. "What are you -?"

"Growing old is truly terrifying, isn't it?" Armstrong asked, cutting the general off from saying whatever he'd been about to. The workers in the room were watching the scene in front of them with interest but not a single one of them stepped forward in an effort to help Raven, despite his desperate eyes searching for someone to come to his aid. "You would know, General. Before you became so afraid of your own mortality, I'm sure long ago you had an earnest love for your country."

"You can't!" Raven wailed as Armstrong used the sword in his arm to turn him so his back was to the wet concrete. "You were going to be one of the chosen ones! You would've been one of us!"

Armstrong made sure her sneer was completely obvious on her face. "I don't need a new seat from you," Armstrong informed him. "You're going to lose the one your mouldy arse has clung to for so long right now! You disgusting, old traitor!" Armstrong snarled, wrenching her sword out of Raven's arm.

Instinctively, Raven pulled his arm close to his body, clutching the bleeding wound with his other arm. His Animal lost her grip on his arm due to a mixture of the sudden movement and Anahlia's venom surging through her veins and she fell to the floor. Armstrong took no pity on the snivelling man in front of her and slashed at his gut, aiming to spill his intestines on the floor but he moved backwards far enough that all her sword did was carve a large gash in his abdomen. However, Raven had forgotten where he was standing and as a result, took one step too many and found himself falling a short distance before coming to a stop in something thick and wet.

With horror, Raven realised he'd fallen into the concrete pit and was slowly sinking. His eyes sought out Bella but knew that even if his Animal was at full health, she wouldn't be able to help him. Instead, his eyes fell onto Armstrong and for the first time, the reason behind her nickname of 'Ice Queen' was glaringly apparent as he looked into the cold, merciless blue eyes of the general. His blood still ran down the blade she was pointed to the ground, creating a small pool of red, as she watched him sink slowly. Buccaneer's presence at Armstrong's side almost went unnoticed by the dying general. "But immortality was right before our eyes!" Raven cried as he felt the concrete creep its way over his arms and legs.

"General," Armstrong said, voice as cold as her eyes, "you are one of the weak who will become the foundation for this country in the most literal sense," she informed him and he almost sobbed as he realised his death was imminent. The thing he feared the most was about to come to pass and he could do nothing to stop it.

"We were going to be immortal," he managed to say, eyes on Bella's writhing form. He didn't get the opportunity to say anything else as concrete poured its way into his open mouth, up his nostrils, in his ears. Darkness engulfed him and the last thing he let himself see was his Animal. All he could do was tell her how sorry he was that he wasn't able to keep his promise to her.

Armstrong watched as Raven's body sank far enough that the only sign of it was the bubble of air caught in the concrete. A look at her feet showed that the weasel was still breathing, having not yet been killed by Anahlia's venom or her human's death. Armstrong nodded once to Buccaneer, who drew his gun and fired one shot through the small creature's skull, killing her instantly. This kill was not made out of mercy but as a final way to make Raven suffer further. She knew he was likely still alive in the concrete, reflexively breathing in the thick, wet, unforgiving concrete as his body tried to desperately draw in oxygen and thus he'd be able to feel the loss of his Animal. With a swift movement, she kicked the Animal's corpse into the concrete so that both Animal and human would disappear together.

"Captain get a hold of Miles. It appears General Raven and Bella have gone missing," Armstrong ordered and Buccaneer saluted.

"Sir!" he said before disappearing to the nearest phone to do as he was ordered.

While he was doing so, Armstrong turned to face the unmoving workers scattered in front of her. Not a single face showed fear or worry and Armstrong allowed herself to feel pride at that. Her men knew the laws of her fortress well and she knew that not a single one of them would find themselves feeling any pity for the fallen general. "The rest of you! We've got work to do!" She glanced at the concrete in front of her. Bella's still body was already half swallowed by the concrete. "I want this cement nice and level." If anyone noticed the slight upwards pull of her lips as she looked at the grave of Raven and Bella, no one said anything.

* * *

Ed was relaxing in their new room, allowing himself to enjoy the luxuries the room offered to its occupants while he still could. Al, Ayala and Chester seemed to be following his lead and he watched as Ayala stretched out so she was spread over the king-sized bed as much as possible. Ed shook his head at her antics before his gaze flicked over to where Chester lay on the ridiculously soft sofa. Al sat next to it, not wanting to stain it with any oil from his armour nor risk his metal body scratching the leather. The fact that he couldn't feel how soft it was anyway just added to his argument when Chester pointed out there was enough room for him to sit as well. It was just after dinner and Ed was expecting someone to turn up with some food for them now that the majority of the base had eaten.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Ed got to his feet to open it, wondering who was delivering their food this time when a quickly squashed sense of glee and excitement crossed through his mind and gave him the clue he needed. Grinning, he opened the door and was greeted by Falman and Rachel standing on the other side. "Hey, guys," Ed greeted, opening the door wider to permit them entrance.

"Hey, Ed," Falman said as Ed shut the door, locking it, and Falman placed their dinner on the table. "Hey, you three," Falman greeted the others once he was relieved of his burden.

"Hello, Lieutenant Falman. How are you?" Al asked as he stood to help Ed with dishing up dinner while the two Animals waited eagerly for food.

"Doing alright, Al," Falman told him. "Did you guys hear about what happened this afternoon?" Ed and Al exchanged a confused look before Ed shrugged.

"No, no one's swung by to tell us anything. What happened?" Ed asked, placing Ayala and Chester's dinner plates on the floor so they could dig in.

"Officially, General Raven has gone missing. No one can find any trace of him or his Animal anywhere in the fortress," Falman told them and Ed raised a brow.

"And unofficially?" he asked, though he was certain he knew what Falman was going to tell him.

"General Armstrong disposed of him and his Animal while they were checking the progress of the construction that's happening below," Falman said and Ed grimaced, hating the fact that he'd contributed to the pair's death, even if it was only a minor role.

" _Aw, Ed, you know she would've had no other choice,"_  Rachel said and Ed sighed, hating the fact that he couldn't hide his emotions from any of the Animals.  _"She couldn't hold him hostage because Bella would've alerted someone and she couldn't let him leave the fortress alive and risk him drawing unwanted attention to Fort Briggs and her men."_

"I know," Ed said and he felt Rachel give him a her version of a hug.

" _But it doesn't make you feel any better knowing, does it?"_  Rachel said knowingly and Ed nodded.

"I'll deal so don't worry," Ed assured her, giving her a soft smile. She obviously wasn't buying what he was trying to sell but she did trust that he would seek out help if he needed so she dropped the subject. "Has anything else happened?" Ed asked Falman.

Politely ignoring what had just happened between Ed and his Animal, Falman nodded. "Yes, General Armstrong has asked me to pass along a message," he said. "Kimblee isn't buying that General Raven has gone missing and that no one in the fortress doesn't know anything about it. Right now, she doesn't want to deal with him if he starts asking questions so she's decided to use you and your brother as distractions," Falman told him.

"How so?" Ed asked, ignoring Ayala and Chester's snarls of protests.

"She wants you to 'arrive' tomorrow morning. She doesn't care what excuse you use for your appearance so long as it's believable. I would suggest claiming that you need to do follow up interviews for your last mission here or that you heard Scar was in the area," Falman said and Ed nodded. "She's hoping that your presence will be enough to distract Kimblee while she figures out a way to deal with him without raising suspicions," Falman said.

Ed didn't say anything for a few moments, mind working overtime as he tried to figure out how he could best play this idea to his advantage. Finally, he came up with something he thought he could use and nodded to Falman. "Alright. Let Major Miles know what's happening, if he doesn't already. See if he can keep Kimblee somewhere far away from the door we used when Kemp drove us here between 6:00am and 7:00am. That's when I'll claim we arrived if he asks when we run into him," Ed said. He could feel the disbelieving stares he was getting from his three family members but he ignored them.

"I will," Falman said as he stood. "I'll let General Armstrong know you're onboard," he said and Ed gave a wry grin.

"I'm sure she wasn't expecting a different answer," he said and was rewarded by Falman's passive mask being broken by a small smile.

"I'm sure you're right," Falman responded. "I'll take my leave before someone starts questioning where I am. Have a good night, you four."

"Night, Falman. Night, Rachel," Ed and Al chorused back, Ed grinning when Rachel flapped one of her wings happily. Al made sure the door was locked once both had left then turned to face Ed.

"I thought the point of us staying in our room for the last three days was because we were trying to stay out of sight of Kimblee and you just agreed to meet him!" Al exclaimed angrily and Ed made a calming gesture. He could feel the barely repressed anger oozing from the two Animals and knew he'd better make his case quickly.

"Look, we know that if Kimblee came north, it means that Scar did too, right?" Ed said and received three reluctant nods of agreement. "I think it's safe to say that if Scar came north, he did so for a good reason and as far as we know Mei is somewhere in the north as well. I think Scar is trying to catch up with Mei," Ed said.

" _I'm not hearing a reason as to why you've agreed to be seen by Kimblee,"_  Ayala growled and Ed raised his hand in a silent request for her patience.

"If we can somehow convince Kimblee to let us join his hunt, we might be able to catch up with Scar and get him out of Kimblee's clutches as well as meet up with Mei. If we can manage that, we might be able to disappear with them and learn alkahestry. We'll be on the run from the military and technically I'll become a deserter but that'll be a small price to pay if alkahestry ends up giving us the edge in the upcoming fight," Ed said.

"That's a lot of 'ifs', Brother," Al said quietly and Ed nodded.

"I know that a lot of this plan hinges on luck but it might be the best way for us to find Mei," Ed said.

" _I don't like it,"_  Ayala said after a couple of moments.  _"What happens if he sees through you and figures out that you're just using him so you can team up with Scar. From everything Nala and Mustang told us, I don't think Kimblee would be the kind of person to take that news well,"_  she said. Her worry for his safety was overriding everything else.

"I know a lot could go wrong and that we'd be in serious shit if he found out but I trust General Armstrong to come up with a plan to get him out of our hair before he can become an immediate danger to us," Ed said, surprising even himself at what he'd just admitted to.

"You trust her that much?" Al asked and Ed frowned.

"I trust that she'll keep her word about trying to find a way to get rid of him without raising suspicion and I trust that she'll keep her word about helping us against the homunculi. I wouldn't trust her to not throw us under the bus or to not sacrifice us if it was for the greater good but I think she's like that with everyone," Ed told them and Al nodded.

"Alright, Brother. I'm onboard with the plan," he said. "We do need the help to find Mei and if Scar is here, Kimblee probably is our best hope at finding them,"

"There is another reason I wouldn't mind talking to Kimblee," Ed said.

" _And what would that be?"_  Ayala asked. Her voice told Ed she still wasn't as willing to let this happen as Al was. Chester seemed to be wavering between wanting Ed and Al to have nothing to do with this plan and letting them go through with it.

"General Armstrong told us that Major Miles reported that Kimblee was admitted to the North City hospital because he suffered an injury indicative of an impalement," Ed reminded them. "I'd like to know how the hell he's out of the hospital and walking around not even a day later if his wound was serious enough for him to be hospitalised," Ed said and he saw the three others in the room stiffen.

"You don't think he's a homunculous, do you?" Al asked and Ed immediately shook his head.

"No, he wouldn't have been hospitalised if he was. He would've just healed straight away," Ed said. "Not to mention, Anahlia and Eric both know what a homunculous smells like now and they would've alerted to him being one," Ed pointed out. "No, I think either someone's working with him and they possess a stone or he has one. I don't know any other way he could be up and walking around after an injury like that."

"Don't you think it's possible that maybe the hospital was being cautious? Maybe it really wasn't that bad an injury but they wanted to be sure," Al suggested and Ed shrugged.

"Maybe," Ed replied, "but maybe I'm right and I'd sure as shit like the chance to find out in a public setting I'm less likely to be attacked in than out in the open and at each other's throats," Ed told him.

"I suppose that would be better," Al conceded reluctantly.

" _I'm still not happy about this,"_  Ayala told Ed and he really wasn't surprised.

" _Neither am I,"_  Chester said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Honestly, neither am I but what else could we do? General Armstrong needs to buy some time where she won't have Kimblee breathing down her neck and the only thing she's got up her sleeve is us," Ed said. "That's a good enough reason for me to agree to this. The other reasons I listed before are just bonuses."

"As long as we do this carefully and we listen to Ayala and Chester if they tell us something bad is gonna happen. If they say we get out of the situation, we get out. Agreed?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"As long as they actually sense we're in immediate danger," Ed said, looking at the two Animals with a knowing look, "and don't try and claim we are because they're worried."

" _We haven't done that for ages,"_  Chester said and Ed raised a brow.

"You literally tried it the other month because you didn't like the amount of attention someone was showing us. You claimed they were a dangerous criminal when they just wanted help fixing their cooking pot and needed some time to work up the courage to ask!" Ed exclaimed, throwing his arms up for dramatic effect.

" _I have no idea what you're talking about. I remember doing nothing of the sort,"_  Chester huffed and Ed almost banged his head on the table.

"You know  _exactly_  what I'm talking about, you little shit," Ed muttered and Chester's response was to grin cheekily at him. Ed flipped him off before growing serious once more. "But that's what I mean. You can't pull us out of this mission just because you don't want us spending too much time in Kimblee's presence. He or someone else needs to be about to attack or kill us in order for you to make that call, got it?" Ed asked. It took them several moments but the two Animals did end promising to do as he asked. "Good. Now, if that's all, I'm gonna eat my dinner before something else happens to distract me," Ed said, pulling his plate of cooling food towards him and dug in, ignoring the laughter coming from the two Animals and Al as he did so.

* * *

As Ed got out of the shower three hours after dinner, he was startled when he felt someone trying to contact him. After a moment, he identified the Animal as Soren and – even more surprised now as he hadn't from the owl since Mustang had had his team split up and removed from his command – allowed the connection to happen. "What's up, Soren?" Ed asked, pulling on his sleep shirt and leaving the bathroom.

" _Riza and I have identified the seventh homunculous,"_  Soren told him and Ed stopped dead in his tracks, effectively gaining the attention of Al, who hadn't noticed his brother's distraction since he wasn't bonded to him like Ayala and Chester were.

"Are the two of you alright?" Ed asked, ignoring the urge to ask about the homunculous for the moment.

" _He cut Riza on the cheek. He used shadows to do it,"_  Soren revealed and Ed felt horror grow in his stomach.

"It can manipulate the shadows?" Ed asked, sitting down on the couch as he struggled to absorb this information. Of all the powers these homunculi had displayed, shadow manipulation seemed to be the hardest one to grasp. The implications of what that could mean were almost numerous. Could this homunculous find them using the shadows no matter where they hid? Or was there a limit to its power? The idea of being spied on by literal shadows was something Ed had never dreamt could happen, not even in his nightmares.

"Is Miss Riza alright?" Ed asked and Soren gave an affirmative nod that had Ed sighing in relief. "That's good to hear." He allowed a moment of silence before getting to the big question. "Who is the homunculous?"

" _Bradley's son, Selim,"_  Soren told him and Ed knew his mouth had dropped open.

"The kid? He can't be older than 10!" Ed exclaimed and Soren almost laughed at his reaction.

" _He's not. In fact, I believe he's the oldest one, or at least one of the oldest ones,"_  Soren revealed.  _"He smells far more powerful than Gluttony did. It makes me think that he's been around longer,"_  Soren explained and Ed shook his head.

"This is unbelievable. I just took out another homunculous and one pops up near you,"he muttered.

" _What do you mean?"_  Soren asked and Ed almost groaned again as he realised he'd never told anyone other than Nala and Rachel what had gone down at Fort Briggs, though he did only have to tell Rachel he'd destroyed the homunculous since she'd been there for the homunculous' appearance.

"Fort Briggs found itself with a massive hole in one of its floors when a homunculous decided to pay them a visit. General Armstrong and the soldiers here – including Falman – managed to pour fuel on it and get it outside where it froze solid. Rachel got in touch and extended an invitation from General Armstrong, asking us to visit and dispose of the homunculous," Ed summed up for the owl quickly.

" _Riza is not happy that you didn't tell me immediately so I could tell her and she wants to know if you're hurt at all,"_  Soren reported and Ed took a moment to thank whoever he could think of that he wasn't in front of Hawkeye right now.

"I'm fine. I didn't even have to fight it myself. General Armstrong and the Briggs soldiers did that for me," Ed told him. "Are you sure you and Miss Riza are alright? How did she even come across Selim Bradley? I would've thought Bradley would've kept his wife and kid out of the military as much as possible so no one would realise anything was up."

" _Riza had to drop off some paperwork to the Fuhrer's mansion. She met Mrs. Bradley and gave her the paperwork. Selim made an appearance, claiming to have thought Riza was his father. I sensed what he was immediately and told Riza my suspicions,"_  Soren told him.  _"We left and were ambushed by Selim on our way home. He knew Riza knew what he was and told her that they were watching everyone before he used one of his shadows to slice Riza's cheek lightly. It's no worse than a papercut, before you ask,"_ Soren assured Ed quickly.  _"I've already told Nala and the others so don't worry about doing that yourself. There was something I noticed about Selim's shadows. They seemed to have eyes and mouths so it's likely that he can see using them and he eats whoever he catches. I don't know if there's anything else I need to tell you about him,"_  Soren said, churning over his memories to try and see if there was anything else but he came up empty.

"Well, I'm glad you two are alright. Will you tell Miss Riza that?" Ed asked and Soren nodded. Al made a gesture and Ed nodded. " _We're_  happy you're both alright," Ed amended and Al gave him a thumbs up in thanks that had Ed shaking his head at his brother. "Did Nala tell you what's going on here at the moment?" Ed asked.

" _She told us that you were in Fort Briggs to deal with a problem but nothing more than that,"_  Soren told him.

"Alright, well, she's right for the most part. We came here to deal with the homunculous," Ed repeated himself. "However, the day after we turned up, General Raven dropped by. Ayala and Chester both reacted negatively when we met him in North City and Nala told us that Mustang wanted us to stay away from him. We told General Armstrong everything after I took care of the homunculous, and I do mean  _everything_. She knows about my abilities and I'm now bonded to Anahlia," Ed revealed.

" _I'm a little surprised she was alright with you doing that,"_  Soren admitted and Ed shrugged.

"Anahlia offered," was all he said on the matter. "Once General Armstrong got word from Major Miles that General Raven was heading for Fort Briggs, she found me and ordered me and Al back to our room so the general wouldn't see us."

Ed then went on to tell Soren about everything that had happened since that moment, though he did skip over the two and a half days where all he, Al and the Animals could do was try and entertain themselves. The only productive thing that had come out of that time was that they got to really practise their water alchemy, something that was proved easier when they were surrounded by all the snow. Ed had made sure he told Nala about that when he last spoke to her and hoped she'd mentioned it to Mustang. It would always do good to remind the bastard that he could deal with his alchemy easily if he kept pissing Ed off. He finished up giving Soren the news Falman had brought and telling him about the plan he'd just agreed to.

Soren had reacted far more calmly than Ayala and Chester had. Rather than outrage and overwhelming worry, Ed just felt concern from the owl. Ed figured that Hawkeye and Soren must've had some sort of interaction with Kimblee while they were all in Ishval so, aside from Mustang and Nala, they were the best people to tell him how careful he needed to be and Soren did just that. Once finished with the lecture, Soren settled down.  _"You will be careful, right?"_

"Ayala and Chester aren't giving me any other choice," Ed told the owl dryly. "But, yes, I will be careful. All of us will be," he promised.

Satisfied by his answer, Soren nodded through their bond.  _"Alright, Ed. I'm gonna go now but try and keep in touch while you're not in Central, okay? And keep your guard up,"_  Soren said.

"We will and I'll try," Ed swore. Knowing he wouldn't get a better answer, Soren bade him goodnight before disconnecting from their bond.

"So, Miss Riza and Soren discovered the final homunculous," Al said and Ed nodded.

"I cannot believe we never thought of Selim Bradley as the last homunculous," Ed said and Ayala rubbed up against him comfortingly.

"He looks like a small child. I don't think  _anyone_  would've considered him to be a homunculous," Al pointed out and Ed had to give his brother that. "Come on, Ed. We'll figure out how to deal with a shadow manipulating homunculous in the morning. You haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of nights and you need as much as you can get so you don't snap at Kimblee and cause a massive fight," Al said, tone coaxing but set and Ed knew there was no point in trying to argue with his little brother tonight.

"Yeah, alright. I'm too tired to deal with this shit right now anyway," Ed grumbled, getting up from the couch and startling all three with his lack of argument. None of them were stupid enough to comment on it though, just in case Ed decided to spite them and stay awake. "Night, Al."

"Night, Brother," Al said as he watched Ed crawl into bed and pull the covers up over himself. Both Animals joined him on the bed but it was so big that Al wondered if Ed would even notice Chester at the foot of the bed. Ayala made sure he did notice her by snuggling right into his side and placing her head on his stomach, as she always did. Al switched off all the unnecessary lights and settled himself in for the a night of rereading some alchemy texts and hoping that by tomorrow night, they would be able to get back to Central.

* * *

Ayala and Chester had made sure Ed was up and ready to leave the room so he, Al and themselves could 'arrive' at Fort Briggs by 6:30am. While he was drinking coffee, Ed had decided to go with the excuse that they'd heard Scar was in the area for their cover story since they were hoping Kimblee would let them join his search for the Ishvalen. Since Ed wasn't bonded with Amaya, Ayala reached out to the coyote and made sure Kimblee was nowhere near them. Once she'd gotten the confirmation she sought, the four headed for the front entrance, Ed wrapped up in his winter gear to complete the charade.

The whole fortress was working with them and once they reached their destination, the workers on the floor acted like they'd only just arrived and greeted them as they were expected to. That meant Ed had to deal with a lot of salutes and 'it's great to see you again, Major Elric' or other variations of greeting. Ed wanted to growl at everyone that he didn't want to be addressed by his title but refrained since it was pointless to do so while Armstrong was heading their way.

"Major Elric," Armstrong addressed him as though she hadn't been speaking to him recently and Ed saluted like he was supposed to.

"General Armstrong," Ed greeted, dropping the salute when told to. "We're sorry about dropping in on you unannounced but we were recently in North City and heard rumours that Scar had been spotted heading your way. We were wondering if you or your men have heard anything about it or spotted Scar in the area." Ed switched to his bond with Anahlia, who sat wrapped lightly around Armstrong's throat. "Selim Bradley is a homunculous," he told the snake.

"I believe we should talk in my office," Armstrong said before turning to Buccaneer. "Find Major Miles and have him escort his charge to my office."

"Yes, Sir," Buccaneer said, giving Ed a warning look before he and Eric headed off in a seemingly random direction.

"Keep up," Armstrong instructed as she turned on her heel and led the way to the elevator. The boys and their Animals scrambled to keep up, quickly falling in line behind her. They stayed silent in the car and short walk to the office, an echo of what had happened after Ed had destroyed the homunculous. Once inside the office, Armstrong spoke. "How do you know?"

"Soren – that's 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye's Animal – told me last night. They had a small run in with him and Soren recognised the scent as a homunculous. Selim himself confirmed it to Lieutenant Hawkeye only a few minutes later as she and Soren walked back to her apartment," Ed told her and Armstrong scoffed.

"Taking the form of a child," she spat as she sat behind her desk. "It's a clever move. No one would expect a homunculous in the form of a young child." Her eyes flashed angrily and Ed was curious as to whether it was because she was against the homunculous taking the form of a child or because she hadn't suspected it either. He then had to inform Ayala that he wasn't suicidal when she asked why he didn't ask the general which it was. "So, you went with Scar as your cover story," Armstrong said and Ed nodded.

"We're hoping to convince Kimblee to let us join him if he gets word of where Scar's hiding out," Ed divulged.

"Why?" Armstrong asked.

"The reason we came to the north in the first place was to try and find the Xingese princess we mentioned earlier," Ed said. "I'm of the opinion that of Scar is here in the north, he must be trying to catch up with Mei. If Kimblee lets us join him and we find Scar –"

"You'll find this Xingese princess and learn her version of alchemy," Armstrong interrupted, finishing his explanation for him and Ed nodded.

"Plus, I do have a truce with Scar and in the interests of that truce, I do need to try and warn him of any danger he might face until after the homunculi's plan comes to pass," Ed told her.

Armstrong seemed to sneer at the word 'truce' but she nodded once, showing she understood his reasons for choosing Scar as his cover story. Ed stood patiently as they waited for Miles, Buccaneer and Kimblee to show up. Armstrong didn't bring up Raven and what happened to him and Ed didn't ask, not needing to know the details about how she took care of him. Anahlia didn't seem fazed by the lack of conversation in the room, if the way she stayed drooped casually around Armstrong's neck instead of keeping a close eye on them was any indication.

* * *

Ten minutes later, a knock sounded at the door and Armstrong called for them to enter. Three men and two Animals entered the room. Of course, Ed, Al and their Animals recognised the two bonded pairs immediately and watched as Buccaneer and Eric moved to stand next to Armstrong while Miles and Amaya stayed with their charge, Solf J. Kimblee. Ed took a moment to study the man in white. As he'd been told by Nala, he was dressed impeccably. Not a speck of dirt, mud or blood was on his suit, coat, shoes or hat. His black hair was tied back in a neat low ponytail with only two small locks left loose to frame his face. His hat was held in one hand while he was inside the general's office and overall, he gave the appearance of a well-raised gentleman.

Ed had to admit that if he hadn't been warned about him, he'd certainly be wary as he was with almost everyone he didn't know but he wouldn't be as on guard as he was. At least until Kimblee locked eyes with him. Once that happened, Ed could tell that this was a man who was not to be crossed unless you either had a death-wish or were sure you'd come out on top. His eyes were cold and lacked the humanity Ed could normally see. Both Ayala and Chester were on high alert but amazingly enough, they seemed to be controlling themselves enough to merely appear cautious, as they would around anyone they'd never met.

"Major Edward Elric, this is Major Solf. J Kimblee, the Crimson Lotus Alchemist. Major Kimblee, you may know Major Elric better by his State Alchemists title, the Fullmetal Alchemist," Armstrong introduced the two of them, sounding only mildly annoyed she was having to do so. "Major Kimblee, I asked you here because Major Elric has expressed interest in joining you in your efforts to locate the serial killer known as 'Scar'," she told him.

"I'd be delighted to discuss it with Major Elric further. Perhaps somewhere that isn't your office? I'm sure you have better things to do than listen to two Majors discuss something as mundane as this," Kimblee said respectfully and Armstrong merely gave him an indescribable look.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have a missing general to try and locate," Armstrong said. Edward wondered if Kimblee could hear the undercurrent of amusement in her tone. "The three of you are dismissed," she said, gesturing to Ed, Kimblee and Miles. Three rounds of salutes saw the Elrics follow Miles, Amaya and Kimblee out of the office and into the corridor.

"Major Miles, I was wondering if you knew of somewhere Major Elric and I could talk uninterrupted," Kimblee asked, using the same respectful tone he had with Armstrong. Miles had barely glanced at him but did nod in response.

Miles led them into the elevator then off it again when they reached the floor he'd selected. "I'll wait out here until you're finished discussing what you need to," Miles said, managing to sound both bored and like he couldn't think of anything he'd rather be doing in this moment.

"Al," Ed said, looking over at his little brother.

" _I think you can imagine how unimpressed he is right now,"_  Chester said as Al nodded once.

"My brother will stay out here and keep you company," Ed told Miles, who merely raised a brow in response but otherwise didn't react.

Kimblee watched the exchange with mild interest before opening the door so he, Ed and Ayala could walk into the room. It looked like an interrogation room disguised as a break room and Ed almost huffed out some laughter at that. It was probably a pretty secure room and he would bet that Miles had chosen here so that a fight would likely be contained if one broke out. Kimblee made himself comfortable at one end of the table, placing his hat neatly on the surface next to him and Ed moved to sit in the only other chair.

"So you're the Fullmetal Alchemist," Kimblee said, making an obvious show of raking his eyes up and down Ed's form to try and size him up. "Fuhrer Bradley has told me some interesting things about you."

"Really?" Ed raised a brow. "Like what?"

"Oh, things like how young you were when you were given the title of State Alchemist, about your two automail limbs, that your mechanic friend, Winry Rockbell, works under Garfiel in Rush Valley, that you and your brother tried to bring your mother back to life when you were 11 and that he's been reduced to a soul bonded to a suit of armour and that you've been spending your military life searching for a Philosopher's Stone," Kimblee said, leaning back in his chair as he gauged Ed's reaction.

Ed was sure some of his surprise and anger had shown on his face but it was Ayala's reaction that was most obvious. She'd gotten up from her sitting position and raised her lips in a snarl, a low growl sounding from her. Kimblee barely gave her a glance. "I didn't realise the Fuhrer was so interested in my life that he looked into my mechanic," Ed said casually. His heart was thumping in his chest and he'd never gotten the urge to talk to Michella more than in that moment. It was only after he'd repeated to himself that Michella would've definitely sent him a message if there was any danger a few times that he managed to fight back that urge.

"Oh, you're very special to Fuhrer Bradley. You and you brother both. It pays for him to know everything there is about you so he knows who he might need to keep a close eye on," Kimblee told him, eyes still fixed on Ed. Ayala was still growling where she stood but Kimblee continued ignoring her. "After all, you've already lost your Xingese friend. The Fuhrer doesn't want to see you lose another friend."

"Is that a threat?" Ed asked, voice low and eyes fierce.

"Just a warning," Kimblee said dismissively. "It only becomes a threat if you continue trying to defy Fuhrer Bradley and his kin."

"Listen, Kimblee, do you even know what they're doing? What you're helping them do?" Ed asked, throwing caution to the wind. Ayala was surprised enough that her growling let up though the snarl never left her face.

"I'm curious to see how the world will change," Kimblee told him, a complete lack of care in his voice. At Ed's gaping expression, Kimblee decided to elaborate on his answer. "Both sides clashing. Will against will. Life against life. Humans or the homunculi. Which one will triumph? Which side will the world prefer?" Kimblee asked and Ed's stunned expression slowly morphed into one of horror. "The homunculi like to see themselves as the next step in the evolution of humans but that's for history to decide. I just plan on helping it make up its mind," Kimblee informed him and the complete absence of basic emotions Kimblee was showing messed with Ed.

"Have you forgotten that you're a human being? How can you take sides with them?" Ed asked, voice rising slightly. Even Ayala had drawn back from her threatening position in shock.

"Because they've given me complete freedom to use my alchemy however I want," Kimblee told him and Ed shook his head.

"Bradley ordered your Animal's death," Ed reminded him. "How could you side with the homunculi after they murdered your Animal?"

"My Animal," Kimblee said, showing the first signs of any emotion, "was taken from me because I bet that we wouldn't be caught after I took out my commanding officers during the Ishvalen War. I was wrong and Steven paid the price for my losing the bet."

"You're insane, Kimblee," Ed murmured as he dug his hand into Ayala's fur, like he was trying to ground himself.

Kimblee shrugged. "My standards tend to differ from society's," he said nonchalantly. "However, if I survive this battle, the world will have chosen my sanity over yours. The core of my existence is what I'm willing to bet on the outcome of this battle," he declared and Ed shook his head.

"You don't make any sense, Kimblee." Ed clutched his fingers tighter into Ayala's fur as he looked at the madman sitting opposite him.

"That's surprising," Kimblee said, frowning at Ed. "I always assumed soft-centeredness was a trait found in all alchemists." He seemed annoyed by this for a moment before shaking it off almost immediately. "Well, then. Let's see if I can find something you selfishly crave. Something you and your brother want more than anything," Kimblee mused, tapping his chin in thought. Ed thought he saw something red flash in between the man's fingers and Kimblee grinned when he noticed Ed had seen it.

"A Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked as he looked at the small red object Kimblee had just placed on the table in front of him.

"If you do a couple of small jobs on the Fuhrer's behalf, this little beauty will be all yours," Kimblee said, tapping the table next to the stone.

"What jobs?" Ed asked, bringing his eyes up to meet the victorious gaze of Kimblee.

"Your request to join me in hunting Scar down," Kimblee said. "I'll take you up on it. You just have to find him and I'll take care of the rest." Ed thought he saw a malicious glint in Kimblee's eyes. "You also need to locate Doctor Marcoh, who has very likely fled with Scar."

The unexpected mention of the missing doctor caused Ed to jump slightly. "Doctor Marcoh? Why would he be with Scar?" Ed asked but Kimblee waved his hand at him dismissively.

"The only thing you need to be concerned with is finding them," Kimblee told him and Ed resisted the urge to snap at him. Kimblee seemed to consider him for a moment before continuing. "The last thing the Fuhrer has asked for your help with is with carving a crest of blood here."

"A crest of blood?" Ed asked, a sickening feeling growing in his stomach as Kimblee nodded.

"Just like I did in Ishval," Kimblee said, a thin note of pride in his voice. "It's very simple," Kimblee assured Ed. "We just kill everyone and soak the land with their blood."

Ed's face screwed up in anger and disgust. "I would never help you with something as appalling as that!"

Kimblee huffed at him. "Surely you still aren't against taking lives after nearly five years in the military?" Kimblee scoffed. Ed's stubborn set of his jaw had Kimblee come to a realisation. "You've never taken a life yourself, have you?"

"I was determined when I joined the military to never take a person or Animal's life myself," Ed told him, his teeth gritted slightly.

Kimblee rolled his eyes. "How original of you," he sneered slightly. "Those are the conditions you need to meet in order to be given this," Kimblee told him, swiping the stone off the table and pocketing it.

"I need to talk with my brother and our Animals," Ed said stiffly and Kimblee nodded.

"Fine," Kimblee said, getting to his feet. "Why don't the four of you have that talk now?" he suggested even as he walked over to the door and opened it, beckoning for Al and Chester to join them. "I'll wait out here for your answer, Major Elric." Kimblee's voice told Ed there was only one answer his fellow alchemist would accept.

"Brother, what's going on?" Al asked as soon as he and Chester were inside and the door was shut, he could still see Miles and Kimblee standing outside the door.

"The Fuhrer has asked me to complete my duty as a human weapon in exchange for a Philosopher's Stone," Ed told him before switching to speak with Chester. "They threatened Winry and everyone else we care about. I have zero plans on doing as they want but we've got to go along with it for now," Ed told the leopard.

"A stone?" Al asked as Chester spoke with him and Ed nodded in confirmation. "Brother, we can't! the ingredients for a stone –" Al protested, speaking loudly enough that his voice would be heard but not too loudly that they were making it obvious they wanted to be overheard.

"I know, Al," Ed said shortly and Al seemed to stiffen.

"Go ahead and do what you want," Al muttered as Ed stood.

"I will," Ed told him before he opened the door. "I'm in, alright?" Ed said to Kimblee. The smug look of victory on Kimblee's face almost made Ed strike him down. "Finding Scar is the first thing I want to do though."

Kimblee raised a brow at Ed's bossy tone. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"I have a score to settle with that bastard," Ed told him, stepping out of the room entirely and joining Miles and Kimblee where they stood. Kimblee seemed to understand as he just nodded in acceptance. "Also, I need Al with me," Ed said before Kimblee could try to separate the two of them as a way to use his brother as a hostage. "He doesn't have a physical body so he's immune to Scar's bodily destruction."

"Huh," Kimblee said. "That could come in handy." Kimblee didn't seem to notice the looks Miles, Ed and the three Animals shared. It was obvious Miles had been brought up completely to speed on everything, including what Ed had told Armstrong the day he destroyed the homunculous, and there was a slight nod that Ed thought might be a sign of camaraderie from the part-Ishvalen. "Major Miles, is there any way we can get a look at any reports North City or Fort Briggs have received that might be about our target?" Kimblee asked and Miles nodded.

"This way," the reluctant guide said, heading back for the corridor they'd turned off of to get to this room. Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester all exchanged looks as they followed Miles, Amaya and Kimblee up the corridor and Ed didn't need to be bonded to the two Animals to know they were thinking the same thing he was and what he'd bet Al was as well: that nothing good would result from this.

* * *

"We've received reports that Scar's been seen here recently," Miles told the group as they stood in the middle of an abandoned town. The snow did its best to cover the steel grey of the buildings around them and Ed knew that they would be hard-pressed finding anyone in this maze of buildings, let alone a serial killer who was an expert in avoiding the military.

"An old mining town?" Kimblee asked, a sneer of disgust coiling on his lips. The Crimson Alchemist had failed to ask questions when the reports the four humans had looked at had told them Scar was hiding out in Baschool, a town barely half an hour's drive from Fort Briggs.

"Yes," Miles confirmed. "Since Baschool closed its mines, the place has been abandoned. Everyone moved away to find work so there are plenty of places here for someone to hide in."

Kimblee's lips thinned as he pressed them together while he looked out at the dull grey and white surroundings. "This could be tricky," he admitted.

"We'll need to split into search parties," Miles said and turned to face the twenty odd soldiers grouped behind them. "All squads are to contact here immediately if you spot Scar! Do not apprehend him on your own. Remember, this man is dangerous and will take out anyone in his way!" Miles glared at them, making sure his message was received loud and clear.

"Yes, Sir!" Numerous voices chorused in response before they did as they were ordered.

Five scouting teams were formed from Briggs soldiers with four men to a team. The only exception was the team Miles joined. Kimblee had four of his own soldiers from Central and a look and gesture from Kimblee had two of them seperate from his group to follow Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester, as they headed to start searching their assigned area. At first, the boys elected to ignore them but couldn't after they'd nearly strode over the top of them and the Animals.

"We've got orders to keep the two of you company," the first soldier – a blonde with small, round lensed glasses and a face that reminded the Elrics of the original Greed in some ways – informed them when Ed gave them a pointed look.

Ed made a show of rolling his eyes as he turned back to join Al. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. He noticed the second soldier – a squat, dark-skinned man with full lips and black dreadlocks tied back – had glared at them but Ed didn't bother saying anything.

"Think they're Kimblee's men?" Al asked and Ed gave a small nod.

"Absolutely no doubt in my mind," Ed told his brother.

" _That's not all,"_  Chester told them, glancing back at the two soldiers before he looked up at Al.  _"They're chimera."_  Ed almost swore at the news.

"Are you sure? They don't look like any chimera we've seen," Ed asked, using the bond but knowing Al was asking the same thing.

" _We can smell it. They're definitely chimera. Likely mixed with their own Animals like Dublith's Greed's friends were,"_  Chester said. Ayala nodded next to him and that was all Ed needed to believe them.

"What about the two that went with Kimblee?" Ed asked and received another two nods and Ed swore again. "Right, we need to ditch these two and soon. We can't find Scar and try and help him get out of here with those two dogging our every move."

"I think I have an idea," Al said, for once not arguing with Ed about ditching someone. "Follow my lead." Ed would've smirked in amusement if it wouldn't have given the chimeras a sign that something was up. "Brother!" Al gasped dramatically, pointing to an open door in front of them. Ed thought the building might've been some small factory but that wasn't important right now.

"I saw him too, Al! Let's go!" Ed said, racing for the door. Al, Ayala and Chester kept pace easily and the two Animals soon got themselves ahead of the boys at Ed's urging. The chimeras, having not expected them to suddenly go tearing off, were a little slower to get moving.

"Hey!" The blonde chimera shouted as they followed the boys and their Animals. "Wait for us!"

The boys heard their calls and Ed grinned at Al. The four of them turned a corner then another one well before the two chimeras could and Ed clapped, slamming his hands to a wall as they came to a stop. Once the light show had stopped, they were facing a dead end and Ed grinned at their success. That grin only grew wider as muffled voices reached them from the other side of the wall.

"Wait for us!" Ed thought that was the blonde chimera calling. "Wait, what the hell?" Ed sniggered at the confusion. "Where are they?"

"They turned down this hall!" The other chimera insisted. The four Elrics listened as the footsteps rapidly headed in the other direction and Ed and Al fist-bumped each other, elated with their success.

"And that's that!" Ed said as they started walking away. "Pretty sure that'll keep them off our trail for a little while, at least. Ayala and Chester, can you guys try and get Scar's scent?" Ed asked and both Animal's nodded before putting their noses to the ground. Ed and Al fell silent as they followed their two Animals through the strange and eerie ghost town.

* * *

"It'll take weeks to search this place!" Al exclaimed after nearly two hours of searching and finding nothing. There'd been a couple of false leads where one of the Animals had picked up Scar's scent but they lost it after only a couple of metres. Ed had been growing grumpier by the minute and he was starting to wonder if it would be a wise move to stand on the tallest building and shout Scar's name.

"This would be so much easier if Scar or Mei could just find us," Ed muttered, kicking at a nearby stone as Ayala tried to soothe his frustrations. To their complete surprise, both Animal's ears perked as they listened to something in the distance. "What is it?" Ed asked, a little concerned about their dumbfounded looks.

Before either Animal could answer though, the boys picked up on what they were hearing and they joined their Animals in looking gobsmacked. "Alphonse! Alphonse! I can't believe it's you!" Mei cried as she came out of nowhere and tackled Al to the ground. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Mei!" Al exclaimed as he picked himself up and looked at the ecstatic princess. "I didn't think we'd ever find you!

Ed grinned in amusement as Mei's face turned fiery red as she blushed. "You came all this way just to find me?" Xao-Mei squealed in delight on Mei's shoulder when Al nodded.

"Yup! I really needed to find you," Al said and to Ed's worry, Mei seemed to flush darker. "I need you to tell me all you can about alkahestry and how it works." At Al's words, Mei deflated and pouted. Ed could hear Chester snickering and knew the leopard was teasing Al.

"Mei, it's really important we try and learn alkahestry," Ed said to the disappointed little girl.

"Hey, Mei!" A newcomer scolded and Ed and Al watched as an old man scurried into the room. His face and back were covered by an old white blanket and they were quick to notice that half his face was damaged beyond repair. "You shouldn't go running off like that," he chided before catching sight of the others in the room. His eye widened in surprise before relaxing into recognition. "Oh! The Elric brothers are here?" The old man questioned.

"Do we know you?" Ed asked after exchanging a confused look with Al.

" _That's Doctor Marcoh!"_  Ayala and Chester exclaimed at the same time, having placed his scent.

"Right, my face," Marcoh said, oblivious to the fact Ed's question had been answered. "I'm Doctor Marcoh."

"Doctor Marcoh?" Al repeated and the old man nodded.

"But you look..." Ed trailed off, unable to figure out a polite way to put it. "What happened?"

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here first," Marcoh countered.

"Ah!" An exclamation of surprise and anger sounded from the doorway and everyone turned to see a thin man with short black hair, thin face and even thinner moustache that was styled to point horizontally from his nose. "The Elric brothers are here!" The man sounded outraged and personally offended by their presence and Ed shrugged at Al.

"Who are you?" Al asked and the man gasped as though dealt a physical blow.

"Don't act as though you don't know me!" The man cried. Ed took the opportunity to ask the Animals if they recognised him but both shrugged. "How could you have forgotten Yoki, the great proprietor of Youswell?"

"Easily, apparently," Ed said flatly and the man let out another dramatic gasp. "Are you sure we've actually met?"

"How cruel! And after you destroyed my life!" Yoki wailed. A shimmer of gold next to the man's head caught Ed's attention and he noticed it was a goldfish that was trying to offer as much comfort as it could to the distressed man. The goldfish sparked a memory.

"Did you say Youswell?" Ed asked and Yoki nodded vehemently. "Are you the same lieutenant-colonel who taxed the townspeople so much they couldn't afford to eat, let alone pay you, and who we tricked into selling us the deed to the town so we could give it back to the people?" Ed asked and Yoki shrieked.

"I did no such thing!" Yoki screeched, turning to Mei and Marcoh. "You dirty Elric brothers tricked me out of my money!"

"Yeah, I think I remember you," Al said finally. "Didn't you get dishonourably discharged from the military for that?" This comment seemed to make Yoki even angrier.

"Nova and I didn't deserve that! I did nothing wrong!" Yoki cried.

"Yeah, life is hard," Ed said, flapping a hand at the man as he turned to Mei and Marcoh. "Trust me, I get just how you feel."

The comment stunned Yoki momentarily. "Are you patronising me right now?" he asked but Ed's attention was no longer on him. Yoki went to take a step forward when Ayala reminded him of her presence and sent the man scrambling backwards from her snarl.

"We've learned a lot since we last met, Doc," Ed said, addressing Marcoh. "Like what it takes to make a Philosopher's Stone. I know there's something wrong with this country and I know there's something rotten with its alchemy," Ed told him before nodding to Mei. "We've decided to look into Xingese alkahestry after seeing her use it and we figured she was our best chance at doing so."

Marcoh nodded, giving the boy in front of him a small, proud smile, or the best he could with only half his face working. "You're on the right path but you aren't the first person to put all the pieces of this puzzle together," Marcoh told them and they watched as he revealed a battered, nondescript brown leather journal. "This book," Marcoh said, waving the journal lightly, "is the collection of all his research and theories. It is written in code but we believe all the answers we need are contained in its pages."

Ed looked at the book with awe written all over his face and had to resist the urge to take it from Marcoh. "If we can decipher what's in there than Al and I –"

"Perhaps," Marcoh said with a nod and cutting Ed off. "I believe so but all of this will be impossible to translate without the help of Scar," Marcoh warned, expecting a fight or protest but was surprised when all Ed and Al did was nod.

"Scar and I have a truce," Ed explained. "We'll help you get that to him," Ed said, nodding to the book. Suddenly, a loud explosion ripped through the quiet air and everyone ducked on instinct before they realised the explosion was some distance away.

"What do you think that was?" Mei asked as they looked out the broken window to see a plume of smoke slowly dissipating.

"That's the building Scar was hiding in!" Marcoh gasped.

Ed nodded to Ayala, Chester and Al before the four of them started heading for the doorway. "All of you need to wait here!" Ed ordered before he raced after his brother and their Animals. Ed wanted to laugh at the fact that Scar had basically told them where he was after Ed's earlier bitching but his mind was stuck on concern for his temporary ally. In the space of a few minutes, Marcoh had just revealed information that had doubled Scar's importance in the upcoming fight. Ed gritted his teeth as the four of them tore through unfamiliar corridors, buildings and streets, using the plume of smoke to make sure they were heading in the right direction and he found himself hoping that the murdering Ishvalen hadn't just gotten himself killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 38 is here for you guys! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I do hope some of you are nice enough to leave a comment. Even a small one would be nice :D See you next week!


	39. Chapter 39

"Well, it looks like we got here just in time, huh?" Ed said, gasping slightly as he worked to get his breathing under control.

The scene that greeted the two boys and their Animals were pretty much what they were expecting since Ayala and Chester had informed them what scents they'd picked up once they'd gotten close enough. The two chimeras – now looking more like chimeras than human – were standing in the middle of the room while Scar stood further in, bleeding from his arm. One of the chimeras stood pale and hunched with dozens of spines sticking out of his shirtless back while other was crouching, thick, green skin bunching as he moved minutely.

"Just run off somewhere, kid," the pale one said and Al jolted.

"Brother, I think that one's the blonde soldier who works for Kimblee," he said and Ed squinted at the creature in front of him.

"You know what, Al?" Ed said. "I think you're right. Which makes that one the other soldier," Ed said, nodding to the toad-like chimera.

"We've already got this under control. You just sit tight while we take care of Scar," the pale chimera – and Ed was now thinking he was mixed with something like a boar – told them.

"See, we can't let you do that," Ed said as he, Al and the Animals moved around the chimera and towards Scar. The Ishvalen was just watching everything in front of him with cautious eyes.

"Why? Because you want the glory of catching a serial killer all to yourself?" The boar chimera asked and startled slightly when Ed just laughed and shook his head.

"Don't be stupid," Ed chided. "We've made a truce with Scar so we can't let you kill him," Ed told them. He, the Animals and Al were now standing in front of Scar and facing the chimeras.

"You've made a truce with him?" The toad chimera croaked and Ed nodded.

"Since we have, you aren't allowed to kill him," Ed told them as the Elrics shifted into their defensive stances and squared off the two chimeras.

"You're making a stupid mistake, kid. Get out of our way," the boar chimera told him and Ed shook his head.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of making a stupid mistake and yet, here I am," Ed said.

Seeing that the boys in front of them weren't going to back down, the two chimeras launched themselves at them. As soon as the chimeras made their moves, the four Elrics did so as well. Ayala and Ed took on the boar chimera while Chester and Al went for the toad chimera. Ed and Ayala soon discovered that the chimera's spines weren't there for decoration or just defence when he sent a volley of spines straight for them, forcing them to separate so they could dodge the attack. A disgusting spitting sound drew Ed's attention for a moment and saw that the toad chimera was literally spitting at Al and Chester. When one of the globs stuck itself to a nearby pillar without sliding off, Ed realised exactly why the two were doing their damnedest to not get it on them. Ed wouldn't envy Chester or Ayala if either of them got it in their fur.

A near miss from a spine had Ed's attention being brought back to his own fight and he clapped his hands together, slammed them on the ground and sent his own wave of spikes back. The chimera grunted as he got himself out of the way and Ayala took the opportunity presented to get in close. When the chimera realised her plan, he managed to raise his arm and get it in between himself and the attacking wolf. Ayala grunted in surprise at how much effort it took for her to sink her teeth into the chimera's arm and the chimera managed to shake her off before he took too much damage. However, as soon as he'd rid himself of the wolf, he had the human to deal with and he didn't get the chance to dodge the right hook Ed threw.

Ed sent the chimera stumbling but didn't let himself relish this small victory. As Izumi had always taught them, it wasn't a win until their opponent was completely down and this opponent was nowhere near defeated. Ed and Ayala moved as a well-oiled machine while the chimera was forced to use everything he had to try and keep up with them. Another volley of spikes flew by them and Ed snatched one out of the air, turned it around and threw it back at their foe, surprising the chimera enough that he moved a moment too late to avoid the hit completely. A deep gash opened along the top of his shoulder and he let out a pained yell as the blood ran freely. Ed used that moment to get in close and punch him in the temple, putting enough force behind his automail to knock the chimera out. He thudded to the ground unconscious and Ed turned to where his brother and leopard were just in time to see the toad chimera join the boar chimera in the land of sleep.

"You good?" Ed asked the other two and both nodded.

" _No injuries on my part,"_  Chester assured him and Ed breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Awesome." He turned to Ayala. "You?"

" _Not even a scratch,"_  she said and Ed looked mildly surprised.

"So none of us got any sort of injury?" He asked and the Animals shook their heads, looking bemused as Ed laughed. "I think that's the first fight that we've come out of without an injury that needed looking at," Ed said.

"First time for everything," Al muttered. Ed flipped him off as he turned to face Scar.

"You all good?" Ed asked, giving a nod to Scar's heavily bleeding arm.

"Yes," Scar grunted as he tore some of his jacket off to use as a makeshift bandage. Ed, Al and the Animals watched as Scar patched himself up. "Why are you here?" Scar asked. "Are you working with Kimblee now?"

"Actually, yes," Ed admitted. "We teamed up with him so we could find you. We figured you were here looking for Mei and we needed to talk to her."

"Why?" Scar asked, a surge or protectiveness in his voice.

"To see if she could teach us some alkahestry," Al said and Scar turned to look at him. "We're hoping there's a way for us to combine our alchemies so we won't be affected when Father uses that trick again." Scar's lips twitched at the mention of alchemy but neither boy brought that up.

Footsteps behind them drew their attention and had everyone getting back into defensive stances. Both chimeras were still unconscious on the ground so they knew they were expecting someone else. Ed just hoped it wasn't Kimblee coming towards them because he wasn't sure he could bullshit his way out of this situation. Thankfully, Ayala and Chester were quick to pick up on the approaching scents and could tell them who was about to join them.

" _It's Major Miles and his team,"_  Ayala told Ed while Chester relayed the same news to Al.

"They're friends," Ed told Scar just before Miles and the four soldiers with him entered the room, guns at the ready. "Major Miles, it's okay! He's an ally," Ed said, stepping to the side so he was more in front of Scar and raised his hands placatingly.

"What are these creatures?" One of the soldiers asked, looking at the chimeras, before Miles could say anything.

"I'm guessing they're the result of some kind of ungodly experiment by our superiors," Miles said, looking down at the chimeras. "Tie them both to that column," he instructed.

"Right away, Sir!" The soldier said, holstering his weapon and starting gesturing for the three others to do the same.

"As for you, Scar," Miles said, looking at his fellow Ishvalen. "I understand you have a truce with the Elrics and a select few other people," Miles said and Scar gave him a short nod. "Good. I wouldn't have enjoyed treating one of my own people as harshly as your actions would've warranted."

"Your own people?" Scar asked, eyes widened with surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm part Ishvalen," Miles told him, glancing over to check on his men and their progress before looking back at Scar, "on my grandfather's side. I wish we didn't have to meet like this, red-eyed brother of mine."

"After all they've done," Scar said, seemingly struggling with this information, "how can you stand to be part of the Amestrian military?"

"My objective is to work from the inside to change how the people of this country view the people of Ishval," Miles told him.

"I don't think that great a task will be easy to accomplish," Scar said, something that sounded like pity in his voice as he watched Miles shrug a shoulder.

"Who knows how long it will take?" Miles said. "But still, my mixed blood gives me an advantage at least. I'm an Ishvalen pebble tossed into the ocean that is the Amestrian military. Maybe in time the ripples I create will become great waves and do you want to know what the most ironic part about this is?" Miles asked and Scar gave a short nod. "It was an Amestrian who set me on this path in the first place," Miles revealed.

Scar hung his head. "Look at me. I'm a festering wound of hatred born of the Ishvalen War," he said sadly. "I am grateful there is someone like you out there," he admitted, looking up at Miles.

Miles didn't get the chance to say anything as more footsteps were heard heading towards them. All Animals and people were on alert once more as they watched the doorway and, once again, Ayala and Chester identified the gate crashers by scent once they were close enough. "They're friendly," Ed said, nodding to the door as he relaxed out of his stance.

"Hold on!" A voice called just before Marcoh, Mei and Yoki turned the corner.

"Who are you?" Miles asked. He hadn't relaxed his stance despite Ed's assurances but Ed didn't take it personally. He honestly would've been more surprised if Miles had trusted Ed's word immediately.

"That's Doctor Marcoh, Mei and a disgraced lieutenant-colonel," Ed introduced them when Marcoh couldn't answer since he had to catch his breath.

"Please don't take Scar your prisoner! We need him to decipher notes!" Marcoh begged before Ed or Al could get him to calm down enough to explain that nothing was going to happen with Scar.

"Decipher some notes?" Miles asked and Marcoh nodded vehemently.

Mei, however, was the one to explain. "The notes are coded but we believe they're about combining Amestrian alchemy and Xingese alkahestry. It's ground-breaking research!"

"Like she said, all of it's coded!" Marcoh said. "We believe it's written in ancient Ishvalen so Scar is the only one who can make sense of it. Please don't take him in."

"Scar's not going anywhere, Doc," Ed said. "I made a truce with him a while ago and General Armstrong up at Fort Briggs is aware of how important he'll be in the future." Ed glanced at Miles, who nodded in agreement.

Miles then turned to Mei and considered her for a moment. "You're the alkahestry girl, correct?" Mei nodded slowly, looking at everyone else in confusion. "I have orders to bring you back to the fort with Scar."

"Me?" Mei asked. Xao-Mei sat on her shoulder, looking as stunned as Mei seemed to be. "What do they want with me?" Ed shrugged his shoulders and looked at Miles expectantly. This was the first he was hearing of Armstrong wanting Mei at the fortress.

"Don't worry," Miles gave the young girl a smile, "you'll receive a warm welcome. I believe the general only wants to ask about your alkahestry." Mei nodded, still looking apprehensive. Miles looked around at everyone as he seemed to be considering something. "Since Scar and Mei need to be kept free so General Armstrong can talk with them, I think it would be best if we smuggled them into Fort Briggs. Doctor Marcoh, I think it would be your best interest to come with us. Kimblee has orders to find you as well," Miles said.

"I figured he would," Marcoh said, sounding completely unsurprised. "I'll gladly take up your offer and thank you for it."

"So the homunculi were holding you hostage?" Ed asked and Marcoh nodded. "I'm sorry, Doc," Ed said, face crumpling slightly.

"Why, Edward?" Marcoh asked, perplexed at the fact that Ed was apologising.

"We led them to you," Ed said. "We didn't know back then about all of this and we didn't realise we were being followed everywhere by at least one of them. When we heard you were missing, we suspected one of them had taken you and it was because of us that they found you."

"It wasn't your fault, Edward. They'd already found out where I was before you and Major Armstrong stumbled upon me," Marcoh revealed and Ed looked up in surprise. "You bought me an extra day of freedom. They'd taken some pleasure in informing me that I had you and Scar both to thank for not being taken earlier. They had been ordered to stay behind to make sure nothing happened to you after your fight or while you were on the train. When Armstrong spotted me and they saw me give you the note, they had to take me then so you wouldn't be able to come back and question me further after they burned the library down," Marcoh explained.

"How did you escape?" Al asked and Marcoh nodded to Scar.

"He found me a few weeks ago and used his alchemy to get me out of the restraints and to disguise my face," Marcoh said. "Mei used her alkahestry to aid my healing." He gave the young princess a soft smile. "We found Carrie and she's currently hiding somewhere secure until all of this is over," Marcoh said, answering Ed's next question before he could ask it.

"I'm glad to hear that," Ed said, "but I'm still sorry for all you've gone through." Marcoh looked like he wanted to argue further about whether Ed should feel guilty but Miles interrupted them.

"You can continue this discussion at Briggs," Miles said. "We need to get going so Kimblee doesn't discover us."

"Wait, you were serious about taking them to Fort Briggs?" Ed asked, looking bewildered. "What if they're discovered there? General Armstrong and all of you will get into massive trouble for hiding a wanted fugitive."

"You need those notes decoded and Fort Briggs can offer you the time and relative safety to do so," Miles said. "We are aware of the risks but the country-wide transmutation circle and finding a way to stop it is far more important than anything else, including being discovered hiding Scar," Miles informed him.

" _He's right, Ed,"_  Ayala said.  _"Unless you can think of somewhere more secure than Fort Briggs, this is the best option."_  Ed scowled in displeasure but didn't raise any further arguments.

"I'll help decode the notes," Scar said after a few moments.

Miles gave him a look. "And we can trust you to do just that?"

Ed wanted to say something in Scar's defence since the man had been proven a man of his word – he hadn't attacked Ed the moment he saw him, after all – but Scar didn't give him the chance. "You can. I swear on my Ishvalen bloodlines."

Miles nodded once. "We have a deal than." A commotion behind them had everyone looking back over as the chimeras started waking up. The four soldiers who had accompanied Miles all had their weapons pointed at them. "I almost forgot about those freaks of nature," Miles said mildly. "Dispose of them."

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers chorused but found themselves being blocked by Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester before they could pull the trigger.

"Now hold on a second," Ed said, glaring at Miles.

"You don't have to kill them!" Al cried and Miles shook his head in pity.

"There is no reason to let them live," Miles told the boys before nodding once more his men. "Kill them." Mei gave a soft gasp as the guns cocked and Marcoh was quick to pull her into his side, trying to block her eyes.

"A life is a life! What better reason do you need than that?" Al argued while Ed scowled at his fellow major. They were surprised when one of the chimeras chuckled.

"Showing us mercy," the toad chimera scoffed. "How foolish."

"We didn't ask you to help us, did we?" The boar chimera snapped and Al reeled back slightly in shock.

The toad chimera gave a pointed look to his green, warty skin. "Look at these bodies. What kind of future do we have?" he asked before looking at Miles. "If you're gonna kill us than do it!"

"I don't understand," Al said. "Don't you have family? Loved ones?"

The toad scoffed. "Of course we do."

"But as soon as we got these bodies, they were all told we were dead," the boar chimera explained and Ed felt his face purse in anger.

"Don't you wanna see them again?" Al asked, not giving up just yet.

"Even if we did, how could we go back to them like this?" The boar chimera asked and Al felt anger surge through him.

"So you don't want to get your original bodies back then? You don't want your Animals back in their original forms? You're content the way you are now, is that it?" Al demanded. Ed could see Marcoh and a couple of the soldiers give him a look as if asking if he was going to interrupt but he stayed silent. Al seemed to have this matter well in hand.

"No! How could we be?" the boar chimera snapped.

"Of course we want our true bodies back and our Animals given their true bodies as well," the toad chimera insisted and Al threw his hands in the air.

"There's your answer!" Al exclaimed. "I don't want to hear a bunch of fatalistic nonsense anymore. Why not live and try to find out if there's a chance to get you and your Animals your bodies back?" the two chimeras looked at him like he was crazy.

"How can you talk like you know what we're going through?" The toad asked, voice heavy with emotion.

"And if there's even a chance for us to go back?" the boar asked. Ed watched as Al seemed to contemplate something before he removed his helmet, showing the chimeras the empty inside of his armour.

"Well I'm going back," Al said, straightening up and placing his helmet back on, ignoring the shocked gasps of the chimera and Fort Briggs soldiers. "No matter how long it takes, I'm not giving up."

There was silence so intense they could practically hear the heartbeats of everyone else after Al's pep talk. Even Miles didn't say anything to his soldiers after Al had spoken. Both chimeras looked deep in thought and Al was glad to see that. He hoped they would take his words to heart and not give up. The suit of armour glanced at Miles and found himself hoping that the major would give the chimeras a chance to try and redeem themselves.

" _I'm very proud of you and so is Ed,"_  Chester told Al, rubbing up against his armour.  _"Ed reckons you might have a future in negotiations once all of this is over,"_  he teased and was rewarded with Al's chuckles. Ed and Ayala had joined them and Ed gave Al's chest plate a tap with his fist as he grinned up at his brother.

They were soon interrupted from anything they were about to say or do by one of the Fort Briggs soldiers calling for Miles. "What is it?" The major asked as he strode over to the man.

"It's no good. There's a snowstorm moving in," the man told him. The small deer next to him shivered at the news.

"We can't complete a snow march with the equipment we have," Miles scowled and Amaya nudged his hand gently.

"What do we do now? Can we use alchemy to help?" Ed asked but Miles didn't look convinced they would be able to do anything to help.

The last person Ed would've expected out of everyone in the room was the one who spoke up. "This is a mining town, right?" Yoki asked and Miles nodded. "So why don't we just go into the underground tunnels? A mine this large must have some, right? Surely there's a tunnel that will lead us through and out of the mountains," Yoki said.

"That'll work," Ed said, looking at Al, who was nodding in agreement.

"Way to go, Yoki!" Mei exclaimed with happiness and Yoki got a smug look about him.

"Hey, give me some credit," he said, twisting one end of his mustache as he basked in the glow of his success. "This is what I did for a living after all."

The soldier who had noticed the incoming storm had pulled a map out of his bag and placed it on a nearby table that Ed was certain was one touch away from collapsing. "He's right," the soldier said, pointing to the map. "There's a tunnel that comes out past the mountains," he said, tracing the tunnel he was talking about.

"Alright," Miles said, nodding to the soldier. He pulled a notebook out of an inner jacket pocket and used the pen to scrawl a note on one of the pages before he ripped it out and put the notepad and pen back in the pocket. Miles turned to Marcoh and handed him the note. "Once you run into Briggs soldiers, hand them this." Marcoh took the note with interest. "I've explained our arrangements so you shouldn't have any trouble with them," Miles explained as he watched Marcoh carefully fold the note and secure it.

"Thank you," Marcoh said with an accompanying nod. "But what about you guys? Won't they suspect that you might have helped us escape?" he asked Ed and Al, worry evident on his face.

"We can take care of ourselves," Al insisted as Chester nodded.

"Yeah. I don't mean to brag or nothing but we're pretty good bullshitters," Ed said as Ayala rolled her eyes and laughed at him.

"No, this is Kimblee we're talking about," Miles said, shaking his head at the two. "He'd be skeptical and suspicious of anything you tell him." Ed hated to admit it but he knew Miles was right.

For a few minutes, no one spoke as they tried to figure out a way to keep Ed and Al from drawing Kimblee's suspicions while Scar, Mei, Yoki and Marcoh could escape. Al was the one who finally spoke. "I hate to be the one to suggest this but what do you think would happen if Ches or I were taken hostage by Scar?"

Ed gaped at them. "You want him to kidnap one of you?"

"Right," Al said. "If Scar is seen running away with Chester or me and you guys act like you're desperately trying to rescue us, Kimblee will believe it," Al told them but Ed shook his head.

"Are you insane?! What if Kimblee tries to attack Scar while he's holding Chester hostage? Or you, for that matter!" Ed exclaimed.

"That's why you'll be there to make sure he doesn't!" Al said and Ed had to stop himself from smacking his brother.

" _Ed, can you come up with a better idea that would work just as well?"_  Chester asked and Ed snarled at him.

"This is ridiculous!" Ed snapped. "The two of you are idiots! How can you think that Kimblee would even believe that either of you would end up being taken by Scar?"

"Well, I can't think of anything better and it's not like Scar hasn't managed to best us before!" Al snapped and Ed growled.

"Would you make up your minds?" Miles interrupted, glancing at the window where they could see heavy dark clouds rolling in rapidly. "The storm's nearly on top of us and if we don't hurry, no one will be going anywhere."

"I can see Kimblee's men approaching!" the soldier called and Ed swore softly.

" _Ed, they'll be alright,"_  Ayala said as her human clenched his fist tightly to stop himself from doing something stupid.  _"We have the truce with Scar. They'll be fine,"_  Ayala soothed and Ed sighed.

"Dammit! Fine, alright," Ed said. "Chester, you're getting kidnapped. Al, don't argue. Kimblee knows that your armour's empty. He'd never believe that Scar got the both of you," Ed said before Al could put up a fuss. "Scar, if anything happens to them because of you…" Ed trailed off, letting the Ishvalen imagine what the rest of the threat would be.

"I keep my promises," Scar told him and Ed nodded. Though he wouldn't say he trusted the Ishvalen completely, he did trust him enough to keep his word.

"Us too," the toad chimera suddenly croaked and everyone faced the still tied up pair they'd almost forgotten about again. "Please, you have to take us with you as well. I know you don't trust us so I understand if you want to keep us tied up but please take us," he begged.

"Amestris has no use for troops who fail their missions. One way or another, we're dead," the boar chimera said before looking at Al. "Besides, we don't want to give up either." Al would've beamed at the chimera if he could've.

"How do we know you mean that?" Marcoh asked. "You do realise that if you do anything to obstruct us, the whole country could be destroyed. That would include your families and everyone else you care about," Marcoh warned and both chimeras gaped at him in shock.

"Wait, what are you saying?" The toad chimera asked, looking at his partner. "The Central forces weren't told anything about the country being destroyed!"

"Please, we need to know more! What's going on?" The boar chimera pleaded.

"Ayala? Chester? What do you two think?" Ed asked, ignoring the looks he was getting.

" _They're being honest. They didn't know anything about the country being in danger. I think they genuinely want to help us,"_  Ayala told him.

"Chester's says they're telling the truth. He thinks they can be trusted to help," Al said, unconsciously falling back on their habit of pretending Ed couldn't hear any Animal except Ayala.

"Major Miles, what's Amaya's opinion?" Ed asked and Miles raised a brow at him.

"She agrees with your Animals," Miles said after a few seconds.

"So let them go," Ed said, gesturing to the chimeras. The chimeras looked at Miles hopefully and the major nodded to his men. Moments later, the rope tying them to the pillar was removed and the chimeras were able to stand up.

"If it will still make everyone feel better, we'll stay tied up," the toad chimera said as he shifted forms so he looked human once more. The boar chimera was quick to follow his example and pulled his glasses out of his pocket before placing them on himself.

"You're sure?" Miles asked and the two men nodded, holding their hands out.

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone would feel better if we were still tied up," the black chimera said.

"What are your names?" Ed asked as the two were secured.

"Jerso," the toad chimera said.

"Zampano," the boar chimera told him and Ed nodded.

"Everyone's good to go?" Miles asked as the soldier with the map handed it over to Yoki for him to follow. After receiving nods all around, Miles looked at Scar. "Alright, Scar. You better give us one hell of a performance."

"I know what I'm doing," Scar said and Miles gave him a look.

"And you'll keep your word?" Miles asked, wanting to be sure. Scar gave him a solid nod and Miles relaxed.

"Remember, Ches, you need to act unconscious," Ed reminded the leopard as he moved towards Scar and his group. Al was shifting anxiously where he stood and Ed placed a calming hand on his metal arm.

" _I know,"_  Chester told him.  _"You three stay safe. We'll see you soon."_

"You stay safe as well," Ed said after Al repeated Chester's words as though Ed couldn't hear them.

After a final look at the group who would be heading immediately for Fort Briggs, Ed, Al, Miles, Amaya and the four soldiers and their Animals all headed for the doorway while Chester and Scar headed towards the stairwell, needing to get to the roof. Ed knew the others would be making their way to the nearby adjoining building so they wouldn't be accidentally hurt by any debris caused by Scar's performance.

* * *

Just before the team with Ed could get to the exit, Scar blew up some of the building, causing the walls to shake and shudder violently as dust and small bits of stone and metal fell around them. Knowing this was his cue, Ed ran out of the building, arms up covering his head and headed straight for Kimblee and his men. The group – minus Kimblee – looked stunned to see Ed heading for them. Just as Ed got to them, a voice called from the top of the building and they looked up to see Scar standing just before the ledge with Chester draped lifelessly over one shoulder. Ed made sure to gasp in horror at the sight.

"Tell me something, Kimblee. Do you remember when we first met? It seems we've changed places!" Scar called down tauntingly and Ed made a mental note to have Chester find out about Scar and Kimblee's first meeting.

"You shouldn't be so confident!" Kimblee shouted back, arms raised to clap and Ed moved, forcing the man to keep his hands apart by grabbing onto each of them.

"Don't you dare attack, Crimson Alchemist!" Ed snarled. "Can't you see he's got Chester? I won't let you hurt him!" Ed shouted, struggling against Kimblee as the madman tried to free himself.

"Get out of my way!" Kimblee snapped as they continued struggling. Another explosion had them separate from each other and Ed turned back to watch as Scar disappeared with Chester still over his shoulder just before the building started collapsing.

"Chester!" Ed shouted, moving forward as though he was going to try and re-enter the building. Kimblee moved in the same moment but both men found themselves being held back by the men with Kimblee.

"Sir, it's too unstable! You can't go in there!" The one holding onto Kimblee told them before turning to the rest of the men. "We need to fall back and find some cover before this storm rolls in!"

"Ayala, Al!" Ed shouted, ignoring the soldier's trying to hold him back from his theatrical struggle. The sigh of relief he gave when he saw the two emerge from the building escorted by Miles and his soldiers could've won him some awards on the theatre stage.

"Ed, he got Chester!" Al sobbed and for a moment, Ed was half convinced Al was actually crying. "I don't know what happened! We got separated from you after that first explosion and were trying to get back to you when Scar found us and I tried fighting him but he was too quick for me. Chester tried to get in between us and got hit by some debris and was knocked out. Scar got to him before I did," Al explained frantically and Ed clutched his arm as Ayala whined and rested against Al, as though she was comforting him.

"Al, calm down," Ed ordered, skin prickling as Kimblee watched them like a hawk. "Listen, Chester's alright, yeah?" Ed asked and Al nodded. "So don't panic. Scar will probably hold him as hostage but we can find him. You can lead us right to him and we can get Chester while Kimblee takes care of Scar, okay?"

"Oh," Al hiccupped, as though in his panic he'd forgotten about the tracking component of their bond. "Let's go find him now!" Al said, moving as though he was about to take off right there but Ed stopped him.

"We can't," Ed said. "That storm's gonna hit any minute and we can't move around in it," Ed reminded him and Al made a noise of protest. "Look, if we can't go out in it, neither can Scar or Chester. We just need to wait the storm out. Besides," Ed said, tapping his arm, "don't you think Scar would expect us to go after him right away? Maybe waiting a couple of hours will mean we'll get the drop on him."

"Yeah, maybe," Al said, not sounding convinced about their plan to 'rescue' Chester.

"Look, if you feel something change for the worse with your bond, we'll go out immediately, alright?" Ed said and, finally, Al nodded.

"Sirs, we need to go," one of the soldiers insisted as the wind started picking up around them, causing their coats to flap against their legs and driving snow into any crevice it could find.

"Lead the way," Kimblee said, nodding to the soldiers. Ed glanced at him as he and Ayala followed the group with Al in between them but didn't see any sign that made him think Kimblee hadn't bought their act.

* * *

The two groups headed into the closest building that looked like it would withstand the intense storm the best. Ed used the opportunity to size up the two remaining chimeras while Miles and his team brought up the rear. Both men had imposing figures and looked well-groomed. The blonde man wore glasses that were oval rather than the round frames Zampano wore and he had a thick mustache that covered most of his top lip. The second chimera had tanned skin, brunette hair and brunette sideburns styled so they made it look like he had a square lower jaw. Neither chimera looked like they were impressed by anything.

They finally entered the building the soldiers had chosen just as the storm really started hitting them and Ed allowed himself to sigh quietly in relief. Ayala grumbled as she shook herself off about wet fur and Ed offered to use alchemy to get her dry but she turned him down, remembering how ridiculous she looked when he did so. Amaya and the other Animals were following Ayala's lead in an effort to get the worst of the snow off their fur, hair or feathers. Ed, Ayala and Al headed into one of the small side rooms to wait out the storm. To their annoyance and slight amusement, the brunette chimera followed them, made an obvious show of checking there was no other way out and leaving them once he was sure.

"I'm worried about what happened to Zampano and Jerso," Ed heard the blonde chimera say as his fellow joined him.

"They're either out in the snow or Scar destroyed them. There isn't any point in worrying, Heinkel," was the response and Ed was a little taken aback by how callous he sounded.

"I know, Darius. I almost hope that Scar got to them first. I think that would be a better way to go than freezing to death," Heinkel said.

"Major Elric is right. This storm will have Scar trapped," a random soldier said.

"Right, which means he has to be somewhere in this town, Sir," another random soldier said and Ed wondered if he was talking to Kimblee or Miles. "Since we're stuck here, we might as well start planning our next search grid." There were sounds of footsteps on the floor as people moved around but neither Ed nor Al went to go see what they were doing.

"Excuse me, Major Miles," a third soldier, one of the ones Ed thought was with them while they were with Scar, called. "Briggs is on the line for you." Ed and Al looked at each other in surprise. It was far too soon for Mei, Scar and the others to be arriving at Briggs and Ed hadn't heard anything from Anahlia so he had no clue what was going on.

"Miles here," the major said as he answered the call. "What did you say?" he asked, disbelief in his voice and Ed, Al and Ayala shared a worried look. They waited as Miles listened to whoever was on the other line before he thanked the person for passing the message along. Moments later, Miles was walking into the room they were in and gesturing for them to join him on the far side.

"What's happening, Major?" Ed asked as they stood in a rough circle.

"Fort Briggs is no longer a safe option," Miles told them, keeping his voice low.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked, panic already starting to set in. What the hell happened to make  _Fort Briggs_  unsafe?"

"General Armstrong was summoned back to Central just after we left," Miles revealed and Ed felt the blood drain from his face. "Central troops have already started invading Briggs in force. There's no doubt they're acting on the Crimson Alchemist's orders," Miles said and Ed felt anger roil in his gut. "When we were back at the fort I had noticed him making rather frequent phone calls," Miles revealed.

"This is bad," Ed said, resisting the urge to start pacing. "Without General Armstrong there…" Ed trailed off as Miles nodded.

"A commander handpicked by Fuhrer Bradley has taken her place." Ed snorted because  _of course_  Bradley had someone ready to take over control of Briggs at a moment's notice.

"What do we do about Scar and Chester?" Al asked, worry etched in his voice.

"Hiding the others will be difficult," Miles told them bluntly. "If they're not careful, they're bound to fall into enemy hands."

"We can warn Chester but what use will that do? No one with him can hear him and there's no other Animals for him to pass the message to," Ed said. "We have to catch up to them and start coming up with Plan B."

Miles immediately shook his head. "This storm will kill any living thing that goes out in it," he said with such certainty that Ed and Al didn't bother arguing.

"I could go," Al said and both Miles and Ed looked at him. "I don't have a flesh body so there's nothing for the storm to kill and I can track them faster thanks to my bond with Chester." Ed nodded in agreement.

"He's right. He's the only one who could go out in this weather and hope to survive it," Ed said, looking at Miles. "Al can do this."

"Alright," Miles said after a moment. "Make sure you get a message to us once you've caught up with the others and have figured out what you're gonna do."

"I will," Al promised before turning to Ed and Ayala. "Make sure the two of you stay safe. Keep each other out of trouble."

"I mean, I'll try but you know how much Ayala likes starting shit," Ed said straight-faced before chuckling at Ayala's offended look and the scoff Al made. "But seriously, you stay safe too. You're not indestructible and I do not want to have to go out in that," Ed jabbed at the window where the wind was launching snow at it in a ferocious attempt to break in, "to save your arse."

"I'll keep that in mind," Al said before grabbing Ed in a hug that was almost too tight. "Watch your back with Kimblee. I don't like you being here with only Ayala to watch out for you," Al whispered and Ed clapped him on the back lightly, his way of making Al knew he was being hugged back.

"Pretty sure Major Miles won't let me die if he can help it but the same to you," Ed murmured. "Scar is on our side so long as we get him to the homunculi so he can get justice for Ishval, not because he is our friend. Don't forget that." Ed pulled away and waited for Al to nod.

"We'll let you know where we are so you and Ayala can catch up. Hopefully we'll see you soon," Al said and Ed nodded.

"If you're going to leave, you need to go now while Kimblee and his men are too busy planning to notice," Miles said and the brothers nodded.

"I'll open the floor up for you. Make sure you get out unseen," Ed said and Al nodded. Clapping his hands together, Ed winced as his clap rang through the room. Thankfully, it seemed that the roaring wind and driven snow were loud enough to cover the noise as no one came rushing into the room to find out what was happening. Ed placed his hands to the floor and opened a hole in it big enough for Al to drop down through. "Alright, go."

"Stay safe, Brother," Al said and Ed repeated the words just as Al dropped lightly to the floor below.

Ed watched as Al landed, looked around then moved out of view before he clapped once more and repaired the hole. "Do you have a soldier who I can borrow once this storm has passed?" Ed asked as he straightened from his crouch.

Miles frowned but nodded. "Why?" he asked, looking down at Amaya as though she might know the answer.

"I'm gonna have to make a suit of armour that looks like Al's so Kimblee doesn't notice he's missing but I'll need someone to wear the armour and pretend to be him," Ed told him and Miles nodded in understanding.

"I'll inform the soldier I have in mind while you make the armour," Miles said, moving out of the room before Ed could say anything.

"Sure, I'll get right on that," Ed muttered as he watched the major and his coyote leave the room. Amaya's ear flicked towards him but Ed refused to feel bad that she probably heard that.

" _Where exactly are you going to get metal from?"_ Ayala asked as she eyes the stone room.

"There's metal in the walls," Ed told her. "Even if I have to draw it from the entire building, I can get enough metal from within the walls without making the building structurally unsound to build a suit of armour," Ed told her. "The problem will be the light my transmutation will create. I can explain away the last two as me mending my clothing and Al's armour but this one will be a lot longer."

" _What if we closed the door and say the window blew out and that the wind slammed the door shut?"_  Ayala suggested but Ed shook his head.

"We'd have to blow out the window, make the armour and fix the window all in the space of a few moments. Even I'm not that good," Ed told her and she sighed before falling back into thought.

Seconds later, her ears perked up and she cocked her head as she listened to something in the other room. It took Ed a couple of seconds before he identified the sounds of several footsteps moving away from them and Ayala grinned at him.  _"Kimblee and his goons have gone to check on the storm. We've got a few moments now where they won't see the flash,"_  she told him but Ed was already heading for the closest wall as soon as she said Kimblee had left.

Clapping his hands together, Ed placed them on the wall and let the transmutation do as it was designed to do. By the time the alchemic energy had dissipated, there was an exact replica of Al's armour standing beside him. Satisfied with his work, Ed let the array go and waited for a moment. When the building didn't immediately collapse on them, Ed counted the transmutation as a complete success. Ayala rolled her eyes as Miles entered the room, followed by Ayala and one of the Fort Briggs soldiers.

"Johnson, your mission is to wear that armour and act like Alphonse Elric," Miles informed him.

Johnson looked stunned for all of a moment and Ed knew it didn't take him being a genius to figure out why. It was a pretty unusual order. "Yes, Sir," he said, eyeing the armour apprehensively. His Animal – a yellow grass parrot – ruffled its feather and Ed wondered if Johnson's Animal had been part of the reason he was chosen. The small Animal could be easily hidden inside the armour with its human and not raise any suspicion as it might've done if it was travelling beside the armour. Johnson took a moment to soothe his Animal before he nodded to Ed and allowed the blonde to help him into the armour while listening to everything Ed had to say about Al's mannerisms so he could try and mimic him as best he could.

Ed placed the helmet over Johnson's head, a little weirded out by the fact that there was someone in this armour, just as Ayala alerted him to Kimblee's return. "Good timing," Ed muttered, giving the armour another once over as Johnson stood before nodding in satisfaction. Miles seemed to be waiting for that as he and Amaya slipped out of the room as soon as Ed gave the armour its final check so that Kimblee wouldn't suspect them of plotting anything. Ed and Ayala both let out a sigh of relief as Kimblee barely glanced at the room they were in before he returned to plotting the search for Scar.

* * *

It took almost an hour and a half after Ed created the new armour for the soldiers to realise that the storm was showing no signs of dissipating any time soon. Kimblee had taken the news with far more grace than what Ed saw in his eyes. Miles didn't say anything, just turned to order the soldiers to spread out to see if they could find anything they could burn so they wouldn't freeze during the night. Most of them returned empty handed but a few did stumble upon old chairs and tables that were easily broken into pieces and arranged into piles to feed the fire another soldier got going. Everyone else set themselves up for an uncomfortable night of sleeping on the freezing floor and keeping watch.

It was early in the next morning when the storm to start showing signs that it was finally coming to an end. Kimblee and his men had packed up their gear in preparation to move out immediately and once one of the Fort Briggs soldiers gave the news that they could leave the building, they did so, leaving Miles, Ed, the loyal Fort Briggs soldiers and their Animals inside so that 'Al' could try and get a location on Chester before they started moving' or so Ed claimed.

"Now that the storm's passed, we can make our move against him," Miles said, looking down at Kimblee from the window. "We can't take any chances with Kimblee or his men. If you find yourself with an opportunity, take it," Miles ordered and Ed frowned, not liking how that sounded.

"Yes, Sir!" The men chorused, including Johnson from where he was in the armour.

"You're the only ones who know of this mission," Miles told them before looking over at Ed then back at the soldier with the antelope. "Don't let Elric out of this room."

"Now wait just a minute," Ed protested, getting to his feet. "You're not planning on killing them, are you?"

"Of course we are," Miles said, sounding a little annoyed that Ed was questioning him.

"I'm not having any part of that," Ed said, shaking his head. "Why don't you just try and take him hostage so he can get some answers out of him?" Ed asked and the slightly pitying looks he got from some of the soldiers had his hackles rise.

"Do you really think he'd talk, assuming we managed to take him alive and without casualties?" Miles asked. "He's too dangerous to let live." The strength of his conviction in his voice reminded Ed far too much of General Armstrong.

"That's true for him but maybe not for is men," Ed said. "For all we know he could be manipulating them somehow. Forcing them to obey or maybe lying to them. Zampano and Jerso didn't know anything about what's happening," Ed reminded him and Miles dipped his head, conceding to Ed's point.

"You could be right," Miles said, "but we can't take such a risk on a possibility." Ed's temper flared and Ayala pressed herself against his flesh leg.

"And yet," Ed spat, "you're willing to kill them for one." Ed glared at the major, who seemed unmoved. "This isn't like it was with General Raven! There might be another way to deal with this so possibly innocent people aren't hurt!" Ed insisted.

"Have you forgotten the first law of Briggs?" Miles snapped, losing his patience for a moment. "The careless are the first to die. If you show mercy in this place, I can guarantee it'll you or your friends killed," Miles told him. "We aren't going to be careless here. We're killing Kimblee and the two men with him and that is final." Miles didn't let Ed protest any further as he gestured for his men to follow him out of the building.

"Do you have a direction?" Kimblee asked and 'Al' nodded.

"Chester is that way," he said, pitching his voice to try and match Al's and pointing in the direction Miles had told him to. Kimblee nodded and motioned for everyone to follow him. Ed walked beside 'Al', glowering at Miles back as he did so.

* * *

Ayala made sure Ed's hand was within reach as she walked beside him so she could try and calm him down if he got too upset. She knew why the men of Fort Briggs had acted the way they had regarding Kimblee and his men and it irked her enough that she was tempted to lecture each and every Animal with them. Ed was not a naïve child who had no idea how the real world worked like some of these men seemed to believe but she restrained herself. She always preferred it when Ed showed those kinds of people just how wrong they were himself.

"Man, I almost forgot he's just a kid." Ayala's ears perked as the soldier walking beside Miles spoke and she almost growled.

"Indeed he is," Miles said in response. "Especially if he's naïve enough to think he won't have to kill anyone." Ayala scoffed. After nearly five years in the military, Ed had still yet to take someone's life himself and he was determined to keep it that way until he was able to discharge from the military. Envy and the second homunculous didn't count for Ed since it was a Philosopher's Stone made from thousands of sacrificed people who kept them alive and there was nothing human about them where it mattered.

"I have to admit that I used to think the same thing," the soldier said almost wistfully and Miles nodded.

"As did I," he told him. "But once you've lived through a couple of wars like we have, you learn some things. Like sometimes killing isn't as hard as letting them live," Miles said and Ayala wondered if he knew she could hear him. "The Elric brothers certainly have chosen the more difficult path."

"I guess they like to go against the grain," the soldier laughed lightly.

"Yeah," Miles agreed. "In a way, I envy their conviction." Miles glanced up at the sky as though lost in thought and his and the soldier's conversation ended there.

Amaya looked back at Ayala as though telling her she knew what she had been doing but the golden wolf met the coyote's gaze without feeling any guilt or regret. They kept eye contact for only a moment before Amaya broke it but Ayala got the feeling she had just been given some kind of warning. Ayala scoffed to herself. If Amaya wanted to threaten her for eavesdropping, Ayala would welcome her in doing so. She'd learn pretty quickly about what would happen to those who threatened her boy or family.

* * *

" _Just letting you know that Al caught up with us and we're taking shelter in a small abandoned hut while Scar deciphers his brother's code,"_  Chester said after ten minutes of fake Al giving Kimblee the directions Miles had instructed him to give.

"That's good. I was starting to get worried he'd managed to get himself lost," Ed said, keeping the chat telepathic. "Is everyone alright?"

" _Yeah, we're all fine. A little cold and Yoki won't shut up but we're all good,"_  Chester said and Ed chuckled.

"Maybe you should threaten him every time he complains," Ed suggested and Chester laughed.

" _Al forbade me from doing so after the first minute of his bitching,"_  Chester told him and Ed grinned. Leave it to Al to put a stop to any fun before it could even start.  _"Something did happen to Al while he was on his way here,"_  Chester said, all previous levity gone from his voice and Ed felt his stomach drop.

"What happened?" If it had Chester sounding so serious, it must've been something big but what the hell could have happened to Al to cause such a reaction?

" _He,"_  Chester paused as he seemed to search for the right word,  _"lost consciousness, for lack of a better phrase,"_  Chester told him.

"How could he lose consciousness?" Ed asked, thoroughly confused and Chester didn't blame him for being so snappy.

" _Al said it happened after he left you but only for a moment. I couldn't sense him and I panicked but he was back almost immediately,"_  Chester told him.  _"When I asked what had happened, he said it felt like his body was pulling him back. He's worried that the seal is starting to fail,"_  Chester said and Ed felt shock pulse through him.  _"It happened again after he caught up with us and that time, it lasted for nearly twenty minutes. I could barely sense him and that was the only thing that stopped me from completely losing it."_  Chester sounded a little ashamed of that but there was no judgement from Ed or Ayala. They knew he hadn't reacted any differently than either of them would have in his situation.

"I wonder what's causing that to happen now?" Ed said, frustrated that he and Al weren't together to try and figure this out. This was something that Ed knew would soon prove itself dangerous. If Al lost consciousness in the middle of a fight or something, it could end badly.

" _Al thinks it might have something to do with the seal itself,"_  Chester told him.  _"He says that he thinks it could be the blood you used to draw it with is starting to decay and flake, weakening the seal. I had a look at it and it does look thinner in places than it should,"_  Chester revealed and Ed felt a rush of guilt flood through him but Ayala was quick to nip that in the bud.

" _You were 11, bleeding out and desperate to save Al in whatever way you could. You chose the first available material to draw it with because time was of the essence. No one saw this coming, not a single person, and no one has ever questioned why you didn't use something better than blood to draw it with,"_  Ayala told him sternly and Chester nodded in agreement in Ed's mind.

" _Ayala is absolutely right. You're not to blame for this,"_  Chester told him and Ed sighed.

"Alright, I get it," Ed said, surrendering the fight since he knew he'd just lose it anyway. "Is Al alright?"

" _Yes, for the moment. He wants to talk with you about it but he's not letting himself worry over it just yet. This has only happened twice in the last five and a bit years so we're under the assumption we still have plenty of time to figure it out. Al's planning on staying away from snow and water as much as possible after we leave the snow,"_  Chester told him and Ed nodded.

"Alright," Ed said. "Once Scar and everyone has cracked the code, get moving. Head to Dublith or somewhere safe and dry and wait for us there. Hopefully we'll only be a day behind you, at most," Ed said and Chester nodded reluctantly.

" _Al isn't happy with the idea but he's agreed to it. We'll head to Dublith so we can catch Izumi and everyone up on everything that's happened since we last saw them while we wait for you,"_  Chester said and Ed breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. Maybe Teacher can come up with a way to help further protect the seal," Ed said. Movement in front of him had him paying more attention to the soldiers he was walking with and he noticed that some of them were missing. "Ches, I have to go. You two stay safe and contact me as soon as you're in Dublith," Ed ordered and Chester nodded in agreement.

" _Keep safe, the both of you,"_  Chester said before disconnecting from the conversation. Now that he didn't have Chester in his mind, Ed paid attention to the soldiers.

"Did you overhear where Kimblee's sending his soldiers?" Miles asked one of the northern soldiers and the man nodded.

"You saw that mine in the centre of town," he said. "That's where he's heading. I overheard him say that he couldn't trust any of the northern soldiers so he'd only taking the men he brought with him," the soldier reported and Miles scowled.

"I guess he's figured us out then," he said. "We'll head them off. Position snipers near the opening of the mine shaft," Miles ordered and the soldiers nodded.

"Yes, Sir!" they chorused before moving to do just that. Ed and Ayala glanced at each other before nodding. As soon as they could, they'd be splitting from the group. They had no desire to really try and save Kimblee's life but the two chimeras he was with could be in the same situation Zampano and Jerso were and Ed couldn't stand for that.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, Ed and Ayala got their chance and disappeared down a random alley while no one was watching. Ayala was quick to pick up Kimblee's scent and soon they were running full tilt for the centre of town along the same path the Crimson Alchemist had taken. They slowed down once they could see the massive mine the soldier had talked about so they could take in their surroundings. The shaft acted as the town's centre square which meant the four roads that led directly to it were almost three times wider than any other street in the town. They quickly spotted Kimblee casually trolling down one of the roads towards the shaft and raced to meet him in the middle.

"Hey, Kimblee," Ed greeted casually. "Don't you think you should let the Briggs soldiers search the mines and tunnels? They do know the area and its dangers better an you could get lost down there," Ed said and Kimblee grinned.

"The mere fact that you're trying to stop me is proof that we're in the right place," Kimblee gloated victoriously at having been proven right. "Now I know that they're down there." The two of them were standing at a stalemate, neither ready to make the first move just yet. Ed knew that Miles and the snipers were up in one of the buildings, Ayala having sensed them nearby, and it made the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck rise slightly at the feeling.

"And how is that?" Ed asked, still playing dumb. "Look, I wanna catch Scar –" Kimblee cut him off with a knowing grin.

"You're trying to buy time for your snipers to get in position, aren't you?" Kimblee asked but Ed knew the man already knew the answer to that. At Ed's confused look, Kimblee couldn't help but explain. "I can practically smell the murderous intent in the air around here. It's like a 6th sense I've picked up while in Ishval," he bragged.

Ed didn't get the chance to say anything when Kimblee suddenly moved, touching the snow and creating an explosion that resulted in the snow turning into a thick fog that threatened to choke Ed and Ayala where they stood. "Dammit, Kimblee," Ed muttered as he tried to get his bearings. A large shadow came at him and only Ayala's shouted warning had him dodging the fist in time. The fog cleared for a moment and Ed spotted the two chimeras in their animal forms standing and grinning in front of him. "A lion and a gorilla, huh?" Ed said. "I had wondered what the two of you were mixed with."

The lion chimera – Heinkel, if Ed remembered correctly – snarled as he launched himself at the blonde, who dodged the attack easily. The snow cloud shifted again obscuring the chimeras from sight and Ed swore. He could feel Ayala nearby and his wolf was giving him instructions and where to move and when to strike. Ed didn't fail to listen to a single thing Ayala said since, unlike the chimera and Ayala, Ed couldn't see anything until it was only centimetres away. The downside to Ayala acting as his eyes was that she couldn't move to help him, just in case she missed something and Ed got hurt.

"Edward!" Came a shout from where Ed guessed the snow cloud ended. "What's going on in there?!" Miles asked, a touch of worry in his voice.

"Major Miles!" Ed shouted back immediately, dodging to his left to avoid the gorilla chimera. "They're chimeras! They can fight in low visibility!" Ed grunted in pain as the lion chimera's next attack managed to connect, giving him a cut to his flesh arm. The wound didn't feel deep enough for stitches but Ed was still annoyed he got hit at all. "Stay out of here! Trust me!" Ed called, not willing to let the soldiers try and fight the chimeras while they couldn't see and risk them getting hurt or killed.

" _Ed, you're right on the edge of the shaft. There's a small structure below you. You'll bruise but you'll be able to see better,"_  Ayala told him and Ed nodded at her. As soon as he felt her next to his left side, Ed jumped blindly. A moment later, he and Ayala crashed through the wooden structure Ayala had told him about and Ed groaned as he picked himself up. As Ayala had said, he copped some new bruises but he could see clearly. A glance around the place showed him some wooden crates with one word printed on the side in large black lettering.

"Dynamite? That could work," Ed said with a grin to Ayala. He peeled the lids off some of the boxes and saw that they still held sticks of dynamite inside. Unwrapping the red scarf he was gifted from Sheska's mum, he tied it quickly around Ayala muzzle, making sure she could still breath but so she wouldn't be affected by what he was about to do. He took off his beanie and tucked it under one arm while he grabbed a fistful of dynamite in the other just as the two chimeras jumped down to join them. "Stay back! These aren't exactly cigars I'm holding!" Ed warned and the chimeras sneered.

"You idiot," Heinkel laughed. "That stuff isn't going to do you any good. It's all wet!"

Ed grinned. "You sure about that? Do you happen to know what dynamite's made of?" Ed asked, waving the brown sticks in his hand. So far, neither chimera seemed to have noticed Ayala's head gear.

"It's nitro-glycerine, isn't it?" Heinkel asked and Darius nodded.

"Yeah, nitro-glycerine, sawdust," the gorilla chimera listed. "Isn't there some ammonia-nitrate in there too?"

"Yes there is," Ed said, "and what is ammonia-nitrate made out of?" Ed asked as he placed the dynamite he was holding back in the crate and readying the array he needed in his mind.

"That's easy!" Heinkel said. "Nitric acid and ammonia," he said, looking a touch proud of himself. That pride disappeared as soon as he saw the grin on Ed's face and his hands positioned to clap.

"Aren't the two of you clever?" Ed said, clapping his hands and touching the dynamite in the same moment he grabbed his beanie and held it over his mouth and nose. The dynamite exploded but not in the sense anyone would've expected it to do so. A disgusting thick cloud quickly encased the four in its clutches but with their noses and mouths covered and Ed's hand firmly in Ayala's scruff, Ed and Ayala managed to get out of the ammonia cloud rather quickly as the chimeras cried out in pain and disgust.

Ed only paused long enough to remove the scarf from Ayala's muzzle to prevent it being in the way for when they caught up to Kimblee. He stuffed both the beanie and the scarf in one of his red jacket's pockets on the right side and Ayala got to work tracking Kimblee down. Ed looked back before they disappeared further into the shaft but he couldn't see any of the Briggs soldiers. He felt a little bad about not being able to wait for them or get a message to them but he couldn't waste any time. He needed to catch up to Kimblee and disable him before he could discover Scar and Al's trails.

* * *

They heard him complaining about the smell just before they entered the section of shaft he was in. "That's ammonia," Ed said and Kimblee spun to face him and Ayala. No longer restricted by the need to keep a civil mask, Ayala was in full defensive mode, hackles up, lips lifted in a snarl and growls that had frozen many people in place sounding. "It does awful stuff to a sharp nose. I doubt your chimera friends will be of much use to you now," Ed told him and Kimblee looked almost impressed.

"Your attitude certainly took a turn rather quickly now that Scar's gone," Kimblee observed but Ed didn't bother explaining himself.

"What'd you expect to happen?" Ed asked, producing his blade and joining Ayala in a fighting stance. "I'll make this really easy for you. All I want is for you to tell me everything you know."

"Oh, is that all?" Kimblee drawled before he sighed. "You know, I just got out of the hospital and I really don't feel like getting banged up by a youngster like you," Kimblee said and Ed glanced down at Ayala. Surely it wasn't going to be this easy? He was immediately proven right by Kimblee's next words. "Plus, I really don't have the time to waste fighting you so I guess I'll have to speed things up with this," Kimblee said, producing the stone he'd offered Ed from his front breast pocket.

Ed didn't dare give Kimblee the opportunity to use the stone. He darted forward, ducking the punch Kimblee tried to hit him with while Ayala launched herself at Kimblee's throat. Her momentum caused Kimblee to turn slightly as he caught and threw her aside and Ed used the opportunity presented to land a kick to the Crimson Alchemist's wrist, forcing the man to lose his grip on the stone and send it spinning down the black shaft behind them. Kimblee snarled at them and went to transmute his own array by bringing his hands together but Ed and Ayala moved first. Ed slashed with his blade and gouged a gash into the man's left palm while Ayala sank her teeth into his right hand, making sure her teeth speared into his array to destroy it.

"Good job, Ayala," Ed said as the two sprang back from the bleeding alchemist. "We've managed to – " Kimblee started chuckling, stopping Ed from finishing his sentence.

"Managed to what? Managed to win?" He asked, straightening up and Ed fought the urge to step back at the intense madness etched on the man's face. It was like the calm, gentlemanly manner Kimblee normally displayed had been converted to the exact opposite and Ed felt fear stab into his heart at the anger Kimblee was exuding. "So you're determined not to kill! How admirable of you," Kimblee sneered. "Do you realise what advantage that gives your opponent? Instead of finishing me off, you've given me a second chance to destroy you!" Kimblee said gleefully, opening his mouth and revealing the second stone he had hidden in there. "That sense of mercy is about to get both of you in a lot of trouble." Ed barely noticed the two chimeras approaching him and Ayala from behind as he watched with undiluted horror as the stone dropped into Kimblee's injured right hand.

The moment the stone touched Kimblee's palm, the entire shaft exploded, sending Ayala, Ed and the two chimeras tumbling into its depths. Ed had thrown himself at Ayala as soon as he realised what Kimblee was about to do and he clutched her tightly to him - determined to make sure Ayala didn't hit the ground first - but something thin and heavy hit him as they fell and he lost his grip on his wolf. He didn't get the chance to panic about what would happen to her before he slammed into the ground and immediately lost consciousness.

* * *

Ed felt like he'd been run over and trampled on by a stampede of elephants as he slowly regained consciousness. He didn't open his eyes, not wanting to see the inside of another hospital or the worried faces of his friends and family. His head hurt, pain thumping through it at a steady beat but it was nothing he wasn't used to. He couldn't pick a part of his body that didn't hurt at all but the biggest pain was emanating from the lower left side on his abdomen. He let out a small groan and shifted, expecting to feel the rough sheets of a hospital bed but felt dirt and small rocks instead, causing him to frown in confusion.

His eyes flew open and he gasped as he suddenly recalled what had happened to him and he frantically started looking around. He remembered Ayala and the two chimeras being near him when Kimblee exploded the shaft from underneath them. His body protested every small movement he made and he grit his teeth as he grunted in pain. "Ayala?" he called, voice raspy and filled with distress as he tried to find his wolf. His eyes scanned the debris that settled near him, hoping to catch a glimpse of golden fur somewhere but they landed on the two chimeras, still in animal form, who lay trapped under some beams and other rubble.

"Can't breathe," Heinkel groaned and Ed could sympathise. He felt a massive weight on his lower back and he summoned his strength for what he was about to do.

"Ayala?" He called again, both out loud and through their bond. He could feel her but she wasn't responding and Ed needed to know why.

Ed slowly shifted, trying to get to his hands and knees but the weight on his left side made his efforts seem futile. He finally managed it and looked back over his shoulder so he could figure out what it was and how he could remove it. His eyes widened and he felt bile crawl up his throat as he took in the thin, metal support beam that had speared itself through his back as he fell. A glance underneath himself showed the end of the beam, crumpled from hitting the ground at such high speed after piercing his side. His blood dripped hotly from both the inside and outside of the beam and Ed couldn't stop himself from spitting up what had made its way up his throat. To his horror, he saw blood hit the ground before his vision once again faded to black and he collapsed onto his side.

* * *

Chester felt tremendous pain rip through his left side and he cried out from the intensity of it. Knowing it wasn't Al, Chester immediately tried to contact Ed or Ayala as Al rushed over to him to try and figure out what was wrong. His cry had caught the attention of their travel companions but Chester paid them no mind as he fought through the agonising pain. He couldn't even voice what he felt to Al because it was so intense and that worried the leopard. He only felt a fraction of what Ed felt and if he was in  _this_  much pain, he didn't want to know how much Ed was in.

"Chester, what happened?" Al asked frantically, trying to soothe his leopard.

Just as Chester was about to answer, the sympathy pain slowly starting to fade, Al's eyes dimmed before going out and his suit of armour collapsed on its side like a puppet whose strings were cut. Chester's panic grew to almost catatonic levels as he tried to get Al to respond to him. Mei and Marcoh had started worrying, rushing over to try and figure out what was wrong but Chester barely noticed them. His human was unresponsive and his pseudo-human was in pain so intense it was making Chester nauseous and he couldn't speak to anyone else around him. All he could do was keep trying to get Ed or Al talking again.

* * *

Ed didn't know how long he was unconscious for this time but he woke up slumped onto his side and staring at another pile of debris. The pain hit him all at once and Ed cried out at the intensity of it. The metal support beam was still inside of him and he still couldn't see Ayala. He looked over to the two chimeras who were still trapped and locked eyes with one of them, though his vision was starting to blur so he couldn't really tell which one it was.

"Can – " Ed coughed up some more blood but he got their attention. "Can you see Ayala?" Ed asked.

"Your wolf?" Darius asked and Ed gave a small nod. They both looked around and Darius nodded. "She's just waking up. I think she has a broken leg. She's just on the other side of that debris pile next to you," Darius told him and Ed nodded in thanks. He brought his hands together and used his alchemy to sever the beam protruding out of his back. The weight immediately lifted by a major amount and Ed felt some relief afterwards. He collapsed back to the ground, dropped his left hand onto his right and produced the familiar ringing clap before he shifted his left hand to the ground and let his alchemy race towards the chimeras, shifting the debris up and off them. Both of them got up stiffly, rubbing out any injuries they'd received. "Kimblee is going to pay for this," Darius growled as he made his way over to Ed's right and out of his sight.

"What made you rescue us, kid?" Heinkel asked as he approached Ed. The blonde could hear Darius murmuring to Ayala and he felt her suspicion through their bond but he brought his focus back to the approaching chimera. "You're more injured than we are."

Ed chuckled wetly, blood splattering lightly from his lips. "Don't get the wrong idea," Ed rasped. "I can't pull this out on my own. I could use a little help." His words came soft, slow and littered with small gasps as he tried to drag in as much air as he could. He could feel his left lung slowly filling with liquid and knew it was blood he was slowly drowning in.

The reappearance of Darius dragged his attention away from the gaping lion chimera and he sighed in relief when he saw Ayala in the gorilla chimera's arms. She was filthy, covered in dust and blood and her front right leg was bent at an unnatural angle. That answered Ed's questions about why he couldn't feel any sympathy pain from her, though he had thought his pain was drowning it out. Her golden eyes were full of pain but she looked as relieved to see him as Ed had been to see her. Darius placed her gently on his left, out of the way enough that the two chimeras could crouch in front of Ed.

"We were enemies not five minutes ago and now you're asking us to help save your life?" Darius asked and Ed huffed in amusement.

"Yeah, basically," he said.

Darius and Heinkel exchanged looks before Darius shrugged. "It's not like we were given orders to kill you," he said, standing to move around behind Ed. He eased himself down, trying not to touch the injured teenager until he had to. "Come on," he said, grabbing Ed lightly and pulling him up into a sitting position, resting the blonde against his chest. Ed's breathing came harder as he fought against the nearly overwhelming pain, knowing he couldn't afford to pass out right now.

"You know, kid," Heinkel said conversationally as he took up a crouching position in front of Ed, "you're gonna bleed to death pretty quickly once I pull this out."

Ed gave him a small grin as he felt him grab the end of the beam, ready to pull it out on Ed's command. Ayala whined in concern but he gave her a reassuring look. "Not if I heal it as soon as it's out of me. I'll close the wound up with alchemy," Ed gasped out and the chimeras exchanged worried looks.

"Have you ever performed that kind of medical alchemy before?" Heinkel couldn't help but ask.

"Sort of," Ed chuckled, eyes drooping before he forced them open. The pain was getting to the point where Ed  _wanted_  to pass out. "I did some research on it when I was reading about human transmutation." Neither chimera was filled with confidence with that answer.

"Just some research?" Darius asked incredulously. "Your guts are gonna be all messed up. You're gonna need something like a miracle or a Philosopher's Stone to make this work."

Ed nodded, immediately regretting the movement. "I'm gonna have to use some of my life force the same way I'd use a stone," Ed revealed, coughing up a bit more blood. "It'll probably take a few years off my life span though."

" _Ed, don't,"_  Ayala said weakly and he gave her an apologetic smile.

"I have to or we'll both die here," he told her gently. "I don't have any other way of trying to fix this and I refuse to go down like this. Not because of someone like Kimblee," Ed told her. "This will probably hurt but once it's over, I'll fix you up," Ed promised before turning to look at Heinkel once more.

"Are you positive?" the lion chimera asked and Ed gave him a nod. "Alright," he said, tightening his grip on the beam and making Ed whimper as he jostled it slightly. "Ready?"

Both Darius and Ed nodded, Darius tightening his grip on Ed while Ed brought his hands as close together as he could without being in Heinkel's way. The moment Heinkel started pulling on the beam, Ed started letting out a strangled scream. The lion chimera felt guilt at being the one to cause the noise but he didn't let himself move any faster than he felt was safe. He didn't want to risk causing the kid any more damage than he'd already suffered.

Ed's head was filled with his own pained screams and Ayala's piercing one as she suffered through the sympathy pain. He squirmed and tried pulling himself away from the pain but Darius held him firmly in place while Heinkel removed the piece of metal that had caused all of this. Just as Ed thought he was going to pass out from it all, he felt the last of the metal slide out and Heinkel let out a surprised grunt as he fell backwards. Ed started bringing his hands the rest of the way, knowing every second counted right now, when movement from his left caught his eye.

* * *

Both Darius and Heinkel let out shocked gasps when Ayala launched herself at her human before he could clap and placed her forehead on his gaping wound. The steaming blood coated her forehead and eyes, working its way quickly down her muzzle but she ignored it. An instinct she'd never felt before thrummed deep inside her and she gave into it, trusting herself to do as it wanted. Ed groaned as he felt a warmth spread through him, temporarily relieving him of all pain and his eyes opened a sliver. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the silver glow Al had described when he and Ayala first touched envelope his entire body. A glance down showed Ayala's form encased in the same silver and it was the last thing he saw before his eyes shut once more.

After a few long moments, Ayala hobbled backwards, opening her own eyes just in time to see the silver glow fade completely. Ed was still covered in dirt and blood. All of his minor wounds were still bleeding and she could see the bruises forming on his skin but the patch of skin she could see through the hole torn into his shirt by the beam only looked like it was covered in blood. She couldn't see his back but she watched as Darius slowly pushed Ed forward enough to look for himself.

"What the hell just happened? Is he alive?" Heinkel asked as Darius shrugged.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," came the response from the blonde as he blinked his eyes opened once more. "I don't know what just happened but I think Ayala managed to heal me," Ed said in disbelief as Ayala gave him a tired smile.

"Did it work?" Darius asked.

" _I couldn't heal you completely,"_  Ayala told him, exhaustion washing over her.

"Not completely," Ed told them. "I think she managed to repair my organs and remove the blood in my lung as well as stop the bleeding but it won't hold for long," he told them, shifting to get out of Darius' way as he crawled over to Ayala. "My turn to return the favour," he told her.

As soon as he shifted her leg so it would heal properly, Ed released the healing energy, noting that quite a bit of it was missing. Ayala squealed in pain as her broken bones knitted themselves together and Ed whispered apologies to her. Aside from the broken leg, she'd also suffered three broken ribs, a deep cut to her hindquarters and an injury to her head, which explained why she'd been unconscious when he woke up the first time. Finally, the green glow dissipated as the last of Ayala's injuries were healed and Ed almost collapsed as he felt exhaustion hit him.

"We've gotta get you to a doctor, kid," Darius said as he watched the blonde sway dangerously where he was crouched.

Ed shook his head as he struggled to get to his feet. "No, we don't have time for that," he grunted. "I've gotta stop Kimblee," Ed said, struggling to keep his eyes open, "before he gets to…" Ed trailed off as exhaustion, pain and his injuries won the fight and he blacked out, slumping over onto his right side.

"Knew that would happen," Darius said as he looked at Ed's prone form. Ayala glared weakly at him from where she lay.

Heinkel went to say something when his eye spotted something glinting in the debris pile. Finding it odd that something would be shining down here, he went over to it and uncovered a familiar red stone. Darius wandered over to get a look of his own and let out a surprised huff when he recognised it. "Guess Kimblee lost it during the fight with the kid," Heinkel said as he pocketed it.

"Think we should return it to him?" Darius asked and Heinkel glared at him.

"Why? He's not our boss. Not since he tried to kill us along with those two," Heinkel spat and Darius nodded.

"Good point," he said, a vindictive smile forming on his face. "How about we make our resignation official?"

"How about we keep our freedom and let that bastard think we died in the rubble?" Heinkel suggested instead.

"Yeah, that's probably the smarter option," Darius admitted as he looked at the unconscious teenager. At some point during their talk, the wolf had also lost her fight to stay awake and the pair were curled up next to each other. "What should we do with him?"

Heinkel considered the pair for a moment before sighing. "We can't just leave him here to die," he said as he walked over. "He did save our lives so we owe him that much." Heinkel bent down to scoop Ed up, careful not to jostle his left side too much in case he reopened the wound and carried him bridal style.

"Very true," Darius said, mimicking Heinkel and picking up Ayala. The wolf barely got an eye open to glare at him suspiciously. "We're gonna get you and your human to a doctor to get patched up," he assured her. There was a moment where her eye just watched him before she closed it again, passing out once more. "I hope you know a good doctor," Darius said to Heinkel as the pair left what had almost been their graves behind them.

* * *

Nala had been spending her day alternating between lazing on her couch, worrying for Edward, Alphonse and their Animals, and trying to get some sort of rise out of her human. Mustang still hadn't deviated from his plan to act like a textbook colonel despite Nala's best efforts and it was starting to irk her. Though she had joked with Ed that it was because she was bored and wanted entertainment, it was also because this new Roy wasn't someone she liked. Sure, he still acted the same when they were in the privacy of their home but she was worried about the toll this act was taking on her human.

Nala hadn't heard from Ed since he woke up that morning with the news that the storm that had trapped him, the northern soldiers, Kimblee and his Central soldiers and their Animals in an abandoned building to wait it out was finally starting to die out. Nala hadn't liked the idea that Ed was there with Kimblee and not much to keep the man away from him but Ed had promised her that Kimblee hadn't suspected anything amiss, despite the fact that Al had been replaced by a soldier wearing a replica of his armour, and that Ayala and the northern soldiers would help him if he was attacked.

It had been a few hours since then and she had resisted the urge to check in on him more times than she could count. She knew they were planning on leading Kimblee on a wild goose chase and that Miles and his men had plans to take Kimblee and the two chimeras with him out but that didn't stop her from worrying about everything that could go wrong. She'd been forced to place a block up between herself and Mustang when he grumbled that she was worrying too loudly. She hadn't appreciated that and made sure he knew it by growling at him and turning her back. His mutters about her being a drama queen had gone unpunished, for the moment.

Half an hour after giving Mustang the cold shoulder, Nala felt the tell-tale signs that Ed had gotten himself into a fight and she huffed lightly. Though she couldn't feel any pain from any injuries he suffered – their bond not including sympathy pain like his bond with Ayala and Chester did – she could feel his emotions. There were the ones like annoyance and anger at having to fight someone because they decided to not give up but there was also worry for the safety of himself, Ayala and anyone who was nearby and Nala could feel his focus pinpointing on the fight, giving it his undivided attention. A sense of satisfaction and victory followed only a few minutes later before slight regret then more victory.

Nala's heart clenched in fear as she felt Ed's own echoed through her accompanied by a sense of true danger, something she'd only felt from him a handful of times, one of those being the fight in laboratory 5. She relaxed when she felt his relief and triumph but her panic returned ten times stronger than it was before when she felt his dread and almost blind panic for Ayala. There was a moment where Nala couldn't make sense of what Ed was feeling before she realised that he felt like this moment was where he was likely going to die before her heart wrenched as she felt nothing. The only reason she even knew he was alive was the fact that she could feel their bond still, something that told her that he was unconscious.

"Nala?" She heard Roy call and she turned to him, forgetting she was annoyed with him. Nala had no clue what Roy was picking up from her but his features turned into naked concern. "What happened?"

" _I don't know!"_  she wailed at him, shocking him enough that it showed. He got up from his desk and joined her on her couch before he wrapped an arm around her neck as his attempt to comfort her.  _"Something happened to Ed and Ayala but I don't know what! They're both unconscious!"_  she told him and saw the stricken expression on his face.

"What were they doing?" Mustang asked, trying to get her to calm down by having her talk it through and moving her focus off the fact that two of her favourites were unconscious.

" _Fighting,"_  Nala told him and Mustang resisted the urge to roll his eyes because a) he'd already figured that much and b) he was completely unsurprised.  _"I don't know who they were fighting first but they managed to beat them. I think they fought against Kimblee the second time though,"_  Nala told him.

Mustang felt his stomach drop. He'd seen the destruction Kimblee wrought in Ishval and Mustang was of the opinion that if Kimblee had continued fighting on the front lines instead of being arrested, his body count would've surpassed Mustang's own and Kimblee would've been  _proud_  of it. Though he didn't disagree that Ed was an extremely capable fighter and more than a match for Kimblee in both alchemy and combat, Ed didn't lack the voice in his head that told him that taking lives was atrocious and should always be a last resort whereas Mustang was of the opinion Kimblee had been born without one.

"Can you still feel him?" Mustang couldn't help but ask, voice almost pleading.

" _Yes,"_ Nala told him.  _"He's unconscious. Both he and Ayala are,"_  she repeated herself but couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed when Roy visibly sagged where he sat, his relief evident even without their bond.

"Good. Let me know when he wakes up and what kind of condition he's in," he instructed and Nala nodded as he moved back to his desk, needing to keep up the appearance that nothing had happened should someone drop by unexpectedly. He knew that Leo would likely be telling Hughes about what he'd felt so he was expecting a phone call or – most likely – a visit from his best friend and for once, he wasn't dreading it.

The longer it took for Nala to feel Ed regain consciousness, the more stressed she was getting. Being knocked out was never a good thing but she also knew that it could be a bad sign if the person didn't regain consciousness soon. Finally, though, she felt Ed wake up but before she could get too excited about it, she felt his confusion and dazed curiousity about Ayala's location turn to disbelieving horror at something she couldn't see and before she could ask what was wrong, Ed lost consciousness again.

"What happened?" Mustang asked, voice stressed with worry as he felt his lioness' emotions.

" _He woke up but something happened to make him pass out again,"_  Nala said, her concern just as evident as Mustang's. Ed being the personification of stubbornness he was, it never failed to worry Nala when something happened that had such an effect on him. This time though, much to hers and Roy's relief, Ed seemed to wake up after only a few seconds. Nala felt immense relief until she realised something.  _"He's blocked me!"_  she cried and Mustang startled once more.

"What do you mean?" he asked. As far as he knew, Edward had never blocked Nala out before – the only exception he could think of being his meeting with his father for the first time in 12 years.

" _I don't think it was on purpose and that's what worries me more,"_  Nala said as Mustang joined her once more on her couch.  _"It's like he's in so much pain and shock that his mind has instinctively blocked out anything else, including us. He's never been in so much physical pain before that he's ended up blocking us out unintentionally,"_  Nala told him, her voice a wreck of emotions.

"So you can't tell what's going on?" Mustang asked but she shook her head.

" _Ed's blocked me and Ayala's too focused on Ed to answer me,"_  Nala told him.

"Can you at least tell what kind of shape they're in?" Mustang pushed.

" _They're both hurt but without being able to talk to either of them, I can't give you specifics,"_  Nala told him, this time letting an edge of irritation bleed into her voice. He gave her an apologetic look and she was too worried about Ed and Ayala to stay mad at him.

"Alright," Mustang said, sighing slightly. "Let me know when you're able to talk to him. I need his report about what happened so I can figure out what I need to do about it," Mustang said and Nala nodded. Once more, Mustang got to his feet and headed back for his desk to wait for more news.

It took a couple more minutes for Nala to feel Ed forcing himself to not give in to the urge to pass out again. She still couldn't get through to him or Ayala and it was starting to make her worry edge closer to full-blown panic. Ed's determination to do something was completely overtaken by immense surprise and Nala wished she knew why. Ed's undiluted relief, like something horrible had been diverted, ran through Nala and for the first time in a while, she allowed herself to relax.

" _Ed and I are alright. We have some potential allies with us who are going to take Ed to a doctor to get some help. One of us will fill you in when we can."_  The unexpected message from Ayala immediately followed Nala sensing Ed losing consciousness for the third time and soothed her panic before it could set in. Nala wasn't afforded the opportunity to question Ayala further or say anything to her before she felt the wolf follow her human into unconsciousness.

" _Ayala just sent me a quick message,"_  Nala told Roy, whose attention was immediately on her.  _"She told me that they were both okay and that some potential allies were taking her and Ed to see a doctor and she promised that one of them will fill me in when they're able to,"_  Nala informed him.

"Okay," Roy said, relief on his face at the news Ed and Ayala were okay. "We can't do much without getting details from Fullmetal but there's no point in worrying without any need, right?" Nala nodded, smiling as she did so because it felt to her that he was saying it more to himself than her. "Keep an eye on your bond with him and let me know if anything happens."

" _I will,"_  she promised and Roy gave her a nod before he got back to his paperwork.

Nala didn't comment on how she felt him fighting himself internally to calm down because Ed was alive and getting medical treatment and he would get news from him as soon as possible. She also didn't bring up the fact that he'd read over the same piece of paperwork four times before he forced himself to focus on it rather than the situation with Edward and Ayala. Nala felt her own worry reflected in her human about who the possible allies Ayala mentioned were but she had to trust that the wolf wouldn't have let them help if she hadn't trusted them to an extent. Content with the knowledge that her favourite blonde would soon be getting the help he needed and that he and Ayala were both as safe as they could possibly be given the situation, Nala curled up on the couch and allowed the noise of Roy's pen on paper and the flip of the pages to lull her into a state of mindlessness.

* * *

"Chester? What happened?" Al asked as he slowly 'woke up' from another black out. The memory of his leopard yowling in pain was seared into his memory, as was the fact that Chester didn't appear to be the one injured.

" _You passed out again,"_  Chester told him as Al pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Alphonse, are you alright?" Mei asked and Al jolted, having not realised that both she and Marcoh were hovering next to him and Chester. Both Mei and Marcoh looked like they were two seconds away from trying to give the two of them a medical exam or a hug.

"I'm okay, Mei," Al told the Xingese girl, making sure his voice sounded surer than he was. "Ches, what happened to you?" Al asked, making his question more specific.

Chester squirmed slightly and Al got the feeling he was debating whether to tell him the whole truth or not.  _"Don't ask for specifics because I don't really have them,"_  Chester said before anything else and Al nodded.  _"Something happened to Ed. I think he got into a fight with Kimblee but he's unconscious so I can't tell you for certain. He was injured. Very badly injured,"_  Chester told him and Al let out a strangled noise.  _"I think he's alright. He's still alive and Ayala managed to tell me they were being helped to a doctor before she lost consciousness. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more Al but Ed was blocking me, though I don't think he was doing it on purpose,"_  Chester told him.

"What do you mean?" Al asked and Chester shifted.

" _I think he was in so much pain once he regained consciousness the first time – when I felt his pain and just before you blacked out – that he subconsciously blocked all the Animals he was bonded to as a way to protect them from the onslaught of emotions he was feeling. Unfortunately, that meant he blocked me as well before I could see what had happened,"_  Chester told him.

"So you don't know what happened?" Al asked and Chester shook his head. "Can you still track him?"

" _Yes, but,"_  Chester said as Al went to move,  _"I think it would be best if we stayed here instead of going after him,"_  Chester said and he was almost overwhelmed by Al's disbelief, anger and disappointment.

"He's badly hurt! He needs us to make sure he gets better!" Al cried but Chester shook his head.

" _He needs us here, helping them decode the notes and heading to Dublith to fill Izumi and Sig in on everything that's happened,"_  Chester said firmly.

"But who's going to help Ed? We both know what he's like with hospitals and doctors. We should be there," Al insisted.

" _Ayala will be there for him and I have a feeling that even Ed wouldn't try and claim he was completely fine after the injury he suffered,"_  Chester told him.  _"I'm fairly certain they have some help. Ayala said that they were being helped to a doctor, remember? Ed and Ayala won't be by themselves. Besides,"_  Chester said, giving Al a small smile,  _"how angry do you think Ed would be if we turned up so you could mother-hen him instead of being here and helping with this?"_

Al chuckled but there was only a minimum amount of humour in it. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Al said reluctantly and Chester felt his heart ache for his human. Of course he was worried sick about Ed and Ayala as well but this was the first time Ed had been so badly hurt without anyone they knew and could trust completely nearby to stay with him.

" _Once he wakes up and I can talk to him, I'll see if he wants us back with him,"_  Chester offered, hoping it would help at least a little bit and, from what he could tell, it did.

"Alright," Al said. Everyone else in the small shack had been watching the scene with interest, concern or annoyance and nearly everyone sighed in relief as Al seemed to be calming down. "Let's get started on this code. That way we'll have something good to tell Brother once he's awake," Al said, addressing Chester for the main part but looked at Mei and Marcoh, both of whom nodded in agreement.

Marcoh produced the notebook he'd been safeguarding and Scar walked over to join them. Together, the four humans and Animal started going through the book and coming up with theories about the code while Yoki did his best to keep the fire going so it could ward off some of the cold. Using what Mei and Scar had discussed while still in the tunnels, they flipped through the pages, looking for any phrase that contained either the Xingese or Ishvalen version of the word 'gold' or the word 'immortal'. Xao-Mei stayed firmly on Mei's shoulder throughout the whole brainstorm, chattering noises of encouragement.

After a several frustrating minutes of this, Mei perked up with an idea and reached for the book. Marcoh handed it over willingly and she looked at all of them. "I promise, I do have a reason for doing this," she said before she cut the binds holding the spine of the journal together and let the pages fall to the floor.

"Mei, what have you done?" Marcoh asked before he could stop himself as he looked at the scattered papers. Mei didn't seem affected by his comment or tone as she knelt next to the pages and started sorting through them. The doctor glanced at Scar but saw the usual stoic expression on his face before he and Al moved at the same time to join Mei on the floor. Marcoh followed a moment later as Mei started explaining.

"We need to match phrases that mention 'immortal' or 'gold' whenever we see them repeated. Maybe we'll see something," Mei said as she continued going through the papers.

The rest of them nodded in understanding and soon they were lost to the work as they scanned each page carefully and shared what they found, just in case someone else had the same phrase on another page. It took them almost an hour of hard work and tripling checking everything before they were certain they had all the pages in the correct pattern Scar's brother had intended. It took a few moments of them sitting back and looking at the pages as a whole for Al, Mei and Marcoh to figure out what exactly they were looking at.

"That's the country-wide array! The one that that homunculous Brother destroyed carved underground," Al exclaimed.

"But we already know about that array so what use is it?" Marcoh said, frowning at the papers.

They stayed silent as they tried to figure out what Scar's brother might be trying to tell them when a noise broke it in the form of a sneeze from Yoki. They exclaimed in annoyance and irritation when the sneeze caused several sheets to lift and flip from their positions. "Way to go, Yoki. Now we have to sort them out again," Mei grumbled irritably at the thin man.

"Wait, hold on," Al said as he noticed something. Mei froze just as she reached for the disturbed papers while Marcoh and Scar watched Al intently. "That's it!" Al exclaimed, startling Chester from where he was sitting curled next to the fire. "We need to flip the pages over and do the same thing as before," Al told them.

"Okay," Mei said, voice filled with excitement as she realised what Al was thinking and once again, they got back to work.

This time, it went a little quicker than it had before since they now had something of a routine in place. They matched phrases and organised the papers in almost half the time and when they looked at it once it was completed, Al felt excitement thrum through him. "It's an Amestrian array," he said.

"But it's powered by Xingese alkahestry," Mei said, her young voice filled with awe.

"It's an array to cancel out the other one," Marcoh told them, voice filled with relief, like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders and Al was surprised when he saw the man's one good eye glisten wetly. "We have a way to stop Father and his plans."

" _Now that is something Ed would be very happy to hear as soon as he's awake,"_ Chester commented, rubbing up against Al's shoulder as he joined the group around the array. The feeling of success and pride was palpable in the small room and Chester couldn't help but think that they  _finally_  had something that could give them the win against the homunculi and corrupt military members.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened. I hope you guys are happy enough with the answers about why Ed and Ayala's bond is different to not be too angry at me for what happened to Ed! Lemme know what you all thought in the comments and I'll see you next week!


	40. Chapter 40

Miles looked at the destroyed mine shaft with an unreadable expression on his face. The men who had been with him while they'd taken shelter from the storm and the men who had been smart enough to seek their own shelter were either waiting for orders or trying to figure out what happened by gathering the evidence available. Amaya sat next to him, mimicking her human and looked down into the shaft. The snow cloud Kimblee had trapped Edward and Ayala inside of hadn't managed to dissipate before an explosion rocked the abandoned town and added to their visibility issues.

When they were finally able to see again, they were stunned to see the mine in shambles. The ageing mining machine in the centre of the shaft had collapsed in on itself and the shaft was filled with debris. Most importantly, there was no sign of Edward, Ayala, Kimblee or the two chimeras Ed had warned them about anywhere at the top of the shaft. It hadn't taken long for everyone to realise what must've happened. Either they managed to get out before the collapse or – and Miles believed this to be more likely – they had been caught up in the explosion and were somewhere under all the debris.

"Is there any way to safely get into that shaft to search for survivors?" Miles asked the nearest soldier but the man shook his head.

"There's evidence the shaft is still settling. The falling debris would endanger our men," he told Miles.

"How many soldiers have birds as their Animals?" Miles asked after a moment and the soldier baulked at him before answering.

"I believe four of them have birds capable of flight," the soldier said and Miles nodded.

"Get them here now." The soldier immediately saluted before hurrying off to do as he was ordered. His small Capuchin monkey was clinging tightly to his back as he rushed towards a fellow soldier and the sight would've been humourous at almost any other time.

A few short minutes later, four men with birds of various breeds stood lined in front of Miles – including Johnson and his grass parrot –, as did the soldier the major had sent to gather them. "This is everyone, Major Miles," the soldier said and Miles nodded.

"If your Animals are willing, I'd like for them to head into the shaft to see if they can find any sign of those who may possibly be trapped in the rubble," Miles said, knowing full well he couldn't technically order someone's Animal around. After all, only the human had signed a military contract, not the Animal. "Our main priority is to find out whether Kimblee was killed by that explosion or is trapped inside the debris. Locating Major Elric and Ayala comes after that," Miles informed them, feeling worry for the youngest Major, though he allowed himself to show exactly none of it.

Miles was completely unsurprised when the four birds launched themselves into the air before they flew deftly into the destroyed mine shaft. Their humans were waiting anxiously with Miles, though all four of them were doing their best to hide it, as their Animals carefully searched the shaft. It took quite a few minutes, maybe 15 if Miles' internal clock was accurate, before the first bird – a pigeon – returned to its human.

"He says he couldn't see anything," his human reported after a couple of seconds. Miles nodded to acknowledge his words but his eyes never left the gaping hole.

Twice more birds flew out of the shaft and landed on their humans and both times their humans passed along the message that their Animals hadn't seen any bodies or signs that anyone was trapped in there. Miles started frowning when the final bird hadn't followed the rest after a couple of minutes but he didn't say anything to the human it belonged to. Amaya didn't seem concerned at all about it and, once Miles examined her feelings a little closer, he realised she was actually keen for this bird to show itself.

The only soldier with no Animal took a half-step forward in anticipation and his Animal – a wedge-tailed eagle – soared out of the hole before landing on the specially reinforced jacket sleeve its human offered. Miles waited for the Animal to pass along its report with only a slight amount of impatience showing on his face. Finally, the soldier met Miles eyes and started relaying what his Animal had seen.

"Ciara made it all the way down to the bottom of the shaft and spotted a pool of blood," the soldier told them. "She had a closer look and saw two set of footprints that seemed to be heading towards the blood pool. There were signs of something heavy being moved in the dirt and she saw a piece of support beam that was covered with blood next to the scuffled dirt so she thinks someone may have been impaled on it," he told them and even Miles winced at the thought of that happening to someone. "She noted that the footsteps leading towards the exit matched the ones she saw near the blood pool but that they looked deeper than before," he added. "She searched the rest of the shaft but she didn't see anything else."

"It's possible that there were more people involved in this collapse than just Major Elric and Kimblee," Miles said. "If someone was injured badly, it makes sense that they may have been unconscious and needed to be carried out, hence why the footprints seemed deeper the second time. She saw no pawprints?" Miles asked but the soldier shook his head.

"She only saw the two sets of footprints," he repeated.

"It's probably safe to assume that Ayala was one of the injured parties and if she had to be carried out, Major Elric likely had to have been as well. I can't imagine any other situation where he couldn't or wouldn't heal a severely injured Ayala," Miles said. "Was there any sign of Kimblee?"

None of the soldiers said anything so Miles repeated the question, this time making sure his voice carried to the other soldiers surrounding the group. One of them – the soldier with an antelope as his Animal who'd helped Miles find a route for the fugitives to escape Kimblee's clutches – jogged over. "Sir!" The man greeted with a salute that Miles waved him out of. "Adrian and I found footsteps leading away from the explosion on the first level of the shaft. We believe them to be Kimblee's, Sir," he reported and Miles scowled.

"Which means he likely escaped unharmed," Miles said, letting a snarl of annoyance enter his voice. "Continue looking for evidence just in case he doubled back. Take two other soldiers with you and follow those footprints. If you find him, do not engage. Just report back to Fort Briggs," Miles ordered and the man saluted once more before heading off to find two soldiers to help him once Miles released him from the second salute. "Half of us will head back to Fort Briggs and report on the situation," Miles said, "and the other half will remain here as back-up in case something happens to those following Kimblee's trail." The moment he finished issuing the orders, the men got to work in organising who would be accompanying him back to the base and who would be staying behind.

It took a little longer for his men to organise themselves than Miles thought necessary but he didn't bother commenting on it. He knew that General Armstrong had been removed from Fort Briggs and that Kimblee had been waiting for an opportunity to paint a crest of blood in it. The madman hadn't been as quiet as he'd thought when he spoke with Edward as Amaya had been able to pick up on the entire conversation. The only reason he hadn't left Baschool the moment the area had been deemed safe after the explosion was because he didn't want to risk the chance of discovering the corpses of Edward and Ayala, only to find out later that if he'd just stayed behind the few hours to check, he'd have found Edward and Ayala trapped but alive and awaiting rescue.

* * *

The drive back to Fort Briggs was a little longer than the drive to Baschool had been only because of all the fresh snow and hidden ice on the road formed by the previous night's storm. The driver had gone as quickly as the circumstances allowed but Miles had started silently cursing the storm for everything halfway into the drive. Amaya had pressed against him in comfort but he knew she shared his annoyance. The massive wall of Briggs finally came into view and they breathed a sigh of relief when their eyes fell on it. The only person who didn't feel any relief was Miles and that was because he had no idea what lay beyond those doors for them now.

When they were permitted to pass, Miles was unsurprised to Lieutenant Falman and his Animal, Rachel, waiting for them near where the car would be parked. Miles dismissed the men with him before he approached Falman, who immediately offered him a salute that Miles waved him out of almost as quickly. "It's good to see you back, Sir," Falman said and Miles gave a dip of his head.

"It's good to be back," Miles said, looking around the floor he was on. For every familiar face he saw, he also noted three he didn't recognise. "I understand that General Armstrong has been asked to attend a meeting in Central."

"Yes, Sir," Falman confirmed. "We have not been informed as to when we can expect her to resume her command here." Falman paused for a moment before lowering his voice slightly. "Rachel has informed me that something has happened to Edward. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what."

Miles had to admit that he was a little surprised that Falman's enquiry about Edward hadn't been the first thing he said. Despite the show he put on because military protocol dictated what was considered an appropriate relationship between not only a commanding officer and his subordinates but between those of different ranks, Miles knew how much Falman cared for the Elric brothers and their Animals. "I'll explain in more detail in a quieter setting but for now all I'll risk telling you is that Al and Chester are with their allies. As for Edward and Ayala, we are unsure where they are. There was a fight between them and Kimblee and we haven't been able to find any of them," Miles told him and Falman nodded even as his lips pinched together slightly.

"Thank you, Sir. If we hear anything before we're able to have that talk, I'll be sure to inform you of it as soon as I can," Falman promised and Miles inclined his head. "There is something else you might not have been made aware of, Major," Falman said and Miles gestured for him to continue. "Fort Briggs suffered an attack only an hour ago from a small army of Drachmann soldiers. Our new commander ordered for their immediate destruction and Fort Briggs delivered. There wasn't a single casualty on our side whereas the Drachmann soldiers were decimated where they stood." Judging by the tone Falman used to deliver the report with, he knew just what that meant for the country.

"General Armstrong will be pleased to learn her men had held the fortress well, as is expected of Briggs soldiers," Miles said. "Is there anything else, Lieutenant?" Miles asked when a few seconds had passed with no talking. Falman shook his head quickly.

"With your leave, Sir?" Falman said and Miles dismissed him. Miles watched Falman leave, likely to find somewhere where he and Rachel could talk quietly with the Animals belonging to their former team members to give them the information he'd just been given before he headed for the elevator he and Amaya would take to reach the floor his private quarters were on. Until they received orders otherwise, Miles and Amaya would be working on the report they would hand to the new commander of Fort Briggs about what happened in Baschool.

* * *

Ayala resisted the urge to snarl the fourth time the curtain that was the only thing protecting Ed from prying eyes flickered as someone looked in on them. She knew, rationally, that the person was checking on Edward to make sure he was still breathing and to see if he had woken up properly yet but the intrusions – as slight as they might be – still irritated her. To make matters even worse, Ed's doctor had forbidden her from lying on the bed with Ed. When she'd made her displeasure known in the form of a pitiful whine she fully blamed her exhaustion on, Ayala had been met with an unimpressed look and orders to stay on the bed that sat next to Ed's or risk reopening his wound.

The two chimeras, Darius and Heinkel, who had brought them to this doctor – someone Ayala wasn't even sure still held his medical licence – were waiting in a different room, having had the minor wounds Ayala hadn't even noticed they'd gotten patched up by the nurse, who was the doctor's wife. Ayala had been surprised that once they'd received the medical attention and were asked by the nurse whether they would be staying here with Ed and Ayala, both chimeras had told her they would. The elderly woman hadn't seemed awfully happy about having two extra house guests and had made sure they knew that they would be charged an enormous amount, a price that almost doubled when the doctor realised they were also expecting more than the normal level of patient privacy.

Ayala sighed and looked up at Ed, who was covered in bandages and whose face was still pinched in pain despite the fact that he was in one of the deepest sleeps Ayala had ever felt him enter. The doctor had admittedly done a phenomenal job with Ed's most worrying injury. Though whatever Ayala had done – and she still wasn't sure what exactly she'd done – had healed the worst of the internal damage Ed had suffered, it didn't heal everything. The external damage to his skin had turned out to be not as healed as any of them had thought and Ed had started bleeding again as Heinkel carried him out of the mountain. Thankfully, the wound hadn't reopened completely so the bleeding was able to be stemmed by Darius finding the scarf Ed had in his pocket – once he'd placed Ayala on the ground – and helping Heinkel find a way to carry Ed while also keeping pressure on the makeshift bandage before he scooped her back up since she was still too tired to walk on her own.

Ayala wanted to know how the two chimeras even knew about this back-alley doctor but without Ed to act as a translator and since she didn't want to talk to the Animals belonging to the doctor and nurse, she had to wait. She made very sure that her emotions were kept in check throughout the whole ordeal in an effort to keep Ed calm, especially when he'd regained consciousness just before they'd entered the town. Ed had not been overly impressed with the fact that Heinkel was carrying him but once he'd moved a little and had Ayala yelping in sympathy pain, he elected to let Heinkel continue carrying him.

Unfortunately for both of them, Ed didn't lose consciousness before they were ushered into the room the doctor had set up as a makeshift surgery room. Thankfully, Ayala could smell disinfectant lingering on everything so she was happy the room had been thoroughly cleaned in the last couple of days. She just hoped no one else had been operated on or patched up in the room in the meantime because the last thing Ed would need was an infection because someone couldn't be bothered to bleach in between patients. Then she'd overheard the doctor telling Darius and Heinkel that he'd run out of anaesthetics and sedatives, that all he had were tablets that were designed for nothing more painful than a headache or sprained ankle. Ed had told him not to bother wasting what medical product he had on something it would make no difference for.

When the doctor had warned him the surgery would be extremely painful, Ed had informed him that he'd already gone through two consecutive automail surgeries without any sort of painkiller. Ayala had wished she could've been surprised when her human had turned the painkillers down but his silent apology for how much pain she would be in as a result of his decision had softened her annoyance a little. At least until the pain started and Ed's bitten and self-smothered screams pierced her ears. Much to her relief though, Ed didn't last long before he gave into the pain and passed out. All that meant for her though was that the sympathy pain had simply lessened, not disappeared, until she let the sympathy pain and remaining exhaustion from the day's events sent her following Ed into a deep sleep.

Now it was nearly 48 hours after Ed's surgery and Ayala had woken a mere hour ago. Aside from the four look-ins by the nurse, Ayala hadn't been disturbed during that time. She could feel quite a few of the Animals Ed was bonded to checking on her but, to her relief, they hadn't tried badgering her for answers about what they'd undoubtedly felt. She highly doubted Ed had managed to block the Animals before the pain and shock had hit him, just like she knew her message to all the Animals she knew Ed was bonded to just before she'd passed out in the shaft likely hadn't been enough to lessen their immediate worry. Even though she knew they were concerned for the both of them – and the warmth she'd felt knowing they were so concerned about her boy was indescribable – she just wasn't in the mind frame at that time to be interrogated by the likes of Chester and Nala.

Ayala sighed as she listened to the chimeras negotiate a price for Ed's treatment, their stay and the doctor and nurse's silence for the duration. The married couple weren't too happy about the last request but had made it clear that for the right price and the expectation that if the military threatened them that they'd give the four of them up with no hesitation, they'd be willing to keep their silence. Ed had still not woken up but she wasn't truly expecting him to do so for another few hours at least. She was planning to use that time to figure out what the hell she had done in that mine shaft when Ed was injured.

The golden wolf had never felt anything like that instinct before and Truth knew Ed had managed to get himself injured severely enough that she, Alphonse and Chester had been worried they hadn't gotten him medical help in time. But this time it was different. This time Ayala knew there would be no way Ed would be able to survive more than a few minutes of being moved with or without the piece of support beam still in him and even if by some miracle he did make it to the doctor, he would've needed a fully equipped hospital team and even then it would've been next to impossible for the doctors to fix all of the internal damage before Ed bled out.

Ayala had known all of that so when Ed had said he would use his own life force as a Philosopher's Stone, she'd panicked. A move like that would've taken him from this world years earlier than he was meant to and Ayala didn't want that. She wanted him to live as long as possible after the upcoming fight with the homunculi because he deserved to just be able to live his life without worrying about homunculi or trying to help Al get his body back – because Ayala was absolutely certain that those two events would happen in relatively quick succession – and she didn't want him to spend whatever years he had left worrying about when that transmutation would come back to claim what he'd paid.

She'd only had moments to decide on whether or not to trust the instinct that was almost overwhelming her as she watched Heinkel pull the support beam out of her human while Darius did his best to hold Ed still. Ayala had moved before Ed could bring his hands together, trusting her instinct, and placed her forehead against the gaping wound, ignoring the pain in her broken right front leg. She'd almost shuddered when she felt her forehead slip inside the wound more than she'd thought it would. The moment she'd touched Ed, she'd given into her instinct and allowed it to take her over.

Ayala had felt Ed's surprise when she'd moved and she would've likely found the situation funny if it had happened at any other time. As blood drenched her forehead and ran warmly down her muzzle, she let the energy she felt inside her flow freely with only the thought to heal her human in her mind. She'd had her eyes closed the entire time – something she hadn't known until she'd opened them so she'd only seen the silver glow that must've encased the two of them a moment before it dissipated. Ayala knew from Al's description what he'd seen when she and Ed had first met and she'd noticed a secondary feeling inside of her that reminded her of what she'd felt when they'd bonded.

The other feeling inside of her – the primary one – had felt similar to what Ayala always felt when Ed had to use her healing energy on her. The difference though was that  _she_  was the one wielding it by drawing it out of Ed – something she shouldn't have been able to do unless he was unconscious and she was near death – then siphoning it through herself before using it to heal Ed. She could feel her physical energy draining alongside the energy Ed held for her at a rapid pace but she didn't let herself stop until she knew Ed would be able to survive. After that, it was as simple as flicking off a switch in her mind to stop the flow of energy and she did, feeling all the exhaustion hit her at once.

Then of course, Ed had decided to push his limits further by healing her immediately after Ayala had dropped back to the ground. She could only imagine the amount of effort it took Ed to lean over on his injured stomach and keep the reassuring smile on his face as he moved her leg so it would heal properly before he released her healing energy in the way it was usually used. Broken bones were never fun to heal and this time was no exception. She writhed as her leg and ribs were mended, as well as the severe laceration to her hindquarters, the internal bleeding of her own and her head injury. Of course, Ed had then passed out almost immediately afterwards before she could try and figure out how she'd gotten the knowledge on how to heal him. To be honest though, Ayala wasn't even sure if she would've tried interrogating him even if he'd managed to stay awake long enough for her to do so.

Ayala's ears perked up and she hauled herself to her feet as the doctor entered the room with a scowl on his face. She gave a light growl, mainly to remind him she was there, and it worked in the fact that he gave her a glance but his scowl merely deepened. "You keep up that behaviour and you and the kid will be out of here quicker than you can blink," he told her bluntly. His Animal – a red and blue poison dart frog – croaked at her but her glare had it hiding back underneath its human's white coat. "I'm only checking that all my hard work hadn't been for nothing," he grumbled and Ayala made a note to tell Nala there was a doctor out there grumpier than Knox.

The doctor had been quick and efficient in his movements and Ayala didn't do anything to impede him but her eyes never left him even as Darius and Heinkel walked into the room. "How is he, Doc?" Darius rumbled and the doctor looked up.

"Still alive," he told them blandly. "I suspect he'll remain that way until he does something else as idiotic as being involved in a mine-shaft collapse."

"If he's alright, how come he hasn't woken up?" Heinkel asked and Ayala looked at him with some surprise as she'd been thinking the same thing.

"He did just suffer an immensely traumatic injury even if he did manage to heal himself with alchemy," the doctor told them, brow raised and Ayala felt her face show her shock. Evidently the two chimeras had decided to tell the doctor that Ed had gone with his plan instead of what actually had happened and she felt some weight she didn't even know she was holding onto lift from her shoulders. "His alchemic patch job didn't erase the shock his body had gone through and it's very possible that his body still thinks he's severely injured and is using this time to try and heal the injuries it still thinks he has. I imagine though that it won't be too much longer before his body figures it out," the doctor told them as he straightened from examining Ed.

"Alright. Thanks, Doctor," Darius said and the doctor scoffed.

"You can thank me by paying me the fee we agreed on," he told them.

"We agreed you'd get paid once Edward is able to leave," Heinkel reminded him and the doctor sighed before nodding.

"Fine. Give him a few more hours to wake up," the doctor said before leaving the room with a huff. Both Darius and Heinkel rolled their eyes and Ayala joined them in their act.

"We'll check on you in a couple of hours. Do you need anything, Ayala?" Heinkel asked and Ayala shook her head. Both chimeras nodded before moving the curtain aside and leaving the room and Ayala was once again left with only Ed's steady breathing to keep her company.

* * *

Two hours after the doctor checked in on Ed, Ayala had grown bored enough of the silence and felt like she was in a better headspace to answer questions so she decided to send another message out to the Animals Ed was bonded with, bringing them up to speed on what had happened. She didn't tell them how he got hurt or how she'd healed him – leaving it for Ed to do that if he wanted to – but she did assure them that while he was still unconscious, Ed was alright and was expected to make a full recovery. Animals who Ed wasn't as close to – like Michella and Anahlia – weren't overly interested in the details, merely wanting to know what had happened and Ed's prognosis so they could tell their humans and move on.

However, other Animals like Nala and Chester – to Ayala's complete lack of surprise – had  _not_  been content with how little Ayala had told them but they'd backed off when Ayala snarled and told them Ed would talk to them when he was awake so they could ask all the questions they wanted. Her annoyance had caused Ed to stir and she immediately remembered her decision to try and keep her emotions out of their bond so Ed could get all the rest he needed. The two main targets of her irritation had obviously felt it because they'd backed off with apologies and changed the subject slightly to how she was doing.

Eventually though, Ayala had run out things to tell them and they'd run out of things to ask regarding Ed and Ayala's injuries so Nala had taken the reins to tell them about how worried Mustang had been about Ed. Nala had freaked him out when she'd told him that she'd felt Ed's fear but couldn't tell him anything more because of Ed's accidental blocking of them all. The added passage of time with no answers had done neither Mustang nor Hughes any favours and Leo had joined in on the conversation at Nala's beckoning to tell them how anxious Hughes had been for news.

It had only been thanks to Mustang that Hughes hadn't sent out multiple search parties to try and find the blonde and even then, Hughes hadn't been convinced until Mustang pointed out that Ed would likely be considered a deserter and would be arrested on sight so the Fuhrer wouldn't lose one of their sacrifices to another dangerous stunt. It didn't help that they had no idea where Alphonse was but there had been news of him being seen heading east without his brother, something that had had Central buzzing with nervous tension. Nala had already warned Chester of the possibility of Central soldiers searching for them, likely with orders to arrest them and bring them back to Central City to face charges and Chester had thanked her for the warning.

Once Nala had finished keeping them entertained with Leo's help, Chester took over and described how they'd managed to decipher the code Scar's brother had written his notes in and what they'd revealed. Nala had been a little upset she hadn't been told immediately so Mustang could try and utilise that information as best he could but she'd softened when Chester had revealed that he and Al were currently on their way to Liore where they'd been hearing rumours about someone with golden hair like Edward's helping with the rebuilding efforts so they hadn't really been thinking about much else. It also helped when Chester pointed out that they weren't entirely sure what the second array would do and that it needed to be activated by alkahestry so Mustang couldn't really have done much with it anyway. Nala had conceded and apologised for her slight anger but Chester had waved her apology off immediately.

Chester hadn't told them everything and Ayala knew it but she decided to leave it, assuming it was because he wanted to tell Ed at the same time and she respected that as he'd respected her decision to leave most of everything up to Ed to tell them. So once Chester had told them everything he was going to, everyone had run out of updates for the others and they'd decided to leave each other alone until Ed had woken up. Ayala had been a little grateful for it, she wasn't going to lie, as she'd started getting a headache and the numerous voices wasn't helping it. She wasn't sure if they'd picked up on it or not but their goodbyes and hopes that Ed would wake up soon and they'd both heal soon had been quick and she'd been left to nurse her headache in silence and the relatively dark room. She didn't even notice when she'd slipped into sleep a short time later.

* * *

When Ayala next woke up, her headache was gone and she felt a little better than she'd done so before. She checked on her energy level in Ed and was a little surprised to see how low it was still. Though she knew she had an immense amount of energy in Ed, she'd used nearly 40% - the most that had ever been used in one healing session – of what was there and then it was drained even more by Ed healing her. It had been nearly three days of constant sleep for Edward and her energy levels had only risen by 8% when she'd been expecting it to have gotten back to normal levels by now.

It didn't take a genius for Ayala to figure out that the slow rise was likely because she'd used her energy to heal Ed but that didn't really help her concern. Obviously this meant that she couldn't use her energy to heal Ed of every serious injury he suffered. Instead, she'd only be able to use the energy in a similar situation as before; one where she was certain Ed wouldn't make it to a hospital before he died. She frowned a little but decided it was probably for the best since Ed was already reckless enough as it was. If she could've healed him of every broken bone or stab wound he suffered with minimal backlash to her, he probably would've gotten even more reckless and that would never be a good thing.

Ayala groaned as she got to her feet and left the room to relieve herself before finding the bowl of water and bowl of mince someone had left in her room. After eating and drinking her fill, Ayala settled back on her lumpy bed and got as comfortable as possible, planning on getting some more sleep before she heard a noise and her ears perked up immediately. She rose into a sitting position as she watched the bed intently and as she'd thought, she soon saw Ed shifting as though he was about to wake. She couldn't stop the excited noise she made as she placed her front feet on Ed's right side and nuzzled his cheek, causing him to stir once more.

"Aya?" Ed slurred as he struggled to open his eyes and she gave a small yip in answer. "The hell happened this time?" Ed asked, rubbing an eye tiredly before wincing as his movements pulled the dozens of stitches holding his side together and he let out a breathy, pained moan.

" _Kimblee caused the shaft to explode under our feet,"_  Ayala reminded him as she heard footsteps and the tell-tale sign of the curtain being moved before the footsteps headed away with more purpose. Ed's brows had furrowed in confusion before they pulled smooth as he remembered the events.

"How long have I been out?" Ed asked and Ayala winced slightly.

" _Darius and Heinkel got us here a couple hours after the collapse and you passed out not long after that doctor started his surgery on you,"_  Ayala told him.  _"It's been over two and a half days since then. If you hadn't woken up in the next seven hours, it would've been three days."_  Ed's eyes widened in surprise but – much to Ayala's happiness – he didn't immediately try and sit up as he normally would've done.

"Where are we? What's been happening?" Ed asked and Ayala calmed him by making soothing noised through their bond and rubbing her cheek against his.

" _I don't know what this town is called but we're still in the north. The doctor and his nurse aren't the most reputable people but they've agreed to treat you and let the four of us stay here until you're fully recovered as well as hold their tongues on who they're treating. I'm afraid your bank account will feel the full weight of that soon enough,"_  Ayala warned him.  _"As for what's going on, there isn't much to tell you. Nothing's happened around here to be cause for concern. The military haven't even visited the town as far as I know. I've let everyone know that you're alright and expected to heal with no repercussions but I haven't gone into specifics since I figured they'd prefer to hear it from you,"_  Ayala told him and Ed nodded tiredly.

"'The four of us'?" Ed asked and Ayala nodded.

" _Yeah,"_  she said.  _"When we landed in the bottom of the shaft, Darius and Heinkel came down with us. They weren't impressed with how little regard Kimblee held for their lives but they were impressed with how you helped them out despite the fact they'd tried fighting us earlier. They helped you and me then when we both lost consciousness, they brought us here,"_  Ayala explained.

Ed's brows furrowed once more as he tried to place the names. "The lion and gorilla chimeras?" he asked and Ayala nodded. "I'm a little surprised they cared enough to help us that much and that they're still here. Did they get hurt?" Ed asked, obviously expecting that to be the reason the two chimeras were here and his surprise grew when Ayala shook her head.

" _They only suffered minor injuries. I think they feel a little indebted to you but I also think they're still here because they want to know what's going on. Pretty sure this whole experience has made them realise they were being lied to so they want some answers,"_  Ayala told him. Ed looked a lot more comfortable knowing that the chimeras wanted something from him rather than being here more because of a sense of duty and that saddened Ayala slightly. The noise of the curtain being pushed aside caught both of their attentions and Ayala was quick to answer Ed's silent question.  _"That's the doctor and his nurse. I'm pretty sure she's also his wife and I'm pretty sure both of them aren't allowed to practise medicine anymore but I'm not going to ask because they did save your life and that's good enough for me,"_  Ayala told him as the couple approached. She spotted the silhouette of one of the chimeras – Heinkel, she thought – but he was gone too quickly for her to be certain.

"Glad to see all my hard work and supplies weren't wasted on you," the doctor said in lieu of greeting as he impatiently waved Ayala away from the bed so he could do his examination on a conscious Ed. "How do you feel?" he asked though Ed was sure he heard a tone of uncaring in his voice.

"Exhausted. Sore all over. A little confused and curious as to how long I'm going to be stuck here," Ed answered and the doctor nodded.

"The exhaustion and aches are to be expected. Your little alchemical healing trick," Ed shot Ayala a confused look but her silent request to roll with it was heard and Ed paid attention to the doctor once more, "was clever but your body still suffered the effects of the injuries, including the psychological ones. I'm of the opinion that your body thought it was still that injured and kept you unconscious as it tried to repair itself. The aches and stiffness are caused by your injuries and the fact that you haven't really moved in the past 60 odd hours, of course. Your confusion has nothing to do with me so I won't bother with that. As for how long you'll be here," the doctor paused as he considered the question. "It's very unlikely you'll be able to go anywhere before winter has passed. In fact, it's very likely you'll be here well into spring." The doctor's lips curled in displeasure at the idea as Ed looked gobsmacked.

"I can't be here for that long!" He complained.

"As much as I'd like to have you and your fugitive friends out of my house, you will not be able to leave for at least a month and a half, not with the injuries you suffered," the doctor informed him as the nurse checked on Ed's bandages. She didn't look any more impressed than either man. "If you try and leave here before you're able to, you risk rupturing your still-healing organs and your stitches. Considering how much your friends have agreed to pay us, a hospital isn't likely somewhere you want to end up but you most definitely will if you don't let yourself heal completely here." The stern tone of the doctor's voice had the intended effect of making Ed actually listen to his words.

Ed's reluctant nod was all the doctor and nurse needed to know that he would abide by the agreement set up by the chimeras and that they would be getting every cent they'd be promised, which made them happy enough to continue their check. The doctor had finally left the room after asking Ed a few questions but the nurse remained behind. "I need to change your bandages so you'll have to sit up, feet over the side of the bed," she instructed, sounding sour about having to perform her duties.

Ed did as he was told, wincing as he lifted himself up and spun himself to sit as instructed. He ended up sitting ramrod straight in an effort to keep pressure off both sides of the wounds and he winced as the nurse tugged his bandages off with minimal regard. She left the room and returned with clean, warm water and sponged the dried blood off his abdomen and back before inspecting the wound a little closer. Obviously content with what she saw, she pulled out fresh bandages and wrapped the wounds back up and instructed him to stay sitting for the moment as she left the room with the dirty bandages and water.

"What do you think she's doing?" Ed asked, breath gasping slightly as he relaxed out of his posture a little since the bandages protected his wounds from the slightly more slouched position a little bit.

" _I don't know but I'm sure she won't be long,"_  Ayala said as she raked her eyes over Ed's form.

Aside from the bandage covered section of his midsection, he was sitting there with only his boxers covering any part of him so she got to see all the other wounds he'd sustained. Thankfully, every other wound he'd suffered were minor and left to heal on their own with only the nurse having cleaned them out before ignoring them. The only exception to that had been the cut on Ed's left arm that Heinkel had inflicted during their fight. That wound had extended from the outside of Ed's arm near his shoulder before stopping just on the inside of his elbow and it had required stitches. Ayala knew Heinkel didn't regret causing the wound since they had been enemies but he did feel a little guilty that it was deep enough to need stitches. It hadn't been covered in bandages since Ed's last bandage change, the nurse having decided to leave the wound uncovered to breathe to encourage its healing.

The nurse proved Ayala right as she walked back into the room a couple of minutes later with a tray in her hands. On it were a bowl of hot soup and a glass of water. She placed it unceremoniously on Ed's bed. "You won't be getting any solids for at least two weeks so you can expect broths and soups for that time," she told him. "Your stomach was one of the organs injured and we aren't willing to have you here longer than anticipated because you decided to eat a steak before your stomach has healed completely," she informed him in the same blunt manner the doctor had used. "Leave the dishes on the floor. Someone will likely remove them before you wake up next." With that, the nurse turned and left the room.

"They both seem so friendly. I have no idea what your problem is with them," Ed muttered sarcastically as he picked up his bowl of plain tomato soup. He noticed it looked far waterier that he was used to but figured it was so it would be easier on his stomach. It didn't taste awful so he decided he'd better try and eat as much as he could.

" _Good to know your sass hasn't been affected any,"_  Ayala said as she lay in her bed and watched him eat.

"I didn't see either of their Animals," Ed said conversationally, using their bond so he didn't have to stop eating to speak. He'd been feeling a little nauseous but he hoped it was more because he hadn't eaten for a while than anything else.

" _His is a little blue and red poison dart frog that likes hiding inside his white coat. I don't know its name since I've not bothered talking to it,"_  Ayala told him.  _"The woman has a cranky ginger cat that I've only seen once. It doesn't like anyone except for her and the doctor. I don't know its name either, before you ask,"_  Ayala told him and Ed nodded.

"What about their names? They didn't introduce themselves," Ed said and Ayala shrugged.

" _I don't know that either. I was more focused on you when we first arrived than introductions so I missed their names,"_  Ayala admitted and Ed gave another nod.

"Fair enough," he said, swallowing the last of his soup. He took a few sips of his water before placing the half-full glass on the worn bedside table next to his bed. The tray and empty bowl went on the floor like instructed and Ayala nosed them to the foot of the bed. "How are you feeling? I didn't ask before," Ed said apologetically.

" _Don't feel bad about that, Ed. I knew you would've asked me eventually and you had a lot of things to work through,"_  Ayala said, giving him a warm smile and infusing their bond with more warmth.  _"I'm fine. A little tired still and sore but I think it's for the same reasons as you. I only woke up a few hours ago and I haven't left your side much in that time,"_  she told him, completely unashamed about her clinginess.

"I'm glad you're alright," Ed said with a smile of his own as he settled back down in his bed, curling up on his right side to keep pressure off the wound on his back. "I'm also completely unsurprised at that," he told her with a grin that had her rolling her eyes.

" _Go to sleep before you pass out again,"_  she ordered, nuzzling her head under the hand Ed let drape over the side. She was very grateful someone had decided to wash her fur out before she woke back up since she didn't really want Ed worrying about that when he was supposed to be resting.

"You get some sleep too," Ed said, stifling a yawn as he scratched her ears. "Hopefully it won't be too long before we're out of here," he said a little wistfully and gave a half-grin when Ayala snorted. "Yeah, that's not likely, hey?"

" _Not with our luck,"_  she said and Ed snorted softly. No more words were exchange between the two of them as Ed slipped back into a deep sleep. Ayala only watched him for a couple of moments before she too let herself join him in the land of sleep and dreams.

* * *

It took another two days of sleeping and waking only for meals and to use the bathroom before Ed was able to stay awake for more than half an hour at a time. He'd made sure to copy Ayala's idea of sending a mass message to all the Animals he was bonded to telling them he was alive and recovering and that he would talk to them all individually when he was able to. Most of the Animals accepted his words with only minor worry and massive relief that he was alright. Chester and Nala had wanted to ignore him and start questioning him but Ed allowed his exhaustion to slip into their bond on purpose so they would back off for a while. It worked and Ed was able to go back to sleep with promises that he'd try and tell them everything soon.

However, before he could make good on his promise, he found himself watching Darius and Heinkel accompany the nurse into the room with his lunch the next day. As she always did, the nurse had him sitting up so she could check his bandages before she left him alone with the food. Ed still hadn't learned the names of those looking after him and at this point he figured it was too awkward for him to ask them now so he planned on leaving it for the foreseeable future. Once the nurse left, Ed scooted carefully up his bed so he could sit cross-legged and lean against the wall that acted as his headboard.

"I hear I owe you two for helping us out in the mine shaft and getting us here," Ed said as Heinkel and Darius pulled two untrustworthy looking chairs away from the wall to sit next to his bed. Ayala had jumped up to join him once he'd gotten himself settled. Todays lunch was a watery potato and leek soup but Ed offered no complaints.

"You did save us from being slowly crushed to death," Heinkel pointed out and Ed nodded.

"True but you would've cleared that debt when you pulled that piece of beam out of me so I could get healed," Ed said in response. He'd been told by Ayala after he'd woken up the second time that the chimeras had left her ability out of the tale and instead told them Ed had used alchemy like he'd intended. It was just one more thing Ed felt he owed the chimeras for. A lot of awkward questions had been avoided because of their white lie.

"We couldn't have left you and Ayala there without any guarantee someone would find you in time. You hadn't been healed completely and our debt wouldn't have been cleared if you'd died because we left you," Darius grumbled and Ed gave a small nod. That was something he could understand.

"Well, thanks for getting us here so the doc could finish fixing me up," Ed said, a little uncomfortable with thanking someone. Usually, as an alchemist, he just paid back the debt he owed without ever uttering a thank you. That part was usually left for Al to do since the younger Elric seemed to know when it was also required. "Did the doctor tell you how long he thinks I'll be stuck here?" Ed asked after a couple of moments of silence and Darius nodded.

"It'll be a couple of months, he reckons," the gorilla chimera rumbled and Ed nodded.

"Look, I really do appreciate you helping me and Ayala but I don't expect you guys to hang around here for two months just so you can be sure I don't cark it," Ed said. "My brother and his leopard are still in the north as far as I know and they're travelling with Zampano and Jerso. I can get in touch with him to get his location if you want to meet back up with them," Ed offered and both the chimeras exchanged surprised looks.

"Zampano and Jerso are alive? We thought that storm had gotten them," Heinkel said.

"Yeah, no, my brother and I managed to take them down when they attacked Scar," Ed told them. "They found out that Central had omitted a few details when they were told why they were looking for people and Animals to transmute to make a chimera unit and asked if they could accompany Scar, my brother and the rest of the group to help us out," Ed explained.

Both chimeras nodded but it was Heinkel who spoke up. "We'd figured something major was being hidden from us. After the uproar caused by the Tucker incident," Ed winced slightly at the memories those words unwittingly brought forward, "we were more than curious as to why the military were asking for soldiers and their Animals to volunteer for the experiment. We were told that we would be made into an elite unit, something similar to the State Alchemists only kept on the down-low. A unit who would be used for warfare because – as we were told – a human with a formidable Animal was an asset on the front lines but a human with animalistic abilities and instinct would be as effective as a State Alchemist. Of course," Heinkel sneered slightly, "we weren't told our Animals were who we'd be bonded with, that the transmutation couldn't be reversed or that our families and friends were all informed we'd been killed in the line of duty. We couldn't go back on our decision so it was either follow orders or be killed. Eventually we all grew used to our new reality even if we didn't like it," Heinkel told them as Darius nodded in agreement with his words.

"So what did Zampano and Jerso find out that had them ask to join your side against the military?" Darius asked. Ed shot Ayala a look and she nodded.

"The Fuhrer is a homunculous and they have a plan to sacrifice everyone in Amestris to gain immortality," Ed told them bluntly. "Most of the generals are in on the plan though they think Bradley's human and they think they'll be given some of that immortality for their help but we're certain they'll be sacrificed alongside everyone else when the time comes," Ed said as Darius and Heinkel gaped at him.

"What?" Darius asked dumbly and Ayala felt sympathy for the two chimeras.

" _I think you should start from the beginning. If they're gonna be on our side, they need to know everything,"_  Ayala said and Ed shot a concerned look to the curtain. Ayala understood his concerns – the room really wasn't that secure after all – but she gave him a nod that had him relaxing slightly.  _"I can't sense them within earshot and their Animals aren't listening in either,"_  she assured him.

"Okay, well this really all started with the destruction of Xerxes over 400 years ago so we'll start there," Ed told them as he finished up his lunch. Both chimeras nodded a little slowly as though they were still trying to process what Ed had said and the blonde did not blame them there.

So Ed told them nearly everything Hohenheim had told him about Xerxes and how his father knew what had happened before he moved on to telling them about what he and Al had done in the basement of their childhood home. He skipped over the years in between that night and their mission to Liore and the only reason he didn't skip over Liore was because he figured the chimeras ought to know why there were riots there after they'd paid the town a visit since Liore ended up being one of the points the homunculi bled for their array. He then skipped to the fight with Scar and how it led them to being on a train to Resembool when they ran into Doctor Marcoh the first time, gaining the location of his notes on the Philosopher's Stone.

From there, Ed told Darius and Heinkel about their visit to Central to find the notes, the discovery of the fate of the First Branch Library before they found someone with a photographic memory who'd read the doctor's notes and could copy them word for word. Ed went on to tell them what they'd uncovered about the stone and how they'd concluded that the military was likely continuing their experiments. He moved on to how they'd disobeyed Armstrong's orders to stay in the hotel and what they'd discovered upon finding the Fifth Laboratory. Ed still refused to cop to being the one who triggered the building's collapse, fully putting the blame continually on Envy before he moved on to the talk he'd had with Hughes and Armstrong in his hospital room.

The next thing Ed spoke about was the second fight between him and Envy while Hughes and Leo stayed safe in the phone booth Ed had trapped them in. The chimeras gasped in shock and amazement when Ed told them about the array he and Al had reverse engineered from Marcoh's array that destroyed Philosopher's Stones completely and how that ended up permanently destroying Envy. Ed then filled them in on his trip to Rush Valley and subsequent meeting with Ling, their first trip to Fort Briggs and the real reason behind it before telling them about the plan to lure Scar out into the open to fight him in hopes of luring out a homunculous.

"Why would you want to lure one out on purpose?" Darius had asked, sounding completely flummoxed.

"We needed one to interrogate about what their plan was," Ed told them before shushing them and telling them about the fight with Gluttony and what the homunculous later told them in the cabin Mustang had ordered Hawkeye to take Gluttony to.

Ed then moved on to the walk back to Central with Gluttony leading the way and what happened between Mustang and Bradley. Both chimeras had called Mustang an idiot, something that had Ed grinning widely and Ayala rolling her eyes before telling her human to continue talking. Ed did so but with a noticeable increase of energy as he told them about the small run in with Scar and first meeting with Mei – excluding when she'd turned up earlier in the day to defend the Ishvalen. Ed's voice lost the mirth it held as he described the walk to Father's lair and their first meeting with the original homunculous.

"He could turn your alchemy off?" Heinkel asked and Ed shrugged.

"We don't know how he managed it but it was more like he'd made it so we couldn't access whatever powers our alchemy," Ed told them. "It stayed that way for at least forty minutes but I don't know for certain if it came back sooner and I just didn't notice because of everything that happened after that."

Before either chimera could ask, Ed started describing what happened once he and Al had realised they couldn't use their alchemy. Ayala had leaned comfortingly against Ed's knee as he then told them about Ling's fate and what the Xingese prince had agreed to. Both chimeras looked shocked that someone would agree to become a homunculous but Ed had sniped back that the same shock could be felt when someone was told that someone had agreed to be transmuted with an animal to become a chimera. He'd then waved off their sheepish apologies before he moved into telling them about the fight that followed Ling becoming Greed, his ordering Al to get Mei out of there and his capture and rescue from Greed. He finished bringing them up to speed with how his truce with Scar was formed, their almost two-week search for Mei, the tip they got to head North and how they ended up in Fort Briggs the second time.

"Once we'd destroyed the homunculous there, we ended up staying at Briggs on General Armstrong's orders. You guys, Kimblee and Raven turned up the next day and General Armstrong agreed to try and win Raven's trust to find out everything he knew," Ed told the two chimeras. "She ended up killing both Raven and his Animal before arranging to have us 'arrive' at Briggs the next morning so we could run into Kimblee and ask to join his search for Scar."

"Why would you even pretend to join that maniac?" Darius asked.

"We needed to find Mei and we figured Scar was up here to do the same thing. Our truce meant that Scar wouldn't attack us but it didn't give us any way to find him easily so we thought joining Kimblee was our best bet," Ed explained. "Kimblee told us Fuhrer Bradley had given him orders on what to do, should he run into us during his search. He was told to let us help him find Scar and Marcoh as well as draw a blood crest at Briggs once they'd bled the last point of the array so they could complete it. I refused to do that," Ed told them before sighing. "It's probably too late to try and stop him now, even if I was in any shape to find him."

"There are rumours that Drachma tried to attack Briggs a few hours after the explosion at Baschool," Darius told him and Ed nodded, completely unsurprised. "The Drachma troops were decimated but not a single Amestrian was killed, if the rumours are to be believed," Darius said, hoping to give Ed some good news. Ed gave him a small smile of thanks.

"So that's everything we've discovered," Ed said, leaning back against the wall a little more as he drank the last few mouthfuls of the water he had. "We have us, Mustang, his old team, Scar, the Xingese in Amestris, Hughes, both Armstrongs, Fort Briggs, General Grumman and Eastern Command on our side, as well as everyone's Animals, as far as I know. There are a few strong civilians we might be able to count on as well as my bastard of a father. All alchemists we think will be capable of using it will be given my array for the destruction of Philosopher's Stones for the fight and I know Hohenheim is setting up countermeasures for the array he thinks Father will use to steal the souls of everyone inside the array so as long as he does it right, we won't have to worry about that array. My brother, Scar and the rest of their group have deciphered the notes left by Scar's brother and they think they've found a way to stop Father from being able to block our alchemy. The array is powered by Xingese alkahestry so either Scar or Mei has to activate it for us but we won't be without our alchemy for long if Father bothers to try and block it," Ed told them.

"It doesn't sound like you have much of a plan right now," Heinkel said.

"Yeah, it seems like you've got the players and some ideas but nothing that would be considered a real plan," Darius agreed and Ed shrugged.

"We can't really make much of a plan until we know when this whole thing is going down. Now that they've bled the last point, I don't think it will be too long but we still need a definite date," Ed told them. "Mustang might have more of an idea of what we should be doing when the time comes but I don't know anything about what he's thought up, if he's thought up anything at all, but knowing the lazy bastard, he's probably waiting for Hawkeye to come up with something," Ed muttered.

" _I don't think he'd be lazy about something like this,"_  Ayala scolded and Ed gave a reluctant nod of agreement. He didn't doubt Mustang was trying his best with what information he had to come up with some form of plan.

"I know it's a lot to take in at once," Ed said, addressing the chimeras again, "and no one would blame or judge you for deciding to go to Xing or Creta or somewhere to stay out of the fighting," he told them sincerely. He only wished he could do the same thing but he and Al had both come to the realisation they couldn't hide in some foreign country for the rest of their lives and there was no guarantee that their disappearance would put a permanent stop to Father's plans. For all they knew, Father had a way of making people commit the ultimate taboo thus creating more sacrifices for him to use.

Both Darius and Heinkel exchanged a look before they nodded to one another and faced Ed and Ayala once more. "We'll help," Heinkel said. "All we've done since becoming this is follow a corrupt military's orders. We've probably unwittingly helped further their plans and we would've still been helping them if Kimblee hadn't tried killing us alongside you two. We have a lot to make up for and – even though they think we're dead – we still have family and friends here in Amestris. We can't leave it up to you to save them so we're in," he told Ed.

"Besides, you seem to be a danger magnet. You need us to help keep you alive until you can save the country," Darius told him.

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself!" Ed protested angrily as Ayala cackled. His protests were stopped by a groan of pain as he pulled on his stitches and both Darius and Heinkel raised their eyebrows in a 'see what I mean?' way. "Shut up," Ed muttered as Ayala fussed over him.

" _Stop hurting yourself,"_  Ayala scolded as she made sure he wasn't at risk of bleeding or close to ripping out his stitches.

Darius and Heinkel got their attention when they scraped their chairs lightly against the wooden floorboards and Ed took a moment to admire the fact that neither chair broke at all since both of them looked like they'd cave if anyone heavier than Sam or Mark sat on them. "We'll leave you to get some rest, kid. You look like you could use a lot more," Darius said and Ed glared at him.

"We'll keep a close eye on the town and let you know whatever we hear," Heinkel told him and Ed nodded. "We're also looking at getting cash-in-hand jobs while we're here. Maybe in construction or some factory work. We've agreed to pay something weekly to cover our food and board," Heinkel said, sounding a little annoyed and Ed frowned.

"You guys don't have to do that. You can just take what you need out of my bank account," Ed told them but they both shook their heads.

"No, you'll pay for your medical care and whatnot. Trust me, that fee alone will make your account cry," Heinkel told him. "Besides, getting a job will be a good way for us to earn some cash to not only pay the doc but to also save to use when we're able to leave here," he said.

"We'll also be able to find out information easier on a job site," Darius added before Ed could protest.

"But won't people ask questions?" Ed asked and they both shook their head.

"No one will ask much more than where we're from and whether we're just travelling through the town," Heinkel assured him. "No one will care too much since it's not unusual to be paid cash for hard labour and it's very common for construction workers to move with the work."

Ed didn't look awfully convinced it was a good idea but he nodded. "If you guys think it's a good idea," Ed said. "Does the doctor want me to pay a weekly fee as well?" Ed asked, switching the subject.

"He did but we told him you couldn't," Heinkel said and Ed frowned, once again opening his mouth to remind them he had a bank account with money in it.

"You've likely been declared missing or a deserter," Darius informed him and Ed remembered Ayala telling him what Nala had said about his and Al's status. "That means you can enter a bank to withdraw money once with any hope of being able to skip town without being accosted by the military since they'll need to get a team together to investigate the bank. Any other time after that, you can bet each bank will have at least two soldiers tasked with keeping an eye out for you," Darius told him.

"We pointed that out to Doc and told him that you'd be paying him at the end of your stay here. That way you'll get as much time to heal as possible and you won't bring the military to their door because they couldn't wait to get paid," Heinkel told him and Ed noted the small smirk on the lion chimera's face as he seemed to be recalling the memory.

Ed sunk slightly where he sat and gave Ayala a pat in lieu of a voiced apology for upsetting how she was laying. "Thanks, guys," Ed said, voice as grateful as he could manage through the all too familiar exhaustion that was rapidly creeping up on him. The two chimeras seemed to notice as they put their chairs back where they'd gotten them from.

"Get some sleep, kid. We'll talk more later," Darius said and Ed nodded as he stifled a yawn.

Darius and Heinkel left the room moments later while Ed placed to his food tray in its usual spot, this time accompanied by the empty water glass. While he was doing that, Ayala jumped off the bed with a little regret but there really was no room for her on it and she couldn't force herself to try and fit on there because she knew she'd only hurt Ed in the process. Ed got himself comfortable on the bed, curling up on his right side as he always did and faced Ayala.

" _You're going to have to talk with Chester and Nala tomorrow. Maybe Leo and Soren, if you can manage it,"_  Ayala told him and Ed chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I know. I can feel them hovering in my mind," Ed told her. "I think I'm just gonna give them permission to look at my memories so they can see what happened for themselves. They can ask me whatever questions they want later that way," he said and Ayala thought it over.

" _Probably a good idea. It won't take as long to get through everything that way and you're always the most tired after dinner,"_  Ayala said finally and Ed didn't bother arguing. The amount of sleep he'd been getting the past near week had been more than he'd gotten in the last month and he knew he could expect to continue sleeping so much for the next week at least.

Decision made, Ed opened his mind to Chester, Nala, Soren and Leo. "I'm gonna get some more sleep but you guys are welcome to look at my memories of what happened and tell everyone else what happened. I'll answer your questions when I'm awake next," Ed told them.

" _Are you alright, Ed?"_  they all asked at almost the exact same time, creating an almost echoing effect in his mind.

"Yeah, just tired. It's gonna take a while to get over this one though," Ed said, giving them all what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Everyone seemed to accept the answer and they all backed off with the exception of Chester.

" _Your brother wants to talk to you,"_  Chester told him and Ed felt a pang of guilt. The two of them had never been separated for long, not since the night they'd tried bringing their mother back, and they certainly hadn't been away from each other for this long while Ed was injured.

"I don't know if it's a good idea for us to talk over the phone," Ed said slowly. "I don't think the people looking after me will let me use theirs and I'm in no shape to be looking for a phone booth. Besides, we have no idea if the military are watching Teacher and Sig or tracking their communication," Ed told him and felt a flash of guilt from Chester.

" _We're not heading to Izumi's,"_  Chester admitted when Ed asked.  _"We decided to head to an Ishvalen slum in the mountains near where we cracked the code. I spoke to Koda to let her know we'd be paying her a visit but she told us they wouldn't be in Dublith for very long. She acted as a messenger for Izumi and she agreed to detour on her trip to visit us in the slums,"_  Chester said before Ed could get riled up about Al still being in the snow.

"Why is she leaving Dublith?" Ed asked. Izumi and Sig had never discussed leaving Dublith. They were too well established in the town and their butchers shop was doing extremely well there.

" _She isn't leaving there permanently,"_  Chester said.  _"They met Hohenheim while shopping in a nearby town and he healed her, Ed. The price she paid for her failed transmutation was healed by your father,"_  Chester told him and Ed was stunned. He had no idea how to feel about that.  _"She and Sig agreed with the Animals when they suggested they take a vacation to celebrate. According to Koda, the military has been keeping an annoyingly close eye on them and both Animals feel like they shouldn't be anywhere near Dublith at the moment. They're leaving the shop in Mason and Jason's hands for however long they're away for,"_  Chester told him and Ed almost growled at the idea of the military harassing the Curtises.

"At least Mason and Jason will get some experience of what it's like to run the shop by themselves long term," Ed muttered. He knew Sig and Izumi had been discussing leaving the shop to Sig's nephew in their will. Mason and his chimpanzee both seemed to enjoy working in the shop so they were the best choice for who to pass it to. "Let me know when you guys catch up with Teacher. I'll try and talk to Koda and Suna while I'm stuck here to see what Teacher's plan is," Ed said, already worried about whether Koda was tracking him somehow and Izumi was on her way to lecture him for being stupid enough to fall for Kimblee's attack.

" _Will do,"_  Chester said.  _"Get some rest, Ed. I'll talk to you later today,"_  Chester told him and Ed nodded.

"Okay," Ed agreed. "I'll chat to you later. Look after yourselves," Ed instructed and Chester snorted.

" _I should be telling you that,"_  he teased and Ed mentally poked his tongue out.  _"Mature."_  The leopard rolled his eyes.

"You can talk," Ed muttered before the two said another goodbye and Chester disconnected. Ed felt his eyes droop and only surrendered to sleep when he'd given the four Animals he'd just spoken to access to his memories, trusting them to not dig any further than he wanted them to before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

When Ed woke up next, it was dark outside and there was a tray with lukewarm soup sitting next to him. A glance over at Ayala showed she was on her bed but there was a barely noticeable smell of coppery blood in the air that told him she'd been given her dinner. He sat up in bed, startling Ayala slightly, and grabbed his dinner, ignoring the pressing he could feel in his mind from the four Animals he'd opened his memories to. Ed had no plans of ignoring them all night but he certainly didn't want to be interrogated until after he'd eaten his dinner before it got any colder.

Once he was done with it, Ed placed the bowl back on the tray and sipped at the water before he leaned back against the wall and allowed Ayala up on the bed. Once she was settled as close to him as she could get, Ed relaxed and allowed Nala, Chester, Soren and Leo to start talking with him. "So I imagine you have questions," he said, a little lamely but he wasn't sure anything he said would make what they saw in his memories any better.

" _Just a few,"_  Chester snarled and Ed barely stopped himself from flinching.  _"You got impaled and were mere moments away from death and you figured telling us not to worry about you would go down well, didn't you?"_

Ed winced guiltily and found himself really glad the leopard wasn't in the room with him. "I'd hoped that you would be a little calmer since you've known I'm gonna make a full recovery for days once you saw my memories," Ed admitted and Chester growled.

" _You. Were._ Impaled! _"_  Chester grounded out, adding special emphasis to the last word.

"Technically, I have been impaled before," Ed quipped and quickly kept speaking when he swore he  _felt_  Chester's growl, "but never this bad and I get your point. I'm sorry, Ches," Ed said, making sure he sounded as apologetic as he was. It seemed to calm the leopard down just enough for one of the other Animals to be able to get a question in of their own.

" _Edward, are you alright?"_  Nala asked, the emotion in her voice almost overwhelming the blonde.

"I'm better," he told her honestly. "The doctor looking after me thinks I won't be leaving here until spring though," Ed told her.

" _You were hurt that badly?"_  Chester asked, voice stricken and Ed gave a nod.

"Yeah, this time," Ed paused for a moment, "this time it was really close. If Ayala hadn't…" he trailed off, letting himself start getting lost in the likeliest outcome.

" _Ed,"_  Nala whispered, horrified by how close they'd come to losing him.

" _But Ayala did help and you're getting the medical help you need. You'll be on your feet in no time, ready to continue kicking homunculous arse,"_  Soren said firmly, forcing them to remember that Ed was on the road to recovery.  _"How did Ayala manage to help?"_  Soren asked, forcing a slight change in the subject and Ed shrugged.

"I'm not actually too sure to be honest. I had planned on using my life force as a make-shift Philosopher's Stone, sacrificing a few years of my life to heal myself but Ayala beat me to it," Ed told them. "We haven't actually discussed what happened with each other yet."

" _Ayala? What did you do?"_  Chester asked, making sure Ed could still hear him as he addressed the wolf currently laying at Ed's feet.

" _I'm still not positive how I did it but I somehow took control of my healing energy and used it on Ed,"_  Ayala told them and it was almost humourous at how in sync their shocked gasps were in Ed's mind.  _"It was an instinct I'd never felt before but, as I'm sure you saw, it created the same silver glow that had appeared when Ed and I initiated our bond. I couldn't heal him completely and I think it was because that instinct was triggered by how close Ed was to death. It healed the worst of his injuries enough that Darius and Heinkel could get us to the doctor and help,"_  Ayala explained.

" _That's fascinating,"_  Soren said, completely in awe.  _"I wonder if you were able to do so because of how strong your bond is. It certainly sounds like this injury was catastrophic enough to be the trigger event for this new ability,"_  Soren mused.

" _That's what I thought as well,"_  Ayala told the owl.  _"There is a drawback though,"_  she told them.  _"My energy isn't recovering as quickly as it should be if I had been the one healed with it,"_  she revealed and Ed startled slightly before looking inwards and realising that Ayala was absolutely correct. Her energy was nowhere near the levels it should've been by now.

"I guess it's a good thing you've got so much energy, hey?" Ed said, trying to cover his worry as best as he could with some humour.

" _Considering your first move after me healing you was to heal me? Yeah, it definitely is,"_  Ayala gently berated him and he gave her a sheepish grin.

" _Seriously, Ed?"_  Chester asked, sounding completely unsurprised at having heard what Ayala said.

"What? She had a broken leg! I couldn't have left her like that, especially considering how long I ended up being unconscious for," Ed grumbled as Ayala rolled her eyes affectionately.

" _We're just teasing, Ed. I'm really happy you were able to heal my leg immediately. Broken limbs are never fun,"_  Ayala said, reaching up from where she lay to manoeuvre his flesh hand so it lay on top of her head.

" _Maes wants me to tell you that as soon as the homunculi are dealt with, you're never leaving his sight again,"_  Leo said, speaking for the first time since Ed had contacted them.  _"Gracia isn't even trying to pretend she's not thinking the exact same thing."_

"Yeah, I guess I probably should've figured you guys told your humans," Ed said, grimacing slightly at just how everyone, especially Al and the Hughes' took the news. Suddenly, he was extremely grateful he had no clue where they were being looked after.

" _You're damned right we did,"_  Chester told him.  _"Al was ready to track you down when you got hurt and I couldn't tell him much more than my suspicions and what little Ayala told us before she passed out. But when I told him what your memories had shown me, it took the combined efforts of me, Mei and Doctor Marcoh to stop him from trying to hunt you down himself."_

" _It was the same deal with Maes,"_  Leo told them.  _"He was dead-set on ordering his entire department to start looking for any sign of you before Gracia and I convinced him to hold off. Then he went to work the next day and I felt him considering it again so I asked Nala to have Roy intervene, which he did just in time thankfully, by reminding him that you were now considered a deserter and that every soldier would be issued the order to arrest you on sight,"_  Leo said. Ed raised his brow in surprise that Mustang would've bothered reminding Hughes of that.

" _He doesn't want to see you arrested, Ed. We keep telling you that he truly does care for you. More than he should for a subordinate,"_  Nala told him and Ed hadn't been able to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the familiar words. He felt like it was an old game between him and most of the other Animals where they'd try to convince him that Mustang cared for him as more than a career maker. There had been moments where Ed would admit that sometimes he started to believe the Animals – like when he'd set the alchemic trap for Philosopher's Stones around the Hughes' house or when Nala had told him about Mustang's warnings regarding Kimblee – but then Mustang would normally say or do something that confirmed his own beliefs of where he stood with the Flame Alchemist.  _"Ed, you should've seen his reaction when I told him you and Ayala were hurt and that I couldn't get through to either of you. He was seriously worried. I don't even know how he managed to get any of his work done because his thoughts were on whether or not he could do anything to find you and help you,"_  Nala told him and Ed felt his skin prickle uncomfortably as it heated up at how genuine her words were.

" _Even I can tell he cares for you as much as Maes does. Maes can just show it more than Mustang can,"_  Leo said, joining in on the subject change.  _"I could hear it in his voice as he talked Maes out of looking for you. He would've absolutely tried to find you himself to make sure you were alright with his own eyes if he could've done so without tipping Bradley off."_

Though he was enjoying the fact that Ed was finally realising what they'd been telling him for the past five or so years, Chester wanted a question answered.  _"Who are the two others with you? Darius and Heinkel?"_

"Oh, they're the other two chimeras Kimblee brought with him. They'd tried to fight me and Ayala while Kimblee tried to track you guys down but we won when we created ammonia with some old dynamite," Ed told him, far happier with the change in subject than he would ever admit. "When Kimblee collapsed the mine shaft, they were caught up in it. They took offence to the fact that he hadn't bothered to stop the collapse from taking them," Ed said.

" _So why are they helping you? No offence, Ed, but it's not like all of our enemies suddenly switch sides just because their boss didn't care if they lived or not,"_  Chester said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, but I did then save them from being crushed by debris when I woke up the second time after the shaft collapsed," Ed told him. "I needed them to help me remove the piece of support beam still inside me, as you saw," Ed said and felt the four of them nodding. "They told me and Ayala this afternoon that they hadn't counted their debt to me cleared just because they helped Ayala heal me a little, hence why they brought us here. I told them about everything we've uncovered, and I mean  _everything_ ," Ed revealed. He felt the four expected reactions of shock and worry if he'd done the right thing. "They've both decided to stay with me and Ayala until the doctor releases me and to fight alongside us when it's time."

" _Well, we'll be happy for their help,"_  Soren said before anyone else could say anything.  _"We need all the allies we can get and another two chimeras who can take a beating and get back up will definitely be welcome."_

" _I'll let Roy know about them, just in case,"_  Nala said, obviously agreeing with Soren's statement and Leo echoed her promise to tell his human.

" _I'll tell Al. I'm sure Zampano and Jerso will be happy to hear about what happened to the rest of their unit,"_  Chester said and Ed nodded in agreement.

"Darius and Heinkel were happy to find out the two of them had survived and escaped Baschool with you guys," Ed told him. "Hey, so how did Al and the others manage to decipher that code?" Ed asked when no one else seemed to be about to say anything.

" _Actually, it was Mei who first figured out what we needed to do to try and that we needed to break the journal's bindings and sort through the papers to do so,"_  Chester said before regaling Ed with the tale of how they managed to decode Scar's brother's notes and what they revealed. He made sure he didn't leave anything out since he knew Ed would appreciate the details and he made sure to include what role Yoki played in helping them find the second array.

"Well, I guess he wasn't completely useless," Ed chuckled when Chester had finished telling him everything before he sobered. "So we have something that will help us combat Father's alchemy without affecting our own," Ed said, relief in his voice. "So long as we survive long enough to be able to use it to get the advantage," he added gloomily.

" _Pessimistic much?"_  Ayala said and Ed shrugged but didn't deny it.

" _As long as your father manages to get his countermeasures for the array in order before the fight, we stand a very, very good chance of winning this, Ed. Don't forget that,"_  Chester reminded him and Ed didn't bother stopping his snort.

"Forgive me if I don't put much faith in the man who abandoned me and Al for over a decade because he didn't realise 12 years had passed by," Ed almost snarled, causing Ayala to flatten her ears to her head as she whined in sympathy at him. Ed reached over to scratch her ears almost absentmindedly as he mentally scowled at his father, more annoyed that the living Philosopher's Stone wasn't there for him to yell out. Or punch in the face. Ed wasn't fussy either way.

" _Your brother says you aren't allowed to hit your father when you see him next,"_  Chester informed Ed. The blonde scowled at the leopard but his demeanour was softened by the feeling of solidarity coming from Chester. He knew Chester would likely try and keep Al from trying to stop Ed if they had the misfortune of seeing Hohenheim together before they had to fight the homunculous.

"What Al doesn't know won't hurt him," Ed muttered and Chester snorted softly. The talk of Hohenheim, however, had the almost unfortunate side effect of reminding Ed that Calix likely felt everything the other Animals had, though in a more dulled capacity. It also reminded Ed that Calix still hadn't passed along Hohenheim's theory on how Father could turn off alchemy and since he did promise the two, he knew he would have to talk to Calix, if only to get an answer about Father and to tell them about the homunculous at Fort Briggs.

" _What's wrong, Ed?"_  Nala asked, having unsurprisingly picked up on the blonde's emotions and he sighed.

"Just realised I'll have to talk with Calix to bring him up to speed," Ed told them sullenly. He felt some amusement from everyone he was talking – something he wasn't impressed about – but he also felt their understanding and sympathy.

" _We'll leave you alone to do so, Ed,"_  Nala said, sounding reluctant to do so.  _"But I want you to contact me every day, you understand? I won't accept any reason except death and even then I will bring you back so I can lecture you,"_  Nala threatened, sounding so stern that Ed almost laughed.

" _I'll help her,"_  Leo and Soren said at the same time and Ed could feel Chester nodding very enthusiastically in agreement.

" _Al has also ordered me to inform you that he expects daily updates from you,"_  Chester told him and Ed just knew that Chester would've said the same thing without Al's prodding.

"I will," Ed promised, "and if I somehow forget, I know Ayala will remind me," he said and Ayala made sure her willingness to do so was felt by everyone.

" _Alright,"_  Nala said, obviously feeling a little better about saying goodnight now that she had both Ed and Ayala's promise.  _"Good night, Ed. Heal quickly and keep safe."_

"I will, Nala. Don't let Mustang boss you around too much," Ed said, giving the lioness a mental smile.

" _Never have and I have no plans on starting now,"_  Nala informed him with a chuckle that had Ed giving a real grin.

" _Stay out of trouble,"_  Leo told him.  _"Maes and Gracia both want me to tell you that Elysia wants you home as soon as possible,"_  he added after a pause.

"That's rude. Using Elysia as a bribe," Ed faux scoffed before softening as he felt Lilith rub up against his mind with her worry and love. "I'll try and get back home before too long," Ed promised and the two grey foxes accepted it with a significant increase in happiness.

" _Riza wants me to wish you a speedy recovery and that she hopes you're back on your feet soon. She also wants me to tell you that you're not allowed to do anything like this to yourself ever again or she'll be extremely disappointed,"_  Soren dutifully passed along and Ed felt a slight flush crawl up his neck at the blatant display of worry Hawkeye was showing, even if it was through Soren.

"You can tell her to relax because I have absolutely no plans to go through anything like this again," Ed told him, completely honest. "Also, thank you for her well-wishes," Ed instructed though he made sure to be polite about it since Soren wasn't his Animal and his human was one of the few humans Ed truly respected above all others.

" _We'll talk to you later, Ed,"_  Chester said, sounding as reluctant as Nala was about disconnecting from the blonde.  _"Al says you have to listen to your doctor about everything, even if he tells you to drink milk,"_  Chester told him and Ed's face screwed up in disgust.

"Not on your life will I drink that vile liquid," Ed spat like the very idea was sacrilege. His reaction caused the five Animals to laugh at him and he made sure all of them knew how displeased he was with that.

While they were still feeling the humour from Ed's muttered curses about milk, the four Animals said another goodbye, making sure Ed was reminded of his promise to keep in contact with them. Ed would've raised a fuss about their mother-henning but he found himself promising them all again to speak with them the next day and every day after that, touched by their insistence on hearing from him every day, before they finally disconnected from him, leaving him with just Ayala predominately in his mind. Ed sighed as he felt the others retreat and he swallowed the last of the water from his cup as Ayala jumped from the bed to settle on her own, as had become their new nightly routine.

" _Are you going to talk to Calix tonight?"_  Ayala asked as she watched Ed get settled back on his mattress, fully preparing himself to go to sleep immediately.

"No," Ed said. "I'll talk to him after breakfast." Ayala likely would've tried coaxing him into getting it over and done with now but she could see how much the talk with the four Animals had taken out of him so she left it. "Remind me tomorrow to ask Rachel to have Falman send my gear at Fort Briggs back down to Central and to ask Leo to have Hughes pick it up," Ed requested, eyes already closed and Ayala nodded.

" _I will,"_  she promised. Ed muttered something that Ayala couldn't make out before he drifted off to sleep and Ayala grinned at her human in amusement before she allowed herself to do the same.

* * *

As Ayala had promised the previous night, she reminded Ed about contacting Rachel and Leo in regard to the stuff he'd left at Fort Briggs. The stingray had promised him that Falman would take his suitcase with him the next time he was sent to North City for any reason and Leo had sworn that Maes would head out to pick it up when Rachel told him so he could tell his human. Ed had thanked them and spent a few minutes talking primarily with Rachel, mainly assuring the stingray he really was okay and that he was expected to make a full recovery. He'd ended the conversation by giving the stingray his word that he'd make sure he spoke to her at least once a week, if not more. Leo had ended his connection with Ed with a reminder of his promise to the grey fox that had Ed rolling his eyes but nodded to acknowledge his promise once more.

" _You should speak to Calix,"_  Ayala said once Ed had finished his breakfast of chicken broth and orange juice.

Ed immediately screwed up his face in annoyance but let out a relenting sigh as he nodded. "Yeah, might as well get it over and done with," Ed said, sounding about as thrilled as Ayala was expecting. Ed reached for the bond he had with the Percheron stallion and sent a message. "There's some things I need to bring you up to speed on,"Ed told the horse, who immediately responded.

" _Ed! Are you alright?"_  Calix asked, worry undiluted in his voice. Ed wasn't sure how he felt about that since he was still pissed off with Hohenheim and didn't want the man or his Animal to care enough about him to be so worried but on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel happy that Calix, at the very least, was that concerned for him.

"I'm fine. Just got in a fight with a lunatic armed with two stones and didn't come out of it as the victor," Ed told him. His words didn't seem to calm the horse down and he sighed before elaborating. "I got impaled through the side with a support beam but Ayala managed to save my life and two new allies got me and Ayala to a doctor who'll keep his mouth shut. I'm stuck here for a good month at least but I'm fine," Ed stressed the last word and Calix must've picked up on how little patience he had to deal with another Animal fussing over him.

" _We're really glad you're alright, Ed. Your father was worried about you. He'd planned on heading back north once he'd finished placing the next lot of countermeasures to try and find you,"_  Calix told him and Ed had to force himself to not snort in disbelief. He felt Calix's sadness at the fact that Ed didn't believe him but the horse didn't try and push the matter.  _"What happened to the person who attacked you?"_  Calix asked, moving the subject along so he could continue speaking with Ed.

"He escaped unharmed and continued with his plan to bled Fort Briggs. He sacrificed a troop of Drachmann soldiers to do so," Ed told him, sadness at being unable to stop the killing filling his voice. "He's probably hunting Scar down again now," he added, "but Al and Chester know what he looks and smells like so they'll keep an eye out for him so they can warn the group."

" _So the homunculi have managed to bleed the necessary points,"_  Calix said and Ed nodded.

"They've also completed the underground array," Ed told him. "It's why we were at Fort Briggs when Kimblee was there. The homunculous who had been digging the tunnels dug his way out of Fort Briggs. The homunculous was dealt with by General Armstrong and a few other soldiers. Since they couldn't kill it, they poured fuel over it and forced it outside the fortress, freezing it in place," Ed told Calix. "One of the Animals I'm bonded to alerted me while we were still in North City about what had happened and told me that General Armstrong wanted me to head for the fortress so I could deal with the homunculous," Ed said. "I destroyed it so there's one less homunculous for us to deal with now." Ed couldn't help but remember the feeling he got from the stone as he spoke and Calix noticed but was quick to realise that the blonde likely wouldn't appreciate him asking about it. "We also identified the last homunculous Gluttony told us about. Selim Bradley is a homunculous who can use the shadows," he revealed.

" _Thank you for telling us,"_ Calix said.  _"We'll keep our senses open so we aren't taken by surprise."_

"Yeah, well, I did promise that I'd tell you about anything that you needed to know," Ed grumbled. "Besides, I remembered last night that you and Hohenheim still haven't given me your theory on how the fuck the original homunculous was able to use alchemy," Ed said, moving the subject along once more.

" _Sorry, Edward. I didn't realise I hadn't done that yet,"_  Calix said, sounding genuinely apologetic about it.  _"We think he's utilising Philosopher's Stones that are buried under the surface of the earth. We're not completely certain because Van would need to witness Homunculous using his alchemy firsthand to be sure. If we're right, this means that Homunculous has far more stones available to him than we originally thought,"_  Calix told him and Ed swore.

"It's already draining enough to set up my array to cover a single house to destroy a stone. There's no way I can power it to cover the whole of Amestris," Ed said. "We're just going to have to leave the stones alone to deal with later," Ed said, not liking the idea one bit. They were weapons in the hands of the homunculous. Not to mention, Ed didn't like the idea of abandoning the souls trapped in them to be used for the homunculous' gain.

" _Van doesn't want you to worry about that. He has a plan but he can't use it until closer to when the homunculi make their move. He doesn't want to tip them to the fact that there's an array out there that will destroy a stone,"_  Calix told him. Once again, Ed had mixed feelings. He didn't want to leave it to Hohenheim to do since he didn't trust the man to keep his word and he wasn't happy about leaving the souls trapped for who knew how long but on the other hand, if there was one person who could pull off something like that without killing himself in the effort, it was someone like Hohenheim.

"Alright," Ed agreed, still not happy but accepting that it was the best way to go. "That's everything on my end that I needed to tell you about. What about you?"

" _We've set up all the countermeasures so we're ready whenever the homunculous decide to initiate their plan,"_  Calix told him.  _"We're actually heading to Liore right now so Van can investigate the tunnel for himself. We ran into a woman a few days ago who had committed human transmutation as well. She told us you were her students,"_  Calix said.

"Yeah, she's heading to where Al is to tell him what happened and so he can tell her everything that's happened with us since we last saw her,"Ed told him, cutting off anything Calix was planning on telling him about that meeting.

" _Oh, good. We'd hoped she wouldn't be returning to Dublith to stay there after that. Not with the military activity we saw around her. Van thinks that if they're keeping an eye on those who are considered sacrifices so closely now, it can't be too much longer before the homunculi are ready to activate that array,"_ Calix told him and Ed nodded. He'd been thinking the same thing, if he was being honest.

"Alright, well if that's all you needed to tell me, I'm gonna cut the connection," Ed told the grey horse.

" _It is,"_  Calix confirmed.  _"We really glad you're alright. Both of us are. Stay safe, alright?"_  Calix said and Ed gave a silent nod.

"Yeah, you guys too. Can't afford to have you dead before you can help us fight the homunculi," Ed grumbled, resolutely ignoring the pleased feeling he could feel coming from the horse.

" _We will. I'll let you know what we find in Liore,"_  Calix promised and Ed gave a short, mental nod before disconnecting from the conversation without any further words said.

" _That wasn't too bad,"_  Ayala said after a couple of moments.  _"At least you were able to get some information from them."_

"Yeah, true," Ed said as he shifted on his bed slightly.

Darius and Heinkel had gone out that morning to try and find work and Ed had given them every cent he still had on him so they could go to a bookstore at some time to buy him some books since he was stuck in bed and couldn't do it himself. Until they came back though – and Ed wasn't expecting them until after lunch at the earliest – he was stuck with just his thoughts and Ayala to distract him for the most part. He knew he could annoy the other Animals he was bonded to but he didn't really want to try and talk with them so soon after speaking with Calix and, to a certain degree, Hohenheim. He couldn't guarantee that his feelings from talking to them wouldn't bleed through into their conversation and he didn't want to have to explain what he was feeling to them.

" _How much do you want to bet that Hughes has started his own investigation into finding out where you are?"_  Ayala asked, offering Ed something else to think about.

Ed grinned at the thought. "Yeah, that's an easy bet to win. That man does not like not knowing where everyone is," Ed said with a laugh. Suddenly, Ed felt a presence in his mind that he'd only felt a couple of times. "Anahlia?"

" _Yes,"_  the snake answered.  _"Can you receive memories as part of your bond with another Animal?"_  she asked and Ed nodded, still confused.

No sooner had he'd done so, his mind filled with images from Anahlia's memories and Ed felt horror crawl up his throat as he took the sight in. Anahlia had been – or still was, since Ed didn't know when she'd seen this – in a long, dark room with General Armstrong and another general Ed didn't know. The man had a hyena as his Animal but that was something Ed barely noticed. Anahlia was looking around the room and taking in the sight of hundreds, if not thousands, of white humanoids attached to machines, lined up in rows like they were in a factory. The creatures were white, not pale-skinned like Gracia or Hawkeye but  _white_  like hospital sheets, with red lines that reminded Ed of the markings on the homunculi that started on their collarbones and ran up in a straight line through their mouth, around their cheekbones and around the single eye they had in the centre of their forehead. The creatures hung upside down with their mouths gaping open and eyes closed and all of them looked extremely malnourished. Not one of them moved but Ed felt himself wanting to throw up at the fact that military had created these things for some horrible purpose.

"What the  _hell_  are they?" Ed asked, gasping slightly as he forced the memory share to stop. He knew it was too late and that he'd have that image forever scarred into his mind but he couldn't look at them a moment longer. He'd shared it with Ayala at the same time and her disgust was singing through their bond, making the situation both a little better and a little worse.

He thought he felt some sympathy from Anahlia but it was gone before he could be sure.  _"That's the immortal army Raven spoke of,"_  Anahlia told him.  _"They will be filled with a Philosopher's Stone created by the people already slaughtered for the homunculi's plans and from the Amestrian people when they are sacrificed. Those souls and how they were created will make them indestructible."_

"This is their endgame?" Ed asked, whispering as Ayala curled up into him, careful of his wounds but knowing he needed her there. Anahlia gave a nod through the bond and Ed heaved in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. "Did the generals give any hint as to when this plan would happen?" Ed asked.

" _No,"_  Anahlia told him.  _"Olivier and I are of the opinion that they don't know. Possibly so they can't tell anyone when it'll happen, just in case someone like Mustang overhears them,"_  Anahlia said, hissing slightly when she said Mustang's name.

"Okay," Ed said, still working on calming himself down. "I take it the generals and Bradley accepted General Armstrong into their circle with no issues," Ed said.

" _She told them the truth,"_  Anahlia revealed.  _"Olivier told them Raven had told her everything after she expressed interest in the 'monster who'd attacked Fort Briggs and left with not a scratch on him' and that she'd killed Raven and Bella so she could have his seat at the inner circle. Bradley interrogated her but ultimately decided to give her the empty seat while expressing his delight to have her on their side,"_  Anahlia reported and Ed shook his head.

"Well, the plan worked so that's good," Ed said with a sigh. "Thanks for telling me about this," he said to the snake.

" _We did promise to keep you informed of what we thought you needed to know,"_  Anahlia told him.  _"I assume you're still expected to make a full recovery,"_  she said and Ed nodded.

"I'll be out of action for about a month or so but, yes, I will be back on my feet with no lingering health problems," Ed told her. Anahlia gave a simple mental nod at his words before disconnecting in much the same manner as he'd done to Calix just minutes earlier. "Guess I'll be talking to everyone a little earlier than I'd planned," Ed said to Ayala, who nodded.

" _I can't believe the military made those things,"_  she said, still in shock over the images she'd seen and Ed nodded in agreement.

"Me neither but I'm glad Anahlia told us about them. At least we can expect them during the fight," Ed said.

" _Yeah. I don't think I would've liked to have been taken by surprise by those running at me,"_  she told him, a small amount of humour in her voice.

"Same," Ed agreed, matching her humour before he concentrated on his bonds with Animals who would be joining them in the fight, including the one with Calix. "I've just been shown something I think all of you need to see. Fair warning, it's a bit unsettling," he warned them before sharing the memory Anahlia had shared with him, bracing himself for the reactions he knew he would get as he did so.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since Ed had shared the images and news of the mannequins – as Ed had decided to call them since they weren't truly alive, human or homunculi and they didn't have any strings so they couldn't be called puppets or marionettes – with all of the Animals he decided needed to know about them. Chester and Al had been as appalled as Ed and Ayala were and they'd spent nearly two hours discussing this new information and what they could do about them if they were brought online for the fight. When Ed and Ayala had stepped away from the conversation so they could bring others up to speed in more detail, Chester and Al had gotten their group together and told them everything.

Marcoh, Mei and the chimeras had been disgusted with the news, Yoki had acted like they'd told him the mannequins would be programmed to hunt him down while Scar had taken the news with a nod and the slightest clenching on his jaw and fists, the only signs of his anger. To Al's surprise, Scar hadn't made a snide comment about the way the military was using alchemy to further pervert the world as his gods had built it. Chester had suggested they tell Koda and Suna, and through them, Izumi and Sig but Al reminded him that Ed had likely already done so and if he hadn't, they could tell them in person when they turned up.

The arrival of the Curtises happened only a couple of days later. Al, Chester and Mei were out in the small village, helping the Ishvalen refugees who'd settled there after the war with whatever they could around their homes. Yoki was unwillingly keeping the younger Ishvalen children occupied while Marcoh and the chimeras offered their assistance with anything medical or construction related. Scar has speaking with the elders of the village, explaining what was happening to Amestris at this time, the plan they'd formed so far and why he was planning on helping Amestris after his actions the past couple of years and what Amestris had done to Ishval.

The first sign Chester and Al got of their arrival was the change in the refugees. There was an almost nervous tension in the air but mostly they were picking up on a cautious curiosity. The next sign they got was when the wind shifted enough for Chester to pick up on their scents. Despite his warnings, Al was still taken by surprise when Koda came out of nowhere and wrapped the armour in a massive hug. Mei had let out a surprised yelp when Koda nearly trod on her in her haste to get to Alphonse. The scene brought out quite a few spectators, including Marcoh and the chimeras, who had been drawn by the noise.

"Hi, Koda," Al said happily as he twisted in the bear's arms to hug her back. One good thing about how tall he stood now was that he could give Koda these kinds of hugs, which he knew the bear delighted in. "How have you been?"

" _She says she's been good and that she's been very happy in the last couple of days thanks to your father,"_  Chester dutifully past along as he watched the two, a smile on his face.

"There you are," a familiar voice snapped and Al and Koda separated to see Izumi stomping towards them, a glare on her face. Chester could sense the fear and apprehension Al was feeling as the dreadlocked woman headed for them. Sig and Suna were following at a more sedate pace, though the size of Sig had some of the Ishvalens looking a little worried.

"Teacher!" Al said in greeting as Koda made her way to join her human. Al heard a clang and watched as Izumi's shoe fell to the ground in front of him after it hit his chest.

"What's this I hear about your idiot brother getting himself blown up?" Izumi demanded as Suna grabbed her shoe, gave Al a brush with his tail in hello and brought it back to her. She gave the golden retriever a pat in thanks, her glare never leaving Al.

"Alphonse?" Mei asked, getting the attention of everyone, her face looking at Izumi with awe and fear. "Who is this formidable woman?"

"Sorry, Mei," Al apologised before gesturing to Izumi. "This is mine and Edward's teacher. She taught us everything we know about alchemy, survival skills, weapon and hand-to-hand combat and numerous other things," Al said before looking up at Izumi. "Teacher, this is Mei and Xao-Mei Chang. She's a princess of Xing here searching for the Philosopher's Stone so she can save her clan."

"Pleasure to meet you, Princess Mei," Izumi said, giving the young girl a gentle, genuine smile before turning her gaze back onto Al, face hardening back into a glare. "You haven't answered my question yet, Alphonse," she reminded him sharply and Al flinched.

"He went up against an insane alchemist who had two stones. Ed didn't know about the second one and the alchemist got the better of him," Al told her. "He had a support beam go through his left side but he got help and he's expected to make a full recovery in about a month's time." Izumi didn't look surprised to hear it and Al wasn't expecting her to since he knew Ed had spoken to Koda but he wasn't expecting her to look as stricken as she did. Sig couldn't even see her face but he wrapped an arm around her in support. Izumi gave him an adoring smile before looking back at Alphonse.

"I want a fully detailed report," Izumi informed him and Al nodded immediately. "However, I have some news for you first," she said. "I met your father a few days ago."

"Koda told us," Al said with a nod to the bear. "She said he healed you?" Al asked and watched in shock as instead of berating him for interrupting her like he expected, Izumi and Sig shared a soft, delighted smile.

"He did," Izumi said, the smile not wavering even as she turned to face Al once more. "He used his stone to heal what Truth took from me. I'm no longer suffering the effects I had been."

"That's amazing, Teacher! I'm really happy that you're healthy again," Al said, wishing he could give her a smile to show just how delighted he truly was on her behalf.

"Thank you, Alphonse," Izumi said, her voice a lot gentler than it usually was when she spoke to either him or Ed.

" _Tell her I'm glad she's healed as well,"_  Chester demanded and Al did as he was asked.

"Thank you, Chester." Izumi gave him a smile that matched Sig's. "Your father mentioned he would be heading towards Liore soon so he could investigate the tunnel he believes has been dug underneath it," Izumi told Alphonse. "I believe he has plans to be there for a little while but he did ask me to let you know if we happened to see each other."

"Thanks for telling me, Teacher," Al said. He was already planning on finding ways to convince the group to either join him on the journey to Liore or let him and Chester go by themselves. Al knew Ed would not be impressed when they found out what they were doing and Al did feel bad about going behind his brother's back like this, especially when Ed was too injured to try and stop him, but he refused to let himself feel guilty about it. He had every right to meet his father and form his own opinion of the man and Ed couldn't keep him from doing so forever.

"You're welcome," Izumi said. Her expression turned threatening and furious a split second later. "Now tell me everything you two idiots have done since I last saw you so I know just how badly I need to kick your arses!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Al stammered before doing exactly what he'd been told to do. Another upside of his body was the fact he didn't need to breathe so he didn't have to pause as he told Izumi about everything that had happened in between her visit to Central after Al and Chester's first encounter with Greed and Ed and Ayala's fight with Archer and Drew and her turning up in the slum they were staying in right now. Mei took it upon herself to add small bits of what role she'd had when she could and Izumi had listened politely. It took several minutes but he finally got to the end of his report. "Ed spoke to Chester yesterday and they're both doing good for the moment. The chimeras with Ed and Ayala both found jobs and they've agreed to bring Ed newspapers and books when they can after their shifts," Al told her before going quiet as he waited for her to process everything he'd told her.

"Right," Izumi said after a couple of moments. "I'd like to ask you more questions about alkahestry later, Mei," she said and Mei nodded happily in agreement. "As for you," Izumi said, snapping her attention back to Al and Chester, "I have many questions about all of that then I will be teaching you both a lesson about confronting the most powerful homunculous by yourselves," she informed them, her eyes blazing angrily.

"Yes, Teacher," Al said meekly, accepting his fate as Mei invited the Curtises into the small shack the Ishvalens had been nice enough to let them use for the few days they planned on staying in the slums.

Chester brushed against their bond with encouragement and solidarity as they followed the group into the little shack and Al silently thanked his leopard. It was a little easier knowing he wouldn't be alone in the beat down he was about to receive from the irate woman walking in front of him. Al just hoped Ed didn't run into her until after he was fully healed because he knew that the same fate awaited his older brother and his wolf. Al knew Izumi would take his injuries into consideration but if she decided they weren't that bad, she wouldn't hold back on him and Al really didn't want his brother to break his record on how quickly he had to be hospitalised after being released from one. He felt Chester's amusement and shook his head at the leopard before he sat on the dirt floor and let Izumi start her interrogation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically it's very early Sunday morning here so I can post the latest chapter before I go to sleep! I would just absolutely love it if I could wake up in the morning and see my email inbox filled to the brim with reviews from everyone telling me what they thought to this chapter and the story as a whole so far! See ya'll next week!


	41. Chapter 41

_One month, three weeks later…_

Al, Chester, Yoki, Jerso and Zampano walked into Liore with a small amount of nervousness on Al's behalf. Last time he'd visited the town, it had been peaceful only to have that peace turned upside down when he, Ed, Ayala and Chester had revealed Father Cornello for the fraud he was. They'd managed to leave town before it could get over the shock only to find out a few months later from Hughes that riots had broken out in the town and the military had been sent in to try and calm everything down. Judging from the amount of rebuilding still to do, the riots had only died down in the last couple of months and Al couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

"There's a restaurant up ahead. If it's still operational, we can see about getting some food or drinks from it," Al said, hoping Dave's restaurant and Dave himself had managed to come through the riots in one piece. The man and his Animal, Mick, had been very kind to them when they'd first arrived to investigate the reports of the 'miracles' being performed in Liore.

"About time," Yoki grumbled as he dragged his feet from behind the rest of them. His goldfish had swum around his head and nudged his cheek in an effort to cheer him up or encourage him to keep going. Al wasn't entirely sure since he couldn't read the fish's mind or movements.

Al did feel a little sorry for the disgraced lieutenant-colonel. It was obvious the man wasn't used to living on the street, fending for himself or trying to keep out of sight. However, Al also felt an immense amount of annoyance towards Yoki. He'd been living this way for years, ever since he and Ed had gotten the man dishonourably discharged from the military, so he'd had plenty of time to try and adjust to the change in his circumstances and the constant whining and moaning was getting on everyone's nerves. Al had been forced to stop Zampano and Jerso from knocking Yoki out more than once during their journey from the Ishvalen slums to Liore. It was getting harder for Al to ignore Chester's whispers to just leave Yoki behind one night but Alphonse could never do that to the man. Besides, they couldn't guarantee that Yoki wouldn't immediately sell them out to the military in exchange for some money if they did abandon him.

Their journey from the nameless slum they'd taken refuge in after they'd separated from Ed and Ayala and after they'd deciphered the notes that gave them the array to reverse the nationwide one had been long and arduous. They'd stayed in the slums for nearly two weeks after Izumi, Sig and their Animals had visited before they continued their way into the mountains for a 'vacation' that would last until the day the homunculi were going to activate their plans. Ed had been given the date by Calix, who had found out from Hohenheim after he'd investigated the entrance into the tunnel in Liore and was confronted by Pride, as the homunculous had called himself. Though Hohenheim hadn't seen anyone human in the tunnel, the fact that it was the shadows who spoke with him told the man that Pride was Selim Bradley and gave him some ideas on his powers.

Pride had evidently given Hohenheim a warning to keep himself out of trouble since the Promised Day was soon. With a couple of carefully worded questions and comments, Hohenheim had gotten the specific day from the homunculous and had immediately told Calix to tell Ed, according to what Ed heard from the horse. It was a little panic-inducing to find out that the end of their world was going to happen mid-spring on the day of the eclipse but Ed had managed to calm Al down enough by pointing out that they  _had_  a date now and could start forming a real plan because of it. It was a little startling for Ed to be the optimistic one in that situation and Al still joked that that was the reason he had snapped out of his panic.

After they decided to move on from the slum, partly to keep going to try and gather more information and put their own plans into effect and partly because they knew they were costing the people there their resources and endangering them, they headed for the nearby town of Pefesy. Al had protested when Zampano and Jerso had gone into town while the rest of them skirted it only to have the chimeras appear on the other side of it in a stolen car. Marcoh had then pointed out that while Al would be able to walk non-stop to Liore, the rest of them couldn't and taking a car was the only way they wouldn't be noticed while making good time. Al had finally put aside his discomfort when Chester chimed in by reminding him that the less time they spent walking, the less chance there was that they would be spotted by a farmer or traveller and reported to the military.

They'd taken their time travelling in the car as much as they could. Zampano was behind the wheel and had been asked by Mei why they weren't going any faster than the speed limit. The boar chimera had pointed out that the best way to stay unnoticed by people was to abide by every law. No one would remember the car going past them if they weren't speeding or driving too slowly. If people didn't see anything interesting, they couldn't gossip about it which meant the military wouldn't be given a tip that would lead them to the group of fugitives.

Zampano, Jerso and Al had some money on them so they could pay for fuel and the necessities when they had to stop in a town but Al had been asked to leave the car before they entered the town and make his way to the other side so he didn't garner any unwanted attention. Al had been understanding and willingly did as he was asked but Chester had taken a bit more offence to the request and made sure Marcoh (who had been the one to actually voice the request) knew it before Al had gotten him to see reason. They'd kept the car until they'd arrived in Jobitu, just north of the north-east border of Amestris. Once they'd gotten to the town's outskirts, they'd agreed it would be best to abandon the vehicle and continue on foot. Well, everyone had agreed except Yoki but everyone decided to ignore his protests and head into Jobitu on foot.

They'd just crossed the border between the north and east of Amestris when Scar and Marcoh announced they would be separating from the group. Scar wanted to seek out as many Ishvalens as he could so he could warn his people of the upcoming threat and to try and find Ishvalen warriors prepared to help them fight, as he'd done in the mountain slum they'd stayed at. Marcoh had decided to go with him to offer medical aid to those who needed it, knowing how bad the Ishvalens were treated by most Amestrians and as a way to try and make up for the carnage he'd helped wrought in Ishval while he was experimenting on the stone.

Mei had wanted to stay with Al but Scar had instructed her to leave the country while she still could. Marcoh had given her his liquid stone, telling her to use it to win favour with the emperor and save her clan, telling her he wanted some good to come from it. Mei had taken the small glass vial with tears spilling down her cheeks as she promised she'd try and make sure that happened. Al had asked how Marcoh was planning on helping the Ishvalens without the stone but the doctor had shaken his head, telling the young alchemist the Ishvalens would never accept him using alchemy to help them. Scar's nod of agreement had stopped any further queries from the others. After a few goodbyes, including a tearful one on Mei's behalf between her and Scar, they'd gone their separate ways with words of caution and reminders to try and contact the others if anything happened.

Mei had stayed with Al, Chester, the chimeras and Yoki until they were halfway to Liore, walking across the country rather than risking towns. After that, she was sent to Youswell and told to look after herself during the journey back across the East Desert. The young Xingese had been in tears once more as she and Xao-Mei had said their goodbyes before heading off from the group, the liquid stone tucked carefully in her pack that had been filled by Al and the chimeras so she wouldn't need to struggle for supplies during the trek. Once Mei had walked out of sight, mainly so Al knew she wouldn't try following them, the rest of them continued towards Liore.

Now, over a week later since they'd said goodbye to Scar and Marcoh, they were finally in Liore and looking for Dave's restaurant so those who could eat and drink could get what they needed. Al was paying more attention to where they were going, since he was the only one who knew the way, but he couldn't help but take in the sheer destruction the town had gone through. The fact that they were in the middle of rebuilding just made him feel worse because the damage he was seeing  _now_  was bad enough.

To Al's surprise, he didn't see Dave manning the restaurant but Rose and Molly instead. The look on Rose's face when she looked and saw him approaching was an almost comedic amount of shock before it morphed into a genuinely happy smile. "Alphonse Elric, is that you?"

"Hi, Rose," Al greeted back, happy that she didn't seem to hold him and Ed responsible for Liore's destruction or at the very least, she wasn't angry with them. The pretty white and grey cockatiel that belonged to her chirped her own hello. "Hey, Molly. It's good to see you guys. You're both looking really well," Al said as he and the others finished approaching the benchtop.

"So do the two of you," Rose said, giving Chester his own happy smile before she looked around in confusion. "Are Ed and Ayala catching up?" she asked, obviously expecting them.

"No, they're not coming," Al told her regretfully. "Some stuff's happened and Ed and Ayala needed to stay behind."

"Oh, I hope it's nothing too serious," Rose said, looking concerned.

"They're both fine, I promise," Al said, trying to ease the young woman's worries a little.

"Good," Rose said with a grateful smile before she took in everyone else. "Who are your friends?" she asked as she gathered some bowls and started placing them in front of everyone. Yoki looked exceptionally happy about this and sat down on the stool with more energy than he'd displayed the whole week.

"These are Zampano, Jerso and Yoki," Al said, pointing to everyone before realising she'd set out five bowls. "Oh, no, Rose, don't worry about any for me," Al said, tapping his chest so it rang hollow and reminded the woman that he didn't eat.

She flushed in embarrassment as she quickly pulled the bowl away. "Oh, Al, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot!" she cried, causing Al to panic a little.

"It's okay, Rose. It happens all the time," he tried assuring her. It seemed to work a little but she still looked angry with herself. Before Al could try and make sure she knew he wasn't upset, she was busying herself with serving everyone else then, with another apologetic look at Al, headed for the other end of the bar where people were starting to line up for food. "Here, Ches," Al said as he scooped up the bowl the others had left and placed it in front of the leopard.

" _Thanks, Al,"_  Chester said as he chowed down on the food in front of him. Al stood back up, content with just watching the people milling around. He was pleased that it seemed like the townspeople were working well together to rebuild their homes. He couldn't see any disagreements and no one looked mad with anyone else. Chester finished his lunch and Al picked the bowl up to place it on the bench for Rose. As he did so, he felt Chester tense and soon heard a low growl emit from the leopard's throat.

"What is it?" Al asked urgently as he looked down at Chester then in the direction the leopard was facing, hackles standing straight up and lips lifting in a hiss. To his shock, Al saw his father and his Animal standing right there in front of him. Neither of them looked any different to the photo Pinako had given him just after their failed transmutation and that he kept tucked safely in his journal so Ed wouldn't see it. "Dad?"

"It's been a long time, Al," Hohenheim said, clearing his throat awkwardly as he took in his youngest son, the snarling leopard and the three men sitting behind Al who were watching the scene with mild interest and suspicion. Hohenheim suspected that if he made a wrong move, the two biggest men would be joining his son's Animal in attacking him.

"Yeah, it has," Al said, shifting a little. Chester still hadn't let up with his threatening growl and his father's horse looked torn between ignoring the leopard so he could approach Al and heeding the warning. "This is Chester," Al said for lack of anything else to say. Chester flicked an ear and relaxed his snarl but he didn't stand down completely, despite Al's silent pleading to do so.

"This is Calix," Hohenheim said, more out of habit than anything else. He'd expected at least one of his sons to arrive in Liore after he'd given their teacher his message for them but he'd truly expected Ed by himself, despite his eldest son's injuries. "I'm sure you already know about my recent visit to Resembool and what was discussed there," Hohenheim went on to say and Al gave a short nod.

"Yeah, Brother told me," he said, voice neutral. He was truly ecstatic to see his father again, to finally hear his voice and see his face at an age where he'd be able to remember them but at the same time, he felt the confusion, hurt and anger that had always accompanied him whenever he thought of his father. Seeing him in the flesh, standing just out of arms reach, was only adding even more emotions into the mix and Al couldn't tell whether he was happy, angry or upset more at seeing his father.

"Hey, Mr. Ho!" a random voice called from behind Hohenheim and he turned to see one of the Liore men waving at him from near some wooden planks. "Can we get a hand over here?" the man called and Al felt his phantom stomach drop when his father nodded.

"Sure!" Hohenheim called back but instead of just leaving like Al was afraid he would do, Hohenheim turned back to address him. "We'll catch up later in the afternoon, okay?" Hohenheim said and Al nodded.

"Sure," he agreed. Only then did Hohenheim and Calix turn to leave to give the man a hand like he'd asked. "Could you settle down? You knew who it was," Al scolded as he turned to Chester. The leopard's fur had gone down and he no longer had a snarl on his face but he was still watching Hohenheim with a distrusting eye.

" _You know full-well that I didn't believe many of the excuses he gave your brother so you'll forgive me for not trusting him right now either,"_  Chester said haughtily and Al felt anger on behalf of his father rise in him.

"He said we could talk later so will you quit acting like this until you have an actual reason?" Al snapped, surprising himself and Chester both. No one else could hear the conversation since it was through their bond.

" _I already have a pretty fucking good reason to not trust a word that comes out of that man's mouth and you bloody well know it,"_  Chester snapped right back, adding a snarl for emphasis.  _"Need I remind you that I was listening through Ed when he and Ayala spoke with him in Resembool?"_

"You're just taking Ed's side in this because you think I'm stupid for still wanting to meet my dad and get to know him!" Al cried and Chester glared at him.

" _I do_ not _think you're stupid for wanting that but I do think you're an idiot for not being cautious around him! He already abandoned you and your family for 12 or so years just because he couldn't work around having you and look what that did to Ed!"_  Chester snapped.  _"He's so angry when it comes to your father that it's almost overwhelming. You aren't like that but that's partly because you don't have those memories of him Ed has. I just don't want to see you try and build a relationship with him only for him to up and leave with no word for years and you start feeling what Ed does,"_  Chester said, his voice growing quieter as he spoke, the anger leeching out of him and Al felt his doing the same.

"I'm not just going to pretend he didn't do any of that. I'm not going to ignore the fact that I don't have childhood memories of him because he left us for over a decade," Al said softly. "But I'm also not going to hold onto a grudge like Ed is. He's that angry because he refuses to let go of his anger and I don't want to be like that. As much as I love him, Edward needs to learn to move on from those sorts of things before they destroy him." Al paused for a moment. "I've already lost Mum and now we know we can never get her back. I don't want to lose my other parent without at least trying to have a positive relationship with him and it's  _my_  decision to do so. Not Ed's and not yours," Al said firmly and Chester sighed.

" _I know it is and if it's truly what you want, I won't try and talk you out of it but you have a tendency to forgive far too quickly. Just, please make that man earn your forgiveness first instead of you just giving it to him?"_  Chester asked and Al gave him a nod after a few moments.

"I will," he promised and Chester sighed, relaxing fully. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know you and Ed are just looking out for me and you didn't deserve that."

Chester gave him an exasperated look.  _"That right there is exactly what I'm talking about!"_  Chester said.  _"I did deserve to be snapped at because I was kind of being an arsehole, even if I think I was justified in doing so."_

"Yeah, you were but you were acting that way because you wanted to protect me and I should've realised that instead of getting so defensive," Al said and Chester rolled his eyes fondly.

" _We'll work on it,"_  he said.  _"But I'll forgive you if you forgive me for doing the same thing,"_  he offered and Al nodded.

"Done," the armour said easily.

"Hey, Alphonse Elric, right?" a familiar voice asked and Al looked over to see Dave and Mick standing behind the bar with Rose and Molly. "I thought that was you," the man said with a smile before pointing his thumb up at the radio Al had broken then fixed during their first visit. "You did a bang-up job mending this. It doesn't even pick up static anymore!"

Al internally winced as he looked at the radio that once voiced Father Cornello's sermons. "I'm really sorry," Al said and Dave's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "All of this bad stuff happened because we stuck our noses in," Al explained, voice morose and Dave waved off the apology.

"Don't say that," he chided lightly. "You gotta look at all the good stuff that came from it as well," he told Al. "You and your brother exposed a corrupt fraud and people reacted badly at first, sure, but take a look." Dave gestured widely to those people who were out helping rebuild Liore. "The whole town's working together to rebuild what we lost and you guys are the ones who brought us together." Dave gave him a smile before he got back to work serving people, leaving Al with his companions and his thoughts.

"I'm gonna help rebuild Liore with everyone," Al announced and Chester gave him a proud look. Both chimeras looked at each other before scooping up the last of their meal.

"We might as well help too and earn our food and stay," Jerso said as he got off his stool.

"You heard him, Yoki," Zampano said to the ex-soldier who was stubbornly ignoring them in favour of devouring the bowl in front of him. Zampano sighed in annoyance before he grabbed Yoki by the collar and started dragging him to join Al, Chester and Jerso in helping the others.

"But I'm eating!" Yoki wailed, looking at his bowl as it grew further and further away. Nova was ineffectively trying to help by smacking Zampano's hand with her fins but the boar chimera ignored the both of them as he caught up with the others.

"Hey, dad!" Al called, getting the attention of Hohenheim, who was attaching a makeshift harness to Calix so the horse could help move lumber. "I'd like to help too," Al said and Hohenheim gave him a small smile just as a couple of people walked by with multiple planks of timber in their hands. "Here, let me carry those," Al said as he grabbed the lot and hauled them onto his metal shoulder. "Where are these going?" Al asked and the men were quick to show him the way.

"What can we do to help?" Jerso asked Hohenheim, bringing the man's attention from watching Al and Chester walk away to them.

"You can start by helping me load up this with wood for Calix to pull," Hohenheim said, finishing securing the harness and nodding to the platform that would be loaded. "After that, we'll see where you're needed."

* * *

"An underground tunnel?" Hohenheim asked when he and Al managed to find more than a few moments to talk. He'd asked why his son had decided to come to Liore, hoping the answer would be so he could see him but was left a little disappointed when Al told him he was there to look for the tunnel he himself had found a few weeks prior.

"Uh-huh," Al said in confirmation. Chester gave Hohenheim a look that told the man that he knew exactly what he'd been thinking and he wasn't impressed one bit. Hohenheim was starting to think earning his oldest son's respect and love might turn out to be easier than earning Chester's respect. "We're certain it runs under Liore and not near it because Liore's marked on the map, not the area around it," Al said and Hohenheim held up a hand.

"Hold on before you say anything else, Al," Hohenheim instructed. "Let's find somewhere more private first." He gave a significant look to the townspeople around them and Al nodded in agreement. Hohenheim led him through the ruined streets and into an alley where no one would be able to overhear them or stumble upon them without them first hearing them. "Okay. What else were you planning on telling me?" Hohenheim asked as he sat on a crate. Calix carefully folded his front legs before lowering himself to the ground so he wasn't towering over everyone while Al mimicked his father and Chester sat right next to Al, keeping both Hohenheim and Calix in his view.

"We met Father," Al told him even though he knew Ed had done so as well. "He didn't recognise us as your children," he said and Hohenheim nodded.

"I believe that Homunculous has spent so long trying to amass his power and thinking himself above all other life forms that he wouldn't be able to tell a Xingese from an Amestrian, let alone realise that Edward has traits from Xerxes," Hohenheim told him and Al nodded in agreement.

"We thought the same thing," Al said, sounding a little pleased that they'd come to the same conclusion. "Some more stuff has happened since that meeting though. Do you want to hear it?" Al asked and Hohenheim nodded so Al launched into the retelling of everything that had happened since their meeting with Father and subsequent fight with Greed, Gluttony and Lust and ending with his talk with Izumi a little over a month ago. "Thank you for helping our teacher," Al said sincerely.

"I couldn't heal her completely," Hohenheim said, a tinge of sadness in his voice, "but I did what I could to make her as healthy as possible. She shouldn't be spitting up blood any longer." Al felt a little surprise at hearing Izumi wasn't completely healed since the housewife hadn't said anything about not being fully healed and Al mentally swore as he realised Izumi had  _let_  them think that by carefully wording what she'd told them.

"Still, thank you for doing what you could," Al said, refusing to accept Hohenheim's obvious attempts at dodging the thanks. He wondered if it something that was passed through people's genetics as he watched Hohenheim shrug in the same way Ed did. Al took pity on his father and changed the subject. "Did Calix sense what happened to Ed?"

Hohenheim nodded, looking a little relieved. "He did. Your brother didn't give us a lot of details but he gave us the gist of what happened," Hohenheim told him. "Is Ed still alright?"

"Yeah, he is," Al immediately reassured him and watched as the few signs of worry he saw on his father disappeared. "Ed's been informed by nearly every Animal he's bonded with to check in at least weekly with them. With Ches and a couple of the others, he has to speak with them daily or he gets in trouble," Al told him, chuckling at how legendary Chester's tongue lashing when Ed had gotten lost in some books and had forgotten his promise had been. Al delighted in the small but genuine smile that graced his father's lips as a result.

"I'm glad he's alright," Hohenheim said a while Chester gave an obviously disbelieving scoff, Al didn't sense any dishonesty. Hohenheim accepted Chester's reaction with no fuss. "Does he know when he's allowed back on his feet?"

"Not yet but he's confident it'll be any day now. He's up and walking around unsupervised and any pain he feels is low enough that Chester can't pick up on it," Al told him, pleased with the fact that Hohenheim was so obviously concerned with Ed's wellbeing. He knew that he would be telling Ed about this the next time he saw his brother, no matter what rant he'll get for purposefully seeking Hohenheim out from Ed.

"That's good to hear," Hohenheim said, looking down at his hands as silence reigned between them until Al decided to go ahead and break it with a question he'd been wanting to ask his father ever since he found out what he was.

"What's it like not being able to die?" Al asked quietly and Hohenheim snorted softly as he looked back up.

"Well, I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't come in handy from time to time but," Hohenheim's levity faded immediately, "it's not worth the price you pay. I can't think of anything worse than watching your loved ones grow old and die while you stay the same." The sorrow Hohenheim felt drenched his voice and Cal gave a low nicker as he bumped his large head against Hohenheim's arm.

"Like Mum," Al said, voice equally as sad and Chester rubbed up against the thigh he was resting against.

"Except your mother didn't get the chance to grow old like she deserved," Hohenheim near whispered and the mood grew so melancholy, Al thought he might break from it so he decided to change the subject immediately.

"I almost forgot!" Al exclaimed before he dug around in his apron pocket while his father gave him a confused look. That look didn't dissipate at all when Al produced his journal. "Scar and some others helped me find these," Al said, showing his father the two arrays drawn on a page each. "This one's the country wide array," Al tapped the one he was talking about before moving to the other, "and this one is the one we think will reverse it."

Hohenheim nodded as he studied the two arrays carefully. "I'm impressed. You've done your homework," Hohenheim said, giving Al a proud smile. "You're right about the second one. It is a reverse transmutation circle.

"Since the homunculous who was digging the tunnels is dead, I though the best way to thwart them now would be by destroying a tunnel and since there's one here…" Al told him, accepting his journal back and was surprised when his father shook his head.

"That's not a good idea," he told him. "They've got an immensely powerful homunculous named Pride watching over the tunnel," Hohenheim told him and Al nodded.

"Yeah, Selim Bradley. We know what he's capable of. He was stupid enough to reveal himself to a really good friend of ours," Al said. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't try before it's too late."

"We already know they've bled the last point and completed the circle. Even if you destroyed part of the tunnel and got out before you were captured or killed, they would just clear the rubble," Hohenheim told him and Al found himself annoyed at the calm tone of his father's voice.

"Why are you so relaxed? We should be doing everything we can to try and stop them!" Al exclaimed and Chester growled next to him in agreement.

"Because it's not time yet, son," Hohenheim said and Al refused to let the warmth he felt at being called 'son' by his father settle him down. "We still have a few weeks to go before the eclipse happens. We can use that time to come up with as many ways as possible to try and slow Homunculous down but there is no point in us doing so when he has more than enough time to fix what we do," Hohenheim lectured and Al felt himself grow embarrassed. He hadn't even thought of the fact that everything they could possibly do could be easily fixed by the original homunculous and would only end up serving as small annoyances to him rather than the winning blows they were aiming for.

" _I had to say it but I agree with him,"_  Chester said, certainly sounding annoyed with the fact he was agreeing with Hohenheim.  _"We've got to be smart about this if we're going to try throwing little hits at Father's plans. The less time he has to retaliate and mend what we destroy, the better for us."_

"You're right," Al admitted and Hohenheim nodded but didn't gloat or rub it in.

"Let's get back to work helping this town get back on its feet," Hohenheim said. "While we do so, we can come up ideas on what we can do to win this fight before it can become one." Hohenheim and Calix both got to their feet and Hohenheim held out a hand for Al to grab.

"Okay, dad," Al agreed, accepting the hand without hesitation. Hohenheim gave him a smile before he led them out of the alleyway and back into the streets so they could give a helping hand to the first person to call for it. Al allowed himself a moment to hope his brother wasn't getting himself into trouble before he let his mind focus completely on the task at hand.

* * *

Ed cursed the fact that the chimeras and Ayala had managed to talk him into leaving his hair loose when he flicked it out his face for what he was sure was the hundredth time. Both he and Ayala were wandering the streets of the town they'd called home the last two or so months, heading back to the doctor's house they'd been staying in with Ed's arms full of groceries. He wore his blonde hair down and red beanie on his head while his red scarf sat snug around his neck, just under the collar of the white jacket that had he'd borrowed from the doctor. His red gloves sat over his white ones to conceal them from sight as he kept himself as disguised as possible. Ayala had unwillingly allowed Ed to dye her fur black with alchemy but she'd lessened the grumbling when she saw just how terrifying she looked in the mirror. Her piercing gold eyes and dark fur had the added bonus of making sure no one on the street bothered them and Ed felt like she was a little too proud of that.

They'd collected the groceries the nurse had sent them for, only needing to stop by the bakery but it sat only a few doors down from the apartment building the doctor and nurse lived in so Ed had saved it for last. He used the final few dollars he had to buy the fresh bread and two extra rolls, one for him to eat and one for Ayala. Both Darius and Heinkel weren't at work that day, their job having been completed two days ago and they'd declined further work since the doctor had announced they needed to leave his house by the end of the week. Knowing he couldn't be seen drawing money from his bank account, Ed had asked the chimeras to get the cash and they'd agreed, taking the signed note and pocket watch from him.

" _There's a problem,"_  Ayala said the moment they'd entered the front door of the apartment building.

"Of course there is," Ed sighed as he chewed the last of his roll. "What is it?"

" _Soldiers,"_  Ayala said simply, her nose working overtime to try and determine what was going on.  _"There's two guarding the door and one inside the apartment. All of them are armed and looking for you. I think Darius and Heinkel are trying to trick them into believing they're the only people in the apartment, aside from the doctor and nurse,"_  Ayala reported and Ed sighed once more.

"Fine. Let's deal with this quickly," Ed muttered as they came to the floor of the apartment and saw the two soldiers standing guard.

"Stop right there, kid!" The first soldier who spotted them ordered, one hand raised with his palm facing Ed and the other resting on his holstered weapon.

Ed didn't bother answering him as he continued walking forward. Both soldiers eyed him and Ayala wearily and Ed took the opportunity to look for their Animals. To his delight, he saw one was a clown fish while the other was a bandicoot. Neither of them was big enough to take them on nor were they dangerous enough like Anahlia to pose a risk so Ed attacked, knocking out the first soldier with a single punch to the temple while Ayala slammed the second soldier into the wall, rendering him unconscious but attracting the attention of the other soldier in the apartment. Both their Animals started panicking and trying their best to get their humans to wake up and Ed gave them an apologetic look

"Colin! Harris!" Ed and Ayala heard the final soldier call out to his unconscious men as they walked into the apartment. Both the nurse and doctor fixed dirty glares on them and Ed set the groceries down as he approached the wall that separated the room he'd been staying in from the room he was currently in. "What's going on?" the soldier called, panic growing in his voice and Ed waited at the wall until he heard the man move closer to it. "Answer me!"

When the man was finally where Ed needed him, he punched his right arm through the drywall, removing his glove first so he didn't destroy it, and wrapped it around the soldier's throat before applying the needed pressure. He couldn't see the man's face and he couldn't see or feel him trying wrench his arm off his throat but he did hear claws scrabbling on the ground just before a Rottweiler came tearing around the corner in an attempt to try and stop Ed from strangling his human. Ayala had it handled in a matter of moments while Ed kept applying the pressure. He heard a slight scuff on the wall and knew the soldier had collapsed as much as he could against it so Ed released his hold, drawing his arm back out of the hole he'd created.

"You'd better fix that," the doctor growled and Ed shot him a flat look as he clapped and placed his hand on the wall, letting his alchemy flow through him until the wall was fixed. The doctor harrumphed before he helped his wife with the groceries.

"Damn, you just had to take him out on your own, didn't you?" Darius grumbled as Ed joined him in the room. Heinkel was already pulling off the fake bandages and getting out of the bed. "You're pretty reckless, kid." The gorilla chimera passed Ed as he grabbed his red jacket from where it sat on his bed. Ed watched as the chimera scooped up the gun the soldier had dropped. "You're not even fully recovered yet!"

Ed scowled at that. "Don't treat me like I'm an invalid," he said as he pulled his hair into a ponytail. "My injuries are fully healed and I'm ready to get back to stopping those fucking homunculi for good."

Both Darius and Heinkel shook their heads at him as they headed out of the room to where the doctor and nurse stood. Ed followed once he'd used his red jacket as a makeshift bag for the books the chimeras had bought him, knowing Al would want to read them when they got the chance. He walked out just as Darius thanked the doctor and nurse for everything they'd for them.

"Don't worry about it," the doctor said. "Seriously. Just get out of here."

"We've had about all the trouble we can take for the day," the nurse grumbled in agreement as she practically shooed them out of the apartment before slamming the door firmly shut behind them, narrowly missing Ayala's tail.

Ed noticed a piece of paper on the floor and scooped it up, ignoring the unconscious soldiers and their frantic Animals. He scoffed as he read it. "It says to look for someone with a red jacket and blonde hair tied back in a braid."

" _Guess you're gonna have to get used to that look for a while,"_  Ayala said with a grin.

"So will you," Ed told her, glancing at her blackened fur. "It also says I'd be accompanied by a golden wolf." Ayala pouted at the idea of having to stay this colour for longer than she'd wanted. She loved how the black fur made her look almost demonic but she definitely preferred her gold and white fur more.

"Freeze!" A voice from behind them shouted, making the four of them turn in surprise and they saw a small group of soldiers facing them, guns drawn. "Drop your weapons!" The same soldier ordered as his tiger roared next to him.

"Shit!" Heinkel swore. "We took too long!"

"Put your hands in the air!" the soldier ordered and they complied, Ed with an annoyed scowl on his face as he did so since he didn't drop his bundle of books.

"Move, kid! These guys are dangerous!" a second soldier ordered Ed and the blonde felt his face slacken with incredulity. They seriously didn't recognise him without his red coat or braid.

Ed could feel Darius and Heinkel come up with some kind of plan but he certainly wasn't expecting to be grabbed roughly around the waist – though Darius did make sure he didn't put any pressure on Ed's still-tender wound – and feel the cold barrel of a gun press against his temple. Even Ayala was taken by surprise but she quickly recovered enough to follow along with the chimeras plan and start growling ferociously at them.

"Stay back or he's dead!" Heinkel ordered as he grabbed a gun from the closest fallen soldier and pointed it at the shocked soldiers at the end of the hall.

"Don't force us to blow this kid's brains out!" Darius said when one of the soldiers looked like he was going to try something.

Before they lost the element of surprise, Darius picked Ed up and both he and Heinkel high-tailed it out of the building with Ayala close on their heels. As soon as they made it outside, Ed was placed on his feet while Heinkel shot at the overhang above the door and caused the snow on it to collapse and trap the soldiers. By happy coincidence, the snow also ended up covering the soldiers who had been waiting outside for instructions to enter the building.

"I'll hot-wire us some wheels," Darius said as they hurried along the street and turned the corner.

"Alright, but do it quickly," Heinkel ordered as he brought up the rear, gun ready to fire at anyone wearing a military uniform should they find them too quickly.

Darius ended up finding a car that had been left unlocked and crouched down to pull the plastic covering from the underside of the steering wheel off as Ed opened the back door for him and Ayala so they could get in. Heinkel headed around the other side of the car but didn't get in as he was still providing cover for Darius. The gorilla gave a small whoop of victory as the car sputtered to life and both chimeras were quick to get in. Almost as soon as they'd gotten the car onto the street though, Ed spotted two shiny military cars on their tail.

"Drive faster, Darius!" he ordered as he watched the military cars gain on them.

"I'm trying but those guys are from Central Command!" Darius told him as he turned a corner with no warning, sending Ed and Ayala crashing into the side door. "We're never going to ditch them!" Darius yanked on the wheel to avoid hitting a parked car and Ed and Ayala were sent sliding along the seat again.

"That was a little too close," Heinkel told Darius, who glared at him but didn't say anything as he pushed his foot further on the accelerator, trying to get the car to just give them a little more speed.

"How's it looking back there?" Darius asked and Ed watched as the two cars seemed to inch closer.

"Not good. They're gaining on us," Ed reported and Darius swore. Ed focused his attention on the road in front of them and an idea sparked as he saw the rapidly approaching side street. "Hey, turn there. I've got an idea," Ed instructed, pointing to the approaching street and Darius shot him an incredulous look.

"What?" he asked and Ed scowled.

"Just shut up and turn the damned corner!" Ed snapped.

Darius gave a groan of annoyance as he readied to do so. "This had better be a good plan!" he shouted as they approached the corner.

"Just park the car as soon as we've turned," Ed said, clapping his hands together and making the familiar ring sound in the car. Darius did as he was told and the only thing that stopped Ed from slamming into the seat in front of him was Ayala's grip on his jacket. Ed placed his hand on the first part of the car he reached and willed the transmutation to do its job quickly. The blue energy had just finished dancing along the car when the two military cars sped right past their idling one and Ed gave a victorious grin. "And you doubted me," he gloated as the chimera rolled their eyes before they took in the transmuted car.

"Yeah, you're very clever," Heinkel said as he took in the little of the car he could see. "Can you change it back to normal now?"

Ed gave him an offended look. "Why? I think it looks cool as fuck!" Ed said, grinning proudly.

" _You're literally the only one in this car who thinks so,"_  Ayala informed him. Ed glared at her but did as he was asked.

"What now?" Darius asked as the transmutation ended and they sat in the car looking the same way it had done when they stole it.

"We need to meet up with Al and Ches," Ed said immediately but stopped when a voice he hadn't heard for a couple of weeks rang in his head.

" _Ed? Are you anywhere near Central?"_  Laika asked and Ed got over his shock pretty quickly at the desperate note in the yellow-throated marten's voice.

"Not currently but we can be there in a few days. What's happened?" Ed asked, worriedly.

" _Something's going to happen to Ling but I can't tell what specifically because our bond is still being suffocated by that damned homunculous,"_  Laika told him and Ed already knew why Laika wanted him in Central.  _"You're the only one I can think of who might be able to help. Lan Fan is still recovering from her automail surgery and Fu is here with her. I could have Onyx tell Lan Fan but she'd want to go herself and she still hasn't been cleared by her mechanic or doctor to fight yet."_

"Don't worry, Laika. We'll head to Central now," Ed said, speaking out loud and Darius gave a nod as he pulled the car back onto the street, this time driving the speed limit. "If you somehow sense Ling's in charge again, tell him we'll be in Central in less than a week and he's to meet us at the shack we took Gluttony to, okay?"

He felt the wave of relief roll off Laika like it was his own.  _"Thank you, Ed. I owe you one,"_  Laika said but Ed shook the thanks off.

"Don't worry about it," Ed told him as he and Ayala settled comfortably on the backseat. "I'll let you know what happens."

" _I appreciate that,"_  Laika told him and Ed gave a nod through their bond.  _"I need to go before Onyx realises something's up and tells Lan Fan but keep yourself safe. Hopefully we'll see you soon,"_ Laika said, sounding a little apologetic about not being able to talk with Ed any longer but Ed didn't mind.

"No problems. You stay safe as well," Ed told the marten before disconnecting their bond.

"So, Central?" Heinkel said and Ed nodded. "Is that where your brother and his Animal are?"

"No," Ed told him. "A friend of mine might be in trouble soon and his Animal wants me to get there as soon as possible to try and keep him from getting killed."

"Fair enough," Heinkel said before he reached into one of his pockets and handed Ed a bundle of notes. "Here's the extra money you asked us to get this morning, by the way."

"Cheers for that," Ed said accepting the money and – once Heinkel had found it – the pocket watch back. He looked at the small bundle of money in his hand and nodded. "This should definitely cover our fuel and last us until Promised Day," Ed said, pocketing the money.

"Good because we'll be stopping in Ebolas and Aszamem for fuel. As long as we don't have to make any unscheduled detours, we should be able to make it through West City and near Central before we have to ditch the car," Darius told him and Ed nodded.

"Alright," Ed said before he reached down to grab a book out of the bag his red jacket was being used as. "Let me know when we stop so I can get some food," Ed requested. Once he got the nods of agreement, Ed settled himself slightly against Ayala so they could both see the pages and let himself get lost in the book.

* * *

In the end it took them only five days to make it to Lijza, one of the small cities that circled Central City itself, where they abandoned the car they'd stolen rather than risk being caught because of it being spotted in Central. Ed had led them around the outskirts of the city, careful to avoid the areas he knew were heavily patrolled by soldiers and keeping his mind open in case one of the Animals he knew who lived in Central still were nearby but they didn't run into anyone except a few homeless or Ishvalens. The Ishvalens seemed to recognise Ed, which led to them giving him a significant nod but he had no clue why or what it meant. He resolved to ask once this situation with Ling/Greed was resolved.

The four of them managed to get to the abandoned shack before anyone spotted them. It looked just as Ed remembered it, only darker since there weren't any lamps on in the building to provide some light. Ed found some lamps and poured the oil from all of them into three lamps so they would burn longer. Since it was nearing sunset, Ed didn't bother lighting the lamps just yet. Instead, he, Ayala and the chimeras settled in to eat an early dinner from the rations they'd put together.

"How long are we going to wait here?" Darius asked and Ed shrugged.

"Laika was positive Ling would get into trouble around today. If he isn't here or we don't hear anything about a Xingese fighting with someone by tomorrow night, we'll leave the next morning and head towards Liore. Chester said he and Al would be there for another week or so," Ed said.

Though the leopard hadn't exactly told him in as many words, Ed also knew Al was there with Hohenheim and Calix and the blonde felt familiar resignation seep into him. When he'd first realised who his brother was spending time with, Ed had almost exploded with a rage that only Ayala had been able to talk him down from. Over the space of a few days, he'd calmed down enough to listen to what Ayala had been saying about this being Al's choice and that Ed had better accept the fact that there were things in this life that he couldn't or shouldn't protect Al from and that this was one of them. That comment had caused Ed to give Ayala the cold shoulder for all of an hour until he realised she was completely correct. Since he'd come to that realisation, Ed had decided to not say anything to Chester about Hohenheim and just hoped his little brother wouldn't end up as hurt by their father as Ed had been.

"Alright," Heinkel said in agreement. "We should have enough rations to last us until then but we'll need to find another car and more food after that," he told them, going through their packs to get an idea of what supplies they had left.

Darkness had crept up on the four of them and Ed headed into the cabin to light the first of the lamps, making sure its light wouldn't be noticed by anyone who happened to look up at the hill the shack sat on. He'd just joined back up with the others, ready to organise a watch rotation when Ayala's ears flicked in response to something only she heard. A moment later, both chimeras were staring intently in the same direction Ayala had fixed her golden eyes on. Ed strained his hearing until he heard what they all had; heavy, stumbling footsteps heading towards them.

The four of them were on their feet and Ayala had moved into a defensive position, ready to launch herself at whatever threat came at them. She gave a sniff of the air and glanced at Ed.  _"It's Greed but there's a change to his scent. I don't know what it is,"_  she told him before resuming her search of the darkness.

"Heads up. Could be my friend, could be trouble," Ed warned the chimeras, who both gave a nod of understanding. Ed raised his hands into a lax version of his fighting stance, not readying his blade just yet but not giving whoever it was the benefit of the doubt either. Finally, a figure appeared from the darkness and Ed took in the haggard appearance of Ling as the Xingese-turned-homunculous stumbled pathetically towards them. "Ling?" Ed asked only to spot the purple eyes and firmed his stance, making the chimeras do the same thing. "Greed," Ed growled.

To Ed's shock, Greed let out a pitiful moan as he collapsed to the ground in front of them. Even Ayala couldn't hide her shock. "Hungry," the figure sprawled on the ground moaned and Ed rolled his eyes as he relaxed completely out of his fighting stance.

"No, that's definitely Ling," Ed told the chimeras, gesturing for them to relax before he grabbed Ling by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Let's get some food into you," Ed said as he helped the prince into the shack while Ayala grabbed three of the rations packs from Ed's bag.

" _Do you want to tell Laika or do you want me to?"_  Ayala asked as she dropped the rations where Ed let Ling fall on his arse. The Xingese pounced on them like he hadn't eaten in months and Ed was a little worried he might not have. He didn't know if the homunculi actually ate, with the exception of Gluttony but he didn't count people as food in any case.

"I'll tell him while this idiot eats everything we have here," Ed said, rolling his eyes at Ling, who was already working his way through the second ration pack. "Laika? Ling turned up," Ed told the prince's Animal.

" _Oh, thank goodness,"_  Laika said a sigh.  _"I'd hoped he got my message. I've been feeling our bond a lot more strongly in bursts lately but I wasn't sure if he'd been in charge enough to listen to me,"_  Laika told him.

"Well, he got it," Ed said a little redundantly. "I don't know what happened but he looks like he's been put through the ringer," Ed told him. "I haven't had the chance to ask him anything because he's only just turned up and is now eating me and my friends out of food." Ed made sure his unimpressed feelings were felt by Laika, who had the audacity to laugh at him. "Are you alright? I've noticed you sound tired every time we talk," Ed asked as Ayala shook her head at the prince and went to grab the last three ration packs from Ed's bag at Ed's nod.

Ed felt Laika sigh a little.  _"It's my bond with Ling. It's being slowly destroyed the longer Greed is in charge of Ling's body and suppressing my bond,"_  Laika revealed.  _"I started feeling the effects a week or so after we left Central and it's been slowly getting worse. I've been getting tired faster and feeling dizzy more often than not,"_  Laika told him.  _"It's been getting better in the last day or so because I think Ling is finally pushing back and getting to be in charge for a bit but whenever Greed gets control again, any improvement is lost immediately."_

Ed found himself glaring at the oblivious Xingese. "I'll make sure I tell him. You know, once he's finished stuffing his face," Ed said, shaking his head in exasperation as Ling polished off the last of Ed's rations and looked hopefully at Darius and Heinkel's packs.

" _Thanks, Ed. I've told Onyx what happened so both Lan Fan and Fu both know now as well,"_  Laika told him and Ed winced a little at the mental image he had of their reactions.  _"They've agreed – a little reluctantly but they did agree – to leave Ling in your hands unless you say otherwise. Lan Fan is still unable to use her new arm efficiently enough for her mechanic or doctor to clear her,"_  Laika said and Ed felt a little bit of relief. He did not need to deal with an injured and protective Lan Fan while dealing with Ling.

"I'll let you know what happens with him," Ed promised as Darius and Heinkel both sacrificed their rations to the Xingese with numerous grumbles.

" _Thanks again, Ed,"_  Laika said.  _"I'm gonna get some sleep while Ling's still in charge so I hopefully feel a bit better,"_  Laika told him and Ed gave him a small smile.

"I hope you do," Ed said sincerely before letting the connection drop.

"He's eating all of our rations," Darius complained as they watched Ling make his way through the food at a pace that suggested he thought it would be taken away from him if he didn't finish it in record time.

"It's what he does," Ed said, shaking his head. "We've got enough money to buy more food once we leave Central and I know how to survive off the land and these woods are filled with more than enough wildlife, berries and edible plants to last us until we leave," Ed reassured the two chimeras. Neither looked impressed with Ling but they didn't continue complaining about their food rapidly disappearing down the Xingese's throat.

Finally, Ling gave a big satisfied sigh as he finished off the last pack. "Thanks, Edward. You're too kind," Ling said with the big smile Ed was used to seeing on the man's face.

"It's honestly a mystery how you aren't as big as Gluttony yet," Ed told him, shaking his head once more. Ayala huffed at the irony of Ed commenting on someone's eating habits and that noise got Ling's attention.

"I know I haven't been around that much but wasn't Ayala gold before?" Ling asked, eyeing the black fur with a confused look.

For a moment, Ed truly considered fucking with the man and telling him Ayala had always had dark fur but Ayala told him that wasn't a very nice thing to do to someone who'd had a homunculous trying to kill him from the inside out and Ed sighed in defeat. "Yeah, she was," Ed told him sullenly. Darius and Heinkel raised knowing brows at him but Ed ignored them. "We've been on the run from the military for the last two or so months and a golden wolf sticks out too much," Ed explained, "so I used alchemy to dye her fur black for now."

Ling nodded in understanding before his eyes fell on the annoyed chimeras. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, right," Ed said dumbly as he realised Ling had never met them. "That's Darius and Heinkel. They're chimeras, like the people the old Greed used to hang out with," Ed told Ling and watched as interesting expression flickered across the prince's face.

"We're ex-military but we wound up getting stuck working with this kid so we could try and keep him alive long enough for him to help save the country," Heinkel said, smirking at Ed's offended protest.

"So this is the Xingese prince turned homunculous?" Darius asked and Ed nodded. Ling looked a little surprised that they knew that much. "So how can we be sure it's your friend who's really in charge?" Darius asked and Ed shrugged a little.

"He started begging for food almost immediately upon seeing me," Ed reminded him. "It's Ling." Both chimeras looked a little incredulous that  _that_  was how Ed was able to tell the difference but they accepted the answer, even if they didn't look overly convinced that Ling wouldn't suddenly attack them.

"Greed's taking some time to adjust to some very upsetting news he got," Ling assured them and this time, Ed and Ayala joined the chimeras in looking stunned.

"You're going to have to elaborate just a bit there," Ed said, still gaping slightly at the almost laughable statement.

"Greed was confronted by a lizard chimera by the name of Bido – I think it was anyway – underneath Central. This Bido fellow was very happy to see Greed. In fact, he was in tears over how happy he was but Greed had no clue who he was. Bido tried to jog Greed's memory about his time in Dublith and all of his friends. He told Greed about how Wrath had slaughtered all of old Greed's friends but by that time, Greed had grown impatient and had stabbed Bido through the stomach, killing him," Ling told them. "However, doing so brought all of old Greed's memories to the surface and I was able to use his shock and confusion to my advantage, making him rethink his loyalties," Ling said, sounding a little proud of himself. "Of course, he took control back from me and went to hunt Wrath down. There was a fight and I managed to get control long enough to escape Wrath's clutches. We've been wandering around Central for the last couple of days while we fought for control and Greed fought to make sense of his recovered memories. I won the fight for control in the end and made my way here after getting a message from Laika that you would be in this area," Ling wrapped up his tale.

"Yeah, Laika got in touch a few days ago. He sensed something would be happening soon to you and wanted me in the area to help you out or stop you, depending on what was happening," Ed told him and Ling looked a little surprised.

"He asked you and not Lan Fan or Fu?" Ling's voice was tinged with worry but Ed was quick to put his mind at ease.

"Lan Fan hasn't been cleared to fight with her automail arm yet and Laika couldn't be certain Fu would be able to find you in time if something happened since Laika couldn't go with him to help track you," Ed told him.

"Why couldn't Laika track me? He's always been able to do so whenever I've taken off without him or my guards," Ling said and Ed fixed him with a glare.

"Your Animal has been physically suffering because of your choice to let Greed take control of you. That homunculous is slowly killing Laika by suffocating your bond," Ed informed him, a touch more coldly and harshly than likely was needed but he couldn't help it. Ling should've immediately spoken to Laika the moment he got control to make his Animal was alright.

"I didn't know," Ling whispered, looking ashamed enough that Ed believed him. "I need to –" Ling cut himself off as he gave a groan of pain that had Ed and Ayala share worried looks.

"What's the matter?" Ed asked as Ling clutched his head. Both chimeras had gotten to their feet with Darius standing close enough to Ed to pull him out of the way if he needed to.

"It's Greed," Ling ground out, eyes clenched tightly shut. "He's starting to fight back."

Ed looked around for something to help him knock some sense into Ling. "Don't you dare let him take back control!" Ed ordered, settling on a book and smacking Ling upside the head, hoping the pain would somehow make the homunculous retreat. "Don't let him overpower you again!"

"Listen!" Ling shouted, knocking the book blindly out of Ed's hands. "Father is going to open a portal on the day of reckoning. I could be wrong about this but I think you and Al should jump in when he does. It's the best chance you'll have to get your bodies back."

Ed gaped at the prince. At the mention of Father, Ed expected Ling to repeat when the Promised Day would be happening, not offer him a way for him to keep his promise to Al, Ayala and Chester. "Wait a minute, that makes sense and everything but there's a toll that must be paid to open that portal and I'm not willing to risk everyone else just so Al and I can get back to normal. We'll figure something else out," Ed told him. "We know this day of reckoning is going to happen when there's an eclipse but do you know what time specifically this is gonna go down?" Ed asked, hoping to narrow the timeframe so they could refine their plan a bit more.

"I can't hold him back much longer," Ling grunted before looking up at Ed with extreme effort. It was a little disconcerting to see Ling's eyes flash between black and purple as the two fought each other for control. "Are you sure Laika is okay? Lan Fan and Fu too?" Ling asked and Ed nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Laika's getting weaker the longer you're not in control but Lan Fan and Fu are watching over him and keeping him from harm. I'm doing what I can for him as well," Ed promised and Ling gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Ed. That's a relief to hear," he said before doubling over once more and groaning in pain. Just as suddenly as it had started, Ling's groans of pain ceased and Ayala jumped forward, putting herself between Ed and the figure crouched in front of him. "Damned pain in the arse prince. He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," the familiar drawl of Greed said as he straightened from Ling's crouch, a scowl on his face.

"That you, Greed?" Ed asked even as he took in the purple eyes and way the man was sitting in front of him. Ed could feel Darius' hand on his shoulder while Heinkel had a gun pulled and aimed at Greed. Ayala was snarling a warning at the homunculous.

"What tipped you off, kid?" Greed snarked before looking disdainfully at the gun Heinkel held on him. "Don't bother. You couldn't even scratch me with that thing," Greed said as he got to his feet. Ed followed immediately, not letting himself stay in such a prone position around the homunculous. "Well, see you around," Greed said, flapping one hand in a mock-wave before he headed out of the shack without another word.

" _Did that just happen?"_  Ayala asked as she stared after the homunculous, looking as stunned as Ed felt. Ed shook it off and headed after the homunculous, barely registering that Ayala and the chimeras were following him.

"So you're not even going to try and capture us?" Ed asked, a little confused. Last time he'd faced Greed, the homunculous had ended up the victor and callously dragged him by the throat to face Wrath.

Greed turned and face with a look that clearly told Ed he thought the blonde had asked one of the dumbest questions he'd heard in a while. The cool night air ruffled through their hair as Greed spoke. "Did you miss everything the prince just told you?" Greed asked. "I'm working on my solo career now that all of my old memories came flooding back," Greed said. "I did go kind of nuts and attack Wrath and I for one do not want to find out what they'll do to me if I tried to go crawling back, even with you and the chimeras in tow," Greed sneered. "I don't really work well with others anyway so it's probably for the best and that's all there is to that." Greed turned to continue walking down the dark dirt road before stopping when Ed spoke again.

"Why don't you join us?" Ed asked, ignoring the looks he was getting from his Animal and the chimeras. "You've nowhere else to go and no one else to stay with so why not join us?"

Greed started laughing uproariously and Ed rolled his eyes before waiting for the homunculous to get a hold of himself. "Me join you? You want me to, what? Follow  _you_?" Greed laughed, wiping an imaginary tear away. "Thanks for the laugh but this world is my possession, not yours," Greed said. Ed didn't say anything as he watched a thoughtful look flick across the homunculous' face and he held a hand up to silence Heinkel when he went to say something. "Now, it's a completely different story if you wanna follow me. You're welcome to join my team," Greed said before he turned once more with a hand raised in another goodbye.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ed called as he, Ayala and the chimeras headed after the homunculous and Ed almost smirked at the groan of annoyance he heard from Greed.

"What now?" Greed snarled as he turned to face a decidedly unimpressed looking Ed.

"I gave it some thought and I've decided Ayala and I will join your team, or lack thereof at the moment," Ed said, causing Greed to narrow his eyes at him. Ayala didn't look happy but she had known what he was planning and raised no fuss about it. "Now Darius, Heinkel and I have an agreement to stick together until Promised Day but I'm not enough of an arsehole to make them work with or for you if they don't want to," Ed said, looking behind him to the chimeras. Darius and Heinkel shared a look but didn't immediately say anything so Ed left them to continue thinking it over. "There's too much at stake to let any information you've got in your head to let slip through the cracks. I can't let anything, including my ego or feelings on following the likes of you, get in the way of saving the country and her people."

Greed considered him for a moment before nodding once. "Aright, kid, but I hope you realise working for me means living in the shadows. I don't want to hear you whining about any regrets you may feel. Either of you," Greed informed him, glancing at Ayala before looking back up to the blonde and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Give me a break," Ed said, a touch irritated. "I've already got a million regrets and so does Ayala. What's another one?" Ayala growled in agreement.

"A million and one more," the two chimeras behind him quipped and Ed rolled his eyes as he faced the two of them with a flat expression.

"You're both hilarious," he deadpanned.

"So that's you and the wolf settled," Greed said. "What about the two of you?" Greed asked, looking at the chimeras with an unreadable expression.

Heinkel sighed. "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice in the matter," he said. "The kid's right. This is too important for us to not work together."

"I don't really care who I work for so long as they feed me," Darius admitted, shrugging a shoulder as Ed laughed because that would likely be one of his requirements of employment if he ever did leave the military officially.

"If that's everything," Greed drawled, "we should get going before they decide to send Gluttony after me," Greed instructed.

"Yeah, yeah. We just need to go back and get our stuff," Ed said only to be surprised when Heinkel held out his pack and bundled books. "Oh, thanks, Heinkel," Ed said, accepting his gear.

"We figured we wouldn't be returning to the shack tonight," Heinkel said as he and Darius shouldered their own packs. Once they were ready, they nodded to Greed who – after rolling his eyes – led the way out of the woods and in the general direction of Central so they would know where they were and what direction they needed to go in.

"So what kind of chimeras are you?" Greed asked as they walked. Ed ignored him in favour of watching Ayala and the road ahead since Ayala was half paying attention to their surroundings and half focused on Greed, just in case.

"I'm part gorilla," Darius told him and Heinkel followed with his animal half.

"That's cool," Greed said before letting the conversation drop so they were walking in silence.

" _Are you sure this is a good idea?"_  Ayala asked and Ed shrugged.

"No," he admitted. "I fully expect this situation to come back and bite me somehow but right now, we need his information and his abilities so I'm willing to follow him if it means we win," Ed told her honestly.

" _Well, it's not like I'm not used to having your back when you make stupid decisions,"_  Ayala teased and Ed rolled his eyes at her as he 'accidentally' bumped into her, causing her to stumble a couple of steps and glare at him as she righted herself.  _"Behave yourself,"_  she warned and pouted when Ed had the audacity to laugh at her. A small growl from her had Ed settling down but there was still too much amusement in his eyes for her to feel like she'd won.

"Consider me warned," Ed chuckled as they followed the chimeras and homunculous through the wooded area. "So what's the plan, Greed?" Ed asked and the homunculous turned back to look at him.

"We'll be leaving this area to start with. Central will be too dangerous for any of us to be near for a while and I do not feel like going up against Wrath again right now," Greed told him, using a tone of voice that told Ed the answer should've been obvious.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I figured that but  _we_ ," Ed gestured to himself, Ayala and the chimeras, "need to restock some of our supplies. Ling ate all of our remaining food and we'll need some more money just in case," Ed told him.

"How do you plan on doing that without being seen? You're wanted, kid," Greed reminded him and Ed nodded.

"I know and I do plan on being seen," Ed told him. Greed's eyes widened in surprise but neither of the chimeras seemed overly shocked and Ed figured that was because they were used to him and his potentially disastrous decisions. "I've got people here that I can trust. They'll get me what I need."

"And you trust them completely?" Greed asked and Ed nodded. "How are you going to get a message to them? I don't want to be stuck waiting around here for days."

"Easily," Ed said before tapping the side of his head. "I'm gonna talk to their Animals." Greed looked at him incredulously before he burst into laughter. Ed likely would've been offended if he hadn't been expecting a reaction of that kind.

"That's a good one, kid," Greed laughed. "I might not have an Animal of my own but I still know how they work. You can't talk an Animal that isn't yours telepathically."

"True," Ed said, "with the exception of two people and I'm one of them," Ed told him. Greed narrowed his eyes at Ed, like he was trying to glare Ed into revealing he was playing a trick, but Ed kept his face open and honest.

"This is something I've got to see," Greed said eventually and Ed nodded, taking is as the homunculous giving his permission

"What time is it now?" Ed asked and the chimeras shrugged.

"Maybe 10:00pm?" Heinkel said, looking up at the sliver of moon in the sky. Ed frowned a little. It was later than he thought.

"I'll have to arrange to meet them tomorrow night. It's too late now and the closest person to the outskirts of town likely has soldiers watching his every move and his house to make sure he's not continuing to plot against the military and your father," Ed told Greed.

"That's your friend you're going to trust to get you food and money?" Greed asked and Ed snorted, sharing a look with Ayala.

"No, that's my commanding officer. My friend is his best friend and it's too late for him to drop by my CO's place without raising suspicion," Ed told him.

"Are you talking about Mustang?" Darius asked and Ed nodded. "You want us to use his house as a meeting point?"

"Yeah," Ed told him. "Like I said, it's the closest house belonging to someone I can trust to the outskirts of Central, which means it'll be easier for us to escape Central from there if something happens and we need to get out of town quickly," Ed said.

Greed seemed to be considering whether or not he'd bother staying near Central for that long and since Ed knew he needed to stay with Greed to get more information on the homunculi's plans and to keep an eye on Ling, like he'd promised Laika, Ed would be forced to follow him if he decided to leave. The group were still walking towards Central so that they could choose where to go from there so Ed was content to wait for the homunculous to make up his mind. It took until the lights of Central were twinkling in front of them – reminding Ed and Ayala of when they'd been with Gluttony and they, as well as Al and Chester, had realised that Father lived in Central – before Greed spoke.

"I assume you can get into Mustang's house without being noticed?" Greed asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Ayala and I are pretty good at staying out of sight when need be," Ed told him.

"The lion chimera and I will stay wherever we find to spend the night and tomorrow while you and the gorilla chimera will go and get the supplies you need," Greed decided and Ed resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the commanding tone by reminding himself that he only had to put up with the homunculous for a few weeks. Ayala seemed far more amused than Ed thought she had any right to be.

"We have names, you know," Darius grumbled, irked at being called the 'gorilla chimera'. Ed had noted the two didn't appreciate that early on into his recovery. Greed raised a silently questioning brow and Darius took the hint. "That's Heinkel and I'm Darius," he said, flapping a hand over at his fellow chimera. Greed nodded in acknowledgement and that was the end of the conversation.

"Where does your commanding officer live?" Greed asked Ed as they headed down the hill. Ed had a look at city sprawled in front of them before he found a landmark he recognised and could find Mustang's house from there.

"It's in that area," Ed said, pointing off towards his left towards the houses that were built earlier on in the city's construction. These houses were smaller in size, only one story, unlike the Hughes' house, but they had a larger yard size. When Ed had asked Hawkeye why Mustang would choose a house further from Central Command, she'd told him he needed the yard space for if he ever developed and tested new arrays.

"Alright," Greed said, purple eyes scanning the area Ed had pointed to. "There's an abandoned house that sits right on the edge of that area. If I remember correctly, the closest neighbour is half a kilometre from it. We'll check it out and if there's minimal chance of any of my siblings finding it, we'll set up camp there," Greed declared. He didn't wait for their murmurs of agreement before he headed in the direction of the abandoned house, leaving it for the chimeras, Ed and Ayala to follow him. Ed and Ayala exchanged a look but didn't say anything as they followed the three ahead of them. They didn't need to exchange words or even be bonded to know what the others were thinking. It was going to be a long few weeks.

* * *

The house didn't look abandoned. That was the first thing Ed and Ayala thought when they saw it after another hour and a half of walking. Greed was right about the closest neighbour being nearly 500 metres away so they wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing them so long as they didn't try and find any lights to illuminate the dark rooms. Ayala had been apprehensive about entering the house, deeming the yard too clean to be abandoned, until she'd entered the place with Ed and realised that any scents she picked up were weeks old and there was a thin layer of dust on the floor and benches. Greed had looked a bit too smug about it when Ed had told him Ayala had admitted he was right and the wolf had snarled at him before ignoring him for the rest of the night. To add to her annoyance, Greed just seemed to be amused with her behaviour rather than apologetic for his earlier.

Ed and Ayala had called it a night after a couple of hours of exploring the house and listening to the chimeras and Greed talk. The house was big enough that they could all claim a bedroom of their own if they wanted to and Ed had decided to take the one closest to the front entrance so that anyone who tried to break in would have to go through him first, unless someone decided to set up camp in the loungeroom. He and the chimeras all had a bedroll in their packs, having grabbed them from the first town they'd stopped to fuel up their stolen car in when they'd realised they'd actually need camping supplies since the car couldn't hold three of them comfortably enough to sleep in. Ed had forgone the pillow the shopkeeper had tried to sell him since he usually used Ayala or Chester as a pillow whenever he and Al had been forced to sleep outside on a mission and Ayala hadn't raised a fuss about it this time around.

So once he had the bedroll spread out flat, Ayala sprawled herself at the head of it and Ed had lain down, favouring his left side still since it felt a massive bruise. Once goodnights were exchanged, Ed fell asleep fairly quickly but Ayala didn't. A mixture of their surroundings being new, mistrust of one of their group and the fact that they were near one of the most dangerous places for Ed to be right now kept Ayala awake and alert for some time after Ed had managed fall asleep.

* * *

Ayala lifted her head when she heard footsteps approach softly a couple of hours later and watched as Darius poked his head into the room before giving her a nod, closed the door again and walked away. Ayala was used to this behaviour from the chimeras since they'd displayed it the entire time Ed was stuck in the doctor's apartment. Though it had died down to one of them making sure Ed was still breathing once a night, Ayala had gotten used to them checking in every few hours at the beginning of their stay, when Ed had still been touch-and-go. She never mentioned about the check-ins to Ed because she knew her human would get embarrassed and ask the chimeras to stop and Ayala knew that the chimeras were continuing the checks because they cared and worried about Ed.

Ayala was almost asleep – the day of travelling and the exhaustion of being tense all the time finally catching up on her – when the topic of the chimeras and Greed's conversation caught her attention. She'd been tuning them out for the most part until Greed had questioned Ed going to bed early and making a joking comment about having thought the kid having more stamina than that. Ayala raised her lips lightly at the teasing comment but didn't actually move from her position since Ed was actually managing to get some restful sleep for once. She did, however, focus on the conversation more so she could listen in.

"From what we've heard about him from our ex-superiors, Ed could – and usually did – spend days in a library doing research for days at a time with only cat naps before going out to capture a rogue alchemist or fight some criminal without giving any signs of how sleep deprived he was," Heinkel told Greed, his voice muffled slightly by the closed door and walls but not muffled enough for Ayala to not be able to make out the words.

"So what happened?" Greed asked and Ayala would bet he'd given the room she and Ed were in a look. "He didn't look like he'd been missing out on sleep earlier so why has he called it a night instead of staying up with us?" Greed asked. Ayala almost did get up to snap at him when she heard the suspicion in his tone.

"He was pretty badly injured a couple of months ago," Darius said. Ayala was surprised to hear how carefully controlled his voice was when he spoke, like he was making sure no emotions were betrayed. "Badly enough that if he hadn't done what he did, he wouldn't be here today." There was a pause for a moment before Darius continued. "He'd ended up on the wrong end of an explosion and the four us fell several metres down a mineshaft. Ed got the worst of all of us. He ended up with a support beam through his side." Ayala wondered what expression was on Greed's face. Would he be surprised? Shocked? Or would he look uncaring?

"That would've been a fatal injury for a normal human," Greed said casually. "It wouldn't have mattered if he was in a trauma room with the best surgeons. That catastrophic an injury should've killed him in moments once the beam was removed," Greed said and Ayala knew the chimeras would be nodding in agreement with his words.

"He would've died too," Heinkel said, "except he used alchemy to patch himself enough to let us get him to a doctor that could help." Ayala was surprised that Heinkel hadn't told the truth about how Ed's injuries were really patched. Maybe the chimeras didn't trust Greed as much as she'd thought.

"Fascinating," Greed said, managing to sound like he was exaggerating his feelings on the matter but Ayala knew she would need to warn Ed to expect to be questioned about his patched-up injuries when he woke up in the morning. "What does that have to do with my original question?"

"Ed won't say anything," Heinkel warned Greed, "but he's not fully recovered yet. We left the doctor's because the military had found us and we've been living rough the last few days. We've noticed Ed is still favouring his left side and Ed knows he needs rest to recover faster if he wants to be in top fighting shape for Promised Day so he's making sure he gets it where he can," Heinkel told him.

"Doesn't stop him from being a pain in the arse when he wants to be though," Darius grumbled and Ayala felt herself smirk as she remembered when Ed hadn't been able to get to sleep a couple of nights ago and decided to test his tree climbing skills without telling the chimeras. The shriek Darius had let out when Ed had dropped down from the tree in front of him when the gorilla chimera had questioned where he was continued to make Ed chuckle whenever the memory came up.

"That sounds like it has some stories behind it," Greed said and Ayala could imagine the grin on the homunculous' face.

"No it doesn't!" Darius said as Heinkel let out a bark of laughter. Ayala let herself go back to tuning them out as Heinkel started talking while Darius tried keeping him quiet before she fell asleep to the sound of Ed's breathing and the faint sound of city life.

* * *

"Do either of you know where Greed is?" Ed asked the two chimeras in the loungeroom who were playing with a deck of cards. "I need to talk to him."

"I think he's in the far bedroom," Darius told him as he scowled at the cards laid down in front of him. "Where's Ayala?" he asked before Ed could thank him and track down the homunculous.

"She got bored and decided to hunt some lunch for us," Ed told him, leaving the room before Darius or Heinkel could say anything. "You still all good?" Ed asked Ayala through their bond.

" _Yup. I think I found some rabbit dens. How many do you think we'd need to feed everyone?"_  Ayala asked and Ed almost grinned when he felt her excitement at being able to hunt. It was a rarity for either her or Chester to get to hunt their own food since they normally bought meals already made. The only times they got to were when they were on a long mission and they couldn't buy anything because there weren't any shops around.

"Depends," Ed said. "If Greed doesn't eat, we'd only need four or five good-sized rabbits. If Ling makes an appearance or Greed does actually eat, we might need every rabbit living in those woods," Ed told her seriously though amusement flowed through their bond from him and Ayala laughed.

" _I'll start with getting five and we'll go from there,"_  she told him. Ed felt something attract her attention before their conversation was cut with no warning. He didn't worry about it though since he knew from their bond that she'd noticed a rabbit and was preparing for the attack.

Ed found Greed where Darius had guessed he was. The homunculous didn't look like he was doing anything and Ed would admit he was a little curious but he didn't bother questioning it. "Hey, question. Do you eat?" Ed asked and Greed looked mildly surprised at the question.

"I don't have to but food is one of the better things in life so I will," Greed told him.

"Will you eat rabbit? If so, how much?" Ed asked and Greed made a face.

"Rabbit cooked over a campfire?" Greed said and Ed nodded, pretending not to notice the distaste on the homunculous' face. "Pass," he said and Ed shrugged.

"Your loss. Ayala, did you hear that?" Ed asked and felt a brush on his mind from his wolf so he knew she wasn't completely ignoring him in favour of hunting her prey. "Alright, so now that's outta the way, there's something else I want to ask," Ed said and Greed rolled his eyes.

"More questions about how I function differently to you humans?" Greed asked but Ed shook his head.

"Yeah, no, I don't particularly care if you don't need food or sleep or whatever," Ed said. "Can you give Ling control for like three or four hours at least every day?"

Greed looked like he was holding back a scowl. "No," he snapped and Ed frowned.

"Why not?" Ed asked. "It's not like Ling is gonna go anywhere. You could take control back easily even if he tried," Ed pointed out. "He'd probably just spend the time eating everything in sight anyway."

"Why should I?" Greed asked. "Giving over control of this body to that pain in the arse prince isn't something I want and it's not a necessity to my continued survival. I'm certainly more content this way than I would be if Ling was in the driver's seat."

"It's not for your sake I'm asking," Ed told him. "Ling's Animal, Laika, is being killed slowly by you continuously being in charge. You're suffocating their bond," Ed told him.

"So?" Greed asked uncaringly and Ed felt his temper flare.

" _So_ ," he emphasised, grounding the word out, "I can feel Laika, remember? I can feel his fear and worry. It only needs to be for a few hours, just to give their bond some time to repair itself."

"Again, so?" Greed asked but Ed noticed the irritation in the homunculous' voice as well as the small scowl on his face. The thing that got Ed though was that neither seemed to be aimed for him. Rather, Ed realised, it was aimed inwards and he would bet a whole year's pay he knew the reason why.

"So, I'm sure Ling would be less of an arsehole if you just let him be in charge for a few hours each day," Ed said, smirking when Greed's expression of irritation deepened. "He's in your mind right now badgering you about this as well, isn't he?" Ed asked and was rewarded with Greed sneering at him.

"It doesn't matter if he is," Greed snapped. "If his Animal dies, he will as well. Humans don't handle their Animals deaths well," he said callously and Ed fought hard to keep the shock off his face at the viciousness in Greed's voice.

" _Most_  humans usually commit suicide or give up living when their Animal passes," Ed agreed, "but there are the very few who are able to cope with the pain and keep on living life. I would imagine Ling would be one of those who would continue living even if Laika passed," Ed said, the conviction in his voice strong. "I would even be willing to bet that if you end up being the reason Laika dies, Ling will make it his mission to stay a thorn in your side and considering how long a homunculous can live for, that's a very long time to have him in your mind for," Ed told him. Greed did not look impressed and his mood seemed to sourer a minute later, telling Ed that Ling was putting in his two cents worth. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Greed gave a growl of annoyance.

" _Fine!"_  Greed snapped ferociously enough that Ed took a step back in shock and caution. "Three hours a day. That's it," Greed said in a manner that Ed knew meant he was talking to Ling as well. "As long as we aren't being attacked or at risk of one. I won't risk getting captured by Wrath or one of the others just because Ling and you want to save his Animal and their bond," Greed sneered as he mentioned Laika.

"I'm good with that," Ed said, agreeing easily. He just had to hope three hours everyday of Ling being in charge would be enough for his and Laika's bond. "Just because I'm pretty sure I know how your mind works; it has to be three consecutive hours. Not three hours spread out in minute intervals over the day," Ed said sternly and Greed rolled his eyes.

"Three hours  _consecutively_ ," Greed said and Ed gave a satisfied nod.

"Laika will be happy," Ed said before turning to leave the room. "Let me know within a couple of hours if you change your mind about the rabbits," he said, giving Greed a wave without turning around before he disappeared down the hall, leaving the homunculous with only Ling for company.

* * *

To say that Nala had been excited when Ed made contact with her almost a full day after she sensed he was near Central would be an understatement. The lioness had almost chattered his metaphorical ear off with questions of why he was there, concerned comments for his safety since the entire Central Command Centre had orders to arrest him on the spot and angered ones about why it had taken almost a whole day to talk to her. Ed managed to calm her down enough while he was using one of his newly created throwing knives to skin and prepare the rabbits he'd found Ayala with to be cooked over the small fire he'd created to ask when Mustang was normally home and for Nala to send him a memory snippet of what her and Mustang's house looked like so he could be sure he broke into the right one.

Nala had been positively thrilled to do so when she realised it meant Ed would be visiting her soon and had almost overwhelmed Ed with the amount of memory snippets she had of her home, wanting to be certain Ed saw it from every angle so he couldn't possibly miss it. Ed had laughed and told her to settle down with the snippets. Nala hadn't felt even a little ashamed as she apologised and told Ed she and Mustang would be home by 6:00pm. Ed had promised he'd see her when he got home before ending their conversation so he could talk to Leo so he could have the fox ask Hughes visit Mustang that night with the supplies Ed needed. Leo had then informed Ed that he'd barely gotten the words 'Ed's in town and needs you to grab this stuff and meet him at Mustang's at this time' out of his mouth before Hughes was agreeing to the plan.

"When do you want to leave for Mustang's?" Darius asked as he helped Ed carry the cooked rabbits inside so the three of them could eat. Ayala had gotten the choice of which rabbit she wanted since she'd done the hard work of catching and killing them and she'd chosen to have hers raw while Ed cooked the others over the fire on a spit.

"Probably should leave here around 4:30," Ed told him. "We don't know how careful we'll have to be to get there so we don't actually know how long it'll take for certain to get to his place. Plus, Nala confirmed there were only two soldiers ordered to keep an eye on his place while he wasn't home so we won't have as many to worry about if we get into his place before he does," Ed said and Darius nodded, happy with the plan.

"Thanks, kid," Heinkel said as he took one of the rabbits Darius had.

"Thank Ayala," Ed said as he down next to Ayala's napping form. "She did most of the hard work."

"Thanks, Ayala," Heinkel and Darius both said. The still-black wolf opened one golden eye at the mention of her name, nodded once before going back to her post-lunch nap.

Greed came out of the room he'd obviously claimed as his own when they were halfway through their lunch. Ed offered him some of his rabbit, despite the homunculous' comment when Ed had offered to have Ayala catch one for him, and Greed – to Ed's surprise – took a leg and joined them. "When are the two of you leaving?" Greed asked and Ed pulled out his pocket-watch.

"In about an hour," Ed said, putting the watch away and returning to the rabbit.

"How long do you think you'll be? I want to get moving as soon as possible," Greed said pushily but all Ed could do was shrug.

"I can't truly tell you," Ed said. "If I was just meeting Mustang, I'd be in and out but since it's Hughes, I could be there for a couple of hours, minimum," Ed told him. Greed didn't look impressed but knew he couldn't demand Ed make the meetup go faster since Ed wouldn't have much control over it so he gave a simple nod as he chewed on the rabbit leg. Ed and Ayala shared a look but decided not to bother commenting.

* * *

Mustang let out a sigh as he pulled his private car into the small garage that provided protective cover in case of bad weather and hot days. The soldiers who were acting on the Fuhrer's orders made no attempt at being subtle about the fact they were watching his house as they took up positions on his street where they could see his house best. Nala made an impatient noise and Mustang rolled his eyes. Halfway through the day, his lioness had suddenly gotten extremely excited in a way she hadn't been for months. He knew it had something to do with Edward – nothing and no one else had that kind of effect on her – but Nala had refused to tell him what was going on. Giving another sigh, Mustang got out of his car, closed the door once Nala had let herself out and headed for his front door.

To Mustang's surprise, Nala  _didn't_  immediately bolt into the house like he sensed she wanted to do when he opened the door. Rather, she walked in like it was any other day and that really ratcheted up his suspicions. He didn't immediately see anything out of place and none of his traps, alchemic or otherwise, had been set off. He'd seen the two guards who'd watched his place for the day and neither of them seemed like they'd witnessed anything out of the ordinary. With all signs pointing to the fact that he shouldn't have been expecting anything out of place, Mustang truly didn't know why he wasn't surprised when he saw Edward standing in his kitchen with a black Ayala at his feet.

"Nala!" Ed greeted excitedly, pure happiness on his face as the lioness bounded towards him once the front door was shut. Nala nearly took Ed down with the force of her hug, despite Mustang seeing Ed brace for it. "It's so good to see you!" Ed said as he hugged her fiercely around the neck. Mustang almost snapped when someone he'd never seen before had come out of the bathroom.

"He's not going to kill me, right?" the man asked and Ed laughed from where he had his face buried in the scruff of Nala's neck. When Ed lifted his face, Mustang saw the happiest expression he'd seen on the teen in a very long time. It disappeared almost immediately but Mustang had seen it.

"Nah, you're safe," Ed said, giving Mustang a significant look that had the man glare at him but he lowered his hand. The door knocked at that moment and Ed jerked his head to it. "You should get that," he told Mustang.

"I'm assuming you know who's on the other side than?" Mustang asked, even as he headed for the door. He ignored Ed's sarcastic comment how he was cool with letting Mustang answer the door to someone unknown while he was on the run from the military and opened the door to find the Hughes family on the other side. "Hughes," Mustang greeted, "Gracia and Elysia, what a wonderfully unexpected surprise," Mustang drawled.

"Hi, Roy," Gracia said happily as Elysia hugged him. He noted the loaded bags in her arms. "Maes said you hadn't been eating properly for the past few days. You could've come over to ours at any time, you know," Gracia berated as she let herself in.

"I've been too busy catching up on paperwork to cook for myself," Mustang told her as Hughes walked past him, clapping him on the shoulder as he headed after his wife. Mustang rolled his eyes but led Elysia inside after them. He was glad he shut the door as quick as he did when Elysia let out a squeal of Ed's name high-pitched enough to make the Animals wince.

"Hi, El," Ed said as Nala finally released him from her hug so Elysia could give one of her own. "Have you behaved yourself for your parents?" Ed asked as he picked the young girl up so she could hug him better. Leo and Lilith greeted the blonde in a calmer manner than Elysia before Leo chose to stay near Mustang while Lilith sat herself next to Ed so she could lean against his flesh leg in her version of a hug.

"I have!" Elysia told him even as she did her best to strangle him with her affection. "I've missed you so much, Big Brother!" Elysia said, her voice small and cracking slightly and Ed squeezed her a little tighter.

"I've missed you too, El," Ed told her, his voice open and vulnerable in a way Mustang knew he would never have sounded without the young girl in his arms.

Gracia placed her armload of groceries on the counter next to Ed before she wrapped both Ed and Elysia up in one big hug. Ed wiggled his right arm free from where it was trapped between Gracia and Elysia so he could hug Gracia back. "Are you alright, Ed?" Gracia asked, even as she made no move to let the blonde go.

"I'm better," Ed told her, knowing that a big part of her question was about his injury in the mountains.

"Good," Gracia said as she kissed his temple and pulled away, giving him a big, slightly watery smile, "because the lecture you'll be getting when everything's over will be of epic proportions, young man," she informed him. Ed let out a huff of laughter and a grin.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told her sincerely. Gracia gave his cheek a soft pat before she looked over at the fondly smiling Maes, indifferent stranger and perplexed Mustang, though she noted Roy was trying to hide it.

"Did you know they would be here?" Mustang asked, giving Hughes a betrayed look.

Maes raised a brow at him. "Of course I did," he said. "Didn't you?"

"Would I be asking if I'd known?" Mustang snapped venomlessly and Hughes shrugged.

"I assumed you did since this is your house and all." Nala let out a guilty chuckle that had Ed grinning at her while Mustang gave her an exasperated look. Gracia and Hughes shared a grin while Elysia continued trying to hug Ed to death, paying no attention to the adults. "Ed told Leo what he needed and what time he'd be here and that Nala knew about it," Hughes explained.

" _I didn't want to ruin the surprise,"_  Nala told Ed, who grinned at her while Mustang rolled his eyes.  _"Plus I knew you would be as entertained as me,"_  she added.

"You're awesome," Ed told her with a chuckle.

" _I know,"_  Nala assured him, a smirk on her face.

Gracia bustled around Ed, her daughter, Ayala, Nala and the kitchen as she took control of the room so she could start preparing the dinner they used as an excuse to visit the Flame Alchemist. Ed seemed to realise he was inconveniencing her a little as he stood in the kitchen with Elysia in his arms so he moved the two of them out of the kitchen, followed closely by Ayala and Nala since Lilith decided to stay in the kitchen, and neither Animal seemed to be willing to let Ed out of their sight. Ed was amused to figure out that Ayala was afraid to let him out of her sight lest Nala kidnaps him.

"So, Ed," Hughes said as Ed joined them. Elysia twisted her head so she could see her father but made no move to get down. "Is there a reason Ayala is black?"

"A golden wolf sticks out quite a bit," Ed told them. "Once we're out of Central and far enough from military outposts, I'll put her fur back to the right colour," Ed said, looking at her and giving her a smile.

"Fair enough," Hughes said, giving him a grin. That was the only warning Ed got before Hughes wrapped him and Elysia into a big hug that rivalled Koda's on her best days. Ed knew his eyes had widened in surprise at the action since Hughes only gave him hugs when things like the fight with Envy had happened but he soon let himself melt into it and return it as best he could with a six-year-old in his arms. Gracia popped her head out of the kitchen, which was what they took as their cue to separate.

"I need some extra hands in here," Gracia said. "Elysia, can you come and help me?" Ed looked as Elysia turned to consider her mum before nodding while Hughes took a step back. Ed placed her on the ground and the little girl headed over to her mother. "Will you be here for dinner, Ed?" Gracia asked and Elysia gave Ed the biggest pair of pleading eyes Ed had ever seen. Ed glanced over at Darius, who shrugged, silently telling Ed it was up to him.

"Sure, Miss Gracia," Ed said, giving her a smile. Gracia and Elysia both seemed exceptionally pleased with the answer.

"Who exactly is 'we'?" Mustang asked, bringing the topic back on track now that the two girls were gone and Ed nodded to Darius.

"Darius is one of the people I'm travelling with," Ed said. "Heinkel is another," Ed told them before taking a small moment to ready himself for the reaction he knew he'd get, "and Greed is the other person."

"I'm sorry, Ed, we must've misheard you because I could've sworn you just said that Greed was someone you were travelling with," Hughes said, voice forcibly calm. Ed gave him a sheepish smile and Hughes' face turned to one of disbelief and concern. "Greed tried to kill you the last time you saw each other! Not to mention the fact that he's part of everything going on with the military! What on earth are you doing with him?!" Hughes didn't raise his voice but it was a close thing.

"Ling got control back for a few minutes," Ed said and both men looked at him with surprise. "The reason I even came back to Central once I could leave where I was rather than finding Al and Chester was because Laika could sense Ling was going to get in trouble and he asked me to be there," Ed told them. "We turned up at the cabin we held Gluttony in and Ling stumbled in. He told us when Promised Day was happening but Greed got back control before he could tell us anything else. However, it turns out that Greed found out what Wrath and the others had done to his crew in Dublith and really didn't appreciate it so he went after Wrath. It didn't end well for Greed which is why Ling was able to take control," Ed explained.

"So you teamed up with him?" Mustang asked, tone telling Ed just how much of an idiot he thought the blonde was. Ed glared at him.

"What else was I supposed to do? Greed has information we'll need and I needed to keep Greed close by so I could keep Ling safe and convince Greed to let Ling be in control every now and then to save Laika," Ed snapped. "Plus, it's not a stupid idea to keep him on our side so he might give us a hand on Promised Day because the kind of abilities he'd bring to the table would help us out immensely."

"He's got a point." Hughes looked like he was chewing on a lemon as he said the words. "If he can convince Greed to help us, it may save lives and who better to keep him safe from the military than someone who knows how the leader thinks?" Mustang looked about as happy as Hughes but he nodded once and Ed relaxed slightly, happy they weren't going to make this into a big deal.

"Alright, Fullmetal," Mustang said with a sigh. "Tell us everything that's happened and everything you've got planned."

Ed sat on Mustang's couch, Nala and Ayala hopping up next to him while Hughes and Mustang sat themselves on the armchairs. Leo decided to stay next to Hughes, curling up next to his armchair while Darius elected to stay standing and chose to do so behind Ed's couch, making sure he could see everything that was happening. "Okay, so you guys already know about what happened in the mineshaft so I'll start with what's happened since."

* * *

"I've cleaned up everything I used. You just have to put it away once it dries," Gracia told Mustang as she joined them in the loungeroom after dinner and dessert had been eaten.

"You didn't have to do that, Gracia," Mustang told her as Nala practically crawled onto Ed's lap so Gracia could sit next to him on the couch. Mustang and Hughes had claimed the same armchairs as before but Hughes had Elysia on his lap. Lilith and Leo had decided to curl up on the floor between Hughes' armchair and the couch Gracia, Ed, Ayala and Nala were on.

"I know but I also know what you're like when it comes to domestic duties," Gracia told him sweetly. Ed's half-stifled chuckles caused the pout Mustang had given Gracia to turn into a scowl aimed for the blonde. "Ed, do you have a bag or something to carry the things you asked for?" Gracia asked, fussing slightly and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Darius and I brought our packs," he told her, nodding to the two bags sitting innocently near one of Mustang's bookshelves with a misshapen red bundle with them.

"I'll pack them for you," Gracia told him, getting to her feet and grabbing the bags.

"Miss Gracia, I can do that," Ed told her, getting ready to make Nala move but Gracia shook her head.

"No, you stay there," Gracia said before giving Nala a smile. "I don't think she'll let you get up any time soon anyway." Nala nodded in agreement before she rolled slightly and stretched back out so she took up Gracia's empty spot again. Ed rolled his eyes at the lioness as Ayala mimicked her movements.

"I can give you a hand, Mrs. Hughes, if you need one," Darius offered and Gracia gave him a smile.

"I'd appreciate that, Darius, and please just call me Gracia," she said as the two of them headed into the kitchen where the foodstuff the Hughes' had bought for them was still sitting.

"Speaking of things you asked for," Hughes said, getting Ed's attention as he dug into his pocket without disturbing the sleepy Elysia too much and pulling out an envelope, "here's the money you needed," he said as he handed the envelope to Ed.

"Thanks, Hughes," Ed said gratefully as he took the envelope. "How did you get it out of my account? I thought it was frozen?" Ed asked, looking up in time to see the sheepish look on Hughes' face. "This is from your account, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Hughes admitted but shook his head when Ed went to protest and hand the money back. "We can afford to loan it to you so don't bother. You can just pay us back when everything's settled," Hughes told him.

"Are you sure?" Ed couldn't help but ask, not wanting to take money from him if it meant they'd be struggling to make ends meet. Ordinary soldiers, even ones of Hughes' rank and calibre, weren't paid near as much as State Alchemists and while the Hughes' didn't have to count every cent Hughes earned, they still had to be cautious with their money.

"Absolutely," Hughes told him. "It won't be long before you can pay us back anyway so don't worry about it."

Ed accepted his words with a nod as he pocketed the envelope in one of his white jacket's pockets. "Thanks, Hughes," Ed said.

"Don't worry about it," Hughes said firmly and that was the end of that conversation.

"So what's been keeping you busy? Are you still in charge of finding Scar?" Ed asked Hughes when no one else seemed to know what else to talk about.

"Officially, yes, but I've been ordered to pass any reports regarding his location on to Kimblee," Hughes told him and Ed scowled. At least he now knew for certain the bastard had survived bleeding Fort Briggs and he might be able to get his revenge on the psychopathic alchemist. "There haven't been very many sightings of Scar in the last couple of months. We got a report saying he was travelling south after your fight with Kimblee but nothing substantial since." Ed nodded, having expected to hear something similar. Chester had been keeping Ed filled in on almost everything and had mentioned that Scar and Marcoh had left their group halfway through the journey to Liore in order to seek out Ishvalen refugees and hopefully gather some warriors to help in the fight. Ed was hoping that he or Al would run into the Ishvalen soon so they could pass on the date of the battle. "We've been kept busy with a series of murders that have occurred though. They bear a striking resemblance to a serial killer, Barry the Chopper, who'd been sentenced to death and has since had that sentence carried out," Hughes told him and Ed winced as he realised that after the explosion and collapse of Laboratory Five, Al had told him his opponent had escaped but neither of them had bothered looking for him in the months since.

"Have you found him yet?" Ed asked but Hughes shook his head.

"No," Hughes told him. "We've broadcast a description of his armour as Al had described it but so far no one has seen him in the area." Hughes saw Ed's concern and guilt and gave him a small smile. "We will catch up with him before long so don't worry yourself about it," Hughes said sternly and Ed gave a small nod.

"Pack's are ready, kid," Darius said as he and Gracia emerged from the kitchen. He had both packs on his shoulders and Ed was a little surprised to see how much they bulged. It seemed Gracia had decided to get more than Ed had asked for.

"Okay," Ed said, knowing it meant they needed to leave now. The Hughes' couldn't stay much longer without raising suspicion anyway and Ed wanted to use their departure as a distraction. While the soldiers were busy watching the family leave, Ed, Ayala and Darius would leave out the back. "I guess that means we should be getting ready to leave." Nala and Elysia let out a whine of protest at Ed's words.

"Big Brother, I don't want you to go!" Elysia cried, scrambling off of Hughes' lap and rushing onto Ed's to hold him tight, causing Ed to grunt lightly as she made him sit back down from the half-rise he'd been in.

"I have to, Elysia," Ed told her regretfully. "It won't be as long as it was last time for you to see me next, I promise," he said but the words didn't console Elysia as much as he wanted. "Listen, El," Ed said, peeling the young girl off of him so he could look her in the eyes. "Are you listening?" Elysia's bottom lip trembled and her eyes watered but she nodded, sniffling a little as Ed gave her a smile. "This mission I'm on, it's the most important mission I've ever gone on. I need to be away from Central for a few more weeks so I won't be able to see you until after it's over but I  _swear_ , El, I will make certain you are the first person I see when I'm back," Ed told her, his voice filled with promise.

Elysia looked at him for a moment, tears slipping down her face before she nodded. "Okay, Big Brother," she said, voice trembling as much as her bottom lip was.

"Good girl," Ed said, giving her a smile and kissing her lightly on the temple as he stood up. Both Nala and Ayala hopped off the couch with him and both Hughes and Mustang took it as their cue to stand as well. "Is there any chance you guys would be able to take that home with you? It's just some books Darius and Heinkel grabbed for me to read so I wouldn't be as bored while I was recovering," Ed said, nodding to the red bundle.

"Yeah, of course. We'll keep it with your suitcase and other gear," Hughes told him. Mustang eyed the dirty bundle distastefully before sighing and heading into a different room and returning with a bag similar to the ones Darius was holding onto.

"Pack them into this so no one questions that," Mustang said, giving Ed's battered red jacket a look.

"Thanks, Roy," Gracia said, accepting the bag as Hughes grabbed the bundle of books before Ed could put Elysia down to do so himself. Between the two of them they got the books to fit in the bag and even managed to get the filthy red jacket in on top of them before they zipped the bag shut. Once that job was done, Maes held his hands out for Elysia and – after one final hug – Ed handed her over without much protest from the young girl. Once his hands were free, Gracia wrapped the blonde up in a tight hug. "You keep yourself safe. I expect you, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester home for dinner as soon as this mission is over, you hear me?" Gracia said once she pulled away from the hug and making Ed look her in the eye.

"I hear you and I promise we will do our absolute damnedest to make sure we are," Ed promised her and she nodded in satisfaction.

"We'll see you soon, Ed. Try and stay out of trouble if you can," Maes said as he wrapped an arm around Ed's shoulders once his wife had let go of the blonde completely and pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"It's not like I go  _looking_  for trouble," Ed grumbled at the man. Ayala made a very suspicious coughing noise that had Ed glaring at her while Maes openly laughed, Mustang smirked and Gracia tried her hardest to hide her amusement. Darius was nodding at Ayala like he was completely agreeing with her. Ed turned back to the Hughes family. "You guys stay safe too," Ed said and Hughes clapped him on the shoulder while Gracia gave him a warm smile.

"We will," Hughes promised.

"You two look after your humans, okay?" Ed said as he crouched down to Leo and Lilith, both of whom had gotten themselves up and joined their humans where they were standing.

" _I'll try but you know what Maes is like,"_  Leo grumbled as Lilith gave a solid nod of agreement.

" _We'll see you soon, Ed. Make sure you keep in touch with us though,"_  Lilith told him and Ed gave a promise he would.

"We'll get going now. Keep us informed of what's going on," Maes instructed Ed.

"As long as you do the same for me," Ed said and Maes gave him a grin.

"As if I could stop Leo from filling you in on everything that happens," Maes laughed.

"If Leo didn't, you know Nala would, whether or not she should," Mustang said, glaring at his lioness in what everyone assumed was supposed to be in a reprimand but they could all tell he didn't mean it that way. Nala certainly didn't look like she was being reprimanded.

"While Mustang says goodbye to you lot, Ayala, Darius and I will slip out the back," Ed said, moving towards Darius and accepting his significantly heavier pack from him. Ayala joined the two of them while Nala watched them mournfully.

"Alright. See you in a few weeks, Ed," Hughes said and Ed nodded, giving the man a thumbs up.

"Bye, Big Brother," Elysia said, giving him a sad wave and Ed gave her a big smile.

"Remember, El, you're the first person I'm gonna see when this mission's over, alright?" Ed reminded her and the little girl nodded, looking a little happier but not by much.

"Bye, Ed," Gracia said. "I know I keep asking but please stay safe," Gracia said and Ed nodded once more.

"I'll try and I'm sure Ayala will do her best to make I keep that promise," Ed said and Ayala gave Gracia a long-suffering sigh but nodded, making Gracia smile in thanks.

Nala decided it was her turn to say goodbye to the blonde and did so by repeating her earlier actions and giving the blonde a hug.  _"You had better make sure you survive this. I will not be impressed if you don't,"_  Nala told him, nuzzling his cheek as he hugged her back.

"Neither will I if you don't stay alive," Ed told her. The hug lasted a couple more seconds before Nala dropped and joined Mustang once more, sharing a look with Ayala that had the wolf nodding to her.

"Stay alive, Fullmetal," Mustang said, pinning Ed with his gaze. "I don't need the paperwork that would come with your death."

"You too, Mustang. Don't need you any more useless than you already are," Ed sneered back. Nala and Ayala rolled their eyes in tandem at their humans. Maes and Gracia merely looked amused while Elysia was practically asleep so she didn't notice the exchange.

Mustang glared at Ed before he ushered the Hughes family out of his house so they could get back home. Hughes made a slight fuss by thanking Mustang for the 'camping gear he'd loaned them' and gesturing to the bag full of Ed's books he'd slung over his shoulder. Mustang had rolled his eyes and quipped about just wanting Hughes out of his hair for a weekend so there was no need to thank him. Hughes had laughed boisterously before allowing Gracia to drag him and Elysia to the cab waiting for them while their foxes followed, keeping their eyes open for any dangers. Mustang and Nala watched until the cab pulled away – Nala taking the opportunity to check that the two teams of soldiers were still out the front of the house – before Mustang shut the front door and they walked back into their living room to find it empty of anyone else. Mustang felt Nala's sadness at not having been able to give the blonde or his wolf a proper goodbye.

"Don't worry, Nala," Mustang said, giving his lioness a pat. "You know he'll be alright. He always is."

" _I know,"_  she said, still staring at the spot where the three fugitives had stood before joining Mustang in their nightly routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments does this author so much good! Would absolutely love to know what you thought to it!! See you all next week!


	42. Chapter 42

_Three weeks later…_

"Well that's a sight for sore eyes," Ed said, grinning as he led Ayala, Darius, Heinkel and Greed down a familiar dirt road and around a corner. There stood the Rockbell house, looking as unchanged as ever. As it was still daylight, none of the lights were on so far as Ed could see but Ed and Ayala could sense Den nearby so they both knew that he and Pinako were home.

"That's your mechanic's house?" Greed asked, looking at the scruffy two-storey house with a judgemental expression and Ed resisted the urge to smack him. After spending nearly a month with the homunculous, Ed and the chimeras were learning a lot about him. Greed certainly lived up to him name; never settling for second best and he couldn't understand why others would. For the most part, Ed, Ayala and the chimeras just ignored those kinds of comments.

"Well, it's her grandmother's technically," Ed told him as they headed for it.

Ayala was jogging happily along the dirt road, her golden fur glistening once more in the sun. Ed had kept his word and changed her fur from the black it had been dyed to disguise her back to her natural golden and white coat as soon as they'd gotten far enough from Central that they could risk it. She'd been turned back into a black wolf four more times over the course of their time on the run but her annoyance was softened when Ed did the same to his own golden locks whenever they had to pass through a town with strong military presence.

"Hmph," was all Ed heard from Greed in response and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Is your Granny expecting company?" Darius asked and Ed nodded.

"Den knows we're coming and he promised he'd told her," Ed assured him. "Plus, Winry and Michella should be arriving this afternoon as well. Michella told me that some Fort Briggs soldiers Al was with had managed to find them where Chester said they were so they could smuggle her home," Ed told the chimera.

It had been a surprise to hear from the monkey the previous day but nowhere near as surprising as it had been nearly a month ago when Michella had contacted him out of the blue asking him why the military was looking for them. A client and good friend of Garfiel's had overheard soldiers three blocks away about where they could Garfiel's shop and whether Winry was still working there and had immediately headed off to warn Garfiel and Winry himself. Ed had cursed so much that Greed had been a little impressed before he told Michella to tell Winry and Garfiel that Winry and she needed to leave immediately because it was extremely likely that the military had been looking the pair to hold them as hostages to draw the brothers out of hiding.

To say Michella had put his stream of cursing to shame would've been an understatement but she did as Ed asked and Winry and Al's friend, Paninya, had helped Winry and Michella escape Rush Valley without being detected. Friends of Paninya's had taken Winry in for a few days before driving her out of town and dropping her off with more friends on a farm outside of Awrosut, where she and Michella stayed for nearly two weeks before Chester contacted Michella with the news that North City and Fort Briggs soldiers were heading to East City for the annual war games and that a group of Briggs soldiers would get them out of Awrosut and smuggled onto a train in East City that would be bound for Resembool.

Michella and Winry had almost turned it down, too scared something would go wrong and they'd end up kidnapped but Chester had then informed them that he and Alphonse would be accompanying the Briggs soldiers and would be on the train with them. Once they'd heard that, they'd been on board with the idea immediately and had waited patiently another two days for their escort. From what Ed had later heard from Chester, there had been a lot of tears and lectures from Winry and Michella aimed at the two of them, as well as promises to give Ed and Ayala the same tongue lashing they'd gotten.

"So they got on the train with no issues?" Heinkel asked, bringing Ed out of his memories and the blonde nodded.

"Yeah, Chester told me everything had gone smoothly. They hid the four of them in crates in one of the cargo cars and made sure that only soldiers we could trust were tasked with checking the cargo," Ed told him. "Chester had no complaints. I think he was just grateful not to be stuck in with the livestock again," Ed said with a grin at Ayala.

" _I can't imagine why he would be happier away from smelly sheep he's not allowed to eat,"_  Ayala said sarcastically. Ed chuckled but didn't respond.

"How are Winry and Michella going to stay hidden until they arrive here?" Darius asked as they turned up the driveway leading to the Rockbell house. "There's a few Central soldiers stationed in Resembool to keep an eye out for you and your brother."

"I don't know but I'm sure they'll figure something out," Ed told him, ignoring the pang of worry that he felt at Darius' question. A small figure running towards them from the porch got Ed's mind away from his worry and he grinned as he jogged a few steps so he was now in the lead before he knelt down in time to Den a big hug as the border collie wiggled in his grip.

" _Edward!"_  Den greeted joyously and Ed laughed at the amount of restraint the old dog was showing to stop himself from licking Ed upside the face.  _"It's been ages! How are you? Where have you been? Who are -?"_  Den cut himself off from the last question as his eyes fell on Greed and his brain registered what he'd been smelling.  _"Homunculous!"_  Den shouted as he started snarling at Greed, moving his body in front of Ed's to protect him.

"Den," Ed said, tugging on the dog's collar but he stayed firmly in place, lips lifted in a threatening growl. "Den," Ed tried again, tugging harder on the collar but still, the border collie didn't budge. Greed wasn't helping matters as he smirked down at the Animal and Ed flipped him off before manoeuvring himself so he was in Den's eyeline, blocking his view of Greed "Den, he's not an enemy," Ed said firmly, using their bond. This time, Den seemed to register that Ed was talking.

" _He's a homunculous though,"_  Den said, still eyeing Greed suspiciously over Ed's shoulder and Ed nodded.

"He is but he's not on their side," Ed told him. "He's been helping us by giving us information and helping the four of us stay off the grid and out of the military's grip."

" _I don't trust him,"_  Den said, giving Greed a glare that was accompanied by a growl when the homunculous made to move around them. Surprisingly, Greed listened to the warning and stayed where he was.

"Good," Ed told Den honestly, "because I don't fully trust him either." A look passed between the two and Den looked over at Ayala for her opinion. When the wolf gave a nod, Den relaxed out of his defensive stance and Ed took the opportunity to stand up but not before he gave his favourite border collie a scratch between the ears. "Now that that's sorted," Ed said, "introductions are in order. Den, this is Darius, Heinkel and Greed though sometimes he hands control back to the person born in that body, Ling." He gestured to all of them as he said their names. "Guys, this is Den. He's Granny Pinako's Animal." Den looked at all of them in turn and his eyes narrowed on the two chimeras. Ed realised what the dog was about to ask and answered it for him before he could. "They're chimeras," Ed told him.

" _That explains what's wrong with their scent,"_  Den said but didn't say anything else on the topic.  _"Pinako's waiting for you in the house and she's starting to get impatient,"_  Den warned him and Ed chuckled.

"Of course the old bat is," Ed said. "Best not keep her waiting though." He didn't say anything else before he headed towards the house with Den and Ayala by his side. The three others followed him without complaint, something that was little surprising from Greed since Ed had expected the homunculous to say something but he didn't complain. Sure enough, Ed spotted Pinako on the porch as soon as it came into view properly and she didn't look awfully impressed.

"It's about time the lot of you got here," Pinako muttered as she puffed on her pipe once they were within earshot. "You'd better come inside before some nosey neighbour sees you." Without another word, she turned and headed into the house with Den on her heels. Ed shook his head at the typical greeting before he led the others inside.

"It's good to see you, Granny," Ed said honestly as he kicked his boots off and toed them so they stood relatively neatly.

"It's good to see you in one piece," Pinako replied drily. "Certainly makes a nice change to how you usually show up looking." Her shrewd eyes picked up on the fading bruise on his jaw and she gave him a look that told him she wasn't impressed. "At least you aren't too banged up," she amended before looking expectantly at the three others.

"Darius, Heinkel and Greed," Ed said simply, pointing to them as he introduced them. "This is Winry's grandmother, Pinako Rockbell," Ed said to his group.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rockbell. Thank you for letting us stay here the night," Heinkel said on behalf of everyone else.

"'Pinako' is fine and you're welcome," Pinako told him, waving off his thanks. "Dinner won't be anything fancy and some of you will need to sleep in the living room as I don't have enough beds for all of you, especially if Alphonse and Chester stay the night too." They nodded their understanding but Ed shook his head.

"Al and Ches won't be here," Ed told her. "They're going to stay with the Briggs soldiers and help them with their plan before accompanying the Eastern troops and Briggs men to Central," Ed told her. "Since everything will start being put into motion tomorrow, they're going to stay in Resembool and stay out of sight so they don't risk being seen leaving or returning," he explained. "We can't risk being found this close to the fight."

"Very well," Pinako said, sounding a little upset that she wouldn't get to see them this time but she didn't show it. "One of you can sleep in the second bed in Ed and Al's room in that case," she told the group. "Someone can stay here in the loungeroom and so long as I don't get any patients visit me by tonight, someone can sleep in there," Pinako informed them.

"Thank you, Pinako," Heinkel said once more, dipping his head.

Once again, Pinako waved off the thanks. "If you want anything to eat, help yourselves. Kitchen's that way," she told them, pointing in the direction she meant. "I've got some things to do around the house still and I need to finish preparing rooms for everyone," Pinako informed them.

"Would you like a hand with anything, Pinako?" Darius asked and she considered him for a moment.

"Yes," she said finally. "The house needs some work done to it to prepare it for the wet season. I've been waiting for Ed and Al to pay me a visit so I could get them to help me out."

"You could've had Den ask me," Ed told her. "I would've made Mustang give me some time off to give you a hand," Ed said and she gave him a look.

"The repairs aren't urgent and wet season isn't for a couple more months. I figured I'd be seeing you before then," Pinako informed him before beckoning for Darius to follow her. After a moment, Heinkel accompanied them and Ed could hear Pinako giving the two chimeras instructions on what she needed done.

"Cranky old bat," Ed muttered.

"I can see where you get a lot of your attitude from," Greed said observantly and Ed rolled his eyes at the homunculous.

"Most of my attitude comes from spite and lack of caffeine," Ed informed him. "I'm gonna grab something to eat then find out what the crazy old woman wants done around here," Ed told him. "Make yourself comfortable or help out or whatever. Just don't break anything," Ed instructed before he and Ayala headed for the kitchen.

" _How long do you think Winry and Michella will be?"_  Ayala asked as they made their way into the kitchen and Ed shrugged.

"You know what the trains are like," Ed said as he grabbed three bananas, peeled one and gave it to her, taking a seat at the little table. "They should be here before dark though," he guessed, biting into his own banana after he'd removed the skin.

" _Did Michella say if she'd give you a heads up?"_  Ayala asked, already knowing the answer and was proven right when Ed snorted and shook his head.  _"I'm sure I'll sense them before they arrive so it doesn't matter,"_  she said, eating the last of her snack.

"If it doesn't matter, why were you asking?" Ed said, grinning at her once he'd swallowed his mouthful. Ayala elected to ignore him and Ed laughed as he handed her half of the last banana before eating the half he'd kept and got back to his feet. "Let's go and see what Granny needs a hand with," Ed said and Ayala nodded, following Ed back out the kitchen and through the hall Pinako had disappeared down with the chimeras.

* * *

Winry and Michella let out a sigh as one of the Briggs soldiers who had helped smuggle them back into Resembool whispered that they were at the train station and they'd be getting them home shortly. The crate wasn't completely dark as there were cracks between the wooden boards so tiny slivers of light shone in but the cracks weren't wide enough to offer either of them a glimpse outside. They could hear the sound of people walking around, chattering excitedly, mixed in with the sound of numerous sheep bleating. Winry smiled sadly at the familiar sound of the annual Resembool Sheep Festival and Michella gave her a hug as nostalgia about the festivals she'd attended in the past with her granny, Ed, Al and even Trisha before she'd passed threatened to overwhelm her.

The hug from her Animal had helped but the startling feeling of the crate she and Michella were hiding in being picked up and moved brought her completely out of her thoughts as new ones had her panicking. The whisper from the Briggs soldier telling her it was just them had her calming down and clearing her mind of thoughts of being found out and kidnapped. Michella had taken the time to admonish her, reminding her that she would've been able to sense if they were in danger and Winry had given her an apologetic smile. Winry and Michella felt the crate being settled on something that sounded like wood and another whispered comment from the Briggs soldier gave them the moment they needed to prepare for the cart they must've been on to start rolling along the dirt road.

"Did you tell Chester we were leaving the train station?" Winry asked Michella as they trundled along the road.

" _Yeah, I didn't want him to worry when he couldn't sense us,"_  Michella told her.

"Did you tell Ed?" Winry asked though she was positive she knew the answer and she knew she was right when she felt Michella's sulky 'no' more than she heard it. "Would you tell him please?"

" _Ayala will sense us before we turn up,"_  Michella said, stubbornly refusing to contact Ed and Winry sighed. She knew Michella didn't like Ed all that much.

When Winry had asked her Animal after the third time Ed and she had interacted and she'd noticed the dislike hadn't faded, all Michella had said was that she didn't like Ed's attitude. Winry had shrugged it off since not everyone was going to like Ed's abrasive personality and she couldn't force her Animal to get along with him but sometimes – like this moment – Winry wondered how bad it would be if she just locked Ed and Michella in a room and refused to let them out until they'd sorted their problems out. Of course, she thought irritably, Ed would just alchemise his way out if he wanted too and she wouldn't have been able to stop him.

A jolt from the cart had Winry and Michella grunt slightly after nearly twenty minutes of travelling and Winry had to blink a few times to adjust to the difference in light when the top of the crate was removed. Liam – one of the two Briggs soldiers who were tasked to protect her – smiled down at her as he held a hand for her to take so he could help them out of the crate. Winry accepted it as Michella tightened her grip slightly around Winry's neck and they were pulled up and helped down off the cart.

"Welcome home, Miss Winry and Michella," Liam said and Winry gave him a smile as she looked up at her childhood home. The blood red of the sunset did nothing to take away the beauty of her home and she let out a big sigh, feeling the tension of the past three or so weeks bled out of her with it.

"Thank you, Liam," Winry said before turning to the second soldier, "and thank you, Simon, for helping us get home." Both men gave her a nod and a smile. "I know you're staying here for the next couple of days to keep Granny, Michella, Den and I safe instead of being with your fellow soldiers and helping them and Ed, Ayala, Al and Chester fight on Promised Day and I wanted to make sure you know just how much I appreciate it," Winry said sincerely, offering as deep a bow as she could with Michella clinging to her.

"No need to thank us, Miss Winry," Liam told her. "We're happy to help protect innocents such as yourself and your family," he assured her.

"Still, thank you," Winry said once more. "Would you like a hot drink?" Winry asked as she watched Liam and Simon unhitch the cart from Simon's Animal, a donkey called Amelia. Liam's Animal, a kestrel called Marion, wasn't with them as she'd offered to take to the skies and make sure they hadn't been followed.

"Not right now, Miss Winry, but thank you for the offer," Liam said and Simon echoed the words.

"Alright. I'm going to get changed into clean clothes but there's a trough around the side of the house next to the kitchen door if Amelia wants some water," Winry said, pointing to the left of the house and Liam nodded.

"Thank you, Miss Winry," Simon said before Amelia brayed. "Amelia says thank you as well," he told her and Winry gave the donkey a smile.

"Thank you for bringing us home," she told the donkey, who let out a softer bray. Winry gave them a nod before she headed inside with Michella.

The house was dark, something that surprised Winry as she knew her grandmother didn't oppose having the lights switched on before the sun had fully gone down. She knew Ayala had sensed them because Michella had felt it but neither Winry nor Michella could see the golden wolf or her human. Michella did mention there was an unknown and weird scent in the air but Winry paid the information no mind. All she wanted in this moment was to change out of her sweaty, smelly clothes, have a shower and get changed into some clean clothes. However, her plans came to a screeching halt when she spotted two figures walking towards her in the hallway and she let out a scream that had both figures flinching back.

"Edward!" Winry cried as she grabbed him in a strangling hug, barely giving Michella enough warning to move onto her back so she wouldn't be squished between them.

"Winry, it's good to see you too," Ed spluttered as he tried to breathe.

Thundering footsteps sounded behind them and they separated to see the two soldiers holding weapons on Ed. Before Winry could tell them he was a friend, two men Winry didn't know appeared behind the soldiers and held guns on  _them_ , making the two soldiers freeze. To add to the mess, Den came bolting up the stairs, ready to defend Ed and Winry only to stop short when he saw the chimeras holding who he assumed were the threats at gunpoint. Of course, Greed decided he needed to see what was going on when he heard the commotion so he appeared at the top of the staircase behind Den, who sensed the homunculous and turned around to snarl a warning to not get any closer.

"What's going on here?" Greed asked, ignoring Den,

"Prince Ling?" Winry asked, confused by the sight of so many people in her home but especially confused by the Xingese prince who, last time she heard, wasn't on Ed's good side.

"Wait, we know the two of you," Liam said as he glared at the chimeras. "You're Kimblee's men!"

" _Were_  Kimblee's men," Darius corrected with a growl, making no move to lower his gun. Ed sighed and sidestepped Winry to stand in front of the four men.

"You're Briggs soldiers, right?" Ed asked and Liam nodded, not looking away from who he perceived were still threats. "Meet Darius and Heinkel. They're chimeras who joined our side after Kimblee blew up that mineshaft with us inside it." At those words, Liam and Simon actually took a proper look at Ed and recognised him.

"Major Elric!" they both said, lowering their guns and saluting Ed in the space of a few seconds, causing Ed to scowl ferociously at them.

"Knock that off. You lot know I don't care about military protocol and right now I'm not actually a major anyways; I'm a deserter," Ed reminded them. "Now would everyone," Ed glared at the two chimeras as well as the Briggs soldiers, "just calm down and put away the damned guns?"

The four men looked at each other before holstering their weapons just like Ed had asked and the two blondes let out a sigh. Winry then turned back to Ed and said "Al and Chester are still at the train station. If you hurry, you might catch them." To her surprise though, Ed and Ayala didn't move.

"We're still fugitives," Ed told her, "and we can't afford to be caught by the military now. Not when we're so close to the Promised Day."

"But you haven't seen either of them in months!" Winry said, shocked that Ed and Ayala weren't rushing off to see Al and Chester. With how close the four of them were, no one would've been surprised if they'd done so.

"I talk to Chester every day and I call Al if we happen to be near a payphone at the same time but we  _cannot_  risk being caught just because we wanted to see each other," Ed reiterated firmly. "Chester and Alphonse both know that. It's why they stayed with the train and Briggs soldiers rather than follow you up here."

Just as Winry had been about to say something in response, a new voice sounded behind them. "Winry?"

Winry looked passed the men in the hallways and saw Pinako walking up the stairs. She smiled widely and pushed her way past everyone before crouching down to give the old woman a hug. "Hi, Granny," she said, letting the hug linger as she felt Michella wrap one of her arms around Pinako. "I hope we didn't cause you to worry too much. I've missed you and so has Michella," Winry said as she and Michella let her go to step back.

"Welcome home, you two," Pinako said, giving Winry a warm smile before glaring at the five men who'd been the main cause of the noise. "Now, I know who Ed brought with him but who are the hooligans you've brought with you?" Pinako asked. Liam stepped forward before Winry could answer.

"We're sorry about the scuffle earlier," he said, dipping his head. "I'm Liam and this is Simon. We've been acting as bodyguards for Miss Winry and we'll be doing the same for you until everything's over and done with, if that's alright with you, Ms. Rockbell?"

"I suppose so, as long as neither of you get in the way," Pinako told them sternly and they both nodded immediately. Winry let the three of them work things out as she turned to Greed.

"Hey, Ling," she greeted, giving the homunculous a small smile. "Do you remember me?"

Greed got a confused look on his face for a moment before he realised she was talking to him. "Oh, you mean this guy?" He said, pointing to his own face. "Yeah, I'm Greed. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling widely at her and adding a flirtatious wink that had her frown in confusion.

"What?" Winry asked, looking at Michella, who offered the only thing she could: a shrug. Ed noticed the exchange and headed over to help out his childhood friend.

"Winry, this is Greed. He's a homunculous," Ed introduced bluntly. Winry's eyes widened in horror and confusion while Michella sniffed the air and glared at Ed. "He's also Ling. Long story short, Ling let the creator of the homunculi inject him with a Philosopher's Stone and Greed took control. Until about a month ago, Greed was on the side of his creator until some memories surfaced from the old Greed – that's the homunculous Al and Ches fought in Dublith – and Greed switched to his own side once more. Right now, his side aligns with ours so he's on our side," Ed summarised for her and all Winry and Michella could do was gape at him.

"Perhaps it would be best if it were explained in detail," Pinako suggested, patting Winry's arm. "We can do it over dinner since I had come up here to tell you it was ready," she informed them. "It tastes better warm," she added pointedly when no one moved and she nodded in smug satisfaction when everyone took her warning and headed down the stairs. Pinako shared a look with Den before shaking her head and following the group. This would be an interesting night.

* * *

"So after all that went down, these guys decided to come work for Greed." Winry had listened to Ling's story, enraptured by the whole tale once she'd gotten over the fact that Ling's soul was still alive and that he and Greed could change who was in charge of the body with barely a thought. Ed had rolled his eyes at most of the things Ling had told her and Winry was a little surprised her best friend's eyes hadn't rolled out of his head.

"So why come back here? Why risk coming to Resembool at all?" Winry asked. Ed had been so adamant that they couldn't make a move that would put them in unnecessary risk of being found by the military or the remaining homunculi so close to the day of reckoning so it made no sense to Winry that they would choose to come back to one of the towns the military had to be keeping a close eye on. After all, why wouldn't the military think they would hideout in their hometown?

"Ed's automail is in need of some serious repair," Ling told her, answering before Ed could. "We're trying to get prepared so we need him in top condition."

"I need some minor adjustments," Ed told her before she could go into a rant. "Normally they wouldn't be anything I'd bother about until my scheduled check up but Ling's right. I can't go into a fight this important and risk some small problem with my automail becoming something major," he said, stabbing a tomato with his fork. Ayala, Den and Michella had finished their dinner already and were in the kitchen talking with Amelia and Marion while their humans finished up.

"You can give him a look-see after dinner, Winry," Pinako said before Winry could try and drag Ed into her room to fix her precious automail. "It won't hurt you or him to wait another fifteen minutes."

"Fine," Winry said with a bit of a sulky tone. No one was stupid enough, not even Ling, to comment on it.

* * *

Sure enough, the moment Winry and Ed had finished their dinners, Winry had all but dragged Ed towards her room. Michella and Ayala came out of the kitchen just as the pair had gotten to the stairs and joined them. Once in her room and workshop, Winry had ordered Ed to strip down to his tank top and boxers and lie on the bed so she could see what she needed to do. When she'd commented that she didn't have the parts or tools necessary to build him a new set, not to mention she didn't have the time since Promised Day was barely more than a day away, Ed had reminded her that he didn't need a new set so she didn't have to worry about it. Winry had scoffed and said she be the judge about that before actually taking a look and scowling when she realised Ed was right. She still smacked him with her wrench when she noticed the smirk on his face.

"So did Al actually tell you what his plans are with Major Miles?" Ed asked nearly twenty minutes after Winry and Michella started working on his automail. He'd only made one request for it and that had been that she add a protective layer of whatever metal she had laying around that had was the most carbon-based. Winry had given him an odd look while Michella had chattered something likely unflattering before Winry found some metal in her scrap bin that she could work with.

Winry shook her head in response to his question. "No, they never told me any of the details," she said, sounding a touch annoyed and Ed couldn't be sure whether she was annoyed because of the repair she was working on or because of the lack of information Al and Chester had given her. "All I know is that the Northern troops are planning something big in the east here so Al and Chester decided to tag along to give whatever help they could."

"I see," Ed said, making a note to wrangle details from Chester later. Ayala looked up at him from where she lay on the floor and he gave her a smile.

"I don't know if you've been told – since neither of you boys bother to tell me anything – but Al ran into your father in Liore while he was there," Winry said, her irritated expression changing to one of caution and Ed couldn't blame her. Throughout the years since Hohenheim and Calix had left them, Ed had never made it a secret on how he felt about the man and his name had often been enough to set him off, especially in the first couple of years after they were abandoned by him. "I think Al said your father was planning on heading to a slum called Kanama, near Central." Ed nodded in response. He'd known, of course, that Hohenheim and Calix were heading that way since Calix had told him, wanting Ed to know in case they needed to meet up with Hohenheim before Promised Day. "You could head that way to get the full story from him," Winry said, oblivious to Ed's nod. Ed hummed in response and Winry took it as the cue needed to drop the subject before he lost his temper.

They stayed in silence for another few minutes while Winry and Michella continued working. All they had left to do was a final check then add the protective shell Ed had asked for around each limb. "You know," Winry said, voice filled with sadness, "it's almost Promised Day."

Ed sighed as he nodded. "I know," he told her. "Ling and Greed told me all about how Al and I could use it as our chance to get our bodies back but I don't think we will," Ed admitted. While he'd of course told Chester what Ling had said the first night he'd gotten control back of his body, the brothers hadn't discussed the option in full detail, except to say that they'd talk about it in person. "However, if we do that, we can't be certain if it'll makes things worse for us or for the homunculi and we can't risk Amestris just to get our bodies back. Besides," Ed said with a deprecating snort, "what would be the point of getting our bodies back if we'll lose them almost immediately after?"

" _I have no doubts in my mind that the two of you will win the fight against Father, save Amestris and figure out a way for you achieve your goal,"_  Ayala told him sincerely and Ed gave her a grateful smile before turning back to Winry.

"Look, I'm sure I already know the answer to this but why don't you and Granny take Den and Michella to Xing or somewhere out of Amestris' borders until all of this is over? General Armstrong sent her family – with the exception of Major Armstrong and Gary – to Xing," Ed said, hoping the mention of the female Armstrong would make Winry at least  _consider_  the idea. Winry had developed an almost unhealthy respect for General Armstrong after the stories Ed and Al had told her about the Ice Queen of the North.

"I'm not going to run away!" Winry snapped at him while Michella glared from next to his leg. "I know you want to protect us, Ed, but what you should be concentrating on is saving everyone!" At those words, Ed's expression turned into one of anger. Knowing Winry was finished her work, Ed swung his legs over the edge of the bed – avoiding Michella – and sat up.

"Of course I'll be trying to save everyone!" Ed snapped at her, causing her to flinch back slightly before she met his glare with one of her own. "But I have to realistic here, Winry! There is the chance that I won't be able to win this fight, that this opponent will be the one who gets the best of me," Ed informed her bluntly but she kept that stubborn look on her face.

"I don't want to hear any doubts from you!" she cried, taking a step forward. Michella took the opportunity to leap from Ed's bed and onto her shoulder. "Please, Ed. You can't let them win this fight! Just please promise me that you're going to save our country and that you'll get your bodies back! Please promise me you'll do everything it takes to make that happen!" she begged and Ed shook his head in disbelief, getting up from the table and grabbing his pants and jacket.

"You make it sound so easy, Winry. Like this is just another rogue alchemist I'm going up against," he scoffed, pulling on his clothes. Ayala had joined his side and was looking at Winry reproachfully but the blonde automailist ignored her.

"Don't you dare start doubting yourself now, Edward Elric!" Winry said and Ed turned to her, pinning her with a glare.

"Do you realise what you're even asking me to do?" Ed snapped. "You're asking me –  _me_ , someone you know who has never broken a promise in his life – to promise you that I'll win on Promised Day. Do you understand just how much pressure you're trying to put on me?" Ed asked. "I know what the consequences will be if we lose!" Ed yelled, looking at her furiously. "Do you think I'm going to go into that fight with the same mindset I do with every fight I've been in? Do you think I won't realise that I have the lives of you and Granny and Hughes and Elysia and Miss Gracia and every single person and Animal I care about on the line? And here you are asking me to promise you that I'll win no matter what!" Ed snapped. Winry seemed to finally realise what Ed was saying because she looked ashamed of herself. Ayala still didn't look happy with her and Michella looked torn between being angry with Ed for how he was speaking to her human and admonishing Winry for her words.

" _Ed, maybe it's a good idea to leave now before you say something you really regret. I think Winry understands the enormity of what she just asked,"_  Ayala said, leaning lightly on his leg in an effort to get him to move through the door.

"Edward," Winry said softly, voice thick with emotion and Ed sighed.

"Just, don't," he said before taking Ayala's advice and leaving the blonde with only Michella for company.

"I didn't mean…" Winry whimpered as she watched Ed disappear from view. She collapsed on the nearby bed and held her hands in her face. "I didn't mean to try and put so much pressure on him," she whispered. "I just wanted him to win because I'm terrified that he won't and I thought that by asking him to promise, he'd make sure they wouldn't lose," she told Michella.

Michella sighed as she wrapped her arms consolingly around Winry. She knew her human had had the best intentions with her words but she could also see why Ed had reacted the way he did and – as much as she didn't like it – she couldn't fault him for doing so.  _"I know you did and I know you asked him to promise because you're scared and that you know he never breaks a promise but you have to understand it from his point of view,"_  Michella said as she stroked Winry's hair.  _"By asking him to promise that, you basically told him you either didn't think he could win or that you didn't think he would try his hardest to do so."_

Winry looked up with her tear-soaked face, eyes wide. "But I didn't mean –!"

" _I know,"_  Michella assured her, cutting her off.  _"I'm certain Ed will figure it out soon too but you have to realise how manipulative that seemed of you,"_  she told her and Winry nodded.

"I do," she said. "I get it now but I didn't even think of how it would sound to him." Winry sighed, rubbing her face of any lingering tears. "I should go and apologise," she said but Michella tugged her arm before she could stand.

" _No, let him calm down first,"_  Michella suggested.  _"You can talk to him later but the both of you need to get yourselves together first so it doesn't turn into a screaming match."_

"Yeah, you're right," Winry said though she didn't sound awfully happy about it. "Guess we should clean up here," she said, looking at her scattered tools and the parts she'd removed to replace in Ed's limbs.

" _That's a good idea,"_  Michella said, letting go of Winry and moving to a nearby benchtop to start cleaning. After a moment of looking at the door, Winry followed her and started helping.

* * *

Ed almost snarled when he saw Greed lingering on one of the stairs closer to the ground floor. The homunculous had obviously taken back control of Ling's body while Ed was getting his repairs done and, judging by the smirk on his face, had heard every word. "She sounds like a real peach," Greed said, looking up the stairs Ed and Ayala had just descended. "A woman who wants everything. My kind of gal."

"That kind of want is dangerous," Ed told him. "This is what I got for trying to get what I wanted that was unrealistic," Ed said, lifting his right arm.

Greed shook his head. "I disagree," he said and Ed looked unsurprised. "You wanted to bring back someone you lost and loved. You might want money or maybe you want women." Greed's eyes glimmered in amusement at Ed's glare. "Or maybe you want to protect the world and everyone in it," he said, shrugging a shoulder. "Those are all things people want; things their hearts desire most. You humans have this idea that greed is just for money or power but everyone wants something they don't have. Not many of you seem to have realised that greed isn't always a bad thing, just as it's not always a good thing." With that, Greed walked down the rest of the stairs, leaving Ed and Ayala standing there, stunned by what he'd said.

"The fuck was that about?" Ed asked after a couple of moments.

" _I think that was his way of saying that maybe you shouldn't be too harsh on Winry,"_  Ayala said and felt Ed tense up.  _"You know she didn't intend to sound so manipulative or pressuring,"_  Ayala said, knowing full well that Ed knew he had overreacted slightly.

"Yeah, I know," Ed said with a sigh. "She just needs to realise sometimes that I'm not a fucking miracle worker and that even I have my limitations."

" _I know and I think you'll find that Michella is giving her a bit of a talking to as well about why you snapped at her,"_  Ayala said, a slight smirk in her voice.

"Should I go up and apologise?" Ed asked, tone giving away just how much he didn't want to do that. Despite the fact that he knew Winry had no cruel intentions behind her words, he was still pissed she'd tried to make him promise something she knew full well he couldn't.

" _No,"_  Ayala told him.  _"Leave it for a bit. At least until you've both calmed down,"_  she suggested, unwittingly echoing Michella's advice.

"Yeah, alright," Ed said. Ayala gave a nod and led them back down the stairs. They needed to start organising themselves to head out so they could get as much travelling in as possible before the sun came up.

* * *

Michella was the one to warn her that Ed and his entourage were about to leave the house and Winry felt a familiar anger surge through her. Not caring about the fact that she was in her pyjamas, she and Michella headed for the front porch where Pinako stood, watching as Ed said goodbye to a whining Den. The two chimeras and Greed looked unimpressed and exasperated as Ed promised the collie that he would try to keep in touch as much as possible between now and Promised Day.

"You're leaving in the middle of the night?" Winry asked, causing Ed and Den to look up and notice her. Ed wrapped the dog up into a hug and watched as Den made his way up to Pinako before he answered.

"We were planning on leaving earlier but Chester told me you would be in this afternoon so we decided to hang around," Ed said. "It was good seeing you and thanks for the tune up," Ed said, giving her a grin that had a fraction less warmth to it than she knew it normally would've.

"If you happen to run into Hohenheim," Pinako said as though she had no clue that they would be heading straight for Kanama to talk to him, "you make sure to give him that message from your mother, alright?"

Ed rolled his eyes but nodded. "I will," he promised before muttering something too low for them to hear but made Den and Ayala grin. Pinako decided she didn't need to know.

"Wait, Ed, I need to –" Winry started saying but was cut off by Ed.

"Just lay low until Promised Day. Don't leave the house unless you absolutely have to," Ed said before nodding to the two soldiers lingering in the doorway. "Liam and Simon can head into town for anything you absolutely need but you guys need to stay hidden in case someone gets the idea to try and kidnap you to draw us out if they see you," Ed said and Winry saw Liam and Simon nod from the doorway. "We're gonna stop them, Winry, and Al, Chester, Ayala and I will be home before you know it," Ed said, meeting her gaze. She saw nothing but conviction in them and she swallowed back tears. "You make sure you have one of your apple pies ready for Al when we do, okay?"

"Okay," she said, using a tremendous amount of effort to hold back the tears she felt stinging in her eyes. Pinako laid a hand on her arm as Ed gave them a final nod and raised a hand in farewell before the five of them headed down the driveway. Neither woman moved for several minutes, even after the group had long since left their sight.

"Come on, Winry," Pinako said with a sigh, tugging on Winry's arm lightly. "We might as well try and get some sleep tonight."

"Okay, Granny," Winry said in a low voice, still looking in the direction Ed and Ayala had disappeared in for a few more moments before she turned and followed her grandmother inside. She knew she'd see the two boys and their Animals again shortly and she forced her worry down deep inside of her. There was no need for it. After all, Edward, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester would all be home soon.

* * *

It hadn't been more than an hour since they'd left the Rockbell household that Chester had contacted Ed in a complete panic. Greed had decided earlier that night that they should head north-west towards Yuflam then to Izhiruy before getting to Cekes where they would travel north and go between the two towns of Nefxaum and Zaymed so they could get to Central. Once they'd gotten through those two points, the plan was to have Ed contact Calix to find out where exactly Kanama sat outside of Central so they could head for the slum village without getting caught.

"Chester, what's wrong?" Ed asked, feeling his own panic rise to match the level the leopard sounded.

" _He got Al!"_  Chester wailed and Ed felt his heart clench in fear. Ayala was watching him with avid worry and he realised she couldn't hear their exchange so he opened the conversation to include her. The panicked leopard's words had gotten Ed and Ayala to stop in their tracks and the other three had only taken a few more before they realised they weren't following still.

"Who got Al?" Ed asked. He'd obviously said it out loud since the three others with him exchanged a look.

" _Pride!"_  came the cry and Ed thought he actually felt his heart stop. How the hell did Pride know where Al was?

"How the fuck did Pride find you two?!" Ed asked. He noticed Greed's face pale slightly but paid the homunculous no mind as he focused on Chester.

" _Gluttony tracked us!"_  Chester told him and Ed swore. He'd completely forgotten about Gluttony and his superior sense of smell, even though he'd been one of the reasons Greed had wanted to get out of Central immediately.

"Okay, take a deep breath and tell me what happened," Ed ordered in a voice calmer than how he actually felt. He sunk to the ground and Ayala immediately moved to sit in his space, tucking herself under his flesh arm while the other three mimicked Ed's action, realising they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

Chester didn't speak for quite a few moments but Ed didn't try and push him. As terrified and scared as Ed felt for Al in this moment, Chester would be feeling the same way only a hundred times worse.  _"We were waiting in one of the train cars for the night,"_  Chester told him.  _"We were supposed to stay there until a Briggs soldier came to get us in the morning when we were needed. I was napping, trying to get what rest I could when I woke up feeling a sense of dread. I could smell Gluttony immediately. I don't know how he managed to sneak so close to us without waking me! I'm sorry, Ed!"_  Chester wailed and Ed sent a soothing wave of calm energy through their bond.

"It's not your fault," Ed said. "You must've been exhausted to have missed him and it could've happened to any of us. I don't blame you, Chester," Ed promised. Giving Chester a couple of moments to settle back down, Ed pressed for more information. "What happened after you realised Gluttony was nearby?"

" _I warned Al,"_  Chester said and Ed nodded, unsurprised.  _"He asked how far away he was and I said he was really close by so we decided to try and make a break for it but Gluttony found us before we left the train yard,"_  Chester told him.  _"Then Al stumbled and we both saw a black shadow wrapped around his ankle. Al realised what it meant and told me to run,"_  Chester told him and Ed felt the wave of guilt and regret Chester felt.  _"I didn't want to. I argued; told him we could fight them off together but he told me to get out of the area and try and find you. I ran,"_  Chester whispered the last two words like they were a dirty secret and Ed felt his heart go out to the leopard.

"You did the right thing, Chester," Ed said. "I don't blame you for leaving. Al knew he couldn't destroy either homunculous without the array and he knew he wouldn't have had the time to draw it and wait for them to step in the circle. He did the only thing he could to make sure that you weren't captured or killed and so that I could find him and help him; he sent you away," Ed told him and made sure that Chester knew how honest he was being. "Where are they?" Ed asked and Chester sniffled lightly, guilt still roiling through him.

" _I don't know. Al suffered another blackout, which knocked me out,"_  Chester told him.  _"I woke up a few minutes ago but Pride must've done something to Al because I can't sense him clearly enough to track him."_

Ed felt his worry ratchet up another few notches at those words but managed to calm himself when Ayala pointed out that Chester was proof that Al was still technically alive. "At least that means that Pride can't use Al to track you down," Ed said and felt Chester's confusion. "Don't bother joining us. I want you to go back to the train yard and find their scent. Start tracking them and keep me informed of where they're headed. We're on the way to Kanama to find Hohenheim and Calix. With any luck, Pride is taking Al to Central to hold him until Promised Day. If we get to Kanama quickly enough, we can get to Pride before he reaches Central," Ed told the leopard. He felt Chester's mind focus on Ed's words and take his feelings of guilt and regret and convert them to fuel one thought: to do exactly what Ed said.

" _Okay, I will,"_  Chester promised, voice determined.  _"I'll let you know once I've gotten the scent and know which way they headed,"_  Chester told him and Ed nodded once in acknowledgement of his words.

"Keep yourself upwind of Gluttony and out of sight," Ed said and Chester promised he would before cutting off the connection. "Fucking hell," Ed muttered into Ayala's neck as he hugged her.

" _Chester will find the scent and track them so well that he'd make a bloodhound jealous,"_  Ayala reassured her human and Ed chuckled.

"I know," he said, looking at her and meeting her eyes. "Now I know just how Al felt every time we managed to get ourselves kidnapped," Ed joked, though the joke fell slightly flat even to his own ears.

"What's the plan?" Darius asked and Ed looked at him for a moment before realising that at some point during his talk with Chester, he must've spoken only through their bond.

"We keep going to Kanama. If Pride and Gluttony are taking my brother to Central, we might as well have Hohenheim with us to take them on to get Al back," Ed told them, getting to his feet and watching the others do the same.

"Pride probably took your brother knowing you'd come find him. You'd be walking right into a trap," Greed warned and Ed grinned, showing all teeth and no humour.

"He can bring it on," Ed told the homunculous. "I'm getting my brother back." Greed looked like he was contemplating arguing further before shrugging.

"Your funeral," he said and Ed chuckled darkly.

"Except it won't be. Pride can't kill me or Al but there's nothing saying that I can't kill him," Ed reminded him and Greed raised an eyebrow.

"I know you're a decent fighter and alchemist thanks to our sparring sessions but Pride is not only a homunculous, he's the oldest one, with the exception of Father," Greed told him and Ed shrugged.

"I got a few tricks up my sleeve that you've never seen before," Ed told him cryptically and Ayala let out an agreeing yap.

"Alright, kid. You going up against Pride? That I've gotta see," Greed said, gesturing for Ed to start leading the way. Ed and Ayala immediately took up the lead and continued on their original path with more purpose than before, both of them thinking the same thing. Pride had better watch his back.

* * *

The sun had just finished setting when Ed, Ayala, Darius, Heinkel and Greed entered the slum village of Kanama. Though filled with mostly Amestrians who had fallen on hard times and hadn't managed to find their way out, Ed did spot some Ishvalen refugees flitting between the others while he searched for Hohenheim and Calix. As had happened in Central the last time he was there, the Ishvalen refugees nodded solemnly to Ed as he walked by them. He'd since found out that this was because Scar had described him to them and it was their way of telling him they would be fighting alongside him. Chester had kept his word and made sure Ed knew of every move Gluttony, Pride and Al had made during the night and the entire day. Not five minutes before they entered the slum, Chester contacted Ed and said that they were only a couple of hours out of Central now but that Pride and Gluttony seemed to be taking Al around the edge of the city rather than going straight through it.

Ed hadn't been surprised to hear that since a lot of people would recognise Selim Bradley and Alphonse and wonder why the two of them were together without Selim's military escort, why Selim would be in the company of a wanted criminal and why there was an obese man following them closely. Ed had told Chester it was likely that they were going to find somewhere to hole up until most of the city was asleep so they could get to Father's lair unnoticed. Chester had agreed and promised to find himself a hiding spot where he could still see or sense them and wait for either Ed to show up or for them to start moving again, whichever came first.

Ed was following Calix's instructions on how to find the two of them in the slum, scowling as he did so. The horse had been pleasantly surprised to hear from Ed, though that had turned to worry when Ed had begrudgingly told him about Al at Ayala's insistence, and he'd given Ed thorough instructions on how to find Kanama. Once Ed spotted the village, he'd cut off a conversation he'd been having with Soren about how Hawkeye was handling babysitting a murderous suit of armour – and hadn't Ed been quite surprised to learn that not only had Barry the Chopper tried to kill Hawkeye and Soren while they were walking Black Hayate a couple of weeks previous but that Hawkeye had managed to beat the suit of armour and secure him in a nearby warehouse where Hughes and Mustang had managed to shake off their spies long enough to convince the armour to hold onto his murderous urges and unleash them on Promised Day on enemy soldiers – so he could send Calix another message to tell him they were about to enter it and Calix had given him the instructions on how to actually find them in the small maze.

Hohenheim looked up just as they were approaching the small campfire he was sitting by and gave Ed a surprised smile. "Edward. It's good –" the rest of his words were cut off by the punch Ed had landed on his jaw and the man was sent backwards into the dirt as he cupped his face. "Hey! You could've warned me," Hohenheim glared at Calix, who shrugged a shoulder but made no other move to help his human. "No wonder that hurt. You hit me with your automail," he said as he climbed to his feet.

"That felt better," Ed said to Ayala, who rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Both chimeras looked a little stunned while Greed looked mildly amused. "Sorry, Den," Ed said to the collie dog, startling him.

" _What'd you do now?"_  Den asked with more suspicion than Ed thought truly warranted.

"I punched Hohenheim and forgot to tell you beforehand," Ed said and Den whined like a disappointed child. "You can still look at my memories of it though," Ed added and Den huffed before doing just that.

" _Nice punch. Kinda wish you broke his jaw though,"_  Den said after a few moments and Ed chuckled.

"You're one vindictive border collie, you know that?" Ed asked, grinning as he spoke. Den preened as though he'd been paid the highest compliment.

"I see you've made new friends," Hohenheim said, looking at Darius, Heinkel and Greed and getting Ed's attention once more.

"I gotta go," Ed said quickly to Den before he bothered to answer Hohenheim but he needn't have bothered.

"I'd liken our relationship more to one out of necessity. A 'we're in the same sinking ship together' kind of deal," Heinkel said drily while Darius nodded in agreement. Ayala gave them a knowing look that they pointedly ignored.

" _Behave yourself,"_  Den said as Ed rolled his eyes at the chimeras.  _"But remember to sight-share with me if you hit him again,"_  Den demanded, causing Ed to laugh as he agreed before breaking off the connection.

"That makes me the captain of that ship," Greed said smugly and ignored the small snort Ed gave in response.

"So you're the one in charge?" Hohenheim asked and Greed nodded. "Then I'd like to thank you for looking after my son," he said sincerely and Ed snarled but he didn't get the chance to say anything since Greed spoke up first.

"Sure but you know, he can be a real pain in the arse," Greed told him and Ed scoffed.

"Like you can talk, you immortal bastard," Ed sneered, not noticing how Greed had so effectively managed to divert his impending rant at his father so smoothly.

"So you  _are_  a homunculous," Hohenheim said and Greed nodded. "The tattoo was a giveaway even if I couldn't already tell," he told him, pointing to Greed's left hand where the ouroborous tattoo sat.

"So you noticed?" Greed asked. "But let's make this honesty thing work both ways," the homunculous told him and Ed looked back at his father.

"We need to talk," Ed said and Hohenheim nodded, obviously having expected that to be the whole reason Ed had even bothered to find him.

"Very well," Hohenheim said before gesturing to the logs around the fire. "Let's start talking."

The discussion from both sides about everything that had happened since Ed last spoke to Hohenheim in Resembool had lasted until the darkness of the night had settled in completely and the lights in the slum had been turned on. Hohenheim had taken the task of talking first, bringing Ed up to speed on the countermeasure he'd been placing and his visit to Liore and what he and Al had spoken about there. Ed hadn't said a word about Al talking to him and Hohenheim was glad that it hadn't caused any issues, even if he could see the way Ed's jaw clenched slightly.

The first thing Ed had told Hohenheim was that Al had been kidnapped by Pride and Gluttony. Ed hadn't been sure whether to believe it when Hohenheim looked worried and had asked where Al was and what the plan was to get him back. Ed had told him Chester was keeping an eye on them and would let him know if they moved and Hohenheim had nodded in understanding before offering to help get him back. Ed had informed him that was half the reason they'd tracked him down and the man had seemed to relax slightly. Ed didn't know how to take that but he elected to ignore it and tell Hohenheim everything else that Ed thought he needed to know about. Greed had then been the last one to talk, telling Hohenheim and Ed everything he hadn't told Ed about what he knew of Father's plans.

"Listen, Ed, before we go and find your brother, I wanted to tell you something," Hohenheim said before any of them could move. Ed had raised a brow telling him to get on with it. "I've been thinking since we last spoke in Resembool but if you want to use my Philosopher's Stone to get your bodies back, I'll give it to you." Ed gaped at him for a full five seconds before his expression twisted into one fury. The only thing that stopped him from launching himself at Hohenheim in anger had been the fact that Ayala was laying on his lap.

"Are you kidding me?" the youngest blonde spat. "You may be a living Philosopher's Stone and a useless father but Al and I will not sacrifice innocent souls for our use. It's our fault we lost our bodies and there's no way we're gonna get them back at the cost of others. We'll find another way to do so," Ed informed him, eyes blazing in anger and conviction.

Calix and Hohenheim gave him proud looks. "I'm proud you feel that way," Hohenheim said and Ed felt the urge to punch him again. "I'm sure you all know there will be an eclipse tomorrow," he said, switching the subject and the four nodded. "Homunculous plans on harvesting it for his scheme. It's how he'll manage to get enough power to go through with his plan," Hohenheim said.

"The eclipse? That's his plan?" Ed asked and Hohenheim nodded. Ed watched as his father and the grey horse shared a look before Hohenheim faced Ed once more.

"Listen, Edward," Hohenheim said, voice completely serious. "He needs to be stopped at any cost. I need your word that you'll do so." Ed's mind couldn't help but flash to the previous night where Winry tried to get him to promise the same thing and Ed felt the same anger rise in him once more as he glared at Hohenheim.

"My word?" Ed repeated hotly. "Let's get one thing straight here. I'm only here because it makes more tactical sense for us to team up. If it didn't, I'd be with Chester and helping him get my brother back before we got other things ready," Ed informed him and, to his annoyance, Hohenheim merely looked pleased with his words.

"That's alright with me so long as it means you'll fight alongside us tomorrow," Hohenheim told him, glancing at Calix and Ed resisted the urge to groan in frustration.

Instead, Ed stood up, causing the others in his group to so and looked down at Hohenheim. "Granny asked me to give you mum's final words," he told Hohenheim. "'Sorry I couldn't keep my promise but I'm dying first'," Ed dutifully repeated. Hohenheim's eyes immediately misted over and Calix nudged his head onto his human's chest. "There, I told you," Ed spat, spinning on his heel and storming towards a random street opening with Ayala right behind him, not wanting to see Hohenheim's full reaction to the words his mother had said.

* * *

After Ed had calmed himself down with some food and making himself a new red jacket out of material he'd gotten by using his alchemy to fix things around the shabby shop in lieu of money, he headed back to the campfire Hohenheim had been sitting next to with Calix. The chimeras and Greed hadn't mentioned much about his attitude towards his father, not after both Ayala and Ed had growled at Darius when he suggested being nicer to Hohenheim. They made it back through to the clearing when Hohenheim and Calix both stood, looking at the dark, eerie forest intently.

"What is it?" Ed asked as he drew level with Hohenheim, trying to peer into the darkness himself.

" _Ed, brace yourself,"_  Ayala suggested. The lack of urgency or worry in her voice had him confused for two seconds before one of his bonds thrummed in response to sensing the Animal it was connected to nearby. Ed dodged the arm Hohenheim had tried to grab him with when Ed had moved forward towards the trees before a small figure rushed out to meet him.

"You're okay," Ed soothed the distraught leopard in his arms once they'd both situated themselves after Chester had bowled Ed over with the force of his hug. "What's happening? Why aren't you near Al?" Ed asked as he heard the soft crunching of dirt behind him, indicating the others were coming to join them. Ed ignored them all in favour of the trembling leopard he was hugging tightly.

" _They're here in Kanama,"_  Chester told him and Ed couldn't stop the gasp.  _"They're waiting at the edge of the village next to the road that leads to Central. I don't know if they're here for Hohenheim or you but they're waiting,"_  Chester warned and Ed repeated the words so everyone knew what Chester was telling him. Ayala had joined the hug and she offered her own comforting words to the leopard as Ed spoke.

"I don't expect the three of you to help me with getting Al back," Ed told the chimeras and Greed but the three shook their heads.

"I told you I wanted to see how you'd handle going up against my oldest brother," Greed reminded him.

"And we're pretty much committed to trying to keep you alive," Darius told him. "If that means we give as much help as possible in your fight against a powerful immortal being than we will." Heinkel nodded in agreement.

"You alright to lead us to where Pride is waiting?" Ed asked Chester and the leopard nodded before getting out of the blonde's lap so he could stand up.

"I think it would be a good idea for me to stay here with Calix," Hohenheim said. "Keep me as your ace, if you will," he said before Ed could snap at him. "It wouldn't be a good idea to show your full hand right away and my appearance on the battlefield at a later time could provide the needed distraction for you to win."

" _That is a surprisingly good idea,"_  Ayala said, looking at Hohenheim with shrewd eyes.

"Alright," Ed said, not admitting that he agreed with Ayala. "I'll let Calix know and I'll open our bond up enough for him to track me," Ed said begrudgingly. Hohenheim and Calix both nodded and Ed looked back at Chester. "Alright, lead the way, Ches," Ed said.

" _This way,"_  Chester told him, walking with purpose back through the village with Ed, Ayala, the chimeras and Greed on his tail. Chester led them a lot further from the village than Ed had expected but he kept following until they were just over the closest hill to the village. That's when both Chester and Ayala stopped dead in their tracks, making the others do the same.  _"He's in there,"_  Chester said.

Ayala sniffed the air before adding her own two cents worth.  _"I can smell Al's armour close by and there's a strong smell of a homunculous who I assume is Pride with him but it also smells like Pride is further away as well,"_  Ayala told him, sounding thoroughly perplexed by this. A faint clanking sound caught their attention and Ed watched, straining in the little light the village behind them gave before he spotted Al's armour come to a stop just on the edge of the forest.

"Hey, Brother," Al greeted and if Ed didn't know any better, he would've assumed it was Al. However, he did know better so he didn't bother moving from where he stood on the road with Greed and the chimeras behind him and the two Animals on either side in front of him.

"Hey, Pride," Ed greeted and heard the armour jerk faintly as though Pride had been surprised Ed hadn't fallen for the trick. "Why don't you let go of Alphonse?" There wasn't any verbal response to his suggestion, no jeering remark, no question about how Ed knew it wasn't his brother in front of him. The only thing that happened was that shadows started leaking out of Al's armour, small black hands forming on the ends of them and reminding Ed vividly of the Gate of Knowledge.

"So you have made up your mind to betray us, Greed," Pride said, abandoning his use of Al's voice since the charade hadn't been bought. "It seems it doesn't matter how many times we cleanse you. You'll always be a traitor." Ed glanced back to see Greed's face pale.

"Dammit," the homunculous swore. "How the hell did you know I was even here?"

Ed didn't let Pride answer Greed, if the older homunculous had even heard the muttered question. "How dare you take over Al's armour? Let him go!" Ed ordered once more.

"First things first," Pride said and Ed watched as the shadows seemed to focus on Greed. "I need to deal with Greed." Ed turned to see Greed get ready to fight. "Now, Fullmetal Alchemist, if you would be so kind as to come with me." Ed scoffed as he, Ayala and Chester took up their own fighting stances.

"Fuck off, you shadowy prick, and give me my brother back," Ed snarled before turning to the chimeras. "You two should run for cover."

"You should probably run as well," Heinkel said but Ed shook his head and faced his brother's armour again.

"I'll be just fine," he told them as he watched the shadows. "They need me and Al alive for their plans so they aren't going to kill us but that doesn't mean I have to go easy on them. I've got no problems with taking them down, remember?" Ed said and sensed both chimeras finally heading for the trees behind them, leaving him with the Animals and Greed standing by him.

"You're right," Pride said, making Al's armour take a step forward. "I must take you alive but I'm sure no one would mind if I ended up slicing off a few of your limbs to make the job a bit easier," Pride said gleefully before the shadows that had been coming from Al's armour shot right for them.

Greed immediately danced backwards, using his ultimate shield to force the shadows to glance off of him while Ayala and Chester did their best to not get caught while keeping Pride occupied as Ed clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the hard dirt and let the alchemic energy crackle its way down the hill and start forming a barrier to protect the Kanama villagers. Pride cackled at Ed's barrier before he tore through them with relish.

"A barrier's not going to work against him!" Greed snapped before letting out a strangled yell as Pride's shadows succeeded in capturing him.

"Now then," Pride said, "I've captured your friend, Fullmetal. Ready to give up?" Pride asked and Ed glared at the trees beyond his brother's armour while Ayala and Chester joined back up with him. Greed struggled fruitlessly in the bonds that held him. "Surely you're not going to make me threaten the lives of the slumdwellers too, are you?" Pride asked and Ed's breath hitched slightly.

"True to form," Greed sneered. "He always goes for the cheap shot to get what he wants."

Ed chuckled humourlessly. "You know," he said, looking at Greed and smirking, "I think it's about damned time I start winning more of these fights." With that, Ed clapped his hands back together and slammed them almost exactly onto the same spot but instead of a barrier, Ed made every single light in the village – electrical, lamp or fire – go out. He sensed Calix press into his mind and he gave the horse the go ahead to start tracking him.

Complete darkness blanketed them and Ed heard Greed grunt slightly as he was released from Pride's hold. He could feel Ayala on his right, leaning slightly on his leg and Chester wrapped his tail loosely around Ed's left wrist so Ed knew he was still there. There was complete silence except for the usual night sounds, his breathing and the breathing he could hear from the two Animals. There was some shuffling off to his right where Greed was and Ed thought he could hear something to his left but he forced himself to stay still.

" _It's just Darius and Heinkel,"_  Ayala told him.  _"Their animal side lets them see in the dark better than the average human,"_  she informed him and Ed nodded. He'd noticed that as well on their travels together.

"I think I should probably get the same advantage," Ed said. "Sight-link?" he requested and Ayala accepted. A moment later Ed blinked his eyes and took in the world around him. Night sight-links were always the ones that tripped Ed up the most because his vision wasn't as good as he was used to during the day. He likened it to having the same visual acuity as he would have on a night where the moon was at its fullest but with a smaller range. However, it was more than enough for him to see Greed and Heinkel on his right and Ayala helpfully took a look to their left and locating Darius. The gorilla chimera startled a little at the blue that ringed Ed's eyes and Ed waved the chimera over to join him. "We're gonna talk with Greed and Heinkel," Ed said softly. Darius nodded and Ed let Ayala take the lead since it was her eyes he was using.

"What happened?" Heinkel asked as the group of them approached and Greed shrugged.

"I dunno but it saved our arses," he admitted and Ed snorted, startling the homunculous and Heinkel, who hadn't noticed their approach.

"Ed?" Greed asked, looking at the blue rings that eerily glowed in the darkness.

"Yeah," Ed confirmed. "I'm sight-linked with Ayala. Also, you're welcome," he said a little smugly. "I alchemically killed all the lights in the village temporarily," he told them.

"Pride can't cast with his shadows so he's as blind as, well, I am right now," Greed said, sounding a little irritated by that, "but he'll be back at it again when those lights come back on."

"So what do we do now?" Darius asked.

"Heinkel, did you notice the shadow cast by Al's body?" Greed asked and Heinkel snorted.

"Yeah, it was pretty hard to miss those freaky tentacles," Heinkel told him but Greed shook his head.

"Not those ones," Greed said before just getting to the point. "He kept Al close to the edges of the shadows cast by the forest," Greed told them. "His actual body is probably somewhere else beyond those trees."

"Actually," Ed said, getting their attention, "his body is  _definitely_  beyond those trees. Ayala and Chester said that Pride smelt like he was next to Al but further into the trees as well," Ed told them.

"Wait, so he's  _not_  inside the armour?" Heinkel asked and both Ed and Greed shook their heads.

"No, he has a special container he uses to travel around in," Greed told him and Heinkel gave him a confused look.

"What kind of container?" The lion chimera asked and Ed sighed a little.

"He's Selim Bradley, remember? Greed's talking about Selim's body," Ed said, ignoring the way Greed pouted slightly at Ed taking the fun of reminding the lion chimera.

"Right," Heinkel said. "So you want me to go and find Selim and attack him?" he asked and Greed nodded.

"Remember, he is a powerful homunculous so don't feel any guilt for attacking what looks like ten-year-old," Greed told him and Heinkel nodded before taking off into the trees.

"Ed, where's your brother?" Greed asked and Ed felt his vision shift over to where Al's armour stood despite the fact he didn't turn his head. The feeling was rather disconcerting but Ayala soon shifted her vision back to Greed.

"He's in the same place as before," Ed said. "Pride must still have a hold on him somehow."

"Most likely," Greed said with a nod. "We need to get out of here for the time being though."

"I'm not gonna leave Al behind like that!" Ed snapped and heard Chester growl in agreement as his tail tightened slightly around his wrist.

"We know that you're worried about him but what if we get close to him and it's a trap?" Darius said, cutting off any comment Greed might've made that would've set the blonde off. "We've gotta stay close to one another until Heinkel's done with Pride. We don't want to accidentally attack each other."

" _Darius mustn't be able to see in the dark as well as Heinkel if he's worried about being accidentally attacked,"_  Ayala observed and Ed nodded. Gorillas had decent vision in the dark, certainly better than a human's but only by a small margin. The sounds of vicious fighting were soon heard by them all and Ed nodded towards it.

"So that's Heinkel attacking Pride now?" Ed asked and Darius nodded.

"It's always the best bet to let the nocturnal animal fight in the dark," Darius told him before grabbing Greed by the arm. "Now let's go and see if he needs a hand."

Greed didn't protest the treatment as Darius led him bodily through the thick trees and towards the sounds of someone being attacked while Ayala and Chester took up the task of helping Ed through the forest. It took Ed stumbling a couple of times for Ayala to remember he was using her eyes and if she didn't notice a tree branch, he didn't either, for her to keep her eyes on the ground directly in front of them instead of scanning the surrounding area for danger. Chester took up that role, stepping in front of Ed slightly but making sure Ed still had hold of his tail, just in case.

Darius, Ayala and Chester all came to a sudden stop at the same time and the two Animals pulled Ed down to the ground just as Darius did the same for Greed, giving a warning shout. "Get down now!" the gorilla chimera had said only a moment before something massive crashed into a nearby tree, causing the thick trunk to splinter and Ayala looked up in time for Ed to see Gluttony peel his jaws from the tree trunk before the obese homunculous turned around.

"I smell you, Fullmetal Alchemist, and I smell Greed too," Gluttony said, slurping as he licked his lips.

"I wondered when Gluttony would turn up," Greed muttered as he got to his feet while Ed did the same.

"I also smell someone I've never smelled before," Gluttony said after inhaling deeply before grinning widely, "and they smell delicious," he said, licking his lips again and Ed felt himself shudder in revulsion.

"It's all you," Greed said, clapping Darius on the shoulder. "Go for it and don't forget he's also a homunculous," Greed warned and Darius looked at him incredulously.

"How do you expect me to fight a monster like that?" the gorilla chimera asked as Gluttony blundered around the forest blindly.

"He's relying on his sense of smell to guide him in the dark," Greed pointed out. "Right now, I'd say you're evenly matched for a fair fight."

"My animal instincts are calling me an idiot for listening to you so I guess I'm a fucking idiot!" Darius said as he morphed into his chimera form and bounded at Gluttony. "The first strike is mine!" Darius bellowed, whacking Gluttony over the head with a branch thicker than Edward was wide, making the homunculous cry out in pain.

"Fine." Ed heard Greed mutter and Ayala glanced up so Ed could see his face and noticed a difference.

"Ling?" Ed asked to be sure and the prince nodded. "Why?"

"I can sense homunculi by their energy. Much like how you can sense where Ayala is, only I can't sense them unless they're in range or have a massive energy," Ling told him.

"Handy," was all Ed had to say before he was back watching the fight between Darius and Gluttony through Ayala's eyes.

"I just want to eat you!" Gluttony cried as Darius dodged a strike and hit Gluttony with another branch he then immediately discarded. "Stop running around so I can!" Gluttony hit a tree full on when Darius used it as a springboard to bounce over the homunculous before he could be grabbed. "I'm getting hungry!" Gluttony yelled, managing to hit Darius with a wild swing that sent the chimera into a tree but Darius recovered and moved as Gluttony launched himself mouth first at the tree. "I want to eat everything in sight!" Gluttony roared and Ed watched in horror as Gluttony's stomach ripped itself open, ribs elongating and stretching like teeth as an eye that looked far too much like the one Ed had seen the night of the rebound blinked open.

"I'm sensing something bad!" Darius shouted in a panic as he dodged in time to miss a streak of energy that devoured everything in its path.

"You're not wrong!" Ed shouted back. "Keep dodging, Darius!" Ed couldn't do anything to help his friend continually evade Gluttony's attack as he couldn't be sure his alchemy would hit Darius by mistake.

"It's coming this way," Ling said and Ed let go of Ayala's scruff to grab Ling by the jacket, ready to drag him out of the path as Darius continued to evade. Suddenly, a blur went past Gluttony and the homunculous cried in pain as blood spurted from his severed jugular vein and carotid artery. The homunculous went down and someone landed in front of Ed and Ling and the prince grinned. "I was wondering when you'd find me, Lan Fan. It's good to see you're okay," Ling said as Darius stumbled towards them.

"My lord, it's good to see you too," Lan Fan said, giving a deep bow. Ed took the moment to look at her left arm and take in the automail arm that was attached. He couldn't identify the mechanic behind the work but he did feel a touch of envy when he saw the large blade that curved from her elbow. Gluttony chose that moment to revive himself and Lan Fan launched another series of fatal blows that kept knocking the homunculous down. "Laika has been very worried about you," Lan Fan said as she came back to them while Gluttony bled out.

"Is he doing better?" Ling asked and Lan Fan nodded.

"He's not getting as tired as quickly but the homunculous in you is still having a negative effect on him," she reported solemnly. "Onyx is staying with him nearby. He is in no shape to join us in this fight," Lan Fan informed him and Ling's face crumpled slightly.

"Would you stop killing me?" Gluttony whined childlike as he sat back up but Lan Fan wasted no time in striking him down once more. "I don't want to die anymore!" Gluttony wailed as Lan Fan cut into him again, splitting his belly open and Ed was almost afraid he'd see that mutated jaw and eye again but nothing happened except for Gluttony's intestines and guts spilling out gruesomely in front of him. "That hurt!" he shouted as Lan Fan speared a kunai through one of his beady eyes, splitting his eye socket open and burying the blade right into his brain before Lan Fan pulled it back out.

"We can finish catching up later," Ling said as he threw a punch with an arm covered by Greed's ultimate shield and knocked Gluttony off his feet. "Let's finish him!"

"Yes, my lord!" Lan Fan said, using her automail blade to slice through Gluttony's neck once more.

"Why won't you let me eat you?" Gluttony asked once more as Ed and Darius watched the fight with the two Animals keeping their senses peeled in case of more danger. "I don't get it," Gluttony said, looking around in confusion and loosing half his face to Lan Fan's blade. "It's so dark here so how do you know where I am? You can't see me!"

Ayala's head suddenly whipped to the left and Ed's stomach rolled nauseously as his vision moved but his physical eyes stayed still. He soon saw the reason for Ayala and Chester to look over to the left when Fu dropped down next to them. Ed laid a calming hand on Darius when he startled. "Long time, no see, huh, kid?" Fu greeted, taking in the blue rings around Ed's eyes.

"Technically, I can only see you because of Ayala," Ed said, giving the man a smirk. "Since you aren't heading off to fight someone, can you tell me how you and Lan Fan were able to find us?"

"We've been hiding out in Central for a while now to try and keep an eye on things and out for the young lord," Fu told him. "We sensed several large amounts of chi converging here so we followed them." Fu paused for a moment before nodding in the direction Lan Fan and Ling had disappeared in as they fought Gluttony. "There are two enormous amounts of chi fighting nearby."

"Yeah, that's probably Gluttony and Greed you're sensing," Ed told him.

"Greed, huh? The one who swallowed the young lord?" Fu asked and Ed hummed in confirmation. "There's another large amount of chi fighting out further into the forest," Fu told them and Ed nodded.

"Our companion is fighting a homunculous called Pride out there somewhere," Ed said.

"I can sense another large one that was in the nearby settlement but it's currently making its way towards us. There's something disquieting about that one," Fu told them. "It seems to dwarf the other ones in comparison."

"That's probably Ed's father," Darius said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, probably." Fu looked at him in shock and Ed shrugged.

"Are you saying your father isn't human?" Fu asked.

"Trust me, he's the least of our concerns right now," Ed told him. "We've got to figure out how to deal with these two homunculi. I have an array that will destroy them permanently but I need to touch them to do so," Ed said.

"You don't have to worry about Gluttony right now," Fu told him. "Lan Fan has him under control."

"Are you sure?" Ed asked. "It hasn't even been a full five months since she got that automail installed. She's not going to last much longer without some help," Ed said but Fu shook his head.

"I said not to worry," Fu repeated himself firmly. "We have resources other than hand-to-hand combat," Fu said before launching something towards Gluttony that exploded, taking the homunculous and quite a few trees with it.

"Give us some warning next time!" Ed shouted, ears ringing as the two Animals whined in pain. Fu looked apologetically at the Animals. "Alright, that eases my mind a little," Ed said before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "What else do you carry besides explosives?" Ed asked.

"All sorts of things," Fu said. "Tear gas bombs, flash bombs, flares," Fu listed and Ed nodded but before he could say anything, he noticed a flicker through the trees that was followed by another then another and dread grew in his gut as he realised what he was seeing.

"The lights are starting to come back on in the village," Ed said, "which means Pride will be able to use his shadows again soon." He and Darius both looked worried.

"We need to get over there and help Heinkel," Darius said, his fear for his fellow chimera obvious in his voice and Ed nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," he said. "Can you help me, Fu? I need you to detect Pride's chi and lead me to it. It'll go faster that way since neither Ayala nor Chester have his scent nearby," Ed said and Fu looked over at where Lan Fan and Ling were still fighting Gluttony. "I could really use your help, old man," Ed said and Fu gave a nod.

"I'll do what I can," he swore and Ed gave a grateful sigh.

"Ayala, end sight," he said and blinked as his vision faded in a moment. He felt Fu grab his left arm. "Make sure you lot keep up," Ed said, blindly looking around.

"Watch yourself, kid," Darius warned from somewhere to his right. "Don't forget what Pride is, alright?" he said, echoing Greed's earlier warning to Heinkel.

"Trust me, I won't," Ed said before he, Fu, the Animals and Darius headed further into the forest and away from the sounds of Lan Fan and Ling fighting Gluttony.

"Let's shed some blood." Ed heard Pride say as he and the Animals made their way through the forest unaided by Fu. The fire that was rapidly spreading through the dried leaves and licking their way up tree trunks had given Ed plenty of light to see by and he cursed as he got closer. "Goodbye, chimera," Pride said and Ed burst through the trees just in time to see Pride aiming a shadow over Heinkel, ready to spear it into him.

"Just in time," Ed said, panting slightly and Pride looked up at him, halting the movement of his deadly shadow. Heinkel didn't look like he was doing too good and Ed forced himself to remain where he was now that Pride's attention was on him. "Who would've thought a little kid like this could be a homunculous?" Ed asked, looking down at Ayala and Chester, both of whom had taken up their positions in front and on either side of him like they normally did when it was the three of them against someone else.

Selim glared at Ed as he straightened up, ignoring Heinkel in favour of Ed. "Appearances rarely show the whole truth. Isn't that right, little alchemist?" Pride said, obviously aiming to get a reaction out of Ed but the blonde didn't give him a thing. "Now where were we?" Pride asked before launching multiple shadows at him and the Animals. Ed didn't bother dodging the shadows. He just made sure to use his right arm and left leg to take the hits, watching as the shadows bounced right off his limbs and he felt an almost worrying amount of glee as Pride's face screwed up in confusion and frustration. "What is this? Why can't I cut you?" Pride asked, muttering as though he was talking to himself.

"Looks like I made the right decision to keep my northern automail," Ed said, grinning victoriously as another shadow was blocked by his right arm. "This carbon fibre base has come in pretty fucking handy." Ed flipped backwards and put his leg out to take a hit meant for Chester. Pride glared at him before pulling his shadows back and going silent. "What's the matter? You aren't giving up, are you?" Ed asked, still grinning.

"You brought this on yourself," Pride hissed as Al's armour came clanking out of the forest to stand right next to Pride. A shadow lifted the faceplate of the helmet so Al's seal was exposed and Pride positioned a pointed shadow threateningly next to the dried blood.

"Al!" Ed shouted, echoed by Chester though Pride couldn't hear the leopard.

Pride grinned maliciously. "I figured this might give me the advantage unless you want me to destroy your brother," Pride told him gloatingly.

"Now, old man!" Ed shouted and Pride gasped as movement came from the trees. The homunculous watched as Fu leapt over them before dropping two small objects in front and behind Al before he disappeared back into the forest. Pride didn't get the chance to realise what would happen before Ed leapt forward to grab both Animals and cover their eyes as he squeezed his own shut just before the blinding white light exploded around the armour. Pride shrieked as his shadows were destroyed and Ed gave a second shout. "Mr. Gorilla!" Ed called, having resorted to the nickname so Pride couldn't figure out his identity and try something with his family, assuming Pride survived the night.

"I'm on it!" came the shouted reply and Ed heard his brother's armour being dragged away. When Ed opened his eyes, Pride was still recovering so he and the Animals took the opportunity to meet Darius off to the side, just inside the trees.

"Al!" Ed shouted, shaking the suit of armour but the lights that acted as his brother's eyes stayed dimmed. "Dammit, he's still not conscious. You've gotta get him out of here now," Ed said to Darius.

"And you're positive he's not still possessed?" Darius asked doubtfully but Ed couldn't fault him.

"Yeah," Ed said. "I noticed a while back that when you sever a part of their body off, it disintegrates into dust and they regrow the new one. The flash bombs severed the shadows holding Al's body so he's free from Pride's grip," Ed explained and Darius nodded.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Pride shouted, shadows already heading for them but Ed jumped to his feet.

"Have another!" Ed shouted, throwing another flash bomb and causing Pride to shriek once more as it exploded. "Get Al out of here, further into the forest." Ed looked at Chester. "It's up to you if you go with Al or stay with me. Either way, decide quick."

" _I'll go with Al. I'll be too worried about him to be of any use to you,"_  Chester said and Ed nodded like he'd expected no other answer.

"Good. Keep your senses open for Hohenheim. Maybe that bastard can help Al," Ed said. Chester nodded and watched as Darius pulled Al's armour behind him, heading for where Fu and Heinkel would be appearing once Fu could get to the lion chimera. "Let's do this," Ed said to Ayala and they both stepped back into the clearing only to find a seriously beat up Gluttony standing next to Pride. Red energy sparked uselessly over the second homunculous' skin as his stone obviously struggled to keep up with the injuries he'd suffered.

"Did you see that bright light, brother?" Gluttony asked and Pride looked at him distastefully.

"They've really roughed you up," Pride said, eyeing Gluttony's form. Neither homunculi seemed to have noticed Ed and Ayala watching them.

"Yeah but only because Greed and that girl weren't fighting fair," Gluttony pouted. "They were both doing something so they could see me in the dark."

"Is that so?" Pride asked curiously. "Gluttony, how many times have they killed you now?"

Gluttony hummed thoughtfully around the finger he had stuck in his mouth. "I lost count but I know it was a lot," he finally said.

"They've beaten me up pretty badly as well," Pride said, voice full of false sympathy. "The way things are looking, there's a very real chance they might annihilate us," Pride said and Ed watched in horror as Pride's shadow snuck up on an unsuspecting Gluttony.

"Yeah but that's okay because Father will fix us!" Gluttony said brightly before he noticed the creeping shadows. "Huh?" he grunted in confusion before a shadow grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up off his feet like he weighed nothing. "No! Please don't do it, Pride!" Gluttony cried as Ed watched Pride manipulate one shadow so it was latched onto Gluttony's feet and the other grabbed his arms and stretched the homunculous out like Pride was displaying him. "No, Pride, don't eat me!" Gluttony sobbed as Pride used another shadow to start doing just that. "It hurts!" Gluttony wailed as Pride chewed through his legs. "Lust! Lust, please help!" Gluttony gurgled as Pride finally put him out of his misery and devoured him completely. Ed felt like throwing up as Pride licked his lips in satisfaction.

"Ah, this should make everything much easier," Pride said with a grin. "I can practically smell every move you make!" he exclaimed gleefully as he scanned the area, eyes fixating on certain spots before they found Ed and Ayala. "I could do without the ravenous hunger though but I suppose I'll just have to sate it," Pride said, licking his lips in anticipation. Surprise flicked over his face and his gaze shot to the side. "Oh, I recognise that scent," Pride said, sniffing the air. "You're somewhere close by, aren't you, Hohenheim?"

* * *

Hohenheim and Calix had headed for Edward the moment Calix had gotten the okay from the young blonde. Despite being hundreds of years old, neither of them had very good night vision so they had to be wary of where they stepped so they didn't end up hurting themselves. They got to near where Calix could sense Edward fighting against a homunculous Hohenheim had been able to immediately identify as Pride. The sense of urgency to get to his sons intensified to an extreme degree once he'd figured out it definitely was Pride.

" _Van, Chester needs us,"_  Calix said suddenly.  _"He said they haven't been able to get Al to wake up since they freed him from Pride's control,"_  Calix told him and Hohenheim felt himself trying to make an impossible decision. Should he help the son who was unconscious and unable to be awoken, whose life depended on a fragile seal or should he go and help the son who was fighting the most powerful homunculous, aside from himself and his unwanted clone?

His mind was made up when he realised just what Edward's reaction would be if he chose to help his eldest son rather than his youngest. Nodding for Calix to led the way, they headed around the clearing that was glowing brightly from the flames that devoured the dry and dead leaf litter around its edge. Hohenheim came across his son, Chester and someone he didn't immediately recognise before realising it was one of the chimera Ed had been travelling with but in his animal form.

"How is he?" Hohenheim asked and Darius shook his head.

"Still not responding to me or Chester," Darius told him. Hohenheim knelt next to Al's still armour, sitting on the opposite side Chester was.

He checked the seal painted in Ed's blood but saw no signs of breaks in the array. "Al, can you hear me?" Hohenheim asked, shaking the armour lightly. "Come on, wake up, Alphonse!" Hohenheim said just as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and Calix's nervous snort. They'd been discovered by something with malicious intentions against them.

* * *

"Tell me, Edward," Pride sneered as he paid attention once more to those near him, "do you think your father would save you if I chopped one of your limbs off?" Pride didn't wait for him to make a sarcastic response back as he sent his shadows snaking towards Edward and Ayala, forcing him to cover them both, being pushed backwards by the ferocity of the attack and his eyes widened in fear as Pride's eyes gleamed with victory when Ed's back hit the tree trunk behind him.

"Ed, look out!" The shout came from near him and a glance told him it was Greed, not Ling in control once more. Pride grinned as he launched a shadow aimed for the tree trunk above Ed, obviously hoping to make it collapse on him and trap him.

" _Go left!"_  Ayala screamed at him as Pride held her back from helping and Ed leapt over the shadow trapping him against the tree before rolling under the one Pride sent to stop him. The shadow Pride had sent for the tree hit it with a splintering crash and Ed looked back to find the tree lying only inches from his legs.

"Young lord!" The cry from Lan Fan got Ed's attention and he watched as Pride's attention was focused on his fellow homunculous, obviously displeased with the fact that he'd warned Ed.

"Not quite," Greed grunted and Ed saw Lan Fan's shock even behind her mask. "The name's Greed," he told her, ultimate shield racing to cover whatever body part Pride was aiming for.

Ayala leapt over the trunk and joined Ed, fretting over him before he could convince her he was alright. "Right, I think it's time for you to armour up," Ed said, eyeing the scratches Ayala had accumulated. "We can't keep hoping you'll dodge just in time," he said before she could argue.

" _Are you sure?"_  Ayala asked as she watched him roll up his right sleeve and left pants leg.

"Absolutely," Ed said, clapping and transmuting the layer of carbon fibre Winry had covered his limbs with the previous day at his request so it fell to the ground with a light thud. "My automail is made completely of this stuff so it's not like I actually need it," he reminded her. "Now hold still," he ordered, keeping one eye on the fight between Ling, Lan Fan and Pride while he placed the metal over Ayala, balancing it as best he could on her before he clapped, grabbed the piece that would cover her underbelly and transmuted it.

Once the blue energy had cleared, Ayala stood there, covered in a layer of chain mail that covered her almost completely. Only her tail, muzzle and paws remained free of the chain mail.  _"Think it suits me?"_  Ayala asked cheekily as she twisted and turned to get a good look at it.

"I think so," Ed told her, grinning at her just before he heard Greed let out slightly panicked 'oh boy'. Ed's head snapped towards the action and Ayala jangled lightly as she took a step forward. They watched as Greed was snatched by one of Pride's shadows. Lan Fan moved to help and Ed watched in horror as her arm malfunctioned. Before Ayala could try and stop him – not that she would've – Ed was on his feet and in front of Lan Fan, right arm raised in time deflect the shadow Pride had sent to eat her.

"I didn't ask for you help," Lan Fan informed him as they fought side by said to keep the shadows from grabbing either of them. Ayala joined the fray, movements hindered slightly by the weight of the chain mail that she now wore but she was quick to adjust to the difference as she fought to protect Ed.

"Oh, shut up," Ed snapped at the Xingese warrior, bringing his right arm across his chest to stop another shadow. Pride looked immensely pissed off that he hadn't won this fight yet and Ed felt himself feeling the same way. "Your arm obviously isn't fully healed yet," Ed said, nodding her bloodied automail joint. He winced as he thought about how painful that wound would've been.

"I can take of myself!" Lan Fan snapped, blocking a shadow with her kunai.

"Look, no doubts you're a fucking great fighter but right now, I need you to prove you can actually look after yourself," Ed told her, grunting as he slid back slightly from the hit he took. "We're gonna need your help tomorrow and you won't be able to if you can't move that arm," Ed said. "Besides, Ling might need your protection but Greed certainly doesn't," he told her nodding towards the homunculous who was now free from Pride's shadows and was standing protectively in front of Fu and Heinkel, who was draped almost completely over Fu's shoulder as blood poured from his wounds.

"Get him out of here!" Greed ordered and Fu nodded.

"Sorry I couldn't kill the little bastard," Heinkel said loud enough for Ed to hear as he and Fu limped away from the fight.

Greed chuckled slightly as he faced Pride. "Don't sweat it," he told him. "Can't exactly fault you for that. Even I consider him to be a monster," Greed sneered but Pride merely smiled.

"Takes one to know one,  _brother_ ," Pride said before lashing out at the four remaining in the burning clearing.

* * *

Hohenheim heard the shouted order for Ed to move from – he assumed – Greed followed shortly by the sound of something heavy, like a tree, and his heart leapt into his throat. Only Calix's assurances that Ed was unharmed stopped him from leaving the still-unconscious Alphonse with Darius and Chester. "Wake up! Alphonse!" Hohenheim ordered for the twentieth time, shaking the armour and to his delight, Al's eyes started glowing.

Chester was beside himself with happiness when he felt his human finally respond. "Chester? Dad?" Al groaned as he sat up and Chester shoved himself onto Al's lap. "Hi, Chester," Al said, wrapping the emotional leopard in a one armed hug. "I'm sorry for worrying you," Al said though he still sounded confused. "Wait, Dad, I thought you were in…" Al trailed off as he took a look at their surroundings. He noticed the stranger with them giving him a worried look but his identity was easy to work out since he strongly resembled Gary. "Is this Kanama?" Al asked.

"Yes," Hohenheim told him, not moving from his side.

"But I was in the east so how did I-? Oh," Al said as his memories came back. Suddenly, Al jolted. "Pride!" He exclaimed. "Dad, the homunculous, Pride, took control of my body!" Hohenheim made a calming gesture with his hands while Calix nickered softly.

"I know," Hohenheim told him. "Chester told Ed what happened while he and his friends were travelling to find me. Chester found Ed while he was still in Kanama and they left to find you. Mr. Darius was the one who got you out of Pride's reach when Ed severed his hold on you," Hohenheim explained.

"So, it worked?" Al asked looking at Chester. "You escaped before they could get you?" Chester nodded and Al sighed. "That's a relief," he said.

" _I'm sorry for leaving you, Al,"_  Chester said, unable to keep it back anymore.

"Don't be," Al said gently. "I wouldn't have changed a thing about what happened if it meant you were safe from Pride and Gluttony," Al told him firmly. "I don't know how he did it but it was like Pride was manipulating my soul and he might've been able to do the same to you and trust me when I say that I am glad you didn't have to go through that," Al said, shuddering slightly.

"I'm not sure Pride would've been able to do that to Chester," Hohenheim said, getting their attention. "The homunculi are basically your relatives. Since they're like 2nd generation clones of me, it might explain how they could have interfered with your seal. We do share the same blood, after all, but that would also mean that they couldn't have done anything like that to Chester," Hohenheim explained.

A noise attracted their attention and the four of them turned to find Fu half-dragging, half-helping an injured Heinkel towards them. "Old man Fu?" Al asked, surprised to see him.

"Can you clean and dress this man's wounds?" Fu asked, looking at Hohenheim, who nodded.

"How's everything going over there?" Hohenheim asked as Fu helped Heinkel sit next to him.

"I'm guessing you're Edward's father," Fu said in lieu of answering him and Hohenheim nodded.

"Van Hohenheim," he introduced himself as he helped Heinkel, "and my Animal, Calix." The grey horse snorted softly.

"Fu, guard to Prince Ling Yao," Fu said. "The shadow homunculous devoured the fat one and he's starting to overpower us. Greed, Edward and Ayala are doing their best but I don't know how long they'll last," Fu reported.

"This is all my fault," Al said as his fear for his brother rapidly grew. "None of this would've happened if I'd managed to escape Pride and Gluttony."

" _You can't blame yourself if I'm not allowed to blame myself,"_  Chester informed him.

"The fires have given him all the light he could wish for and I'm all out of flash bombs," Fu told them. "We need a new plan and fast."

"And not just for us," Darius said, getting their attention. "Slumdwellers are gonna be heading for Pride any minute now so they can fight the fire," he told them and Al felt his heart plummet as he realised that Darius was right. There would be no way the slumdwellers would let the fire burn uncontrolled, especially since one shift in the wind would have the flames heading their way.

Hohenheim suddenly swore. "I need something I can tear into more bandages," he told them, holding onto Heinkel's arm in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

"Oh, you can use this, Dad," Al said, bringing his hands together instinctively and clapped before placing his hands on his apron and transmuting the bottom half of it into strips. "Here you go," Al said, handing the strips over before taking in Hohenheim's, Calix's and Chester's stunned expressions. "What?"

" _You just transmuted like Ed and Izumi,"_  Chester told him.  _"Does that mean Pride did something to your seal? Wait, do you remember?"_  Chester asked urgently, not clarifying what he was talking about but Al didn't need him to.

A wave of memories washed over Al and he struggled to make sense of them before they could overwhelm him. He knew what he was seeing when flashes of a too-white room and massive stone gates passed through his mind thanks to Edward's description of Truth's dimension but that didn't mean the onslaught of memories were any less tremendous. The amount of knowledge cramming itself into place in his mind was almost staggering and he could understand why Ed couldn't find the words to describe how it had felt when Al asked shortly after he'd woken up.

"So I don't have to draw out my arrays anymore?" Al asked, not realising he'd spoken out loud rather than just to Chester through their bond.

"It would seem so," Hohenheim said, a proud smile on his face that Al knew would have had him blushing if he'd had a flesh body.

"If you can transmute like Ed, that will make things tomorrow in the fight a lot easier now," Darius said and Al nodded in agreement.

"It'll make things easier right now too," Al told him, almost relishing in the intrigue written on their faces. "Dad, I could use your help. I want to trap Pride," Al told Hohenheim.

"How? If Fu is right about Pride getting stronger after eating Gluttony than I suspect he's done more than just absorb his Philosopher's Stone," Hohenheim said and Fu nodded.

"I believe he has also managed to gain the abilities Gluttony himself had. Pride could smell you once he'd devoured him," Fu told Hohenheim, who sighed in response.

"I was afraid of that. It'll make sneaking up on him difficult, if that was part of your plan, son," Hohenheim told Al, who nodded, feeling a little disheartened.

"It was," Al confirmed. "I thought that maybe if I could sneak up on Pride, you might've been able to trap him while his attention was on me. Cut off his access to the light cast by the fire so he couldn't use his shadows. I'd probably be trapped with him but it's not like he can hurt me and I wouldn't need food or anything so I could stay with Pride until after Promised Day was over," Al told him.

"It could still work," Hohenheim said encouragingly but Chester made a slight coughing noise to get their attention.

" _I've been keeping Ed informed of everything,"_  Chester told Al, who truly wasn't surprised to hear that and neither was anyone else.  _"He says – and I quote – 'that's a dumb plan that's more reckless than some that he's come up with',"_  Chester repeated for Al, who made an outraged noise.

"Unless he has a better plan, than –" Al started ranting but Chester cut him off.

" _He says he does and he says that this time, you'll admit that his plan is better,"_  Chester told him.

Al scoffed disbelievingly. "Alright, let's hear it. What's Brother's plan?"

* * *

"Still holding up, Aya?" Ed asked once he'd finished relaying his plan regarding Pride to Chester.

" _Yup. You?"_  Ayala asked, panting slightly as she took the moment reprieve granted to her by Greed trying a close-range attack on Pride.

"Ain't dead yet," Ed told her, sidestepping one of Pride's shadows and hiding himself behind one of the larger trees only to be forced back into the open when Pride utilised one of his shadows to force him and Greed through several trees and back into the clearing Pride was in.

" _Ed!"_  Ayala shouted, racing to join her downed human as fast as she could with the chain mail she was wearing. Though it offered a great amount of protection, it did hinder her ability to get to Ed's side as quickly as she usually could.

"Ah, that's better. I can see you much more clearly without all those trees in the way," Pride said, smiling maliciously as he watched both Greed and Ed struggle to get to their feet. A swipe from one of his shadows had the golden wolf thrown aside before she could get to Edward, yelping as she landed. Ed's shout of Ayala's name only made Pride smile wider before his attention was caught by the scent of someone hiding in wait and he turned his attention to Lan Fan. "There's no point in hiding from me. I can smell each and every move you make," he told her as he moved his shadows to surround her, making sure he had them show her their teeth as he pinned her in place.

"You still breathing over there?" Pride's attention was grabbed by Greed as he watched his fellow homunculous show as much care as he allowed himself to.

"Does wheezing count?" Ed asked as he struggled to draw in a breath, his shout for Ayala when she'd been knocked aside having prolonged his recovery time from how winded he was after being thrown.

"This really isn't the time to be worrying about others, now is it, Greed?" Pride sneered as Greed growled at him. Ed had managed to get to his feet but it was obvious most of his attention was on his wolf, who was struggling to her own feet. The blonde stood, determined to keep fighting Pride, willing to let Ayala wait until the fight was over but Greed waved for him to go. There was a slight hesitation that Pride could see but the blonde obeyed and headed for his Animal. "As soft as you've become, I wonder how much longer you can survive," Pride said, disgust evident in his voice.

"Oh, shut up, you beast," Greed snapped, climbing to his feet. Several metres behind him, a green glow was cast as Ed healed the injuries Ayala had suffered. Pride sent four shadows straight for them but Greed destroyed them before they could reach their target.

"That's a horrific thing to say to your own brother, Greed," Pride said, glaring at the other homunculous. "I might have to eat you now." His shadows reared up, splitting to show their teeth but Greed didn't look worried.

"I promise that I won't go down easy,  _brother_ ," Greed said, turning the honorific title into a slur as he summoned his ultimate shield so it covered the entirety of his body, leaving only his head uncovered.

Pride's shadow beelined straight for Greed, only to come to a halt as Pride sniffed the air daintily, like a small dog. His shadows shifted in place as the light cast by the fires moved but Pride's attention was on the edge of the forest. Greed risked a glance back to Ed and watched as the blonde and his wolf didn't move any closer. In fact, Greed thought he could see Ed clap his hands, as though preparing an array but he didn't do anything more. Ayala seemed to be on guard duty, keen golden eyes flicking to mark every shadow. Greed turned back at Ed's smirk and nod in time to see Hohenheim emerge from the forest, seemingly unfazed by the fire he'd walked through. His massive grey stallion wasn't with him.

"Oh, so you've chosen to show yourself, eh, Hohenheim?" Pride sneered, pulling the shadows that had been about to attack Greed back so he could use them against Hohenheim when needed.

"The hero always waits till the last second to make his move," Hohenheim said, stopping several metres away from Pride.

"'Hero'?" Pride snorted. "How interesting," he sneered. "You obviously think you can defeat me if you dare call yourself a hero," Pride said but Hohenheim shook his head.

"Oh, no, I'd never presume something like that," Hohenheim told him. "I'm not stupid enough to try and fight you myself."

Pride didn't appear to believe Hohenheim and Greed couldn't really blame him there. Pride called back his shadows into his container just as a familiar ringing clap sounded but not – as Greed expected – from Edward, but from behind Pride himself. Greed took a step to the side as Pride turned to look over his shoulder to find Alphonse drawing his hands apart while both his leopard and Hohenheim's horse stood protectively in front of the armour.

"Oh, how wonderful. You've learned to transmute like your brother," Pride said, a sneer in his voice. "Like your brother, you'll quickly find out just how useless alchemy is against my shadows."

"Oh, don't worry, Pride," Ed called from where he stood, getting the attention of the two homunculi. Blue energy danced between the blonde's palms, casting him in an eerie light. "This array isn't going to be used against  _you_ ," Ed informed him, grinning. "Now, Al!" Ed shouted as he released the built-up energy.

Greed's gaze focused quickly back on Alphonse to find him releasing the same blue energy and the result of the transmutation the brothers used was almost immediately apparent. The air around them seemed to become drier than the desert and Greed watched with interest and slight awe as a massive amount of water seemed to gather above each brother. Pride seemed to realise exactly what was going on as he soon sent out multiple shadows to try and stop the brothers but the Animals nearest them defended them immediately, refusing to allow a single attack to pass even though both Chester and Calix started acquiring numerous injuries. A look back at Ed and Ayala told Greed that the two of them had the situation well in hand so he raced for the youngest Elric, stopping an attack that would've severely injured Chester before it could. If these boys were going to do what Greed thought, there was no way he was going to let Pride stop them.

Another call from Ed to Al had the boys spreading their hands apart, directing the water they'd accumulated so it hovered over the fires. Once Ed and Al felt they had water over every single flame and ember – anything that could provide Pride with enough light to use his shadows – they allowed the water to drop from the air. In that moment, Calix gave Hohenheim the go ahead from Al and the living Philosopher's Stone dropped his hands to ground and willed the earth around Pride to do as he ordered it. Pride realised what was about to happen a moment too late and the large slabs of earth Hohenheim summoned finished forming a dome around Pride moments after the fires were extinguished by the brothers.

As soon as he got confirmation from Calix that Pride was successfully trapped, Ed collapsed from exhaustion, dropping to his hands and knees and struggled to get his breathing under control. The amount of alchemic energy he'd just used to manipulate that much water at once had almost depleted his entire internal supply and Ed had never wanted a nap more in his life. Ayala rushed to his side immediately once he dropped and started looking him over.

" _Are you alright? Are you injured? I didn't feel any sympathy pain,"_  Ayala fussed and Ed let out a tired chuckle as he heard the familiar clanking footsteps of his brother rapidly approach him.

"I'm fine. Too much alchemic energy spent in too little time is all," Ed promised and Ayala seemed happy with the news there wasn't anything physically wrong with him.

" _Ed!"_  Chester called as he ran as best he could with the injuries he had to join Ayala. Ed eyed the wounds critically. Knowing what he was about to do, Chester spoke.  _"Don't you d-"_

"Heal!" Ed said, cutting the leopard off as he raised a hand towards him, letting the green energy flow from him to Chester. He could feel both his and Ayala's disapproval about his decision to heal Chester but Ed refused to care about it. Chester's injuries weren't strictly life-threatening and they certainly would've healed completely by themselves in a matter of days, weeks at the most, but Ed refused to leave him injured. He refused to be the reason Chester was killed in the fight tomorrow because of an injury he could've healed today. "Don't bother lecturing me. Either of you," Ed snapped tiredly as the green energy dissipated.

" _Fine but only because it's too late to stop you and you'd just ignore us anyway,"_  Chester said irritably.  _"But thank you,"_  he added, voice softening and Ed gave him a tired smile.

"Brother!" Al shouted, coming to a stop next to Ed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ed repeated, waving off the questions he knew would follow Al's initial one. "Nothing a good meal and some sleep won't fix," Ed assured him.

"Are you sure?" Al couldn't help but ask. He had felt the drain of energy the array had cost him but since he didn't have a physical body, he didn't suffer any of the physical effects like Ed did. All he had to do was wait a few hours before his levels were back up to where they should've been.

"Yes," Ed said, moving into a sitting position now that he could draw in a breath easily once more. "How about you?" Ed asked and Al knew he was asking about more than how Al was after performing the water manipulation array.

"I'm better," Al told him and Ed nodded, apparently satisfied by Al's answer. "And you were right," Al said, getting a raised brow from Ed in response. "Your plan was better."

Ed grinned. "Told you so," he bragged though the effect was lessened by the exhaustion written on his face. Al scoffed as he sat next to Ed, leaving Ayala and Chester to find spots as they pleased once Al had transmuted the armour off Ayala before Ed could further tire himself out by doing it himself.

Ed took the following silence to take in their surroundings as much he could now that they were thrown into almost darkness once more. The only light that shone was from Kanama behind the dome and Ed had never found himself more grateful that he'd had a homunculous' attention on him before in his life. If Pride had realised there was light from the slums behind them, they wouldn't have won. Ed noted that he couldn't see Greed anymore and there was no sign of Lan Fan anywhere nearby so he assumed she'd followed the homunculous when he took off. The massive dome that held Pride prisoner stood tall and imposing and Ed nodded in satisfaction with it.

"Edward." The blonde's attention was grabbed by his approaching father. Ed could see worry etched onto his face, as well as caution. "Are you alright? That was a massive transmutation you just pulled off," Hohenheim said, coming to a stop a few feet from the blonde, careful not to get closer than he needed to, just in case he set Ed off into a rant. Calix stood behind Hohenheim as his human took up a crouching position.

"If you know how much energy it cost me to manipulate that water than you know I'm only tired," Ed snapped irritably, unable and unwilling to expand the needed energy to check his temper.

"Brother, he's only asking because he's worried about you," Al said softly, refusing to let Ed treat their father like that without just cause.

"I'm worried about both of you but I know you're the only one suffering the actual effects of the cost of the transmutation," Hohenheim told Ed gently. Ed glowered but eventually let out a sigh.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired and hungry," Ed muttered, repeating himself once more and Hohenheim nodded.

"I don't know about where you can sleep but I'll head back down to the slums and see if anyone's still serving food," Hohenheim said but Ed shook his head.

"Don't bother. My pack's just off the path where Pride first tried to use Al to trick me. It's got food and my bedroll in it. I just need to go get it," Ed said, moving to get up but Al put his hands on his shoulder to stop him.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere, let alone stumbling near blind through a forest," Alphonse chided as Ed scowled.

" _He's right,"_  Chester said, climbing to his feet.  _"Ayala and I can track your scent and bring the bag back."_

"Are you sure? Both of you only just finished getting healed," Ed said but both Animals nodded and Ed could feel their stubborn resolve. "Alright but if something happens, don't worry about my bag. Just get yourselves back here," Ed ordered.

" _We will,"_  Ayala promised, rubbing up against Ed, making sure she didn't accidentally touch any of his injuries. Thought mainly small nicks and cuts, she knew they would still be painful since they hadn't had the chance to start healing yet. Chester had mimicked Ayala's actions with Al and soon the two were heading into the forest in search of Ed's missing pack.

"Do you want me or someone to help you with your wounds while we wait for them to return, Edward?" Hohenheim asked. Ed's usual response of telling Hohenheim to fuck off and that he didn't need any first aid was on the tip of his tongue when the genuine concern on Hohenheim and Calix's faces had him pause for a moment.

"Fine," Ed muttered, looking at the ground so he wouldn't see Hohenheim's reaction. "They're only scratches so it's not like much has to be done to them," Ed said.

"I'll find some clean water and something I can use to clean them out with," Hohenheim said, straightening from his crouch and heading for the two chimeras and Fu.

"I didn't think you would've accepted Dad's help," Al said, surprised and Ed had to force himself to stop from physically wincing at Al calling Hohenheim 'Dad'.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to sit through you lecturing me about looking after myself and refusing help from people or about being nicer to him," Ed snarked as he shifted to make himself more comfortable. "Figured it be less annoying to let him try and act like a decent father than sit through one of your rants."

"Brother," Al said, almost like he was going to follow it with words about how Ed truly didn't mean that but the youngest Elric ended up just staying quiet and Ed pretended to accept it as the familiar reprimand Al was acting like it was while Calix watched them both.

A few seconds later, Ed decided to break the silence. "So you're able to transmute like me, huh? I take it that means your memories are back?" Ed asked and Al nodded, his helmet clanking softly.

"Yeah, I remember everything now," Al confirmed. "I think I can even bond with Animals like you and dad can but I haven't really had the chance to try yet," Al said before turning to Calix.

"I know what you're thinking, Al, and I just want you to listen to me for a moment," Ed said before Al could do anything. "I don't think you should bond with any other Animal yet," Ed said.

"What? Why?" Al asked, turning to see his brother looking a little guilty and Al felt his temper flare. "If this is some stupid jealousy thing because I can do what you can –" Al started saying hotly and Ed glared at him.

"Don't be an idiot," Ed snapped. "I'm not jealous you can transmute by clapping or that you might be able to bond with other Animals. I'm  _happy_  you can," Ed told him and Al let out a frustrated and confused noise.

"Then why?" Al asked and Ed sighed.

"Look, when I first discovered my abilities I had a year where I got the chance to adjust to being able to bond with Animals. I had that year to practise my limits with another Animal and I was only bonded to three, not including Ayala, for most of that year," Ed reminded him. "When I told you Hohenheim's theory about your memories being locked away from you and that if you got them back, you might be able to do what I could, I knew that you would likely start bonding with every Animal we know as soon as you could," Ed said. "If you'd gotten your memories months or even weeks ago, I wouldn't even be asking you not to bond with more Animals but with Promised Day less than 12 hours away, I'm begging you not to," Ed pleaded, looking up at Al. "It can be distracting having that many Animals in your head and you won't have the time I did to get used to it. With all the fighting that will be going on tomorrow, I'll be hard-pressed trying to keep my mind focused on what I'm doing rather than the Animals I'm bonded to and I don't want you to end up getting yourself or someone else hurt because you weren't able to focus completely," Ed finished explaining before going quiet.

"You really think I'd get someone hurt because I was distracted by an Animal?" Al asked and Ed winced.

"I know you wouldn't mean it and in all honesty, I could be completely wrong and you might have the knowledge necessary to block out Animals completely so you didn't feel anything except the strongest emotions from them," Ed said, "but I still think you should wait until after we've won to bond with Ayala or Nala or whoever you want to bond with. It's completely up to you, though," Ed stressed. "If you think you can handle having more than Chester in your head than I won't stop you and I won't be mad that you didn't listen to me," Ed promised.

"Edward has a point," Hohenheim said, startling the two boys who hadn't heard his approach. Ed noted the flask and small strips of black cloth in his hands just before Hohenheim crouched down, this time within arm's reach of Ed. "Tomorrow would not be a good day to test that particular ability out for the first time." The older man poured some water from the flask to wet one of the cloths before silently requesting Ed's left arm. Ed let him inspect it as they sat in silence while Al considered what they had said. Ed felt some guilt at asking his brother to hold back on exploring his newfound knowledge, even though the blonde knew it was the right thing to do.

"Alright," Al finally said and Ed's face fell as he heard the sad note of his voice. "I won't bond with anyone until after Promised Day. It can be like a surprise for them, something to take their mind off of the fight and what had happened, you know?" Al said and both Hohenheim and Ed gave him a smile, though Ed ignored Hohenheim doing so.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Nala will flip when she realises you can bond with other Animals," Ed said with a grin as Hohenheim focused on cleaning his minor wounds, causing Al to chuckle. Ed flinched when Hohenheim unexpectedly moved from the cuts on his arm to the couple of his face.

"Sorry," Hohenheim said immediately. "I guess I should've warned you." Ed nodded, acknowledging his words but he didn't say anything in response. The three of them lapsed back into silence while Hohenheim finished his self-assigned task. As Ed expected, it didn't take him long since he really hadn't suffered any injury worse than a bruised rib and by the time Hohenheim was done and had left to return Fu's flask to him, Calix choosing to remain behind once more, both Ayala and Chester announced they were nearly back with Ed's pack.

"I take it you didn't run into any problems?" Ed asked once the two Animals were back with them. Ayala and Chester had both ended up dragging the bag between the two of them and Ed was glad he'd reinforced the material with alchemy when he saw how much dirt and forest debris was attached to it.

" _Of course we didn't,"_  Ayala said as she waited for Ed to set up his bedroll so she could lay at the head of it. As soon as she'd moved to lay in her spot, Ed dug out some rations for her, Chester and himself and told the two Animals to dig in. They both did so with more enthusiasm than the bland food truly warranted but Ed couldn't judge them. His dinner tasted like heaven to his empty stomach and he scoffed it as fast as he could without accidentally choking on it.

"The three of you should get some rest," Al said once they'd eaten and Ed nodded, not bothering to put up his usual façade of not being tired.

"You'll be alright by yourself?" Ed asked as he lay down, leaving just enough room for Chester to squeeze himself on the bedroll as well if he wanted. The leopard decided to take him up on the unspoken offer while Calix carefully dropped to his front knees before letting the rest of himself drop so he was laying down as well.

"I'll be fine," Al promised and Ed nodded. "Night, Brother. Night, Ayala and Chester."

"Night, Al," Ed said, echoed by the two Animals. Before he fell asleep, Ed whispered one more goodnight. "Goodnight, Calix." The grey horse startled at the whisper through their bond but he was quick to respond with his own goodnight and Ed fell asleep to the feeling of the horse's happiness at being spoken to by him without any further reason than just because.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Here's chapter 42 for everyone! Only five more to go and Promised Day will start next chapter! Who's excited? Anyways, I would love to hear your opinions on this chapter :) See you next week!


	43. Chapter 43

Ed woke just as dawn broke, shining its weak light on the clearing that served as the battleground for the fight between Pride and Edward's group. He blinked as he sat up, body aching slightly from a combination of the previous night's fight and sleeping on the hard ground with only a thin mattress to act as a buffer but feeling much more energetic than he had when he'd gone to bed. The first thing he saw once he was up was the massive dome that stood far higher than the trees around them and that still contained the homunculous, Pride. Ed then felt two bodies stir next to him and he waited as Ayala and Chester woke themselves up.

" _It's the Promised Day,"_  Ayala said once she was sitting up and her mind had cleared itself of any remaining sleepy fog.

"It is," Ed said with a nod. Though he could feel the expected fear, nerves and worry settle somewhere in his gut, Ed also felt something that surprised him for a moment: relief. Relief because today was the day that would decide whether Amestris would be lost forever, only existing in history books or whether it would continue to exist and grow as a country. Ed knew that after today, the homunculi and Father would no longer be a concern to him, no matter which way the battle would go. "I guess that means we'd better get ourselves organised," Ed told the two Animals.

" _Probably a good idea. It looks like Al has already started,"_  Chester told him and Ed looked over to where Chester had glanced.

Standing near the dome that contained Pride were Alphonse, Darius, Heinkel, Hohenheim, Fu and Calix. As Ed had thought, Lan Fan and Greed had taken off the night before, though he seriously doubted Greed had let Lan Fan join him in doing whatever the homunculous was doing. Cracking his back, Ed grabbed his bag and dug through it for the last of his rations. Though he really didn't have much of an appetite – thanks mainly to the thoughts of the upcoming battle for Amestris bouncing around in his mind – he knew he and the Animals still needed to eat so they had the necessary energy to fight. Once they were done, Ed packed away his bedroll and rubbish back into his bag and joined the Animals as they started walking towards the group. Ed looked up to find Fu missing and he started looking around in confusion when the elderly man appeared almost directly in front of him.

"Edward, I've decided to head into Central before everyone else does," Fu told him, getting right to the point quickly. "I'm the only member of your force whose face our enemy doesn't know. Recon will be far easiest for me to do and I can gather information you or the others might not otherwise find out," Fu told him and Ed nodded.

"Stay safe, old man," Ed said, not bothering to put up so much as a token argument about how he should stick with them until it was time to move. He knew that Fu would do exactly as he'd said he would but Ed wasn't an idiot. He knew a big part of why Fu wanted to leave now was so he could find Greed and keep an eye on him to make sure Ling would stay unharmed.

"You as well, Edward. I hope to see you alive by the end of this day," Fu said, placing one hand on Ed's flesh shoulder and Ed nodded.

"I hope to see you alive so you can lecture Ling about letting a homunculous possess him," Ed said, giving him a half-grin that had Fu's eyes twinkle in amusement as he mimicked Ed's nod before almost literally vanishing. "I really need to learn that trick," Ed muttered as he looked enviously at where Fu had been standing only a moment ago. He glared when both Ayala and Chester snorted at him.

" _I don't think it's a good idea. You'd only use it to try and escape lectures from Al or Mustang's office and get yourself in even more trouble once they caught up to you,"_  Ayala told him, making sure Ed imagined the consequences and was satisfied when he grimaced.

"You may have a point," Ed acquiesced gracefully, ignoring the amusement rolling off the Animals.

It didn't take them long to reach the group and Al was the first to greet them. "Brother! Are you feeling better?" Al asked after he'd made sure the two Animals felt alright after the fight and that that they'd eaten breakfast first.

"Yup," Ed told him honestly. "You?" Ed asked. Even if Al didn't suffer the physical effects of using too much alchemic energy in a short time span, he did still suffer the loss and Ed did not want them to figure out what would happen to Al if he did use more alchemy than what he had immediate access to during the upcoming battle.

"I'm fully recovered," Al told him and Ed nodded, relieved to hear it, even if he'd been expecting that answer. "We were just discussing when we should start heading out," Al said, gesturing to the three other humans.

"It'd have to be soon. The eclipse is at midday, which is only," Ed opened his pocket watch up and looked, "five and a half hours away. It'll take us at least an hour, hour and a half to get to Central from here and we'll still have to sneak our way through the city since there are still orders for our arrest. I haven't heard from Nala or anyone else this morning but I assume the Fuhrer's train being demolished yesterday with him in it would've caused some upset with the military, which could work to our advantage," Ed said only to stop when Al made a confused noise.

"The Fuhrer's train blew up? Is he dead?" Al asked, a touch of hope to his voice and Ed couldn't blame him. If Bradley was out of the picture, all the better for them.

"Yeah, some East City and Briggs soldiers rigged some explosives under a bridge his train was going to cross. How come you don't know -?" Ed started asking before he realised why exactly his brother had no clue about the attack and found himself wanting to smack himself over the head. "Right, you wouldn't have heard because Pride had a control of you all day yesterday," Ed said before shaking his head. "Bradley somehow found out about Mustang's coup happening today while he was in East City overseeing the war games between the eastern soldiers and Briggs. Thankfully, some of the soldiers had set up the explosives early yesterday so they could be used today so when Bradley boarded his train, a message was sent to the waiting soldiers so they could blow the tracks up before Grumman's and the rest of Armstrong's men could start marching for Central. Some men stayed behind with a few Central soldiers who had accompanied Bradley to search through the wreckage but as far as I know, Bradley's body hasn't been found," Ed told Al, who sighed slightly.

"So we should expect Bradley to turn up during the fight?" Al said and Ed nodded.

"Probably a good idea to prepare for that rather than get caught unawares," Ed said before looking up at the dome. "What are we going to do about him?" Ed asked, looking back in time to see the confused expressions on the chimeras' faces. "We can't leave him without a guard. We can't risk someone getting curious and digging through the walls to see what's inside," Ed pointed out.

"I can stay behind. I don't think I'd be much use during the fight anyway," Heinkel said, lifting his bandaged arm and wincing as he did so to prove his point.

"I'll stay with him," Darius said. "Probably a good idea to have two people, especially if one of them is injured," he added with a shrug.

"I agree with there probably needing to be two people but I think you should go with Dad and Ed, Darius," Al said before Ed could thank the two chimeras for volunteering. Al ignored Ed's protesting noise and continued talking. "I think it would be a better idea if there was an alchemist here, just in case, and I had fully intended to be in that dome with Pride last night before Brother came up with his idea."

"Al," Ed started saying, ready to argue that the armour needed to be with them but Al shook his head.

"No, I know what you're going to say but I think it's best if I stay here," Al told Ed. "Since Father didn't mention anything when we met him about Envy being killed, we can assume he has no way to track the homunculi unless given a physical trail or clues to follow. That means that Father will have no idea where Pride is and since I'm one of the key sacrifices, he won't be able to find me either. It could be a way for us to stop him without him ever being able to use us," Al explained and Ed found himself biting back a growl of annoyance because Al was  _right_  and Ed had no counters for any of the points he raised.

"I think it would be for the best for Alphonse to stay here with Heinkel," Hohenheim said and Ed glared at him. "I would offer to stay here myself but I can't risk not fighting alongside all of you, just in case Homunculous manages to go through with his plans. I can guarantee you that he would have a plan to gain the fifth sacrifice, if he doesn't already have someone else who committed the taboo, and he'd be more than willing to use the same plan twice to find someone to replace Al if he had to," Hohenheim told them solemnly. "I'm not boasting but I am the best person to face Homunculous in a fight and that's the other reason I can't volunteer to take Al's place. I intend to track Homunculous to his lair and stop him before he can do anything," Hohenheim revealed.

"Are you certain you can face him by yourself?" Al asked, voice etched with worry and Hohenheim gave him a reassuring smile.

"I won't guarantee I'll win against him but I will do my best and there's no point in someone going with me if I end up captured. Anyone not a sacrifice will be killed and anyone who is a sacrifice will be needed in the fight rather than being stuck with me and Homunculous," Hohenheim told him. "You being here and out of reach is a very good idea and will hopefully be enough to prevent the array being activated so don't you go worrying about me," Hohenheim said.

"Alright, Dad," Al agreed, a touch sulkily. During the whole discussion, Ed and the chimeras hadn't said a word.

"So that's that settled," Ed said. "Al and Heinkel will stay here to guard Pride's prison while the rest of us head into Central," Ed summed up and received nods. Ayala, Chester and Calix all suddenly turned as something caught their attention from the nearby forest.

"Someone's coming," Heinkel warned, his enhanced senses helping him hear what the Animals heard.

" _At least four people and an Animal,"_  Ayala told Ed.  _"They don't smell hostile but only two of them are familiar to me,"_  Ayala said.

" _And I know the other two,"_  Chester told Ed.  _"You do as well, Ayala, but you only met them briefly,"_  Chester explained to the wolf. Ed had barely passed on this news to the people who couldn't hear both Animals when four figures stepped out of the forest, talking to one another.

"That's not natural." Ed saw a man lift a hand to point to Pride's prison before the group ended up spotting Ed and the others.

"Is that Zampano and Jerso?" Darius asked, recognising two of the group and Ayala made a noise of realisation as she placed the two unfamiliar scents.

"Is that Al and Hohenheim over there?" Ed heard one of the chimeras ask before the five – Ed having noticed the Animal clinging to one of the men – members of the group headed their way and Ed finally got to confirm his suspicions. Joining Zampano and Jerso were Scar, Doctor Marcoh and Carrie and Ed was especially delighted to see the koala safe and sound.

"Doctor Marcoh!" Ed greeted, waving at the approaching man before he and Ayala headed to meet them halfway.

"Hello, Edward," Marcoh greeted a touch warmer than he'd been the last time the two had interacted.

"I see you've gotten Carrie back," Ed said, nodding to the koala. "I'm glad you're safe," he told her, though not through his ability.

"She says thank you and that she's glad you're safe as well, especially after what Alphonse told us what happened to you up north," Marcoh said, his eyes roving over Ed's form in a way Ed was used too from medical professionals.

"Thank you," Ed said to Carrie before addressing her human once more. "I hate to put you to work almost immediately but one of our allies could use a doctor," Ed said before pointing to Heinkel.

"I'll see what I can do for him," Marcoh said before heading towards the injured chimera, hefting his medical bag a little.

"We're gonna go say hello to everyone, if you don't need us for the moment," Jerso said and Ed nodded.

"No worries. We'll join back up with you and the others in a minute. We still need to go over our strategies," Ed said and the two chimeras gave him a nod before they left, leaving him and Ayala alone with Scar. "Al said you split up from his group a while back to visit your remaining countrymen. How'd that go?" Ed asked and Scar looked at him.

"My people know what is going on and those who can are preparing to fight alongside us today. Those who are needed to set up my brother's array know their tasks well. We will not fail to protect those who remain of Ishval a second time,"Scar told him and Ed gave a small sigh of relief.

"Sounds like we have nothing to worry about regarding that particular array," Ed said and Scar nodded. "We should head back and start having this talk with the others. I need to loop in a few Animals as well so everyone on our side is on the same page," Ed said, turning to walk towards the group but Scar stopped him with a few words.

"I wish to apologise," Scar said and Ed turned, giving Ayala a confused look that she returned.

"About what?" Ed asked, mentally wracking his mind for anything Al told him about what he'd learned about Scar while they were travelling together for something that would warrant the Ishvalen's apology but he came up empty.

"For my actions against you," Scar said. Though his expression never changed from the stony mask he wore, Ed could see some regret twinkling in his eyes. "I am unsure if your brother meant to do so when he shared stories of your youth and your missions but his stories had me come to the realisation that I was wrong to try and take your life in the name of Ishvala and I was wrong to take the lives of the State Alchemists I killed. Though they had deserved their deaths, it was not my place to be their executioner," Scar told him. "I had no reason to target you, not even the thin ones I had for the others, except for your being a State Alchemist. You were not even of school age when the Ishvalen War started and it ceased well before you joined the military. Ishvala is not a vengeful god. He is a peaceful one and I had no right to claim to be acting under His name as I did. Nami wouldn't even recognise me if she could see me today." Ed knew he was gaping at the red-eyed man but he couldn't help it, especially when he heard Nami mentioned. The only reason he even knew about Scar's Maned Wolf and the fact she'd died alongside his brother and his brother's Animal during the Ishvalen Civil War in an effort to protect him was because Chester had overheard him tell Mei one night while they were all still travelling together and had passed the information onto him. "I am sorry for the injuries and suffering I dealt you in my misguided attempt to avenge my country," Scar said formally and sincerely.

"I literally have no clue how to respond to that," Ed finally managed to say through his shock, "but you're forgiven on my part and," Ed glanced down at his wolf, who gave a stunned nod, "on Ayala's," Ed told Scar, meeting his eyes so the man would know he was telling the truth.

"Thank you," Scar said, looking as though a weight had been lifted off him slightly.

"Thank me by helping me defeat Father and his minions and save our people," Ed said, giving the man a slightly vicious grin and Scar nodded sharply. "Right. Let's head on over now," Ed said, a little awkwardly but Scar and Ayala said nothing as they followed the blonde back over to where Hohenheim, Al, the four chimeras, Marcoh and the Animals were waiting.

"Everything alright, Brother?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, just getting confirmation from Scar that everything on his end has been sorted. The Ishvalens are in place to help us fight and set up the reversing array," Ed told everyone, leaving Scar's apology out until he and Al could speak in private. Ed didn't think Scar was the kind of person who would want everyone to know what he'd said anyways.

"So we don't have to worry about that now," Hohenheim said and Scar nodded.

"Oh, Scar, Doctor Marcoh, you haven't met out father yet," Al suddenly piped up, getting Marcoh's attention off of Heinkel for a moment. "This is mine and Ed's dad, Hohenheim, and his Animal, Calix," Al introduced, ignoring Ed's glower, choosing to focus on Hohenheim's pleased smile instead.

"Pleasure," was all Marcoh said before his attention was back on his patient while Scar merely nodded to acknowledge he'd heard Al.

"Hey, Ed," Darius said, getting Ed's attention off the fact that Al had introduced Hohenheim as their dad when Ed didn't think he'd done anything near enough to warrant being called that, "do you know where that old guy ran off to? I asked these guys but they don't know," Darius said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, he's gonna go do some recon for us in Central," Ed told him. "He made a compelling argument when he pointed out his face was the only one no one not on our side has seen so I agreed when he said he'd have the easiest time moving through the city. He promised he'd do what he could to make sure we get all the information he uncovered so that we have all the facts possible. Fu didn't say anything but I know he'll also be on the lookout for Greed so hopefully we'll get some information about what that bastard's doing," Ed said, scowling slightly at the fact that Greed had just taken off without giving them a heads up or idea of what he was planning.

"Oh, that makes sense," Darius said.

"So, we know that Scar's got that reversing array thing covered," Jerso said, drawing everyone's attention, "but has anything else been discussed?" he asked and Ed nodded.

"Heinkel and Al will be staying here to guard Pride's prison," Ed said, pointing helpfully to the dome when Jerso and Zampano looked confused, "but aside from that, we haven't managed to discuss much because you lot showed up," Ed told him.

"I think the first thing we should do is figure out what our allies' plans are and where exactly we should enter the labyrinth of tunnels under Central from," Hohenheim said rationally and Al nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it'd do you guys no good if you're spotted by enemy forces because you stumbled across Colonel Mustang or someone fighting against Central soldiers and it'd be best to work out where you can access the tunnels to Father's lair here rather than trying to figure it out in the middle of Central," Al said, looking directly at Ed as he spoke and Ed felt himself scowl once more at his brother.

"I'm not selfish enough to have argued against his points just because he said them, you know," Ed snapped. "I'll ask Nala what's going on," Ed said before turning his mind inwards and finding his connection with Nala. "Hey. How are you holding up this morning?"

" _Ed,"_  Nala said with relief.  _"We're fine. I think Roy is ready to make his move. We're just waiting on someone to finish getting themselves ready for their role in our plan. How's everything with you?"_

Ed snorted lightly. "Yeah, as great as can be expected when your company is your father, your brother who thinks your issues with said father shouldn't still be issues, a former serial killer and four chimeras who don't know enough about your family history to understand what's going on between your family,"Ed told her and felt her wince of sympathy. "Look, I really wish I was just talking to you to check in on you and make sure you're still alright but I do have a reason for needing to speak with you," Ed said apologetically.

" _I figured as much,"_  Nala told him with no hint of reproach in her voice.  _"What do you need?"_

"I need an overview of Mustang's plans so we can figure out what we need to do and how to go about doing it," Ed said and Nala gave a mental nod.

" _Roy is planning on attacking shortly. His team and the eastern soldiers have been given orders to take no lives if it can be helped,"_  Nala said.  _"The Briggs men arrived early this morning and have all been hidden in the Armstrong manor until they're given the signal to attack. Major Armstrong and his team have been told to act as though they have no clue what is happening and as though they are on Central's side until they come across an ally, except for Sergeant Brosh and 1_ _st_ _Lieutenant Ross,"_  Nala told him.  _"They've been ordered to join Breda and Fuery, as well as a handful of trusted soldiers from Briggs, Central and East City, at the major radio broadcasting station. Roy intends for an ally to get on the air and explain everything to the public and Central soldiers in an effort to both protect the civilians and make the Central soldiers aware of what's happening and give them the chance to change sides."_

"What about Major-General Armstrong and Hughes?" Ed asked.

" _Hughes is going to stay with his family to help protect them while General Armstrong will act as she pleases,"_  Nala said, a hint of amusement in her voice.  _"Anahlia has promised to keep me in the loop, at the very least. I do believe that whatever General Armstrong does do, it will be from Central Command since she's there right now,"_  Nala revealed and Ed found himself unsurprised.

"You mentioned Fuery, Breda and Hughes but what about Falman, Havoc and Hawkeye?" Ed asked.

" _Riza will be helping me keep Roy safe once she gives Barry the Chopper his orders while Havoc fights with the Eastern troops. As for Falman, I believe he will stay with the Briggs men and help them fight. Havoc has managed to procure us a lot of weapons through his family's store in East City and General Grumman did promise he'd send a trusted ally to pick them up and deliver them to us when Roy spoke to him late last night,"_  Nala informed him.

"What about Grumman himself?" Ed asked, hoping maybe having a general with them would be enough to deter a few soldiers from attacking.

" _He and Major Miles have stayed in East City to run the investigation into the attack on the Fuhrer's train. At least, that's what they're doing officially. Unofficially, they're there to give us news on Bradley as they come across it and offer extra back up, just in case we need it,"_  Nala said and Ed sighed. General Grumman fighting alongside them would've been great but Ed figured that probably had been a little too much to ask.

"Alright," Ed said. "Is that everything you can tell me?"

" _Yes,"_  Nala told him, a little apologetic.  _"Until we manage to get this coup underway and we get a better idea of what's happening, I don't have anything else of use to tell you,"_  she said.

"That's fair enough," Ed said, making sure she knew he wasn't upset or disappointed at all with her. "Thanks for letting me know what you could. It's a big help," Ed said.

" _You're welcome,"_  she responded warmly.  _"I have to go now but I'll see you soon, alright? Stay safe until then,"_ she ordered and Ed huffed out some laughter.

"You too," Ed told her before letting the disconnection go and repeating everything Nala had told him to the others.

"I still can't believe Lieutenant Hawkeye managed to capture Barry and convince him to fight for us," Al said with a small shake of his head and Ed shrugged.

"Would you argue against the woman who not only wasn't freaked out by your armour being hollow but also unloaded an entire clip of bullets into you just because?" Ed asked, raising a brow.

"You have a point," Al said with a laugh. "So do you have any idea where you'll be able to get into the tunnels?" Al asked and Ed hummed thoughtfully.

"We can't use Central Command because that would be suicide," Ed said. "I doubt that bearded bastard would've left the entrance Gluttony showed us with no further protections and any entrances the Fifth Laboratory and the prison next to it would've had have likely been destroyed," Ed told them before someone – namely Al – could suggest those places.

"What about a different laboratory?" Al asked. "Could one of them have an entrance into the tunnels?"

"Maybe but it would take too long to search them all to try and find an entrance," Ed pointed out.

"The Third Laboratory might have an entrance," Darius said, effectively gaining everyone's attention. Zampano and Jerso were nodding in agreement. "The military didn't turn us into chimeras inside the laboratory itself but there is chimera research happening in there. We escorted the general who we worked under before Kimblee on one of his inspections of the laboratory and we met the scientists behind the research. While in there, our Animals all said they sensed something  _under_  the laboratory but the scientist and general dismissed it when we told them as the Animals sensing the sewerage system or possibly misunderstanding where what they were sensing was," Darius told them.

"It wasn't long after that that our general asked us whether we wanted to be a part of the specialised task force he was putting together," Jerso said, a hint of sadness and a lot of regret in his voice. "We were led underground to a secret laboratory that we told was built for experimental alchemy so that if something did go wrong, the civilians of Central would be safe. We didn't know – or, at least, I didn't – that we were going to be transmuted with our Animals and turned into chimeras," he told them. Ed felt himself listened with rapt attention. He'd never asked Darius or Heinkel about how they'd become chimeras so, with the exception of the fact that it was the military's idea to turn them into chimeras, Ed knew nothing about what happened.

"None of us knew," Zampano said. "I was led into the room that had the array painted on the floor with my Animal, Jack, and told the two of us needed to stand in the centre of the array to receive the power necessary to join the unit. There was a bright flash of light and I was in a lot of pain before I passed out. When I woke up, Jack wasn't there and I was in a strange room. That was all I noticed before I lost consciousness again."

"It was the same for me," Darius said. "When I woke up completely, I knew something horrible had happened. I felt  _wrong_  and I couldn't sense Christie – that was my Animal – but at the same time, it felt like I couldn't sense anything except for her. Some scientist I'd never seen before came into the room I was in and started running tests on me but refused to answer any of my questions," Darius told them. "My general entered the room once the scientist left and informed me where Christie was and what they'd done to us. He also told me that my family and friends had been told I'd been killed in the line of duty and that I had the choice of either continuing to serve under him but from the shadows or I could be killed where I stood. I chose the former," Darius told them, a scowl on his face.

"We all chose that option, obviously," Zampano said. "I don't know how long we were kept in that laboratory for so we could learn how to control our animal sides and so the scientists and alchemists who turned us into what we are could get their test results," Zampano said with a sneer. "When we allowed back above ground, we came out only a few streets away from the Third Laboratory," he told them and Ed realised what they were saying.

"You think the scientists and alchemists used a secret entrance that connected the Third Laboratory to the underground one you were experimented on in," Ed said and the three chimeras nodded.

"If there's a tunnel that does connect the Third Laboratory with the secret laboratory, it could mean there's more tunnels connected to it and that could be your way into the tunnels," Heinkel said, speaking for the first time since the conversation turned to the laboratories.

"Al and I explored the laboratories when I first joined the military," Ed said. "The Fuhrer gave the order for us to be shown them so that if I ever decided to become a research alchemist, I'd know where I'd fit in the most," Ed explained. "The Third Laboratory creeped us out and we didn't linger there once we finished our tour. None of us could figure out why it skeeved us out so much and we haven't been in there since," Ed admitted.

"It's possible the Animals had picked up on the chimeras being experimented on," Al said quietly and both Animals nodded.

" _Most likely. They didn't smell like these guys or Nina and Alexander which means they weren't being fused with humans. It also explains why we never thought of that laboratory as a place where illegal experiments were taking place,"_  Chester said. Ed barely managed to control the flinch that threatened to happen at the mention of Nina and Alexander but there was no hiding the emotions that popped up.

Marcoh cleared his throat as he finished up with Heinkel. "Before I defected during the Ishvalen Civil War, I worked at the Third Laboratory," Marcoh revealed and everyone bar Scar looked surprised at the information. "I believe I know where you would need to enter to get into the tunnels," Marcoh told them and Ed gestured for him to tell them. "Once you get to the basement, on the northern side of the building, there's a corridor that you need to go down. I'm sure your Animals will pick up on the scent when they get into the basement itself but about 20 steps down that corridor, there will be a door on your right. It'll be locked but I imagine that wouldn't be much of a problem for you," Marcoh said, giving Ed a look that had him giving the man a smirk.

"Not likely," Ed said, a touch of cockiness to his voice that had Ayala roll her eyes, even if she was secretly pleased to see Ed shake off the memories and guilt that always came up with the mention of Nina and Alexander so quickly.

"So that's the plan?" Hohenheim asked. "Alphonse and Heinkel will stay here while we enter Central and go through the Third Laboratory while Colonel Mustang, General Armstrong and Scar lead everyone else above ground?"

"Seems to be," Darius grunted. Jerso, Zampano, Ed and Scar nodded in agreement. The only one who didn't was Marcoh and Darius noticed. "What will you be doing, Doc?"

"Returning to Kanama. I left Yoki and Nova down there and it's not like I'd be any use to you on the battlefield. I was a research State Alchemist, not a field one," Marcoh told them. "I'll stay in Kanama until the fighting's over then I'll come into Central and offer medical help where needed."

"Alright, Doc," Ed said with a nod before addressing the group. "The other thing we have to remember are those white mannequin things Anahlia warned me about," Ed said.

"I thought you said that Anahlia said they wouldn't be ready?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"She did but that doesn't mean the military won't bring them online if they need too," Ed told him. "We'll have all of the Fort Briggs soldiers, as well as every East City soldier who Grumman could send without leaving East City at risk. We'll have all the Ishvalens Scar's managed to wrangle into helping us fight, the Central soldiers who Mustang, Hughes, Armstrong and Hawkeye have brought to our side as well as us, Teacher and everyone's Animals. Nala also told me Mustang is having someone – and I don't know who, before you ask – go on the radio while he starts leading the coup to explain what's happening to the public," Ed told them. "With all of that facing them, the corrupt generals might get spooked and put the mannequins into play before they're ready. Wouldn't be the first time the military did something like that," Ed said with a shrug.

"Why would Mustang want the public to know what's happening?" Jerso asked and Ed shrugged once more.

"I dunno but probably so we don't have to worry about civilian casualties," Ed said. "Our goal is not to kill our fellow soldiers or anyone else who gets in our way, homunculi excepted, if we can help it. If we go out there without caring about the lives of the people who stand before us and just take them out as though it was another day, we're no better than the corrupt generals or the homunculi. Most of the Central troops won't know anything about the homunculi or what's going to happen today. They won't know the generals are just going to have them killed, even if they do win against us and I think that's another reason why Mustang will be doing this broadcast," Ed told them.

"You think Colonel Mustang wants to make the Central troops aware of what's going on so they can choose whether to fight against them, surrender or join our side," Al said and Ed nodded.

"Exactly," Ed said.

"Do you think the broadcast will work? I mean, it took us a little while to fully buy into the whole 'homunculi are a thing and they're trying to destroy the country and the military are helping them' thing," Heinkel said and Ed sighed.

"It really depends who the spokesperson is," Ed admitted. "He'd need to use someone who has a bit of standing in Central or is at least close friends with people who are viewed in a decent light by the public and they would need to be someone who either knows first hand what's going on or someone who would believe Mustang when he tells them the truth," Ed said, sounding a little worried.

" _The Animals listening to the broadcast would be able to help convince their humans that the spokesperson is telling the truth,"_  Ayala reassured him but Chester was quick to make sure that Ed kept a realistic view on the situation.

" _That doesn't mean_ every  _Animal will believe whoever's on the radio,"_  Chester said.  _"It's a pretty fantastical sounding story. Even General Armstrong didn't believe us until that homunculous dug its way through her fortress,"_  Chester pointed out.  _"There will be plenty of Animals and people out there who will refuse it as the truth just because they wouldn't be able to believe it was even possible."_

"Chester has a point," Al said, after Ed repeated what the two Animals had said to the others. "There will be a lot of people who won't buy it without proof and even then, some will probably claim we'd made it all up," Al said and Ed nodded.

"Not to mention Bradley is a popular Fuhrer," Darius said grudgingly. "Most people believe he has their best interests at heart, that he wouldn't let anything happen to hurt Amestris. People will have a hard time believing he's a soulless monster hellbent on destroying the country and sacrificing everyone in it for his gain."

"Even so, some people will realise we're telling the truth and they'll listen to the warnings given," Ed said before he saw the looks on the chimeras' faces and held back a scowl as he realised they were looking at him pityingly. "I'm not naïve enough to think everyone will survive today or that they'll hear whoever is on the radio and believe them immediately but if our side's unwillingness to kill rather than disable and the broadcasted warnings and revealing of what's really happening saves only a few people and Animals who would've died otherwise, that's a win for us," he said firmly and the others exchanged a look.

"I agree with Edward," Hohenheim said. "We won't be able to save everyone but this broadcast idea of Colonel Mustang's will undoubtedly save a few. All we can do is try everything possible to keep casualties to a minimum and if that means we'll suffer some backlash when all is said and done about the broadcast, be it from people who'll remain behind Wrath or whatever other reason people come up with, than so be it." Calix nodded behind Hohenheim in agreement with his words and Ed wasn't sure how he felt about having the man on his side.

"We weren't saying it was a bad idea," Darius said, "we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page," he told them.

Silence reigned for several seconds before Ed broke it. "Is that everything we needed to discuss?" he asked, looking around at everyone. "No one else has anything else to bring up? No warnings, no last-minute additions to the plan?"

"No," Hohenheim eventually said, looking at everyone himself, "I think that's everything. We're as ready as we'll ever be," Hohenheim said.

"There is one thing," Al said and everyone's attention turned to him. Chester gave the armour a significant look and a single nod that had Ed and Ayala's interests piqued. "Chester will be going with you, Brother."

"What?" Ed asked, looking between the leopard and his little brother. "Why? No offense, Ches, but Al could probably use you more here," Ed said.

"Maybe but we think it would be better for him to join you," Al said. "His presence in Central will hopefully make people think I'm nearby but hiding because I don't exactly blend in. They won't wonder where I am for a while and, with any luck, by then it'll be too late for them to try and find me in time," Al explained.

"Are you both sure you want to be separated? It's not like you're going to be separated by a building or couple of streets. You'll be at least an hour from each other if something happens," Ed said, stressing his words to make sure they were really thinking this through.

" _We know, Ed,"_  Chester told him.

"We've thought it through and we both think this could be another good way to throw off anyone who's going to be looking for me," Al told him. "Plus, considering how often you get injured doing something reckless, you'll need all the back up you can get," Al teased and Ed's worried expression immediately turned into a glower.

"Excuse me, but out of the two of us, who decided it was a good idea to trap himself in an enclosed space with the second most powerful homunculous?" Ed snapped irritably as everyone started chuckling at him and Al.

"One bad idea to your – how many is it now? Fifty? Sixty?" Al asked cheekily and Ed smacked him on the shoulder.

"The disrespect I allow from you. Honestly," Ed tsked, grinning before he sobered. "Will you be alright with only Heinkel here?" Ed asked and Al nodded.

"We'll be fine, Brother," Al said. "Doctor Marcoh and Yoki will only be a couple of minutes away and I'm sure they'll come help if they see or sense any sign of trouble," Al said and Marcoh immediately nodded.

"We most assuredly will," he promised and Ed felt his mind ease slightly.

"Alright," Ed said, still a little reluctant but he decided to put his trust in his little brother and the doctor. "In that case, we'll start heading for Central. Mustang should be starting his assault soon and we'll need to enter the city while that's still in its early stages so that everyone's attention is on it and not us," Ed said, looking over at the others and receiving nods from them all. "Stay safe, Doctor Marcoh." The doctor nodded solemnly and Ed's eyes flicked to the newly stitched up lion chimera. "You too, Heinkel, and make sure Al doesn't do anything I would do," he told him and the chimera huffed.

"That's a short list, kid," he drawled and Ed rolled his eyes. "You lot keep yourself in one piece down there. I don't want to hear that I'm the only one left remaining in this task force and I'll be really pissed if my hard work at keeping you alive the last few months is for nothing, kid," Heinkel told him and Ed gave him a smirk.

"Takes a lot to keep an Elric down, remember?" he said and Heinkel huffed. "You keep yourself safe, little brother. I still need to keep my promise to you and you cannot leave me with him," Ed jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Hohenheim, "as my only blood relative. I will  _not_  be pleased," Ed said, grinning slightly as Al sighed one of those impossible sighs.

"Brother," he chided in the way he always did when Ed called Mustang 'Colonel Bastard' to his face. "You look after yourself as well, alright? I don't want to hear Chester telling me that he and Ayala have had to save you from yourself  _again_ ," Al said and Ed grumbled slightly. "You two make sure you don't neglect your own safety just because of Ed. I want to see you both in decent shape after everything is said and done," Al told the Animals.

" _We'll do our best,"_  Chester said, Ayala nodding alongside him. Al knelt down to give them both a pat before he pulled a startled Ed into a hug tighter than Koda's.

"Stay alive," Al whispered as Ed hugged him back as best he could.

"You too," Ed said back, allowing the hug for a few moments longer before he pulled away. "Let's head out," Ed said to those who would be following him into Central.

"Stay safe, Dad and Calix," Al said as Ed and the others moved away.

"You too, son," Hohenheim said, giving Al a proud smile before he and Calix continued walking behind the group. Al watched as they left, Chester and Ed turning back to give him reassuring smiles before they walked out of sight and Al felt himself grow immensely worried and regretful about letting them all go without him.

"They'll be alright, Alphonse," Marcoh said, patting Al's left metal arm reassuringly. "After everything you told us about your brother and everything we know about Scar, they've got this handled."

"Yeah," Al said, still looking at the last spot he'd seen them. "You're right," Al said. "And we'll do all we can to keep our promise to them and make sure he doesn't escape," Al said, gesturing to the dome that held Pride.

"Yeah, we will and once everything's over, you can lecture your brother for the idiotic and reckless things he'll undoubtedly do," Heinkel said and Al let out a small chuckle.

Al barely noticed as Marcoh helped Heinkel over to a tree that had been torn up the previous night so that he could sit and rest his wounds. He heard the doctor tell them to send a signal somehow if something happened so he and Yoki could come to their aid before Marcoh and Carrie left them both to guard the massive earthen dome. Al stayed where he was, watching the path Ed and the others had disappeared done, praying to anyone who was listening that everything would work in their favour just this once. After a couple of minutes of doing so, Al finally moved and joined Heinkel for the long wait they were in for.

* * *

It had been nearly an hour since they'd left Alphonse and Heinkel to guard Pride's prison and Ed could feel his nerves growing with every step closer they took to Central. The sprawling city was well in view for the most part but they did loose sight of the buildings when they entered small valleys created by the hills that surrounded the city. The Animals Ed was bonded too had all sent him a brief message with updates on their positions and what they were about to do so Ed knew where he could enter the city safely.

Nala had sent him a very brief message to tell him that Mustang had launched the first attack and announced that he was attacking the military to rid it of its inhuman leader and the corrupt military officers following him only a couple of minutes ago. Leo and Lilith had promised they and their humans were safe, as was Elysia, and that they were together. Leo had told Ed about how Hughes had wanted to joint the fight but Mustang had forbidden it, telling his best friend to look after his family instead. Mark and Rachel both confirmed that the Eastern and Briggs troops had arrived and were joining the fight as they spoke while Kara and Dubuffet had informed Ed that their humans were looking after the radio station, alongside Denny Brosh, Maria Ross and a dozen or so other soldiers and their Animals.

Soren confirmed Riza had Mustang's six and that they were expecting Havoc and Hawkeye's best friend, Rebecca, to join them shortly with extra weapons since Mustang had foreseen that the ammo that had immediately available wouldn't see them through the fight. So far, he hadn't heard anything from neither Gary nor Anahlia so he wasn't entirely sure what the Armstrong siblings were doing but he didn't ask either. He didn't want to bother them and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out General Armstrong's reaction to him initiating a conversation with her snake just to check in on them would be. The Animals whose humans weren't in Central or weren't going to fight if they were in Central just sent Ed messages telling them that they were safe and he'd better come out alive as well. Ed had thanked them all when a new voice popped in his head.

" _Lan Fan wants to know if you can recommend somewhere she can leave me and Onyx so we won't be caught up in the fighting,"_  Laika said and Ed hummed thoughtfully.

"Tell her to take you to the Hughes'. They'll keep you safe," Ed said and the yellow-throated marten thanked him before disconnecting. He briefly considered sending Lilith or Leo a heads up but got distracted by Darius asking if he was alright since Ed had apparently gotten a glazed look on his face. Once he'd assured Darius he was fine, Ed was further distracted by Anahlia telling him that the Briggs soldiers were starting their attack and that General Armstrong was mocking the other generals before she took control of them. Getting that report made sure that telling the Hughes' Animals they might have two visitors was completely swept from Ed's mind.

* * *

Thirty minutes after getting the updates from the Animals, Lan Fan appeared in front of them when they were only a couple of kilometres out of the city. "There's smoke rising from near the city centre and I can hear sirens approaching," she reported and Ed nodded.

"That means Mustang's doing his part well. The city must be in complete chaos right now which means we better get moving," Ed said. Lan Fan didn't join them on the ground but she stayed close by them. "Did you drop the two Animals off alright?" Ed asked Lan Fan and she nodded.

"The Hughes' weren't home but I was able to get them inside the house without any problems. They've promised not to touch anything and Onyx will explain why they're there when the Hughes' return," Lan Fan reported and Ed frowned. Neither Leo nor Lilith mentioned anything about not being home when they'd reported in.

" _Maybe they were when they spoke to you but had to leave for somewhere safer and they just haven't told you yet?"_  Ayala suggested, sensing Ed's worry.

"Yeah, maybe," Ed said, not buying the idea but not being able to dismiss. Neither Animal felt like they were in danger so Ed decided to leave it for the moment. "How's your arm?" Ed asked, changing the subject and he saw Lan Fan impulsively move her flesh arm to her automail shoulder before she stopped herself.

"It's functional," she told him stiffly before looking back at him and seeing the worry in his eyes. "I won't be doing any major fighting with it unless I have too but I can still fight," she assured him and Ed nodded.

"I know I told you this before, Edward," Hohenheim said, getting Ed's attention, "but I will be leaving your side once we enter the tunnels underneath the Third Laboratory. My countermeasures will work but as I said before, I'd much rather not have it come to them being used," he reminded Ed. "Homunculous might've gotten too big for his old one but he's still inside his flask and if I can manage to destroy his container, it may be enough to kill him and possibly free all the souls he still has trapped inside of him." Ed nodded.

"I know we're going under the Third Laboratory and all but how do we know for certain that it'll even lead to this bastard?" Zampano asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"We don't," Ed said, "not for certain anyways but it's the best bet we've got. They were making chimeras in that lab," Ed stressed and Scar nodded once.

"And there were chimeras guarding the tunnel that I helped you get through after your first confrontation with the homunculous responsible for Ishval's destruction," Scar said and Ed nodded.

"They were completely vicious," Ed told the others. "If I were the scientist or soldier responsible for moving them from the laboratory to the tunnel connecting to that bearded bastard, I wouldn't be transporting them further than necessary. Lab Three has to connect to that tunnel," Ed said firmly.

"That sounds plausible," Hohenheim said thoughtfully, ignoring or not noticing the glare Ed threw his way. "Even the military wouldn't risk too many questions being asked if soldiers or scientists connected to a particular laboratory were continually getting hurt or killed. They'd need to lessen the chances of that happening so making sure there was a more direct route to the tunnel the chimeras were to guard makes sense. Not to mention that it would solve how they would get the chimeras to Homunculous' tunnel without being seen, heard or sensed by a passer-by and their Animal," he said.

"We're nearly at Central," Lan Fan told them from the tree she was perched in a few metres ahead.

"Right," Ed said, jogging lightly so he could see where exactly they were about to enter the city. "We need to go that way. There's a small park directly across from the laboratory that we can hide in so we can check what we'll be dealing with," Ed told them.

"You know where you're going so you lead the way," Lan Fan told him and Ed nodded as she left the tree she was in to join them on the ground.

"Come on," Ed said as he and the Animals started in the direction he'd pointed. "It shouldn't take us much longer to get there."

* * *

They walked for a little while longer, Ed thought no more than fifteen minutes when he first heard the familiar voice floating through an open window.  _ **"A lot of you don't know me. Some of you may recognise my voice but for those of you who don't, my name is Gracia Hughes. I'm the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes and I am a mother to a beautiful little girl and the pseudo mother to two wonderful and brave teenage boys."**_ Ed couldn't help it; he came to an immediate halt as he listened to Gracia speak through the radio he spotted on the windowsill.  _ **"My husband is best friends with someone most of you have heard of: Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Our family also includes Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist or – as the people of Amestris call him – the People's Alchemist, his brother, Alphonse Elric, and their Animals, Ayala and Chester. What I am about to tell you will seem completely impossible.**_ " Here, Gracia paused for a breath before she continued.

 _ **"A lot of you will think I am insane or I've been tasked with playing a twisted prank on you all but I am not and I have not. What I am going to tell you will not only explain what is happening in Central right now but also**_ **why** _ **it's happening and it is all 100% true."**_  Ed could feel the two Animals press against him but he ignored them mostly in favour of listening. He had no clue Gracia would be the one Mustang would have broadcasting to everyone.  _ **"Six and a half months ago, I came into my hallway when I heard my husband and his Animal arrive home later than they should've from work and was greeted by the sight of him covered in blood and the sound of someone else in the house. When I asked my husband, he told me that Edward had come home with him and was cleaning himself up because they had just had a run-in with a creature called a homunculous…"**_

Ed shook himself slightly as Gracia continued to tell Central about what had happened in the park the night they'd confronted Envy. "We need to keep going," Ed said, voice a little shakier than he wanted but he ignored it.

"Who is that?" Darius asked, looking up at the radio as though he was trying to peer through the appliance to see the person speaking through it.

"That's Gracia Hughes," Ed told him as he took the initiative to get the group moving again. Because of the time of year, everyone had their windows open and Ed could hear Gracia's voice floating from multiple directions, following them as they moved. "She, her husband and their daughter have been the closest thing Al and I have had to a real family in the last five or so years," Ed told him. He didn't miss the guilty grimace that crossed Hohenheim's face but Ed didn't bother saying anything. Nothing he would've said wouldn't have been something he hadn't already told Hohenheim anyway. "Let's keep moving while everyone's attention is on the broadcast."

* * *

"They've got three MPs guarding the entrance," Zampano informed them as the rest of the group joined the boar chimera where he crouched. They'd sent him in first so the guards wouldn't be tipped by a bunch of movement in the trees across from them and had only moved forward when Zampano had given the signal.

"I'm good with a number like that," Darius rumbled, cracking his knuckles but Ed and the Animals exchanged mischievous looks before Ed put his hand on Darius' shoulder to stop him from moving.

"Nah," he told him, "we got this." The next thing any of them knew, Ed and the two Animals were racing frantically for the three startled guards and their Animals. Ed had his pocket watch out and was waving it frantically at them. "Help me! My name's Edward Elric, I'm a State Alchemist," Ed panted, feigning fear as he came to a stop in front of the officers. "Scar's trying to kill me!" Ed said, pointing over to where the stunned Scar stood just in view. Everyone else had had the sense to get out of sight behind the bushes.

"Hey, he's on the wanted list!" one of the military police officers said, recognising Scar's description and the three men stepped protectively in front of Ed as they lined up their weapons with Scar.

"So am I," Ed snarled before he, Ayala and Chester moved against them. Ed had two of the soldiers down and was working on the third by the time his Animals were done with their opponents.

" _Took you long enough,"_  Ayala said as the third guard crumpled to the ground after Ed knocked him out with an automail elbow to the temple.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I couldn't take three humans down in the time it took you two to take down," Ed looked at the bodies around them, "two dogs and a lynx," Ed apologised, voice laced with sarcasm.

" _As you should be. Imagine what Izumi would say,"_  Chester teased and Ed flipped him off.

"That was a bit mean," Hohenheim said as he and the others approached, walking carefully over and around the unconscious forms.

"Oh, shut up," Ed snapped at the man. "Let's go," he ordered, gesturing for them to follow him inside and they did, though Ayala and Chester immediately took up lead positions once they were inside the laboratory so they could start leading the group once they'd picked up the scent. "Pardon us, coming through," Ed said as they shoved startled workers aside in their haste. Ed spared a hope that they didn't hurt them too badly as they went racing past them as fast as they could. They headed through the laboratory, following the directions Marcoh had given them and soon enough, they were in the basement level. "North wall," Ed muttered as he looked around, trying to get his bearings. Ayala and Chester shot forward as their noses picked up on a familiar and revolting scent. Ed and the others ran to catch up with them, Calix at the rear so he didn't accidentally trample on anyone but to Ed's shock, the Animals stopped in front of a blank wall.

" _The scent is strongest here,"_  Ayala told him before he could ask and Ed frowned before noticing something. He stepped forward to take a look at the wall and grinned when his suspicions were confirmed.

"They alchemised the door away," Ed explained before he clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall in front of them. A set of doors materialised from the blue energy that Ed produced and he brought his hands off them once the transmutation was complete. Opening the doors, the Animals were hit with a nauseating smell but quickly assured Ed they would adjust in no time. Calix and the chimeras weren't immune either and they wrinkled their noses in disgust. "Should we split into two groups?" Ed asked as he eyes the two choices of direction they could take.

"I think it would be for the best if we did," Hohenheim said. "I'll take a team this way," Hohenheim pointed to Ed's right, "and you can lead the other team that way. This way, each team will have an alchemist and if Homunculous does manage to disable your alchemy, Ed, you'll still have someone who can use it," Hohenheim told him, gesturing to Scar.

"So the two of them plus Edward's and Alphonse's Animals are together," Jerso said, looking at Hohenheim. "Who do you want with you?"

"I should be fine with just Calix since my alchemy is unique," Hohenheim said before glancing at Lan Fan. Ed's eyes narrowed when his father's expression changed to one he couldn't read. "On second thought," he said, "it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a bodyguard since Calix might find it difficult to attack in these tunnels so I'll take the young lady with me," he told them. Lan Fan looked startled but she didn't put up a fuss as she moved to stand next to Calix and Hohenheim. "If any of us discover the enemy, do everything you can to destroy him. Calix will tell you if we find him first, Edward. Would you mind doing the same?" Ed gave a terse nod and Hohenheim seemed to relax slightly.

"Roger that," Jerso said, moving further into the tunnel Ed and his group would be taking.

"Are you sure you'll be okay with just the three of you?" Zampano asked, obviously not able to help himself.

"Of course," Hohenheim said assuredly and the chimera nodded.

"Let's go," Darius said, not wanting to linger in the damp, dank tunnel longer than necessary. Ed saw Hohenheim go to say something as he turned to join the others but the older man closed his mouth and gestured silently for Lan Fan and Calix to follow him. Ed didn't let himself dwell on what his father might've wanted to say to him as he drew level with Scar and let the Animals take the lead once more while the chimeras protected their flank from any potential danger.

* * *

Ed wasn't sure how long they were in the tunnel for, only a couple of minutes he thought, when Anahlia contacted him out of the blue.  _"Olivier has successfully defeated the generals and the Briggs Operations Unit has arrived to set up their equipment in the conference room. Olivier would like me to inform you that she didn't manage to take all of the corrupt generals down as only some of them were present in the room with her. She also warns that one of the generals who escaped her wrath was the one who showed her the mannequins,"_  Anahlia said and Ed groaned in annoyance, though not at General Armstrong.

"Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure everyone else knows as well," Ed said, grateful that the general had thought to pass the message on. If the mannequins were released, at least now they could be ready for them. Anahlia didn't say anything else before she disconnected but Ed hadn't expected her to. "Major-General Armstrong has managed to defeat most of Bradley's inner circle but a couple weren't in the room when she made her move. One of them was the one in charge of the white mannequins I warned you about," Ed told everyone, speaking both out loud and through his connection with a select few Animals.

"I hope that general isn't stupid enough to try and activate them and make our jobs harder," Darius grumbled as they walked. Suddenly, an echoing roar sounded, loud enough that it caused the tunnel walls and what little water there was on the floor to shake violently.

"I think you just jinxed us," Zampano said as the roar subsided. Ed straightened from the crouch he gone into as he clamped his hands over Ayala and Chester's sensitive ears.

"Let's keep going," Ed said. "We can't do anything about it now if that was them being activated except fight them if we run across them," Ed pointed out and the chimeras sighed resignedly.

"You just know we're going to," Jerso muttered and Ed raised a brow but didn't comment. "Didn't you say they needed a Philosopher's Stone to become alive?" he asked and Ed nodded.

"The homunculi and/or military already had some ready to be used, according to Anahlia," Ed told him, disgust evident in his voice and on his face. "Anahlia told me they were from all of the people the military have killed in the last few years like enemy soldiers or people imprisoned with a death sentence." The chimeras made an angry noise while Scar's jaw twitched slightly, the only sign of his own anger.

Silence fell over the group after that as they continued to follow the tunnel where it led them. Neither Animal had suggested turning into one of the branching tunnels so they hadn't done so. Just as Ed was about to ask whether they were even following a scent yet or were waiting to catch one, the Animals' ears perked forward into an alert position and they quickened their steps, forcing the others to do so to keep up. Ed soon saw what had caught their attention. A massive white room with an open doorway appeared from the side of the tunnel. There was nothing remarkable inside it except for the set of doors standing closed on the other end of the circular room. The group entered it cautiously and both Animals seemed to be focusing on something only they could sense as they did so.

Jerso let out a low whistle as they took in the massive doors that reminded Ed a little too much of the Gates of Knowledge. "That's quite a doorway," the toad chimera said and the others nodded.

"The air in here seems to smell foul and I think the odour is increasing," Darius said. "Are you sure this is it?" he asked Ed and the blonde looked at the two Animals.

"Yeah, they both say so," Ed told him as he reached for the doors to pull them open.

" _Ed, wait!"_  both Animals shouted at him, panic in their voices but it was too late. Even as Ed let go of the barely open doors, the damage had been done and they flew open as dozens of white bodies tumbled through them. Ed and everyone else put as much distance between them as they could and they watched in horror as the creatures in front of them managed to get themselves to their feet and start walking in an awkward, limping manner. Ed knew what they were the moment he caught sight of them and he readied his blade as the chimeras shifted forms and Scar and the Animals shifted into defensive positions.

"Take them out. Show no mercy on these things," Ed ordered as the mannequins advanced on them. He didn't wait for their responses as he swiped at the first mannequin to come close enough to him while Ayala and Chester both tag-teamed another one. To Ed's shock, the mannequin's neck opened up with a spurt of green liquid instead the red Ed was expecting. The crackle of red alchemic energy that Ed thought he'd see as a result of the Stone inside the mannequin never danced its way across the gushing wound. That didn't mean, however, that the creature had been downed. Rather, Ed found himself fighting a mannequin that continually bled green blood and showed no signs of fatigue or the effects of blood loss. "Fuck," Ed swore, dancing back a couple of steps as he realised what that meant. "Their stones have more than one life! You have to kill them multiple times!" Ed shouted, making sure everyone heard him.

" _Ed!"_  Ayala called from a few metres away.  _"We can't let them get into the tunnels and into Central,"_ she told him and Ed took the hint.

Slicing his way through the mannequins who'd gotten too close to him, Ed turned and sprinted for the open doors. More mannequins advanced on him but Darius came leaping out of nowhere and barrelled into them, sending them flying in all directions and crashing into other mannequins. Ed got the doors closed and clapped before placing his hands on them, alchemically sealing them shut. He turned and gave Darius an apologetic look. "Sorry. I guess I just sealed our exit."

"Don't worry about it," Darius roared as he tore a mannequin in half. "If you hadn't have done it, I sure as fuck would've slammed the damned things shut myself," the gorilla chimera informed him before bulldozing his way through the mannequins to give Zampano a hand with the ones he was dealing with.

"Now we can  _really_  take these guys on!" Zampano shouted as he sent a volley of spines into a group of nearby mannequins, taking them down only for them to get back up again.

"You said it, Zampano," Jerso grunted as he threw a spit ball of goop at some of the white creatures. From what Ed could see, Jerso's attacks were the most effective so long as the mannequin hit stayed down long enough for the sticky liquid to strengthen. "Now that all these things are shut in here with us with no way for them to escape, we can really let ourselves loose! This is gonna be good!" the toad chimera exclaimed before sending more goop at the enemy.

Ed clapped and created a staff from the flooring before using it to knock aside three mannequins while Ayala and Chester continued sinking their teeth and claws into wherever they could grab. Ed winced at the gruesome sight of the green blood staining Ayala and Chester's coats and he hoped that these creatures couldn't feel pain as Ayala tore out one of their throats much like she had done to Envy when he was pretending to be Gracia. "The people who thought to create these creatures are despicable and those who helped them are almost worse," Ed muttered, knowing he wouldn't be heard over the groaning of the mannequins, needing to say it though but he received fierce agreements from the two Animals who'd heard him. "We'll have to try and plough through them to get to that bearded bastard!" Ed shouted to the others. He could see another wave of mannequins flow over the top of the ones still trying to get through the doorway and his heart sank as he tried to figure out how the hell they were going to succeed in doing so when he felt a familiar tickle in his mind and grinned. They apparently had backup coming so all Ed and the others had to do was keep fighting until they arrived. "Let's do this!" Ed shouted, using a throwing knife to spear a mannequin through the forehead as answering shouts of agreement rang throughout the room.

* * *

It had been over two hours since Ed and the others had headed into Central and although Chester was keeping him up to date on what was or wasn't happening, Al could barely keep himself from pacing out of nerves. The surprised reveal that Mustang had asked Gracia to be their voice over the radio had stunned Al enough that he'd forgotten about his nerves for a few seconds but they were back in full force moments later. The last thing he'd heard from Chester was that they'd managed to successfully enter the Third Laboratory and that Hohenheim, Calix and Lan Fan had split from the group to cover the other direction the tunnel took than the one Ed and the others had gone down.

"Alphonse, I'm only gonna ask nicely once but would you please relax?" Heinkel's voice broke Al out of his worried state and he realised he'd been bouncing his knee to subconsciously work off some nervous energy. "They're fine. Chester would've told you if they weren't," Heinkel said, trying to soothe the young boy and was relieved when it worked to an extent.

"Yeah, I know," Al said, slumping slightly. "I just wish we didn't have to separate from them. I don't regret staying here and I stand by it being the right decision," Al said hastily, as though worried Heinkel would judge him, "but I also wish I was with them and making sure they were alright," he said sorrowfully and Heinkel clapped him on the shoulder, grateful the armour had decided to sit on his right so he didn't further damage his left arm.

"I understand. I wish I could be down there helping them rather than up here but this task is important," Heinkel reminded him. "We need to make sure Pride doesn't escape and create more problems for the others."

"I know," Al said dully and Heinkel let out a soft sigh.

"I'm gonna go check the other side of the dome, alright?" Heinkel said and Al gave a small nod as the lion chimera got to his feet. Heinkel had barely made it a few metres when his nose twitched with a familiar scent. It took him a little longer to place it than he liked but when he did so, there was no mistaking it. "Kimblee," Heinkel growled and he saw Al get to his feet.

* * *

Before either of them could do anything, the impeccably dressed psychopathic alchemist appeared in front of them, smirked and brought his hands together before directing the explosion towards the dome in front of him. The resulting shockwave sent both Heinkel and Alphonse flying off their feet with a shout while dust swirled around them. Pride stepped out of the gaping open and looked around, spotting Kimblee.

"Thank you, Kimblee. It was getting dreadfully boring in there," Pride said as he allowed the alchemist to approach. "How did you manage to find me?" Pride asked curiously. He hadn't been able to send out any kind of signal, lacking the tools to do so and he knew no one would know where he was since he hadn't told anyone he'd be in Kanama so he was a little surprised to see Kimblee there.

"I was on my way to the slum to interrogate the Ishvalens there about Scar's whereabouts when the dome caught my attention," Kimblee told him, nodding to the structure. "Admittedly, I was going to ignore it but my curiosity eventually won out and I headed this way in time to overhear your two guards talk about what it contained," Kimblee said casually. "I don't appreciate more work being made for me, however," Kimblee added, a note of irritation in his voice.

"I do apologise for the trouble," Pride said. "I won't be letting my guard down again," the homunculous assured him and Kimblee nodded.

"Huh," the alchemist said after a moment and Pride glanced up to see him looking at the entrance he made in Pride's prison, "so you're alone? I thought Gluttony had been sent to accompany you on your mission."

"Yes, he was, however I ended up having to consume him," Pride said, licking his lips and Kimblee gave him a mildly surprised look.

"You ate Gluttony? Your own kind?" Kimblee asked. He wasn't disgusted but he was curious and Pride gave him a look.

"It's not like it's cannibalism," Pride chided. "We  _are_  a collective, after all. We were both born of the same father but now we've gone back to being one form," Pride informed him.

"Huh, so that's how it works?" Kimblee murmured. Neither one was able to speak another word on the subject as a shout from Alphonse caught their attention. Kimblee's eyes moved from the armour to what the boy was running towards and spotted the injured and bloodied chimera lying slumped against the dome. "Still alive?" Kimblee asked as Pride sent out his shadows. "What a pity for you but then again, you are a chimera. The life force is strong in you."

"Damn it!" Al swore as Pride's shadows latched onto him. "Let me go!" he snapped as the homunculous started dragging him away from his downed ally.

"You're not going anywhere," Pride sneered and Al growled.

"Why you -!" Al cut himself off as he clapped his hands and placed them on his lower legs, making sure to sever them above where Pride's shadows gripped him and he started crawling with purpose towards Heinkel.

"Why bother fighting?" Pride asked as he finished drawing his shadows back in. His eyes widened as he saw only the lower half of Al's legs and he let out an irritated noise as he threw them aside. A look and nod at Kimblee had the two advancing down on the armour and chimera, a snarl on Pride's face as he did so.

* * *

"Mr. Heinkel!" Al gasped as he finally made it to the chimera's side and saw the new injuries as well as the old, reopened injuries.

Heinkel forced his eyes open at the sound of his name and saw Al's helmet peering down at him. "Just leave me," the chimera groaned. "Get out of here. Go, quickly!" Heinkel ordered but Al shook his head.

"No way," the boy said as he fussed over the injuries.

"Don't talk back to me!" Heinkel snapped. "At this rate, we'll both die if you don't get out of here so leave me behind. You might be able to save yourself," Heinkel insisted and groaned when Al shook his head once more. It was like dealing with Edward, only younger and a suit of armour.

"I told you it's not happening," Al snapped right back. "Now think about something useful instead. Like staying alive," Al ordered as he manoeuvred Heinkel so he was in between his stumps, making him easier to drag.

"You dumbass," Heinkel groaned as pain washed through him from the jolty movements. "Think about it! We're up against both Kimblee and Pride and I doubt either of them are happy with us right now. So just leave me here and get moving," Heinkel ordered, coughing up some blood.

"Don't give up!" Al begged as he saw Heinkel's eyes droop. "I swear I'll save you!" Heinkel felt Al sink a little lower as the sound of metal crumbling caught his attention. "Come on, legs! Move it!" Al thumped angrily against one of his broken limbs. "We've come too far to be beat now and I won't let it happen!" Al snarled before Heinkel felt himself being sat up. He groaned in pain and Al made an apologetic noise. "Mr. Heinkel, you need to grab onto my back. We're not giving up!" Al said and Heinkel chuckled.

"You brothers are really something else," Heinkel said as warm blood slowly spilled out of his mouth. "You're so determined to help another person even when you're falling to pieces yourself." Heinkel coughed up a bit more blood and Al fluttered the hand not supporting the chimera uselessly over him, unsure of how he could help.

"I promised," Al whispered and Heinkel hummed questioningly. "I promised my brother and our Animals that no one else would die, no matter what," Al told him, fresh determination filling his voice.

"I guess you've got a point," Heinkel murmured. "Wasn't it Kimblee who said that the true test of winning was surviving?" Heinkel asked before slowly shifting his arm, gritting his teeth at the pain the movement caused. "Which reminds me," he said ignoring Al's murmurs to stop, "I have something that might be useful," Heinkel said, revealing the blood red stone he'd taken from the mine shaft all those months ago.

"Mr. Heinkel, why do you have that?" Al asked, looking at the stone with wonder.

"Eh, I happened to pick it up," Heinkel told him. "I got it when Kimblee abandoned us in the mine and I saw no reason why I shouldn't hold onto it," Heinkel said as he handed it to Al.

"A Philosopher's Stone," Al said in awe as he looked at the stone in his palm. "With this, we might actually have a chance at winning but…" Al trailed off and Heinkel nodded knowingly.

"These are made using human lives. Your brother told me," Heinkel explained when Al made a questioning grunt. "He also told me that you'd rather not use one of these to get your bodies back," Heinkel said and Al nodded, feeling a little confused. "In that case, don't use it for yourself. Use it to save the entire world instead," the chimera told him. "You deserve to be one of the people who get to use it because you still recognise those souls as people and Animals. I know those souls trapped in there; I know that even though they're trapped in that stone, they still want to fight to protect what matters to them," Heinkel told him. "So let them fight. They deserve that chance," Heinkel insisted and Al felt himself nod.

"Alright," the armour said, voice filled with renewed determination and Heinkel gave a weak smile.

"Now give them hell for me, Alphonse," Heinkel ordered only to be surprised when Al shook his head and held a hand over him.

"We'll fight them together," was what Heinkel heard just before a flash of red consumed his vision.

* * *

"This dust cloud is such a nuisance," Kimblee complained as he and Pride stood outside of it, waiting for it to disperse enough for them to find their targets. "Shall I blow it away with a blast wave?" he asked but Pride shook his head.

"No," he said and Kimblee lowered his half-raised hands in slight disappointment. "The two of them are trapped somewhere in there and without his legs, how could Alphonse possibly escape?" Pride asked just as a flash of red lit up the dust cloud, followed closely by a second flash of red. Both of them were startled when something came at them both from the dust cloud and it took a moment for Pride to recognise it to be Alphonse.

"Well, what do you know? He isn't exactly running from us," Kimblee said delightfully as he readied a transmutation. Pride snarled as Al dodged one of his shadows then neatly dodged the second one he'd sent immediately after him. A glint of red in Al's hand caught Kimblee's attention and he confirmed his suspicions when Alphonse transmuted the earth without clapping to send a fist towards the two of them. "A Philosopher's Stone?" Kimblee asked as he dodged the fist.

"But where did he find one?" Pride snarled as he attacked with his shadows. Alphonse dodged and transmuted another dust cloud to cover the area around them.

"Dust in our eyes again?" Kimblee asked before instinctively moving to the side as Alphonse attacked them from behind.

Pride sent a wave of shadows towards Alphonse, intent on capturing him once more and relieving him of the stone he'd managed to acquire. Al rolled out of the way and grabbed one of the legs he'd severed from his armour and held it in front of himself before he allowed red energy to dance down it and transform it into a sword. He parried a few of Pride's shadows with ease but one managed to slip through his defences and pierce his armour. Pride grinned with victory before snarling in annoyance as Al produced a flash bomb and set it off, freeing himself of the shadow.

"That's the stone," Pride huffed as he continued attacking. "It's a tricky thing," he muttered before finding himself trapped once more in a smaller dome.

"Yes, the power of a Philosopher's Stone is truly something to behold," Kimblee said as he took Pride's place and continued the attack on Alphonse. "Having used one myself, I guess I know that better than anyone else. That's why I'm puzzled by you," Kimblee said as he and Al exchanged blows. "What I'd like to know is why you don't use that power to get your original body back. With a stone in hand, you wouldn't have any trouble fleeing from us and once you had gotten away, you and your brother could use the stone to get your original bodies back and end your journey. So why don't you?" Kimblee asked, stumbling slightly as he dodged another earthen fist from Alphonse.

"If I did that, I couldn't save everyone," Al informed him and Kimblee rolled his eyes.

"It's in accordance with your idea," the other alchemist said. "In order to obtain something, you must give up something of equal value," Kimblee said.

"Tell me. Why do I have to choose?" Al asked as he threw a punch Kimblee dodged gracefully. "It isn't right that I have to choose between returning us to our original bodies or saving everyone," Al said. "Why can't we have our real bodies back  _and_  save everyone?"

"That's the law of equivalent exchange," Kimblee reminded him as he sent an explosion Al's way but the armour dodged it, as he'd done so the half dozen times Kimblee tried that trick and Kimblee found himself growing irritated by it.

"Well I say that you should search for possibilities that aren't bound by rules and laws!" Al said. "That's how humanity advances!"

"I see," Kimblee said, dodging the small boulder Al sent his way. "So if you can discover the exception to the rule, you can rewrite nature as we understand it?" Kimblee asked, sending a shockwave Al's way. "Is that how it's supposed to go?" Kimblee pressed, both with his questions and his attacks. "Because there  _is_  a third option! You don't get your bodies back and you don't save everyone. That could certainly happen," Kimblee said, grinning madly and Al saw the glint of red in his mouth just before another explosion sounded and the trapped homunculous was once again freed. "I love that sound," Kimblee said. "There isn't a sound better than that of two strong souls colliding in battle!" Kimblee exclaimed, looking around for the missing suit of armour.

Pride noticed his gaze. "I assure you, Alphonse Elric is still close by," Pride told him, lightly sniffing the air.

Kimblee nodded in agreement. "Undoubtedly," he said, scooping up a handful of small rocks. "It would take more than that to kill him." Kimblee threw the rocks and they both watched as they fell back to earth. A few of them made a clunking sound as they hit the dirt and Kimblee grinned before he blew up that area, revealing Alphonse.

In response, Al immediately transmuted another dust cloud and Pride tsked in annoyance. "That trick again? How artless," Pride said. "It won't work," he told Al, giving the air another sniff before grinning and sending out half a dozen shadows. Al yelped as he was grabbed and hoisted into the air, the shadows curling tightly around his body and pinning his arms and legs together. "Remember! I can tell where you are just by smelling," Pride told him in a slightly mocking voice. "I think that's checkmate," he informed him and Al chuckled.

"Are you sure? I think you're giving us humans too little credit," Al said and Pride scoffed.

"Even with the stone there's no way you'll win by yourself," Pride told him.

"Except I'm not alone," Alphonse informed him, opening both his gauntlets and revealing he held no stone.

"Where did the stone go?" Kimblee asked, looking around on the ground for it. His search for the red stone prevented him from noticing the true danger too late and he gasped sharply in pain as he felt sharp objects sink into the side of his head, neck and shoulder. A glance told him what he'd thought happened. Heinkel had been healed, shifted into his chimera form and had sunk his teeth into Kimblee's neck. Kimblee could feel the warm blood gushing down his neck and back, soaking into his once-pristine white suit.

Pride launched a shadow but Heinkel was too quick and the shadow came to a halt as the lion chimera utilised Kimblee as a human shield. This movement caused Kimblee to groan in pain but the black-haired alchemist could now see Doctor Marcoh, his second assignment, standing nearby. "I see now," Pride said, eyes narrowing slightly at the situation in front of him. "You humans are certainly tenacious however you have no hope of winning still," Pride declared, his focus going to Marcoh. "Let's do something about the doctor first, shall we?"

Before Pride could so much as raise another shadow, a dark object came careening out of nowhere and slammed into him, sending the homunculous flying through the air and skidding to a stop quite some distance away. At the same time Pride was hit, Al found himself free-falling for a couple of seconds before he thudded into the ground heavily enough that he was glad he didn't have a flesh body. He got to his feet and found himself standing next to a military issued car with a trembling and stunned Yoki sitting behind the wheel. "Yoki?" Al exclaimed in surprise.

"Alright, way to take him out!" Heinkel cheered once he'd released Kimblee from his death bite. Al could still see the weak rise and fall of Kimblee's chest and the blood being pushed out of his injuries in pulsing waves with every weak beat of his heart and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.

"I know I'm the one who told you we had to help when we saw those dust clouds but I truly wasn't expecting you to show up," Marcoh admitted as he climbed into he car where he found a worried but delighted Carrie waiting for him.

"I'm not gonna let you guys play the hero all by yourselves!" he told them as Nova butted her head softly against his cheek. "I want too as well and how about that?" Yoki gloated. " _I_  landed a shot and it was on the strongest homunculous of them all!" he said smugly and Al decided to let him have his moment rather than point out that both Hohenheim and the original Homunculous were stronger than Pride.

"Where'd you get the car?" Heinkel asked curiously.

"It's the one Kimblee drove in," Marcoh told them and Heinkel nodded.

"Okay. Well done, Doctor Marcoh," Heinkel said. Movement in front of the car got their attention and they watched as Pride slowly climbed to his feet. "Let's go!" Heinkel roared, picking up Kimblee's body and throwing it at the homunculous, causing Pride to go down once more as Heinkel and Al climbed into the car. "Quit whimpering and get us to Central on the double," Heinkel ordered Yoki, who had been watching Pride with fear. Yoki did as he was told with zero arguments. "We gotta meet up with Ed and get rid of this Father guy before that thing catches up with us," Heinkel said and the three others nodded in agreement.

Al turned in his seat and watched as Pride stood over Kimblee's still form. He had a feeling that Pride was talking to Kimblee and he gasped in horror as he watched Pride's shadows lift Kimblee up off the ground before lowering his body into the massive maw of another shadow. Al had never been gladder he couldn't throw up as he watched Kimblee get devoured by the homunculous. He felt a pang of fear as Pride's eyes fell on the fleeing car but no shadows came racing after them and Al allowed himself to relax and turn back to the others. His relaxed state only lasted a moment as Chester got in contact with him.

" _They released the mannequins powered by Philosopher's Stones!"_  Chester told him frantically.  _"We don't know how many for sure or where they are but keep an eye out as you come in. They can't be killed with normal means. They keep coming back to life,"_  Chester informed him. Al didn't bother questioning how his leopard knew they were heading into Central to meet up with them.

"Are they contained?" Al asked and Chester nodded mentally.

" _Under and in Central Command, for now,"_  Chester said.  _"General and Major Armstrong have teamed up and are currently fighting against a horde of them somewhere in the command centre. Gary and Anahlia have both confirmed there is a female homunculous in there with them but she doesn't seem to be fighting. They told Ed that she's been standing to the back, watching everything and picking off the soldiers who join our side. Both Armstrong's are holding their own but they are injured,"_  Chester told him and Al felt his nerves worsen.

"What about you guys?" Al asked and Chester huffed.

" _We're doing our best to keep them where they are but everyone's starting to tire out,"_  Chester said.  _"Ed's stopped transmuting if he can help it so he doesn't use all of his energy. He's tried using the stone destroying array you two developed but he can only take down one or two mannequins at a time and he'd not recovering his energy fast enough to keep it up,"_  Chester reported.

"Okay," Al said, swallowing his fear and worry for his brother, their Animals and their friends. "We're heading into Central now. We won't be too long. Just hang in there," Al said and Chester made a confirming noise before abruptly disconnecting from the conversation. Al realised nearly everyone was watching him intently but Al's focus was on their driver. "Yoki?" The man looked into the rear-view mirror and met Al's glowing eyes. "Drive faster."

* * *

Ed had no idea how long they'd been fighting against these white mannequins but he could feel his energy lagging as he continued attacking the never-ending horde. Scar's earlier shout to go for their legs had proved helpful in slowing them down but they still hadn't found a viable way of keeping them down permanently. A dozen white corpses littered the floor, green blood pooling from various wounds. The wounds they'd inflicted hadn't been what brought the creatures down; rather it was Ed's use of his and Al's array but he'd soon discovered he couldn't keep it up without putting himself at serious risk. Zampano was running out of spikes and Jerso's spit was slow to develop. Darius was the only one of the chimeras still going strong but Ed knew it wouldn't be long before his exhaustion showed. Scar was still using his alchemy to destroy the mannequins legs and both Animals were continuing their task of taking down the enemy but Ed could feel both their energies wavering. If this kept up, they'd be overrun in no time.

"Darius!" Ed shouted as the gorilla chimera stumbled. Without thinking, Ed transmuted a blade from the floor and tossed it to Darius, who caught it expertly and slid it into the mannequin's neck, buying himself a small reprieve as the mannequin stumbled back.

" _Ed!"_  the joined shouts from Ayala and Chester had Ed turning and raising his staff just in time to block a mannequin who'd managed to sneak behind his defences.

Just as Ed pushed the mannequin away from him, the doors he'd sealed exploded inwards, taking out several mannequins while the humans, chimeras and Animal ducked for cover. Mustang, Nala, Hawkeye and Soren all entered the room, looking uninjured. Hawkeye had her gun raised and ready to be fired while Mustang's arm was poised to snap. "Things always tend to get messy with you around, eh, Fullmetal?" Mustang snarked.

"It's about fucking time you got here!" Ed snapped, swinging his staff at another mannequin. "I told Nala our position ages ago!" He grunted as two mannequins replaced the one he'd just gotten rid of and he found himself struggling against them when a beige blur brought one of them down. Freed up, Ed took the other down with ease. "Hi, Nala. Thanks for coming," Ed said, giving the lioness a smile as he speared his staff through another mannequin. Both Chester and Ayala had managed to free themselves enough to join Ed at his side once more.

" _Anytime, Ed,"_  Nala smiled before looking back at Mustang.  _"He's happy you're alive,"_  Nala told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Sure he is," he said before looking at Mustang. "Well? Are you gonna make yourself useful?" Ed snapped as Hawkeye shot some of the approaching mannequins.

"Might as well. We do need to keep going," Mustang said, raising his hand slightly higher.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" Ed ordered before he grabbed Ayala and Chester, forcing them low to the ground while Nala did the same to him, tucking her face in between Ed's neck and Ayala's fur. Not a single person hesitated to follow Ed's orders and Ed watched the result of the snap through squinted eyes as the heat rushed over him and the three Animals. The flames Mustang produced devoured the white mannequins, destroying all of them within the flames grasps with no problem. The shrieks the mannequins produced as they burned was a sound Ed knew he'd never get out of his head.

When the flames died down, Nala allowed Ed to sit up and he allowed Ayala and Chester to do the same. Ed glanced at the rest of his team and saw that all three of them were remarkably unscathed, not even their clothes or hair was singed. Scar was glowering at Mustang so fiercely, Ed was a little concerned he'd cause Mustang's death just from the intensity of it. Ayala watched as Ed climbed back to his feet and let out a silent breath of relief as he managed to shake off any exhaustion he felt.

"Are you alright, Ed?" Hawkeye asked as she approached the teenager. Soren fluffed his feathers as she moved and Ed felt him echo the question through their bond.

"I'm good," Ed assured her, looking at himself. "Surprisingly good," he told her, looking back up to meet her gaze. "Only small cuts and bruises." Somehow, that was all he'd made it out with and Hawkeye seemed just as startled, though she did cover it up rather quickly.

"Good," she said with a firm nod. "The two of you?" she asked the Animals and both them and Ed gave her nods.

"Same for them," he told her before he clapped his hands and touched both Chester and Ayala on the heads. Blue energy crackled down their forms and Ed watched in satisfaction as the green blood that had accumulated on their coats disappeared. "Much better," Ed said as he stopped the transmutation.

" _That feels so much better,"_  Ayala told him as the weight of the drying blood vanished and Chester nodded in agreement.

"You little fool!" The echoing words got the attention of the six of them and they swivelled to see Scar glaring at someone Ed had thought was no longer in the country. "Why didn't you go back to Xing like I told you?!"

"I just… I wanted… I just wanted to…" Mei sniffled, trying to get the words out and hold back her tears. Scar's body language softened slightly.

"It doesn't matter," Scar said. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry," Mei said, half-choking on a sob as Xao-Mei tried to comfort her. Though his facial expression didn't change, Ed got the feeling that this was the kind of situation where Scar was completely clueless so he headed over to the young girl, dodging the ashes that once were mannequins as best he could.

"Mei, why did you come back?" Ed asked, crouching to get to her level. "You knew how dangerous this was going to be," he said and Mei nodded.

"I was going to go back, I swear," she said, looking up pleadingly at Scar. "I was going to take Doctor Marcoh's Philosopher's Stone to Xing like you all said I should but when I got to Youswell," here she hesitated for a moment, drawing in a steadying breath, "the people there, they were so kind to me. I was a complete stranger to them but they saw someone struggling and they offered me food, shelter, a warm bed, anything I would've needed," Mei told them. "I couldn't abandon this country when I could help somehow. I couldn't abandon people like them," she said firmly. Ayala was not the only Animal to notice how familiar her resolute gaze looked to a certain blonde alchemist they knew.

"But this wasn't your fight. You have your clansmen and country to think about," Ed said but Mei's resolve barely trembled.

"I will not be the kind of leader who sits securely on a throne while her friends struggle to keep themselves safe," Mei told him and Ed sighed before nodding and straightening.

"Well, we can't do anything about you being here now," he said. "You'll need to stick with us so we can keep an eye on you and make sure you're able to get back to Xing in one piece," Ed said, giving her a smile. The one she gave him in return was only slightly watery.

"You don't have to worry about me, Edward. I can keep myself safe well enough," Mei told him confidently and Ed laughed.

"We'll see about that, Princess," he teased, making her scowl. Having succeeded in his mission to ensure there'd be no tears spilled, Ed turned to Mustang and Hawkeye. "Chester contacted Al before the mannequins attacked us. Pride escaped with Kimblee's help. Kimblee is no longer a concern but Al, Heinkel, Marcoh, Yoki, Carrie and Nova are on their way to Central. They stole Kimblee's car so they shouldn't be too long," Ed said.

"What exactly do you mean by 'Kimblee's no longer a concern'?" Mustang asked.

"Ches said that Al witnessed Pride eating him," Ed told him, shrugging a shoulder. He grinned at the calm mask Mustang tried to hide his shock with before he addressed the group as a whole. "We need to keep moving. There's no way these mannequins were all that were activated so we need to keep an eye out for them. We also need to remember Pride, Wrath, Greed and Lust are still alive. Greed shouldn't be a problem and as far as I know, the Armstrong siblings are fighting against Lust still so the only homunculi we should run into are Father, Pride and – assuming he survived – Fuhrer Bradley. Let's keep moving," Ed ordered.

Mustang's lips twitched into a smirk before they fell when he watched every single person – including Hawkeye – and Animal obey Ed's order. He glared when Ed looked over his shoulder and grinned teasingly at him but Mustang didn't comment as he caught up with them. Mustang elected to ignore the whispered 'mature' in his mind through his bond with Nala when he muttered unpleasant words under his breath as he followed the group.

* * *

Forty minutes later, they were still in the tunnel system and trying to locate Father when Ed jolted slightly. When Ed's face formed a slightly intense frown, as though he was listening to something and giving it his undivided attention, everyone relaxed as they recognised the sign of him getting an update from an Animal. It didn't take long for Ed to give a slight nod, a habit he'd formed despite his best efforts to hide any signs of his abilities, and for his facial expression to smooth out as he and the Animal stopped talking.

"Anahlia says that General Armstrong has issued the order for all gates to Central Command to be shut in an effort to keep the white mannequins confined within her walls," Ed reported. "Anahlia also said that General and Major Armstrong are still fighting against the white mannequins but they are now backed by some of the Central soldiers who had apparently switched to our side. Lust is still there but General Armstrong has been keeping her busy," Ed told them.

"I'm sure the Ice Queen of the North won't let something like an immortal homunculous get the best of her," Mustang drawled, having noticed the slightly worried frown on Ed's face.

Ed snorted. "She certainly didn't let that behemoth of a homunculous get the best of her," Ed said. "Oh, Koda also sent me a message. Teacher, Sig, Suna, Izumi and a few Briggs soldiers have finished tunnelling into Central and have just been given orders by Buccaneer to assist General and Major Armstrong," Ed told them.

"I still don't think it was a wise decision to ask Mrs. Curtis to join the fight," Mustang commented and Ed raised a brow.

"Did you want to be the one to tell her she should head for Xing or someplace out of Amestris' borders instead of helping us?" Ed asked and smirked when Mustang paled slightly. "That's what I thought. Besides," Ed flippantly waved a hand, "she'll be gone before we face the original Homunculous. She really was only here to help get more Briggs soldiers on to the front lines, though I suppose she'll be waiting to leave once Lust is dealt with now," Ed mused.

"From what we've heard about your teacher, that homunculous stands even less of a chance against her than General Armstrong," Darius said and Ed grinned.

"I wouldn't want to be on either of their bad sides and even less so if they're working together, I can tell you that much," Ed laughed, the noise echoing slightly off the tunnel walls as they continued down their path. "How was everything going topside?" Ed asked Mustang and Hawkeye.

"As well as we could hope for," Mustang said with a slight grimace. "Rebecca showed up with the weapons Havoc and his family managed to get to us and we used that truck to sneak closer to the city centre. The Briggs soldiers aren't adhering to our 'don't kill if possible' policy but I hadn't truly expected them to unless General Armstrong had given the orders herself. Breda, Fuery and Hughes are still protecting the radio station and they will continue to do so until this has been dealt with," Mustang said. "Falman is with the northern troops while Havoc and Rebecca joined the eastern ones. The broadcast has had some effect from what we saw. There weren't many civilians trying to get a look at the action or were out taking advantage of the chaos to do some looting and quite a good percentage of the Central forces have turned to join our side," Mustang told him and Ed nodded.

"Whose idea was it to have Miss Gracia speak over the radio?" Ed asked, noting Chester and Ayala each had one ear flicked back so they could listen.

"Actually, it was hers," Mustang said and Ed shot him a disbelieving look. "Originally we had planned to claim this coup was to overthrow the corrupt generals who had assassinated Fuhrer Bradley in an attempt to claim the Fuhrer's position. We were going to kidnap Mrs. Bradley and have her speak over the radio station, feeding the people the information we gave her but Gracia pointed out rather harshly that the people wouldn't take well to finding out that we'd lied about why we attacked the city and would see the lie – since we were going to claiming to be on Fuhrer Bradley's side – as us trying to cover up the fact that Bradley isn't human and we would be immediately distrusted should the truth get out somehow," Mustang explained and Ed gaped slightly.

"Miss Gracia does make an excellent point," Ed said. Mustang nodded in agreement, as did Hawkeye, Soren, Nala and everyone else.

"When we agreed with her, Gracia offered to be the one to do the talking and explain everything to the citizens. When I asked how she planned to make it so people would listen to her with the same level of trust as Mrs. Bradley, Gracia told me she'd use the Hughes' relationships with us to gain that trust," Mustang told Ed.

"Yeah, I was in town when she started broadcasting," Ed said with a nod. "How did you get the radio station to agree to go to air with the story?"

"Sergeant Fuery's friends with the person in charge of the whole station," Hawkeye answered. "No one else is of higher authority than him so the broadcast can't be taken off the air unless he allows it."

"Huh, cool," Ed commented before remembering another ally they had that he hadn't asked about. "What about Barry the Chopper?" Ed asked and almost grinned at the way Hawkeye's jaw clenched, as though she was trying to hide a mask of annoyance. Mustang didn't even bother hiding his irritation at the mention of the murderous suit of armour.

"He's been released into Lieutenant Havoc's custody," Hawkeye told him, "with strict instructions to only attack those on the opposing side and to only kill if his opponent couldn't be stopped with an injury," Hawkeye said. She must've seen the look on Ed's face and her features softened. "We aren't trying to take lives, Ed, but you know as well as I do that some people can't be persuaded to surrender. There will be casualties caused by our side," Hawkeye said as gently as she'd let herself sound.

"Yeah, I know," Ed said, though he didn't sound happy about it at all. No one could bring themselves to tell him to get over it or that he should make peace with the fact that lives would be permanently lost today.

* * *

No one else really said anything for another fifteen minutes when Ed jolted once more, getting another message from one of their allies. Before Mustang or anyone could ask, a massive grin broke out on the blonde's face and he made a noise that was both somehow victorious and relived at the same time.

"What happened?" Zampano asked before anyone else could.

"Teacher managed to get close enough to Lust to use our array on her," Ed told them. "She's been destroyed," he informed them.

"So now we're down to two hostile homunculi, not including Father," Mustang said and Ed nodded.

"Assuming Bradley did survive his train being blown to pieces," Ed said and Mustang gave him a look that had Ed's hackles raise defensively. "Hey, I can hope, can't I?" Ed snapped before any of the Animals could settle him down.

"No fighting, boys," Hawkeye ordered before Mustang could say anything. "Let's save it for our enemies."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the long awaited Promised Day! Or at least the start of it! Only four more chapters to post after this and this story will be completed and I am honestly starting to freak out a little that my longest running story is so close to its end. Would love to know what everyone thought to this chapter so if you could leave a comment - even a small one - that would be lovely :) See you next week!


	44. Chapter 44

The eldest Armstrong sibling snarled in annoyance as her heirloom sword sliced deftly through another white mannequin's throat while Alex's fists shattered another's skull so completely, shards of bone with what they assumed was the creature's brain flew out like shrapnel from a bomb. Gary was doing his best to keep the white creatures from entering the room at all, working in tandem with the orangutan and tiger that belonged to two of the Central soldiers who were trapped in the room with the siblings. Olivier withdrew her sword from her foe's neck and without a moment's hesitation, decapitated another as it approached. Her snarl only grew fiercer when the creature's head grew back unnaturally. They had dealt what felt like thousands of killing blows and none of them had managed to find a weak spot of the creatures that kept them done permanently.

"It must frustrate the two famous Armstrong siblings so much that their battle prowess is useless here," a silky voice belonging to the second reason for Olivier's snarl jeered from the back of the room.

The homunculous, Lust, hadn't moved the whole time they'd been fighting from her casual stance, leaning the upper half of her body against the wall. The only exceptions had been when one of the Armstrong siblings managed to get too close for the homunculous' comfort or if the Central soldiers seemed like they would turn against Bradley. At those times, Lust extended one or two of her fingers effortlessly into spears to strike through her target with the same ease General Armstrong's sword had shown. The white creatures in the room either didn't know she was there or they didn't care because none of them paid her any notice as they continued the attack.

"I'd imagine it would frustrate you more, homunculous, when you learn that all of your efforts here and throughout the centuries have been in vain," Alex informed her as he slammed his fist to the ground and transmuted a stone hand that grabbed three mannequins and introduced their faces harshly with the ceiling. Alex did not bring them back down, choosing to keep them there until a way to deal with them permanently was found

Lust sneered at Alex as she pierced through a mannequin to get to a Central soldier who was fighting off two mannequins of her own. The woman's cassowary had managed to get her out of the way quick enough that all the spear did was slice a new tear into the soldier's jacket. The soldier gave her Animal a nod before she and the cassowary got back to work. Olivier continued to fight even as her severely injured arm dangled limply next to her body. The homunculous had gotten a very lucky shot in and had pierced the eldest Armstrong through her shoulder joint, rendering her arm next to inoperable. Anahlia had been forced to wrap around her neck lightly so Armstrong wouldn't accidentally block with her injured hand and potentially injure the snake if an attack came for her.

" _Eric has a message from Captain Buccaneer,"_  Anahlia said urgently and Armstrong nodded for her to continue as she and Alex found themselves back-to-back and surrounded by the mannequins.  _"He wants us to know that your orders regarding the gates were followed and Central Command is now fully under our control. No one can come in or out without our say so or alchemy,"_  Anahlia reported.  _"He's sending back-up to our location. A very powerful alchemist who knows Major Elric and his brother. She claims to know an array that will destroy a homunculous permanently,"_  Anahlia informed her and Armstrong felt torn between relief that these mannequins wouldn't make it into Central and cause later problems for her to deal with and that they would have back-up who would hopefully know what they're doing and annoyance with her captain that he even sent them the alchemist.

"Very well," Armstrong said after a few moments. "Inform Gary so he can pass the message along to my oaf of a brother," Armstrong ordered as she continued slashing and slicing her way through the enemy. The only sign Alex gave that he'd received the message was when his shoulders tensed momentarily before he pummeled his way through two more mannequins.

Olivier felt her irritation skyrocket when a thin black object sliced its way through her cheek before it retracted back to where it originated from. It was only thanks to Anahlia's timely warning that Armstrong managed to sidestep Lust's finger-turned-spear quickly enough so it grazed her cheek rather than pierce her eye as the homunculous no doubt intended. Lust's lips curled in displeasure while Armstrong sneered at her before she relieved a mannequin of one of its arms, making the foul green blood that pulsed through its body splatter to the floor along with the dismembered arm.

"Sister, are you alright?!" Alex asked as he and Gary worked together at the door to try and put the mannequins down and form a barrier of sorts with their corpses.

"Of course I am!" Olivier snapped as her blade impaled a mannequin that had rushed her, pushing the one-armed mannequin over, making the creature groan dumbly. Knowing she needed to free her blade as more mannequins made their way into the room, Olivier used her sword to move the impaled creature into the spot she needed it before she kicked it across the room, bowling another half dozen mannequins over and freeing her sword in time to block yet another white creature.

The three Central soldiers who had so far survived Lust and the mannequins were still going strong and Olivier couldn't help but think that they'd make good Briggs soldiers when all was said and done. Two of them had run out of bullets and were reduced to using any bladed weapon they had or their guns as clubs. The third soldier still had his gun but was alternating between it and his dagger. Armstrong was pleased to see this soldier had been smart enough to use his bullets only when strictly necessary rather than waste them on a mannequin he could injure just as much with his blade. She made a mental note to offer him a transfer to Briggs if they both survived the day.

For a few more minutes, the five of them and their Animals held the room well enough. Lust was still striking at opportune moments but a combination of vigilant humans and Animal instincts had made sure any hits she got in the fight were minor rather than fatal. There was a moment of confusion that almost cost one of the Central soldiers their life when a massive rhino tore past the doorway, bellowing loudly as it trampled over and through the mannequins amassing in the corridor. Six more Central soldiers joined them in the fight, giving them a bit more breathing room, but only after Olivier made sure they weren't there to try and kill or capture her. Anahlia had given her a single nod when the six had sworn that there was no way they'd be serving under a monster – literally and figuratively – like Bradley and that had been enough for Armstrong to warn them of the homunculous standing at the back of the room before Lust could try and win them back over to her side or kill them where they stood.

One of the soldiers had a mountain goat as his Animal and Olivier found herself both amused and impressed as she observed the goat headbutting mannequins into the path of Lust's finger-spears to prevent her from hurting its human or – Armstrong was a little surprised to see – any of the other humans in the room. Alex and Gary had apparently decided to leave the doorway to the tiger, orangutan and cassowary to defend – something they were doing admirably – while they slowly carved a path with their fists towards Lust. Olivier felt a momentary flutter of fear pierce her heart as she thought of her younger brother going up against an almost entirely immortal being before she squashed it like a bug. She knew her brother would be fine. He was an Armstrong after all and not a single Armstrong would allow themselves to be defeated in such a humiliating manner.

" _The alchemist and some others are here,"_  Anahlia warned her as Olivier pulled her sword from the throat of the mannequin she'd stuck it through.

Though she was listening for some sort of noise to indicate where the alchemist would appear, Olivier would admit that she had momentarily thought the alchemist was Edward when she heard the muffled but still familiar ringing clap from the other side of the wall. Blue energy crackled on their side of the wall as the alchemist transmuted an entryway for themselves and Armstrong was a little taken aback by the woman who strode purposefully into the room, backed by a man whose size rivalled Alex's and half a dozen Briggs soldiers. The woman had long black hair fashioned into dreadlocks and tied back in a ponytail, a white sleeveless shirt that fell almost to her knees but was only buttoned to the top of her belly button, showing off her midriff, black pants that stopped three-quarters of the way down her legs and a pair of slippers with the letters 'W.C' inscribed on them. The woman had a fierce expression on her face as she took in the scene in front of her, starting with Lust before resting her eyes on Olivier.

"You must be General Armstrong," the woman greeted cheerily as she strode over to stand in front of Olivier. It was only once the humans had followed the woman through that Armstrong saw any of the Animals, including a large black bear and golden retriever. The massive man came and stood behind the alchemist, as did the bear and dog, while the Briggs soldiers got to work holding the mannequins and Lust back. "I'm Izumi Curtis. This is my husband, Sig, and our Animals, Koda and Suna," Izumi said, gesturing as she mentioned a name.

"This is Anahlia," Armstrong said, stunned momentarily by how casual this conversation was, considering what was happening around them.

"The man with the mohawk and automail arm sent us here to give you a hand," Izumi went on saying, as though she had no idea just how jarring her demeanour was. She'd seemingly missed the moment when her husband had left her side to join Alex in rendering another mannequin useless. Once the white creature had been put down permanently, the two men seemed to go on comparing muscle sizes as they showed off to one another, utilizing more of the mannequins to do so.

"Captain Buccaneer," Armstrong said and Izumi nodded. "Yes, his Animal informed mine so I would be made aware of your arrival," she told her. "As you can see, we're dealing with the same things everyone else in this base are. We, however, also have a homunculous to contend with." Olivier nodded towards the irate looking Lust and Izumi eyed her up.

"Has she moved from that spot?" Izumi asked, eyeing the seemingly spotless dress and gloves the homunculous was wearing. There wasn't a speck of green or red blood anywhere near her, with the exception of some small blood pools next to her.

" _Her gloves are tipped in blood. Ed mentioned that a female homunculous could extend her fingers. I assume this is she,"_  Koda told Izumi, who nodded.

"I agree," she told her Animal before glancing back at Olivier.

"No, she hasn't," the blonde general confirmed. "She's been attacking from a distance like a sniveling coward," she spat.

"I'm not surprised," Izumi said. "From what Ed's told me of his and Chester's run-in with her in the laboratory and their encounter with her in their creator's lair, this homunculous is a long-distance fighter. I doubt she has ever been forced to fight up close and personal. Most likely, she has never had to make more than one move to end her opponent – the aforementioned encounters with my idiot students excluded." Izumi suddenly grinned sinisterly as she faced Olivier properly. "What do you say to finding out just how capable that homunculous is at hand-to-hand combat?"

Olivier felt a matching smile stretch on her lips. "I would be very agreeable indeed."

"Honey?" Izumi called, catching Sig's attention as Koda and Suna stood behind the two women. "We need a path!" Izumi jerked her chin towards Lust, who was trying to spear one of the Briggs soldiers, only to find a mannequin shoved in her path, courtesy of the mountain goat.

"You got it, dear!" Sig rumbled back. Sharing a look and a nod with Alex and Gary, both men and the gorilla started moving through the mannequins with rejuvenated energy and purpose.

"Did you say Major Elric was your student?" Olivier asked as Izumi, Koda, Suna and herself followed the three in front of them. Any mannequin who survived the first wave fell to their sword, claws or alchemy as they passed them.

"Both he and Alphonse were under my tutelage for two years," Izumi told her. "Of course, once I found out exactly what my idiot students did, I expelled them," Izumi said with a scowl.

"Yes, I don't imagine many alchemy teachers would be impressed to learn their students had committed the ultimate taboo," Olivier said, causing Izumi to raise an eyebrow.

"So you  _are_  the female general who scares my boys so much that they respect you," Izumi said. "I'd expected as much when Captain Buccaneer mentioned he was from Briggs and that we would be helping his commander but you can never be too careful," she told her and Olivier found herself nodding in agreement, slashing through a mannequin's throat as she did so. Olivier would be lying if she said that finding out the Elric brothers feared her so much didn't cause her a certain amount of pleasure but she didn't show any signs of it. Only Anahlia would know of it.

"I've seen Major Elric destroy a homunculous. Are you saying you taught him to do that?" Izumi shook her head at Olivier's question.

"No, those boys managed to reverse engineer the array used to create stones so they could destroy them all by themselves," Izumi said, no small amount of pride in her voice as she stooped to create stone spikes that impaled half a dozen or so mannequins where they stood. Before Armstrong could say anything in response, they came to a stop as Sig, Alex and Gary finished clearing their path. Lust stood, watching them carefully with all her fingers extended so they just touched the ground as she waited for them to make the first move. "Let's see what this homunculous can do," Izumi said, punching an open palm with a closed fist. "Sig, be a dear and help out the soldiers with those white things Ed warned us about," Izumi said, giving Sig a loving smile, something that was at stark odds with her fighting stance.

"You too, Alex and Gary," Olivier ordered shortly, sword poised to strike.

"Yes, dear," Sig said, kissing Izumi's temple softly before turning on his heel and laying into the closest mannequin. Suna – already splattered in green blood – followed his human, acting a far cry different from the dopey, lovable dog he normally was.

"As you wish, sister," Alex rumbled, eyes filled with pride and concern as he took in her numerous cuts and limp arm. It was obvious he wanted to say something but he didn't, much to Olivier's relief. She didn't need to try and deal with a worried Alex right this moment. Both he and Gary joined Sig and Suna once more as the four fought to keep the mannequins away from the two women, their Animals and the homunculous.

"So, the fourth sacrifice has saved us the trouble of finding her," Lust crooned as she faced the two women. "All that hard work hiding from us and you end up here anyway. That's so considerate of you." Lust's eyes flicked to Armstrong and her face twisted in a sneer. "You may have had us fooled as to which side you're on but no matter," the sneer smoothed into a malicious smile, "we'll make sure you pay for your two-faced ways," Lust told her.

"We'll make sure you don't," Izumi promised her, clapping her hands together and using the flooring to send spikes much like she'd done to the mannequin before towards the homunculous.

Lust snarled as she was forced to dodge, trying to move as well as she could in the floor-length, form-fitting dress she wore. She immediately retaliated, extending her fingers towards the two women, making sure she'd only hurt Izumi, rather than fatally wounding her like she intended to do to Armstrong. Both humans dodged her attack with far more ease than Lust appreciated and the bear stepped forward, swiping one massive paw at her ultimate spears. However, Lust had learned after her fight against the Elric brothers and their back up in Father's lair and she retracted her fingers the moment the attack failed, saving herself from a painful injury as the bear's paw missed her by moments.

Izumi materialized small throwing knives from the wall next to her and launched them all in quick succession, making Lust defend herself and focus entirely on the alchemist, giving Olivier the opportunity needed to imbed her sword in the homunculous' side. Lust screeched in pain and fury as she forced herself off the sword and swiped in retaliation, catching Armstrong's cheek and leaving three new scratches beneath the one she'd already accumulated. As red energy crackled over her form, Lust snarled, abandoning all decorum as she threw herself into the fight with vindictive intent.

Izumi created a spear of her own out of the internal steel frame in the wall to her left just in time to block an attack from the enraged homunculous. Koda suffered two punctures to her right arm as she came to Izumi's defense but she merely let out a pained grunt before she wrenched her arm up and free of Lust's spears. Armstrong was parrying Lust's attacks against her expertly and Izumi nodded in approval at how the blonde general made it seem like she didn't have a severely injured arm hindering her.

Using her own spear, Izumi caused one of Lust's to glance off the weapon and pierce the ground. Before Lust could retract it, Izumi smashed the spear into it, snapping a good foot in length off and causing the homunculous to shriek in pain. With Lust's full attention back on Izumi, Armstrong sliced through the immortal's neck, wrenching the blade through the esophagus, carotid artery and jugular vein and creating a massive wound no human would hope to survive. Olivier stepped to the side as Lust blindly lashed out at her as the red energy started crackling around her throat and neck.

Before the homunculous could finish fully healing, a ringing clap filled the air, somehow audible over the sounds of gunfire, groans and other fighting noises. Lust snarled at Olivier, blood drenching the entire front of her dress as she extended her fingers once again. This time, however, Olivier didn't bother dodging and the homunculous froze in place, eyes widened in shock and fear as the tips of her spears halted mere inches from Olivier's heart.

"And  _this_ ," Izumi said from beside the homunculous, one hand on the being's shoulder in an almost friendly manner, "is what we're going to do to any of your remaining siblings before we defeat your creator," Izumi told her fiercely as she unleashed the array.

"How?" Lust murmured, watching as her form slowly turned to dust before her very eyes.

"You decided to target the Elric brothers and use them to gain immortality at the cost of millions of people and Animals," Izumi informed her coldly as she took a step away. "You should've learned by now what happens to those who try and force Ed or Al to do something they don't want to do." There was no kindness or pity in Izumi's voice or expression as Lust whimpered pathetically before she vanished for good.

"I guess that answers the question about how well she could fight close-range," Olivier said after a moment of silence and Izumi smirked.

"Absolutely disgraceful," Izumi spat at the spot Lust had just stood before she turned to Olivier and eyes her injuries once more. "We should get you patched up before we head to the Fuhrer's office," Izumi said, looking around the room for medical supplies.

"Why would we be heading for Bradley's office?" Armstrong asked and Izumi raised another brow.

"Where else would he hide an entrance to Father's lair in Central Command? Especially one his guards wouldn't accidentally spot?" Izumi pointed out and Olivier gave a short nod. It made sense for him to need a direct connection to the original homunculous' lair and it made more sense that it would be in his personal office. No one was permitted entrance unless Bradley gave it to them and no guards were ever stationed inside the room.

"Very well," Olivier said before turning smartly on her heel to address the room. The thirteen soldiers, Sig, her brother and all their Animals continued fighting but she knew their attention was on her. "The homunculous, Lust, has been permanently defeated!" A roar of victory went up through the room. "We need to make our way to the Fuhrer's office and I expect us to be there in no more than fifteen minutes!" The Briggs soldiers and her brother all nodded before doubling down on the mannequins, forcing their way through the room and towards the entrance Izumi had created. The mannequins hadn't seemed to notice it yet so it was their most accessible exit point. Izumi and Koda wasted no time in joining Sig and Suna in their battle against the mannequins.

" _Fuhrer Bradley is at the northern gate fighting against Captain Buccaneer and 2_ _nd_ _Lieutenant Falman's squad,"_  Anahlia said suddenly.  _"The homunculous, Greed, is fighting against him, as is a Xingese warrior. Captain Buccaneer has been injured but Eric has assured me the injury isn't slowing him down,"_  Anahlia reported and Armstrong smirked slightly.

"Of course it isn't," Armstrong said doubtlessly. Captain Buccaneer wasn't someone who would let a pitiful injury get in his way. The news of Fuhrer Bradley's return did cause Olivier to feel some sense of urgency. They would need to get into his office and down whatever he'd constructed to get himself down to his creator before Bradley discovered them. "Keep me informed about their fight," Olivier instructed her Animal and Anahlia gave a small nod of confirmation.

"General, if you would permit me to look at your wounds?" One of the four remaining Central soldiers who had joined shortly before Izumi and her husband had appeared asked as she stepped forward.

" _You should take the aid now. You don't know when you'll be offered it next and you'll damage your arm even further if you don't put it in a sling soon,"_  Anahlia said before Armstrong could turn the woman down.

"Make it quick," Armstrong snapped and the soldier rushed forward, already pulling bandages out of her pack. Anahlia tightened her coils where she was wrapped around Olivier's neck slightly. "We've still got work to do."

* * *

"Central Command is under Briggs control!" Falman heard his commanding officer shout and the 2nd Lieutenant joined in on the victorious cheer that followed. Rachel made her own gurgling noise of happiness and Falman could hear the various other Animals following her example.

There was a collective feeling of relief that followed the announcement that lasted only a moment before everyone was back on their guard. Getting Central Command under their control was only part of the battle and the Briggs and Eastern troops knew that the Central soldiers who hadn't surrendered or switched sides would still be fighting to get their command base back. Falman and the unit he was with were guarding the north entrance point. The order to secure the gates and keep them shut had come from General Armstrong soon after Ed had sent word through the Animals that the white mannequins had been animated and were on the loose.

The Briggs soldiers had managed to follow the order in record time and once the gates had been sealed, they made sure no one could break their hold on them. Falman grinned to himself as he looked over the wall he was stationed near and saw the Fort Briggs tanks on the ground, acting like guard dogs. The appearance of the tanks had been enough for the teams at the gates to get them shut while the Central soldiers focused on the bigger threat and they were still effectively holding the Central soldiers away from the gates, ensuring the Briggs soldiers would continue to stay in command of the base. Captain Buccaneer had joined them earlier, passing the message onto Falman that he'd sent one Izumi Curtis to give General Armstrong a helping hand and Falman almost wished he could see how the two formidable women's first meeting would go.

Movement from the street caught Falman's attention just as he was about to straighten from where he was leaning and he settled back into his position to try and get a closer look. A lone figure seemed to be walking unhindered down the street, approaching the Central troops from behind. A shout barely reached Falman where he stood at the top of the gate but he couldn't make out the words. Sunlight reflected off two metal objects in the person's hands and Falman felt his heart leap into his throat as he realised just who was approaching them. The combined voices shouting the person's name, making sure it reached those who watched from atop the gate, merely confirmed the person's identity.

"Captain Buccaneer!" Falman shouted, attracting the attention of the aforementioned man. "Fuhrer Bradley is approaching the gate!" The news sent shivers through the men that stood guard on the roof Falman stood and the 2nd Lieutenant knew it wouldn't take long for the men situated on the staircases and pooled behind the actual gate itself to hear what he'd said. Buccaneer himself approached the grey-haired man and mimicked his stance.

"So he survived, hm?" Buccaneer murmured as he watched the homunculous approach the gate to the relief of the Central soldiers and apprehension of the Briggs, Eastern and turned Central soldiers.

Though Bradley hadn't had to fight himself since he'd accepted the position of Fuhrer – as far as Buccaneer knew anyway – because he always had his guards around him, there was a reason Bradley was considered someone no one wanted to find themselves against. As Falman and Buccaneer watched from over the edge of the thick stone perimeter wall, Bradley seemed to be saying something to the soldiers on the ground but neither man could make it out. Even Animals like Eric, who had far superior ears, couldn't figure out what the homunculous was saying.

"So it would seem," Falman answered after a moment. No sooner had he spoken, a roar rose from the Central soldiers and they watched as they started firing upon those guarding the gate once more and with renewed vigor.

Buccaneer turned to face the men whose only sign of fear was the tightened grips they had on their weapons. Their Animals – the ones big enough to not be hiding on their person – were standing firm, looks of resolve on their faces as they prepared themselves to fight to protect their humans against the newest danger. "Our General has given us the order to guard these gates and keep them shut. We will  _not_  let her down just because Bradley managed to crawl back from the river he should've died in!" Buccaneer yelled, glaring at all the men he could see. "We  _will_  hold these gates and we  _will_  uphold the Briggs way to do so! Am I understood?!"

"Yes, Sir!" came the shouted reply from every soldier who'd heard Buccaneer, including those in the staircase. Those shouts in the stone staircase were amplified to such an extent that the noises created by the renewed battle below were drowned out momentarily.

Buccaneer gestured for the near two dozen men standing on the roof with himself and Falman to move into position as they watched the top of the staircase, guns drawn. Falman stayed near the mechanism for the gate with three other soldiers, having been given the order to guard it with their lives. Everyone had been given the order to take down the inhuman Fuhrer or die trying and everyone had nodded in understanding. Their expressions hardened as the Animals who would be best fighting with them took up positions in between the soldiers but out of the way of their guns so they wouldn't get accidentally shot.

It took a few minutes for them to hear the change in the fight that told them it was coming their way. The sound of a heavy vehicle could be heard reverberating up the tunnel formed by the staircase was soon followed by three heavy booms spaced with only moments between them. Falman shifted in nervousness as the sound of the vehicle being revved seemed to be growing rapidly closer while the far too familiar noise of bullets being rapidly fired were barely heard.

"Ready yourselves!" The shouted warning came from inside the staircase, followed by an explosion that rattled the entire wall, raining small chunks of stone and cement down the side of it. The shockwave and heatwave caused by what Falman assumed was the tank being taken out of commission permanently hit them, forcing those closest to the entrance to take an involuntarily step back. Buccaneer and Eric both took a step forward, Buccaneer's automail arm gnashing its 'teeth' together while he raised the gun he held in his left.

A dark figure emerged from the smoky staircase, a warm orange glow casting a soft light behind him. Fuhrer Bradley still held both his swords as his lone eye coldly looked over them all. He wore only the dress shirt, pants and boots of his uniform and each piece was covered in grime, smoke and spots of blood. His shirt had a couple of small tears that were darkened with blood, as did his pants. Bradley had suffered a few small cuts to his face, the blood running freely from at least three of the wounds but he didn't look overly fazed by his injuries.

"I do not appreciate you foolish humans taking my base by force," Bradley said, fixing his eyes on Buccaneer. "I'll be taking it back."

With no further words, Bradley launched himself at the nearest soldier, slicing him down before the man could do much more than squeeze off a couple of rounds. The man barely managed to let out a shout of fear before it was cut off by one of Bradley's blades slicing through his throat with an almost unnatural ease. The man's Animal – a small yellow canary that had been fluttering above its human – let out a shrill screech of its own as it fell from the sky to land next to its dying human. It didn't take long for both forms to no longer move but Bradley had already moved on to his next target.

Falman watched as Buccaneer and the other soldiers did their best to try and get a hit in that would take Bradley down or at least give someone else the opportunity to finish the job. There was something about Bradley's physical appearance that was nagging at Falman's mind but he couldn't quite grasp what it was. Bradley killed another five soldiers and their Animals with little thought as he continued to dodge each attack aimed at him. When an attack  _did_  land, it only caused minor injuries and Falman suspected the homunculous had allowed the blows to land because they weren't worth dodging. Falman hadn't realised how much attention he was focusing on trying to puzzle out what his mind was trying to tell him until a shout for Buccaneer brought him out of his thoughts.

Bradley had managed to wedge his sword's blade into the sensitive machinery of Buccaneer's automail and twisted it. To everyone's surprise, the blade didn't so much as gain a scratch when Bradley pulled it out but half of Buccaneer's automail arm seemed to shatter into pieces, rendering it useless. Before Buccaneer or Eric could do anything, Bradley thrust his sword through Buccaneer's gut. Eric howled in agony but Buccaneer didn't make a sound, even when Bradley drew his sword back out of his side.

"Open the gates," Bradley ordered, turning to face Falman and the three soldiers with him. Falman felt himself tremble under the steel gaze of the Fuhrer but he didn't move towards the gate's controls. "I ordered you to open that gate, lieutenant," Bradley bit out, turning so he was full facing Falman.

There was absolutely no sign of the mellow Fuhrer everyone knew but still, Falman didn't move. Instead, Falman raised his weapon a little higher, centering it on Bradley. Out of the corner of his eyes, Falman noticed the other soldiers following his example. Rachel hung behind Falman, unable to do anything to help protect her human but the panther, chocolate Labrador and wedged-tailed eagle belonging to the other humans standing with Falman all stood or hovered protectively next to their humans. Bradley took in the sight of the seven of them openly defying him and sneered.

"Pathetic," Bradley spat, raising his swords once more. Before he could move, Buccaneer fired a shot that missed but got Bradley's attention back on him.

"I'm not finished with you yet, homunculous," Buccaneer said, spitting the name like it was a curse and the title jolted something in Falman's memory.

"Didn't Ed tell us that homunculi can use their stones to heal themselves?" he asked Rachel, who gave a mental nod. "Bradley is still bleeding. I haven't seen any evidence of him using his healing ability and some of those cuts on his face have to be annoying him enough to warrant them being healed. So why hasn't he?"

" _Maybe he can't,"_  Rachel suggested as they watched Buccaneer stumble slightly to avoid Bradley's sword.

"If he can't heal his injuries than that would mean that he can't heal at all," Falman said, a bubble of excitement rising in his chest, "and if he can't heal at all, he can't come back to life after a fatal blow."

" _We have to tell Buccaneer and the others,"_  Rachel said immediately and Falman nodded.

"Do it. Tell their Animals. Make sure you tell Ed as well, just in case," Falman instructed and Rachel gave a confirming hum before she fell silent. The slight smirk on Buccaneer's face was enough of a tell for Falman to know that Eric had passed Rachel's message along to his human.

"Now, I heard your train was blown up, brother," a voice belonging to no one Falman knew said from above them. Before Falman could blink, a young man dressed in all-black clothing with long black hair tied into a low ponytail appeared seemingly out of nowhere in time to deflect a blow Buccaneer would've been too slow to dodge. "It's a damned shame to see the rumours were so very wrong."

" _That's Greed!"_  Rachel said, recognising the homunculous from the memories Ed had shared with her and the other Animals so they would know not to attack him unless he turned against their side.

"I'm surprised you bothered to show your traitorous face here, Greed," Bradley said, focusing his attacks on Greed. "I would've thought you would be cowering away in some foreign country," Bradley said.

"And let daddy dearest destroy the world I want to rule? No way," Greed snarled, swiping at Bradley with his clawed fingers.

Falman watched in fascination as Greed fought Wrath with no regard to any of the soldiers standing on the sideline as they waited for their chance. Greed's skin rippled slightly and Falman gaped as he watched a dark grey layer cover him almost entirely. Only his face remained uncovered, his lips curled into a permanent snarl as he continued attacking. Bradley's swords connected every time he swung them but Greed either did nothing to stop them from hitting him or he raised an arm to catch a blow aimed for his head. Whatever the grey layer on his skin was, it stopped the blades from piercing his skin.

Buccaneer and Eric were standing off to the side as Buccaneer finished tying a strip of his jacket around his middle, holding another strip he'd bunched up and placed over the stab wound as a make-shift piece of gauze in place. Once the captain was done, grunting lightly as he tied the knot to secure the bandage, he joined Greed in the fight, ignoring the homunculous' snarls to get out of his way. Buccaneer didn't so much as flinch as he fired shot after calculated shot at Bradley, eye twitching in annoyance when each shot missed.

Buccaneer's actions spurred the other Briggs soldiers into action and soon there were bullets being fired in a calm, calculating manner as they circled the trio loosely. Falman and the three soldiers with him didn't move to help, staying with their mission to make sure Bradley couldn't access the gate but Falman found himself having to exude enormous amounts of self-control to keep himself in place. Bradley and Greed dodged the bullets – Greed dodging any strays or bullets Bradley had dodged that would've then hit him – for a few minutes before Bradley's patience seemed to snap and he abandoned the fight with Greed.

The soldier he first targeted was one of the few women who had joined them in guarding this gate. Though her Animal, a large seagull, did its best to get in between her and Bradley, it did nothing to change the path of Bradley's sword. Both woman and seagull dropped like a sack of sand. Both were dead before they hit the ground and Bradley moved on to the next soldier. He managed to get through another three soldiers and their Animals while dodging more bullets and Greed's attacks before the sudden appearance and attack of someone they hadn't seen had Bradley moving backwards to avoid the kunai the man was armed with. Falman barely noticed Buccaneer nodding to Eric as he watched the newcomer with a slight sense of apprehension. Though he was sure he knew who this person was, thanks to Ed's foresight to send memory snippets of each ally to the Animals who might not have met them before to prevent friendly fire incidents, Falman still wanted confirmation and he soon got it.

"Old man Fu?" Greed asked as he took in the shorter Xingese's appearance.

"Young lord," Fu said in response but Greed shook his head.

"Wrong person," he said and Falman was shocked at the sudden changes in the younger Xingese that had happened in the space of a few seconds.

A cry for Buccaneer had Falman's attention switch from the newest ally to appear and over to where Buccaneer had been standing. His eyes widened in horror as he took in the glistening sword that once again impaled Buccaneer, its pointed blade glistening wetly as hot blood ran down it from where it protruded out of Buccaneer's back. Unlike before, this was a wound that would only be survivable if Buccaneer was immediately taken into a surgery room and operated on. Bradley didn't show any hint of victory or pleasure in causing the wound. There was just an impassiveness about him as he watched the blood dribble from Buccaneer's mouth that sent shivers down Falman's spine.

The sword started to withdraw from Buccaneer but Bradley was forced to abandon it before he could pull it free completely when Greed and Fu attacked. Buccaneer dropped to the ground and two soldiers immediately rushed to his side, pulling out the medkits they all carried in their packs but Falman knew there was nothing they could do to save their captain. Both Greed and Fu continued their attacks, never letting up for a moment even as the elder of the two accumulated more and more minor injuries to his person. Bradley matched them attack for attack, despite being down by a sword.

Greed grinned victoriously when he managed to catch Bradley's second blade as the Fuhrer tried to attack his unguarded face. In a move quicker than Bradley could counter, Greed snapped the blade, rendering the weapon next to useless. Sure enough, when Bradley tried to use what remained of the blade to land an attack on Greed, the damaged blade shattered, leaving Bradley gripping just the hilt. Bradley threw the useless hilt aside as he dodged the attacks, moving backwards before jumping over the bodies of a fallen soldier and their Animal. Quick as lightening, Bradley stooped and yanked a set of daggers the fallen man had been carrying out of their sheaths, raising them in time to stop the kunai Fu wielded and Greed's armoured hand.

Bradley pushed back, straightening from his crouch as he stepped over the dead soldier and Animal like they weren't even there, and launched his own series of attacks against the two. The soldiers surrounding the trio – Falman, the three with him and the two tending to Buccaneer excepted – continued firing carefully aimed shots at Bradley, trying to help Fu and Greed as much as they could. A kick from Bradley sent Fu flying backwards towards Falman's group as he failed to dodge the attack. Falman suddenly realised something and was quick to stop the man from rejoining the attack with an urgent whisper of the warrior's name.

"Fu!" Falman hissed and the mentioned man turned to glance at Falman. "He isn't healing himself! Bradley might be a homunculous but he can't heal himself! He doesn't have the ability to come back to life like the others!" Falman said urgently. Fu's eyes widened slightly as he took in the words and realised what Falman was saying. There was a moment as the older man seemed to be considering what to do with the information and Falman thought he saw a flicker of an unbearable sadness in the Xingese's eyes.

"Thank you," Fu said, bowing slightly to Falman, startling the man out of his thoughts about what the look in his eyes had been about.

"No problems," Falman said, voice tinged with uncertainty as he watched Fu straighten himself slightly, his entire body language telling everyone he'd made a decision no one would be able to change his mind on, reminding Falman vividly of Ed. Falman watched as the old man quickly moved his sash so it sat around his waist but Fu turned before Falman could see what else he was doing. Rachel made a worried noise in his mind as she observed the shorter man.

Fu didn't move away from the group for a moment, seemingly waiting for something to happen first. They found out what it was when Greed had been sent flying in a similar fashion Fu had done earlier and Fu moved. In a series of movements so quick that Falman couldn't catch them all, Fu got close to then leapt at Bradley. Greed – though Falman was wondering if it was actually Ling who was in charge right now – yelled for Fu to stop as Fu opened his coat, revealing what he'd done. There, sitting snugly in the sash and secured around against his abdomen were five live bombs. Falman watched in horror as his mind finally figured out what Fu had looked so sorrowful about. The elderly Xingese intended to sacrifice himself in order to finish Bradley off.

Falman didn't hear what Fu said as he made the leap, too stunned by the man's actions to be listening to anything. He watched as Fu fell closer to Bradley, the fuses of the bombs burning rapidly as though they knew what Fu was trying to accomplish and were trying to burn quickly enough to help him. With one slash from the dagger in his left hand, Bradley cut the fuses below the burning end and effectively foiled Fu's desperate attempt to put an end to his reign. The fuses hadn't been the only thing Bradley had used the dagger on and Falman watched in horror as blood spurted out from Fu's abdomen. As the soldiers all watched as Fu seemed to fall backwards in slow motion, blood pouring rapidly out of his injury and his mouth, a sword pierced its way through Fu's body and into Bradley's chest.

"I noticed you couldn't see an attack coming if something physically blocked it from your sight," Buccaneer grinned, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth as he faced Bradley. It didn't take Falman more than a moment to realise that Buccaneer had pulled the sword Bradley had been forced to leave lodged in him out and used Fu's body to cover his approach.

"Thank you for making sure my death wasn't foolish," Falman heard Fu gasp out as Ling screamed Fu's name before the homunculous tore into Bradley with an almost animalistic air about him.

Falman abandoned his post as he and one of the three soldiers rushed forward to Buccaneer and Fu's sides. There was a devastated cry from the rooftop and Falman looked up in time to see the youngest Xingese guard standing there, tears pooling in her eyes as she looked down at Fu's barely alive body. Her eyes hardened with rage as she looked over at the two homunculi and she launched herself at them, murderous intent in her glare as she focused on Bradley.

"Falman," Buccaneer gasped and Falman looked over at him, "you make sure these gates stay secure, you hear me?" Falman nodded but his attention was drawn by an angry growl off to the side.

Ling's armoured hand dripped with blood as the homunculous stood there, breathing heavily. Bradley was also breathing heavily but what really drew Falman's attention was the way the homunculous was clutching his left eye. There were numerous signs of pain and Falman was a little surprised to see them. The entire time they'd been fighting against Bradley, he'd never once grimaced or winced when a wound was inflicted. Something white fell out of Ling's hand and Falman nearly threw up as he realised what it was. Ling had torn out Bradley's left eye, the one with the ouroborous tattoo on it and could see any attack coming before it happened, during his fit of rage and grief. The eye was almost unrecognisable as one with how mangled the organ was but no one else seemed to have noticed.

"You killed my grandfather," Lan Fan half-sobbed from where she stood at Ling's side and Bradley lowered his hand, revealing the gaping hole where his eye had been.

"So?" Bradley said carelessly. Lan Fan wasn't able to hold herself back any longer and launched herself at Bradley, armed with a kunai and her automail blade. Ling moved almost as quickly as she had, still using his armoured self as his weapon and together they made a formidable opponent for the soon-to-be disgraced Fuhrer.

Bradley, despite having lost an entire eye and suffering a stab wound to the right side of his chest, still held his own enviably well. The fact that Bradley was still proving himself to be a capable fighter was obviously irritating both Lan Fan and Ling but they persisted in their attack, using their grief and other emotions to power their attacks rather than ruling their actions. In a move Falman wasn't sure anyone else could've duplicated, Ling and Lan Fan sent Bradley over the edge of the wall that sat next to the river. Falman almost gasped when Ling was dragged over by Bradley but Lan Fan was quick to move and grab hold of the prince.

"Get over there and help her!" Falman ordered, gesturing for two random soldiers to move as he watched Lan Fan being pulled slowly by the weight of the two homunculi.

The soldiers did as they were ordered and rushed to her side. One grabbed her around the waist, helping her with the weight, while the other one planted himself against the wall and aimed his weapon at one of the homunculi. Two shots were fired quickly and both Lan Fan and the soldier holding on to her jerked backwards as their load was significantly reduced. They'd only just managed to pull Ling up and over the wall when a distant splash could be heard below them. Ling looked over the wall but pulled away after several seconds, shaking his head and murmuring something. Upon spotting the two men who were barely clinging to life, Ling and Lan Fan were quick to rush to the side of their fallen comrade.

"Grandfather," Lan Fan said, choking on her tears as Fu forced his eyes to open enough to look up at his granddaughter.

"Lan Fan," Fu said with a small sigh and a slight smile curling on his blood-stained lips, "don't shed tears for me. I've given my life in service of our lord and there is no death more honourable than that," he told her and Lan Fan nodded.

"Just like Arya," Lan Fan near-whispered and Fu's smile grew slightly bigger.

"Just like my Arya did," he agreed softly. "I'll get to see her soon. I've kept my Animal waiting for so many years. She'll probably lecture me for taking so long but cry for coming to her so soon as well," Fu said and Lan Fan made another choked noise, tears falling despite her best attempts at stopping them. "I don't want to see you, the young lord or your Animals any time soon. I expect the four of you to keep me waiting far longer than I kept Arya," Fu informed her, gaze turning hard and serious.

"We'll try, Grandfather," Lan Fan promised, no longer holding her tears back. Fu's face flickered with regret, as though he felt guilty about being the cause of her tears.

"Fu," Ling said softly and Fu forced his eyes to his lord, "thank you for your years of service and all the sacrifices you made in the name of the Yao clan. You have brought honour to not only your family but to our clan. Know that you have done everything to succeed in your mission to keep your lord alive and take your rest now," Ling told him gently and Fu nodded.

"It has been my honour to serve and give my life for the future of the Yao clan," Fu said, coughing slightly and causing more blood to gush out of his mouth. "I leave the care of our lord in your hands, Lan Fan. Do our family proud."

"I will, Grandfather," Lan Fan whispered, making the promise easily. Fu nodded once in satisfaction before he closed his eyes and breathed his last breath. Lan Fan couldn't hold her sobs back any longer and she cried into her grandfather's still chest while Ling sat quietly, letting his tears slip down his face unchecked.

"Greed or Ling, whichever one you are," Buccaneer rasped where he lay. Someone had had the heart to move Eric so he lay pressed against his human's side and Falman felt his heart wrench as Buccaneer used his flesh arm to slowly pet his Animal, soothing the creature as they both slowly died. The two soldiers who had tried to tend to him earlier were back by his side but the bandages and gauze they'd pressed into his wound were completely saturated with blood and they had the same expressions on their face as every other soldier standing respectfully around them. They all knew it was a matter of moments before Buccaneer and Eric followed Fu. "I'd like to ask a favour of you," Buccaneer said.

"I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. You ensured my loyal guard didn't die in vain. What would you ask of me?" Ling said, eyes flicking to Fu's still body and the sobbing form of Lan Fan.

"My commander has asked us to secure all gates and keep the white abominations the military created from getting out into Central. That bastard broke through our forces below and paved the way for the Central soldiers to try and retake this gate and we're running low on ammo," Buccaneer growled, both in pain and irritation. Falman jolted lightly as he realised he'd completely missed seeing a few of the soldiers set up large caliber weapons to fire down the staircase to hold the enemy back. "I would consider our debt settled if you would make sure no soldier on Bradley's side makes it through. I would hate to let General Armstrong down in my last moments."

"Consider it done," Ling said with a nod before he straightened. "Keep an eye on Lan Fan for me. She hurt herself pulling me back up," Ling said, addressing Falman directly.

"I will," Falman promised and Ling tilted his head in thanks before he allowed his dark grey armour to overtake his entire body, including his head, before he threw himself down the staircase. The sounds of rapid gunfire, screams and shrieks echoed back up to them but no one paid it any mind.

"Captain Buccaneer, hang in there! We'll get you some help!" one of the soldiers shouted as Buccaneer continued to bleed out despite the renewed efforts of the soldiers.

"I can finally die in peace," Buccaneer sighed, ignoring the frantic efforts of the men around him and the calls for him to keep fighting. "I'm sorry I'm taking you with me, Eric, but there's nothing more for us to do here," Buccaneer said. Eric let out a low, sad whine before he licked Buccaneer's hand, causing the captain to chuckle slightly, blood bubbling up on his lips. "We're off to a place that's even higher than the peaks of Briggs, Eric. Imagine what a sight that will be," Buccaneer said softly. He gave Eric one last pat before he lifted his hand from his Animal's head to offer a salute. "It's been a pleasure to fight and die beside all of you," Buccaneer told them, raising his voice enough to be heard across the roof.

"The pleasure has been ours, Captain Buccaneer, Eric," Falman said, saluting the fallen man and his Animal. Every other soldier in the vicinity followed Falman's example, holding their salutes while Buccaneer's hand fell against Eric and both exhaled one last time, a smile on Buccaneer's face. They held their salutes for another moment before letting them fall. Looking around, Falman realised that their commanding officer had been one of those to fall victim to Bradley's swords and that he was the next highest ranked officer. "Contact General Armstrong. Inform her that Bradley fell into the river but we couldn't see his body and tell her," Falman paused for a moment, "tell her that Captain Buccaneer died with a smile on his face." Falman glanced down at the still captain and his Animal. "Those who aren't needed for that, get back to keeping this gate secured. We will keep this gate from the hands of the enemy until either this war is over or we're all dead, just as Captain Buccaneer would've done."

"Yes, Sir!" the soldiers answered before most of them headed to help their fellow soldiers while two took up the task of radioing the operations centre to get a hold of General Armstrong.

"I hope Colonel Mustang, Ed and the others are doing alright," Falman murmured to Rachel as he watched over the other soldiers.

" _They're still travelling in the tunnels but I think Ed, the Animals and Scar have sensed something,"_  Rachel reported and Falman sighed.

"Think it's too much to ask that it's Father and Ed and the colonel destroy it with no fight?" Falman asked and Rachel scoffed lightly. Falman heaved another sigh as he nodded. "That's what I thought."

* * *

"We're getting close," Scar said, startling almost everyone. Their group had split up earlier with Mei leading the chimeras back through the tunnels, using her chi-sensing abilities to try to find another way into the room that Ayala, Chester, Nala and Soren had all agreed held something extremely dangerous inside it and seemed to be waiting for them.

"You can feel it too, huh?" Ed asked, glancing at all the Animals as their hair and feathers stood up. Even Ed could feel the wrongness the room or something nearby by exuded.

"You mean you can sense his presence or something?" Hawkeye asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"Or something," he said as they approached the closed doors. No one made a move to open them for a moment before Ed nodded to Scar, telling the Ishvalen man to go ahead. "Let's just say I've got a really bad feeling about this," Ed told her as they walked cautiously into the room.

" _What the hell?"_  Ayala snarled as movement in the centre of the room caught her eye. Immediately, everyone moved into a fighting stance as they noticed the man in a grubby lab coat move out of his crouch to stand straight.

"Well now, I wasn't exactly expecting to have an audience," the man said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Ed noticed his extremely crooked eyes and filthy teeth, one of which was gold. When he gave them what Ed thought was supposed to be a shy smile but missed the mark epically, Ed felt all the Animals tense even further. "You're gonna give me performance anxiety," the man told them and Ed saw some white markings on the ground.

"That's an array," Ed whispered, jerking his head towards the man's feet when Mustang, Hawkeye and Scar glanced at him. Their faces hardened at the realisation that they were facing an alchemist. "Who the hell are you?" Ed asked, raising his voice for the man to hear him and the man hummed in contemplation.

"How shall I answer that?" the man asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You might know me as the man who created King Bradley. That is my most proud accomplishment to date," the man told them and Ed gaped slightly.

"You created the Fuhrer?" Mustang asked, drawing attention to himself. "So it's safe to say you're working with them!"

The man grinned in delight as he looked at Mustang. "I didn't realise it was you!" he exclaimed excitedly and Ed felt himself jerk backwards at the oddity in front of him. Mustang and the others looked just as perplexed. Only the Animals stayed in their defensive positions as though nothing strange was happening. "Here I thought you were at the radio station when you've come here to meet me in person!" the gold-toothed man continued saying, clapping his hands with excitement. "I can't tell you how much trouble you've saved me, Colonel Mustang!"

" _What the hell is he on about?"_  Chester asked Ed, who shrugged his shoulders in response because he honestly had no idea.

" _I think they're planning on using Roy for something,"_  Nala revealed and Mustang stiffened slightly. Suddenly, all four Animals looked above the gold-toothed man and Nala cried out a warning for Ed and Mustang to look out at the same time as Chester, Ayala and Soren.

A dozen men whose build and age reminded Ed of Bradley dropped from the ceiling above the man as he grinned widely at Mustang. "Why don't you keep these guys busy for a few moments?" he suggested and all the men grunted in confirmation, unsheathing swords that were strapped on their backs or at their hips.

"What are these guys?" Ed asked as he produced his automail blade.

The gold-toothed man didn't answer him, just nodded to the men and watched for a moment as they all moved forward with the exception of two, who stayed back and took up positions behind the gold-toothed man. The way they moved made Ed think two things: not only did they look kind of like Bradley but they fought like him and they seemed to move as though linked by one mind. Ed found himself trying to fight two of them at once while Chester and Ayala tackled another two. Mustang and Hawkeye were fighting back-to-back against three of their opponents and Nala fought against one with only Soren to offer her any sort of aid, though the owl was only able to swoop in every now and then to distract or try and scratch out his eyes. The final two were taken on by Scar and Ed was both irritated and a little relieved that he wasn't the only one having trouble landing a blow on their enemy. Even Mustang's flame alchemy – when he could chance using it without risking someone on his team – never hit its mark.

"Are they more dummy soldiers?" Mustang asked but Ed could hear how little Mustang actually believed that would be the answer.

As Ed shook his head, Scar gave a verbal answer. "No, they move to fluidly. The mannequins fought more on instinct."

"These men were at one time considered to become King Bradley," the gold-toothed man told them, not bothering to look up from the array he was carefully drawing. "You could call them the leftovers, I suppose, but one thing's for certain," the man said with a grin, "even after years of waiting, they're still warriors in their own right," he told them. "They may not be as powerful as Bradley himself but they are strong!" the gold-toothed man said proudly before he got back to his work.

Ed barely managed to dodge the blade of one of the wannabe-Bradleys he was fighting. He was forced into a roll to avoid the strike from the second one and he came to his feet swearing. "Dammit!" he snapped as the man he'd tried to stab dodged his automail blade. "I get these guys are all super-human but come on!" he almost whined as he dodged under the two he was fighting to force the one Nala and Soren were attacking to back off before he could corner the lioness. "This is just ridiculous!" Ed complained but he felt justified in doing so. So far, they'd all gained small but numerous injuries whereas none of the sword-wielders had yet to be so much as bruised.

"You keep leaving your back wide open, Sir," Ed heard Hawkeye chide Mustang but he didn't spare the two of them a glance as he, Nala and Soren continued fighting against the three soldiers.

Ed missed Mustang's response as his attention was drawn by the happy noise the gold-toothed man made as he stood back up. "That should do fine," the man said. "I suppose it's about time we got started," he said, looking around at the three four small battles going on. "Number 16, 17, 26, 22 and 33." As he called out each number, a soldier stopped fighting in order to pay attention to the gold-toothed alchemist. "Join me," he ordered and the five immediately did so, leaving the five left behind to keep Ed and the others from doing anything.

"What's he doing?" Ed asked, struggling against the soldier he and Nala were still fighting. Soren immediately took off and circled the man.

" _It's an array and he's about to activate it!"_  Soren told them and Ed's breath hitched.

"Soren, move!" Ed shouted, fear for the bird taking over most other emotions. He had no idea what that array would do when activated and he didn't want to find out if Soren's proximity to it would cause the owl to be caught up in the transmutation. Soren didn't waste a moment and he flew straight for Hawkeye, coming to hover above her.

"Now, then," the man said gleefully, "here goes!" He placed his hands on the array and blue light almost blinded everyone.

"What have you done?" Ed asked horrified. He watched as blue energy lines shot out from the five points the soldiers were standing and disappeared out of the room. Ayala and Chester had managed to get themselves over to Ed, as did Mustang, Hawkeye and Soren. Scar stood just separate of the group and for the first time, Ed saw something other than murderous rage and indifference on the Ishvalen's face as he watched what was happening.

"This?" the gold-toothed man asked, gesturing to the array. "This right here is just the beginning!" he told them before he addressed Ed solely. "You seem like a smart boy," Ed jerked back slightly as both Ayala and Chester stepped forward, growling protectively, "so you can tell me how many military operated state alchemy labs there are in Central, can't you?"

"There are four operational labs in Central," Ed said, voice laced with confusion before he realised something he'd forgotten, "but there were five built! The Fifth Laboratory! Mustang, they have five labs!" Ed said. Both Hawkeye and Scar didn't look they understood the significance of what Ed was saying but Mustang's face slackened slightly as he did. "It's a transmutation circle! The whole city's one!"

"You mean it's connecting all the labs in the city in a circle?" Hawkeye asked, looking at the array with the same amount of horror Ed felt.

Before Ed could say anything, something happened. He didn't know how to describe what had happened but there was a major shift in the alchemic energy. Judging from Mustang's face, he felt it too and Ed thought Scar might've as well. All the Animals in the room resembled bottle brushes as they pressed against their human or – in Chester's case – the closest thing to their human. Red energy glowed from underneath the gold-toothed man and Ed watched as nauseatingly familiar black hands reached out of the circle and destroyed the five soldiers standing around the array. Not a single other soldier seemed to notice or care about what had just happened to their fellows.

" _Ed!"_ Chester yowled in fear and Ed looked down to find Chester slowly being torn apart by little black hands that appeared out of nowhere.

"No! Chester!" Ed cried out, reaching out instinctively to try and help the leopard as fear for him and Al grew rapidly. Before he could take a step, Ed felt a force stop him and he looked down at his feet to find the black eye he'd only seen twice before blinking back up at him. "No," Ed gasped, voice laced with fear, as little black hands started tearing pieces of him away from his body and retreating back into the portal.

" _Ed, what's happening?!"_  Nala cried as Mustang held her back from trying to help. From Ed's right, Ayala was making fearful noises as the hands reached for. Whatever was holding Ed in place was doing the same to her as she found herself unable to move. Ed didn't even register the lioness' question as he tried to fight against what was happening before he rapidly came to the stomach-churning conclusion that  _nothing_  he did would do anything to stop this.

"Ayala!" Ed tried reaching for his wolf just as she and Chester both disappeared before his eyes in the exact same manner Alphonse had done all those years earlier. "No!" Ed could hear the gold-toothed man laughing with glee as his array succeeded in what it was meant to do. The last thing Ed saw before his vision whited out was the fearful expressions on Mustang, Nala, Hawkeye and Soren's faces. The last thing he heard before he disappeared was Mustang calling his name, his voice drenched in panic and fear for him.

* * *

When Ed's vision returned, he found himself lying on his back in the underground lair belonging to Father. Gingerly, Ed sat up as he struggled to get his mind working as it should've been. Before he could stop himself, he wracked his brain to try and remember what had happened to have him be in the room with Mustang and the others while the gold-toothed creep was talking one moment and in Father's lair the next. He gasped sharply as his memories for what happened came flooding back and he found himself stunned as he realised that not only had he visited Truth once more – or at least went through his Gate of Knowledge – but that he came out of it with no missing limbs  _and_  that somebody had been able to force himself through it. Ed jolted when the memory of Ayala and Chester being pulled apart swam to the front of his mind and he frantically looked around for his wolf or his brother's leopard.

Spotting the golden coat of Ayala, Ed headed over to her immediately. "Ayala?" Ed called softly as he knelt next to his wolf and shook her shoulder. "Ayala, wake up!"

" _What?"_  Ayala slurred as she opened her eyes. They looked at Ed with a glazed expression before they sharpened as Ayala's memories came back.  _"Ed! Are you alright? What about Chester?"_  Ayala asked as she took in his appearance and scanned the room for the missing leopard.

"I'm alright and I don't know," Ed answered, resuming his own search for Chester now that he knew Ayala was alright. He decided not to think too hard about the fact that both he and Ayala passed through his Gate untouched considering the last time he did so, Ayala wasn't with him and he came out of the ordeal with a missing leg. He'd rather not let himself get lost in thought over it. "There he is," Ed said as his eyes finally picked up on the Sunda-Clouded Leopard, partially hidden by the pipes and shadows he lay near.

" _Is he alright?"_  Ayala asked as they both approached the leopard as quickly as they dared.

"I don't know," Ed told her as he shook Chester's shoulder in the same manner he'd done to Ayala earlier. "Ches? Wake up!" Ed called but the leopard stayed unconscious, causing Ed to frown. He used the energy he held for Chester to check on his physical health but saw no reason for his unconsciousness. "I don't get it," Ed said, brow still furrowed.

"Ed?" a familiar voice called in confusion and both Ed and Ayala spun, standing defensively in front of Chester's prone form only to relax when they saw Izumi and Koda standing a few metres away.

"Teacher?" Ed couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't even considered that Izumi would've been pulled through her portal as well. "Are you alright?" he asked as Koda approached him to give both him and Ayala a hug before she fussed over them and the unconscious Chester.

"More or less," Izumi said as she followed her Animal. "You?" Ed nodded in confirmation and Izumi's eyes flicked to the still leopard. "What's wrong with Chester?" Izumi asked.

"We don't know. He won't wake up," Ed told her, stepping aside as Izumi moved forward to check the leopard herself. "Do you know why we're here?" Ed asked and Izumi looked at him.

"Considering you're here as well, I'd assume it has something to do with us being sacrifices," Izumi said. "We're probably being gathered since it's nearly time for the eclipse," she said.

"If that's the case, where's Al?" Ed asked but no sooner had the words come out of his mouth did a familiar crashing sound echo through the room. "Al!" Ed shouted, eyes frantically searching for his brother.

" _Over there!"_  Koda said to both Ed and Izumi, pointing one big paw to their left and Ed saw Al's armour gleam dully under one of the few streams of light that managed to make its way into the room.

Ed scooped up Chester before he joined the others in hurrying over to Al, who – like his leopard – was still unconscious. "Al?" Ed called before tapping the side of his helmet once he'd placed Chester on the ground next to Al. "Snap out of it!" he ordered but the words had no effect on either his brother or the leopard.

Both Ayala and Koda turned to face the same direction, both standing in front of their human and Al as they growled at an approaching figure neither Ed nor Izumi had noticed. Ed took in the being in front of them with abject horror. It stood a full head taller than the average human male and all Ed could think of was that it was like one of Pride's shadows had decided to separate from their container to take the form of a human itself. Mostly black, the creature before them was covered in red eyes with one wide mouth where it usually sat on a human's face. It took Ed a moment to be able to pull his eyes away from the creature's overall appearance but when he did, he noticed his father's head protruding from the creature's gut. Calix, when Ed looked around, was slowly edging around the creature to join Ed.

"One, two, three, four of you are here now," the monster in front of them said before Ed could say anything. "That still leaved us one short. I wonder if the fifth is being created as we speak," the creature mused. Its voice seemed to break Izumi and Ed from their shock.

"What is that thing?" Izumi asked, staring at it with disgust and fear.

"Hohenheim!" Ed called, his instinct to check on his father outweighing his desire to never speak to him again. Ed hadn't heard anything from Calix to suggest anything was wrong which was why seeing his father in such a position was more than shocking, to say the least.

"Edward?" Hohenheim said confusedly as he looked around the room, straining his neck to try and locate his son. His eyes fell on his shocked son and slid down to find the unconscious form of his youngest son. "Oh, he got Alphonse as well," Hohenheim said before noticing Izumi. "And Izumi Curtis too," he hummed and Ed wondered if the creature was somehow affecting his father's mind because the man didn't seem to be completely aware of just how much trouble they were in.

"What is going on here?" Izumi asked demandingly.

"it's not complicated," Hohenheim started explaining but the creature cut him off.

"Be careful to mind your place," the creature hissed. Ed nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something heavy nudge his shoulder but he calmed down as soon as he realised it was Calix. "I plan to take your Philosopher's Stone at my leisure but I can speed up the process if you prefer," the creature warned him.

"Hohenheim!" Ed called, getting the man's attention. "The fuck is that hideous thing?" Ed asked, glancing up at the monster.

"It's Homunculous," Hohenheim said. "The original one," he amended, apparently thinking Ed wouldn't have understood who he was talking about.

"You're saying this is that bearded bastard?" Ed asked disbelievingly and no one could truly blame him considering what Father had looked like last time they saw him.

"Yes, that's right," Hohenheim said, nodding his head. "I destroyed the leather bag he was in but –" whatever else Hohenheim was going to say was cut off by Father somehow manipulating his own body to swallow Hohenheim completely.

"Enough," Father snapped. "I warned you to keep your mouth shut." Father sighed as though he was dealing with an unruly child. Shaking his head, Father fixed the eyes on the front of his body onto the five conscious people and Animals in front of him and stretched the ghastly mouth affixed to his face in a mockery of a smile. "Greetings to the three of you. My pretty sacrifices," Father said, looking at all of them and it took everything in Ed to not step forward and clock him for calling them 'pretty sacrifices'. It also took Ayala and Koda stepping in front of him to stop him but he paid no notice. "Welcome to my castle! Please, everyone, make yourselves at home!" Father said warmly. Ed couldn't help but notice how Father's eyes seemed to pay no mind to the Animals snarling at him.

Turning back to his brother, Ed once again tried to rouse him. "Al, time to get up now! Things aren't looking that great for us," Ed said, tapping the helmet once more before reaching over to shake Chester. "Ches? Get up!" Ed tried calling the leopard to consciousness but to no avail. Neither one of them showed any signs of waking up any time soon.

"Ed? Anything?" Izumi asked, not taking her eyes off of Father's still form.

"No," Ed said. "I don't know what's going on. It's not like Al's seal failed and he's gone because Chester is still here and his life force is just as strong as it should be," Ed said, voice choking slightly at the thought of his brother possibly being dead but he shoved the emotions down. Al wasn't since Chester wasn't and there was no point in worrying about something that hadn't happened. Ed turned to face Calix, needing something to distract him from the unconscious form of his brother and his leopard. "How the hell did you not think that  _that_ ," Ed gestured to Father, "was something I needed to know about?" Ed asked.

" _I couldn't contact you,"_  Calix said. Ed gave him a disbelieving look.  _"Who were you with before you appeared here? Can you contact their Animals to find out what's happening?"_  Calix asked. Ed rolled his eyes before reaching for his link with Nala. However, when he went to sent her a message, he found something blocking his ability to talk to her. He could still feel her emotions though they were diluted but no matter how hard he tried; he couldn't send her a message.

"Why can't I speak with any of them?" Ed asked, having tried Soren next then Mark, Leo and Lilith before realising he simply could not get through to any of them.

" _I don't know but he's done something to this room that stops anyone inside this room from contacting someone they're bonded to outside of the room,"_  Calix told him.  _"You'd have noticed your bond with them isn't destroyed so you'll still be able to keep an eye on them and make sure they're alright,"_  Calix soothed and Ed nodded. His worry at not being able to speak with any of the Animals he was bonded to drowned his irritation at Calix speaking to him like that.

"Okay," Ed said, "you couldn't contact me. What the hell happened?" Ed asked, glancing back at Father from where he could see the monster between Izumi and Koda.

" _Your father sent Lan Fan away to find Ling since he knew she would be distracted and he didn't want her getting in the way of him or Homunculous,"_  Calix explained.  _"They discussed what Homunculous had done in Xerxes and what he was planning on doing to Amestris,"_  Calix told him.  _"Van goaded him into fighting by using the fact that he created the homunculi and asked they call him 'father' while he refers to them as his children to show that he wanted the same thing humans did; the same thing your father had always wanted back as nameless slave: a family,"_  Calix told him.  _"When Homunculous fought back, he stabbed your father through the back with his bare hand but Van had expected that. Using the physical connection he had with Homunculous, your father infected him with some of the souls residing in his Philosopher's Stone. When he did so, Van turned the souls remaining in Homunculous' stone against him and for a few moments, it looked like Van would win,"_  Calix said sadly.  _"We didn't realise that Homunculous had managed to evolve enough that destroying his container wouldn't kill him as it would Pride. He created the body you see now and swallowed Van so he could absorb his Philosopher's Stone. Van is fighting against the absorption as best he can but he'll eventually lose the fight if we don't get him out of there soon,"_  Calix warned him and Ed groaned.

"Of course the dumb bastard went and got himself caught," Ed muttered, glaring at Father's gut where he'd last seen Hohenheim's head. "Might as well try and save his stupid arse."

" _We'd both appreciate it,"_  Calix said and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I'm only doing this because Al would bitch me out if I didn't," Ed informed the horse, who nodded at his words. Ed moved to speak with Izumi and bring her in on the planning when a massive red and black hole opened up and swirled above their heads.

"Ah," Father said as he looked up at the swirling mass, "it would seem our fifth has joined us."

* * *

"He disappeared!" Hawkeye gasped in horror as she stared at the spot Ed had just been.

None of them moved from where they'd been standing as they'd watched Ed, Ayala and Chester be pulled apart in front of them. Hawkeye couldn't believe she'd just stood there as she watched someone she cared about disintegrate in front of her. Mustang was still crouched on the ground, holding Nala close. Originally he had been holding his Animal back to stop her from being caught up in whatever was happening to Ed but now he was holding her to comfort her. Mustang was staring at the spot his youngest subordinate had just been blankly but Hawkeye knew he was struggling to process what had just happened. Scar looked just as freaked out as they were and Hawkeye almost jumped out of her skin when Soren landed on her shoulder. She appreciated his attempt at trying to cheer her up by nuzzling her cheek but she could still feel the shock of what happened affecting her.

"What did you do?" Mustang growled, straightening from his crouch and glaring dangerously at the gold-toothed man in front of them. Hawkeye recognised the look on his face and knew that the gold-toothed alchemist only had a few seconds to tell Mustang what he'd done to one of the few people Mustang cared about before the Flame Alchemist attacked.

"You need not worry where he's gone," the gold-toothed man told him, looking extremely unconcerned or unaware of how angry Mustang was. "You'll be joining him yourself soon enough," he told Mustang, who twitched minutely. "Now then, I need you all to stay still and not fight so I'll need you to cooperate with them," the man said, nodding to the seven remaining soldiers. Both Hawkeye and Mustang raised their weapons while Scar twitched his fingers. Nala and Soren let out roars and screeches, showing their displeasure and willingness to fight. The gold-toothed man sighed and shook his head in apparent disappointment. "Secure them," he ordered and the seven soldiers sprang into action immediately.

The soldiers were quick to separate Mustang, Hawkeye and Scar from each other so they couldn't help one another in fending off the soldiers. Nala and Mustang fought against three soldiers by themselves while Hawkeye and Soren were taking on two and Scar took on the final two. As had happened before, they didn't seem to be able to significantly injure the soldiers during the fight. To Mustang's annoyance, one of the soldiers managed to get Nala away from his side so she was fighting him while Mustang fought the other two. The gold-toothed man was muttering something about how incompetent everyone was but Mustang paid no attention to him as he fought.

Mustang heard a shocked gasp from off to his right and he looked over in time to see that one of Hawkeye's guns had failed her. Soren let out an angry screech as he dived at the closest soldier, talons stretched out as he tried to gouge the soldier's eyes out to give Hawkeye time to fix her gun but the soldier swung his sword and knocked Soren out of the air with the hilt of the weapon, causing both the owl and Hawkeye to let out pained noises. Hawkeye soon had two swords against her throat and Mustang watched as she dropped her weapon, her eyes fixed on Soren's crumpled form.

"Lieutenant!" Mustang called, trying to fight his way to her to try and help her. "Go and get Soren!" Mustang snapped at Nala. The lioness hesitated only for a moment but when she saw the fallen form of the owl and the danger he was in of being trampled on, she moved. The soldier she was fighting made to move after her but Mustang snapped, sending flames billowing towards him to stop him. This move, unfortunately, left him open to attack himself and he hissed in pain when the tip of a sword sliced through his array and the top of his outstretched hand.

" _Roy!"_  Nala shouted as Mustang felt his arms being grabbed roughly and held apart, his hands being held so he couldn't snap with his other glove while a blow to the back of his knees sent him to the floor. The only reason he didn't fall face first on the floor was because of the hold the two soldiers had on him and the moment his knees had touched the floor, Mustang felt the cold edge of a sword kiss his neck. Mustang looked over to his lioness to see her standing a few metres away with Soren lightly grasped in her mouth. The owl was still unconscious and Mustang didn't need to look over to his lieutenant to know she was worried about him.

"Get him to Hawkeye if you can," Mustang said, speaking through the bond. Right now, she only had the third soldier who had been fighting the two of them earlier on her. Scar was still fighting valiantly against the other two soldiers and Mustang hoped that the Ishvalen man would be able to get himself free from them.

" _I don't know if I can,"_  Nala admitted and Mustang focused back on his lioness. While the soldier wasn't holding the sword against her throat like the soldiers were doing with himself and Hawkeye, he hadn't put enough space between himself and Nala to give the lioness the chance to move. Even if Nala tried going backwards to put more space between her and the soldier, they both knew the soldier would be on her in a matter of moments. She couldn't do anything without putting herself and Soren at risk.

"Alright, stay there," Mustang said. Hopefully the soldiers would relax after a few minutes and Nala could get to Hawkeye's side than without getting herself of Soren hurt.

A noise came from slightly behind Mustang and he managed to turn his head enough without hurting himself on the sword to see that Scar had been subdued. The gold-toothed man clapped his hand together once he'd noticed they were all caught. "Alright, good!" he praised the soldiers. None of them looked like they were affected by the praise. "Just hold him there," the man instructed and Mustang felt the edge of the sword press minutely closer to his neck. "Colonel Mustang, I'm afraid we're out of time. At this point you've got no choice but to cooperate with us," the gold-toothed man informed Mustang. "I'd like you to perform some human transmutation and open up a portal for me," he said and Mustang's jaw would've dropped if he didn't have the self-control he did. Nala's eyes widened as she looked between her human and the crazy man in the centre of the room.

"Are you serious?" Mustang asked, unable to quite stop that reflex in time but who could blame him? The whole situation was ludicrous!

"It doesn't matter who," the gold-toothed man said. "You could bring back a parent you lost or a friend or a lover! The choices are endless!" the man told him. "I'll just get things set up for you over here," he said as he crouched on the ground, a couple of metres away from the array he'd activated before, the one that took Ed, Ayala and Chester.

"You mean I'm a sacrifice?" Mustang asked, the thought weighing heavily on him. All this time, he and the Elric brothers had been trying to figure out who the fifth sacrifice could be so they could try and get them out of the country and the homunculi had had their sights set on  _him_.

"Well, no. Not yet anyway," the insane alchemist said as he continued sketching the array, "but as soon as you open the portal, you'll soon become one."

"The Elric brothers told me human transmutation was impossible. That it wouldn't matter what you offered as payment or who you tried to bring back, it would fail," Mustang said. He could feel Scar's and Hawkeye's eyes on him but he refused to look at them. "Why would I try to do it, even if there was someone I'd want to bring back, knowing I would fail?"

"You're right of course," the man said with a nod, "but I don't really care that you'll fail. All I need you to do is open the portal and return alive," he told him, smiling encouragingly.

Mustang was already shaking his head before the gold-toothed man had finished speaking. "No, absolutely not!" Mustang snapped. "If you want a portal that badly, you open it yourself! I won't put myself or my Animal through what the Elric brothers and their Animals went through for you bastards!" Mustang snarled and the gold-toothed man's attempt at a smile disappeared quickly.

"I told you that we've run out of time," the man said, voice flat and dangerous.

A deliberate nod from the man to one of the two soldiers holding Hawkeye hostage had the soldier deliberately moving his sword. To Mustang, Nala and Scar's horror, crimson blood spurted out from Hawkeye's neck from the wound the soldier had inflicted. Hawkeye's eyes widened in pain and shock as she slumped into the soldier still holding her hostage. Another nod from the gold-toothed man had the two soldiers moving Hawkeye so she lay in the centre of the array at the gold-toothed alchemist's feet.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" Mustang shouted, his eyes wide as he struggled against those who held him as he watched helplessly as Hawkeye moved her hands to her neck to try and stem the blood gushing from the wound. Mustang felt nauseous when he saw blood seeping between her fingers as it fought to flow freely. There was so much blood running down her hands and he could tell that the wound wasn't survivable without immediate medical help.

"Now then," the insane alchemist said, looking at Mustang expectantly. "Maybe you've had a change of heart, hm?"

" _Roy, you can't,"_  Nala said, her voice choked with emotions as she watched Hawkeye bleeding out. She could feel Soren's heart beating still but she knew that without medical help, Hawkeye and Soren wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

"I'll kill you!" Mustang snarled viciously at the other alchemist, ignoring his Animal for the moment. "Lieutenant, are you still with me?" Mustang asked but didn't receive a response. "Answer me!" he demanded, his heart pounding in his chest as Hawkeye didn't answer. Was she already gone? Had his refusal to give in to their demands just cost him one of his best friends and most loyal subordinates?

" _She's alive, Roy. Soren is still breathing,"_  Nala said, trying to calm her human down so he could think rationally.

"Now perform the transmutation and become the fifth sacrifice!" the gold-toothed man ordered, looking completely unfazed by Mustang's death threat and the woman at his feet who was bleeding out. "Come on," the man coaxed, "if you don't hurry, the lieutenant will be lost to you forever," the man said. Mustang made no move to do as he was told and a look of understanding crossed over the gold-toothed man's face. "Ah, I understand now," he said. "Would you prefer to transmute her after she's already dead? That can certainly be arranged," he told Mustang, looking all too willing to end Hawkeye's life right then and there.

"I'm not going to die." The strained voice of Hawkeye reached Mustang's ears and he visibly sagged in relief at the sound of it. "What you don't realise is that I'm under strict orders not to die today." Mustang almost huffed as Hawkeye repeated the orders he'd given her, Breda, Fuery and Havoc earlier that day before the battle for Amestris had started. Trust his lieutenant to be clinging to life because of an order he'd issued in a moment of soft-heartedness.

The gold-toothed man glanced down at her. "If it were that easy to gain an immortal body, my dear, it wouldn't be very fair, now would it?" the man said condescendingly. "So tell me, Mustang. What will it be?" the gold-toothed alchemist's attention was back on the flame alchemist. "Your most loyal lieutenant is about to die. If you don't act quickly, she'll bleed to death, taking her precious Animal with her and you'll be responsible for both their deaths," the man informed him and Nala snarled as best she could with Soren still in her mouth. "Luckily for you, I happen to be a doctor who knows some things about alchemy and I have this Philosopher's Stone to add to the bargain as well," the doctor said, producing a liquid stone contained in a small glass jar from his pocket and Mustang felt a stab of hope pierce his heart. If he could get that stone...

"I'm sure you realise what that means. I am certainly able to save this woman and her Animal from certain death but only if you come to a decision in time. It won't be too much longer before even I could do nothing to save them,' the gold-toothed doctor continued talking. "Whether you like it or not, their fate is in your hands now, Mustang. Do you really want their blood on your hands forever?" The gold-toothed man looked down at the rapidly paling Hawkeye and tsked lightly. "She doesn't look too good. So quiet and still. Perhaps she's already dead, hm? What do you think?"

" _She's still alive, Roy!"_  Nala cried and Mustang glanced at her, tearing his eyes from his lieutenant and the pool of blood rapidly forming under her face and neck as he warred with himself. Could he really choose to let Hawkeye die, someone he'd had by his side every day for the last ten years, someone he fought alongside of during the Ishvalen War, someone he owed his and Nala's life to dozens of times over? Could he really do that when he had no certainty that her death would put a stop to the homunculi's plans?

"Colonel," Hawkeye's quiet voice grabbed his attention before he could say anything to Nala, "you don't have to do this. Don't sacrifice everything for me," she told him.

"But you will, won't you, Mustang?" the gold-toothed doctor said, grinning knowingly. Mustang lowered his head as he came to his decision and he sighed.

"Alright," he said and the gold-toothed man clapped his hands in joy while both Nala and Hawkeye made protesting noises before Mustang could finish speaking.

"Good! I knew you'd see reason," the doctor said.

Mustang lifted his head and glared at the alchemist. "Alright, lieutenant," Mustang said, feeling a tiny curl of pleasure at the shock those two words caused the gold-toothed alchemist. "I won't perform the transmutation," he told her, meeting Hawkeye's eyes and getting a small smile in return from her. The red liquid pooling in front of her reflected the smile gruesomely.

"You'd forsake her? How very cold-hearted of you," the doctor said and Mustang glared at him.

"You seem to have no trouble treating these men as your sacrificial pawn while I'm honouring my lieutenant's wishes and refusing to let myself be used for the homunculi's gain. You have no right to call me cold-hearted when you don't even have one," Mustang snapped.

"These men are more than happy to lay their lives down for me," the gold-toothed doctor informed him. "They were abandoned, left without their parents. They all would've died without my care. I saw to their education. I gave them a reason to keep on living, I infused their very existence with purpose," the doctor told him. "I even saved them from being held back by their Animals! In one of their first tests to show just how loyal they were, they were instructed to slay their Animal when it appeared and all of them, without exception, did as they were told," the doctor said, smiling proudly while Mustang's face screwed up in horror at the thought. "For the kindness I've shown them, they remain grateful to me," the gold-toothed man informed Mustang, the gloating in his voice obvious.

" _They're in position,"_  Nala said suddenly and Mustang thanked her.

"And that's just the sort of overconfidence that could get you killed," Mustang told the doctor.

"Hmm? What do you –" the doctor started saying before he suddenly disappeared from where he stood. Mustang, Nala and Scar watched as the small glass jar containing the liquid Philosopher's Stone hit the head of one of the soldiers and bounced to the ground, rolling away a few feet.

"Oh yeah, we're grateful alright!" They heard the voice of Jerso say, slightly mumbled as he held the doctor in place with the gooey spit produced by his mouth. "Let me show you just how grateful we are," he said and the doctor yelped in fright.

"No! Let me go!" the doctor cried and Mustang felt some vindictive pleasure roll through him.

"Let everyone down there loose right now or I'll kill you before you can blink," Jerso threatened darkly.

"No! Wait!" the doctor cried and Mustang wished he was in a position where he could see what Jerso was doing to the man. After everything he'd done though, it probably wasn't enough. "I'm the only doctor here and I can use alchemy! Without me, the woman will die! Don't you understand?"

Jerso chuckled, the sound echoing slightly from inside the opening he held the doctor in. "Heh, nice try but you're more useless than you realise," Jerso informed the man just as the doors behind Mustang and Scar burst open, emitting Mei, Zampano and Darius.

The soldiers who weren't holding a hostage secure met them halfway but the chimeras and Mei managed to dodge them with an ease Mustang envied. Mei took care of the two holding Scar still, freeing the Ishvalen from their clutches so he could join in the fight once more. Darius and Zampano took on the soldiers holding Mustang and Nala at bay and the moment Mustang was free, he grabbed the sword one of the soldiers behind him was holding and buried it into the leg of the other, using his fury and the distraction caused by the others to do so.

"Get out of my way!" Mustang ordered the two soldiers who tried blocking him but Nala brought one down while the other found himself with a face full of fire as Mustang rushed past them and headed for the still body of his subordinate. "Lieutenant!" Mustang called as he collapsed to his knees next to her and rolled her onto her back. "Come on, stay with me!" Mustang ordered as he tore a strip from the white jacket Hawkeye wore so he could apply pressure to the wound. Nala and Soren joined him and Nala laid the owl down next to Hawkeye's head, out of the blood. "Lieutenant, open your eyes! Lieutenant!" Mustang called desperately but Hawkeye's eyes stayed shut. Soren's, however, blinked open and Mustang watched as the owl tried to crawl his way closer to Hawkeye.

Mustang felt something rush past him and looked around in time to see Darius in chimera form pummeling one of the soldiers who had been creeping up behind Mustang to strike him down. "You alright?" Darius grunted as he fought the man and Mustang nodded, both in answer and thanks.

Mustang continued applying pressure to Hawkeye's wound as he tried to figure out a way to save her when he saw the young Xingese girl scrambling around the room. She wasn't fighting anyone unless they got in her way. In fact, it looked like she and the panda on her shoulder were searching for something. A small moan from Hawkeye brought his attention back to the blonde in his arms and he ignored the Xingese girl once more. "Don't you dare die! Stay with me, Hawkeye!"

A shrill scream of frustration sounded and Mustang looked up in time to see Mei racing for him. "She comes first!" Mei yelled. "Let me help her!" she said and Mustang gave a swift nod as he placed Hawkeye back on the ground before he gathered Soren, mentally apologising for picking him up without permission, as he and Nala moved backwards. Mei used the toe of her shoe and Hawkeye's blood to draw out an array quickly before she threw five kunai with practiced ease. Alchemic energy flared when Mei activated the array for a few moments. When it finished, Mei stood up with a sigh. "I've managed to stop the bleeding but she still needs to see a doctor," Mei told Mustang as she cleared her kunai and broke the array.

"Thank you. I owe you," Mustang said and the young girl gave a nod before she headed back to find whatever she had been looking for. Mustang moved closed to Hawkeye and placed Soren on her chest, ensuring the two could feel each other.

"Colonel, I'm so sorry," Hawkeye said. Mustang made stopping motions with his hands as his eyes fell to the wound that had been partially healed.

"No, don't speak. Don't antagonize your injury," Mustang ordered. "Mei said she'd only managed to stop the bleeding. That injury isn't fully healed. Don't start emanating Fullmetal's mindset when it comes to injuries now," Mustang said, trying to lighten the situation slightly and it worked somewhat if the way Nala and Hawkeye smiled slightly was any indication.

"I can't believe you understood my signal," Hawkeye said and Mustang scoffed.

"We've been working together long enough for me to figure out that that glare had meant 'use human transmutation and I'll shoot you'," Mustang said and Hawkeye's smile grew slightly.

"I hope that means that you'll be able to accurately translate the rest of my glares when we get back to the office after all of this is over and done with," Hawkeye said and Mustang laughed.

"We'll see," Mustang said in response as Nala rolled her eyes, making sure Hawkeye saw it.

"That's the last of them." Darius' announcement caught Mustang's attention and he looked up to find the seven remaining soldiers dead on the ground. In his worry for Hawkeye, he hadn't even noticed the fact that the chimeras and Scar had managed to defeat the soldiers.

Wrapping one arm around Hawkeye's back and under her armpit, Mustang helped the injured lieutenant to her feet. Hawkeye clutched Soren close to her chest as the owl was still woozy from being knocked out and Hawkeye was in no shape to try and heal him. Nala helped by pushing Hawkeye into a standing position with her head before moving to Hawkeye's other side and walking next to her, just in case she fell and Mustang couldn't catch her.

"Everyone," Mustang called, getting the attention of the five people in front of him. "Thank you for all your help dealing with them and saving the life of Lieutenant Hawkeye," Mustang said gratefully.

"Sure," Darius said with a shrug. "It wasn't like it was a hardship for us. Besides," Darius smirked slightly, "it's not like Ed would've been too happy if we'd just abandoned you lot," Darius said and Mustang grinned.

"No, he definitely wouldn't have been," Mustang agreed before he looked at Nala. "Have you spoken to him?" he asked but Nala shook her head.

" _No,"_  she told him.  _"I can't get through to him. I've been trying but it's like he's blocking me again. Except,"_  Nala said slowly and Mustang gestured for her to continue,  _"well, I can still feel him, which is something I can't do if he's the one blocking me so I think someone or something else is,"_  Nala told him.

"What on earth would be able to stop an Animal or human from talking to someone they're bonded too?" Mustang asked but Nala shrugged.

" _I don't know for certain but all I can think is that it's as unlikely for someone to be able to do that as it is for someone to turn off alchemy,"_  Nala said,  _"and we know that there is one being who can do that,"_  she reminded him and Mustang nodded once.

"You think that Father has Fullmetal and is blocking him from being able to talk to any Animal he's bonded to," Mustang stated. It wasn't a question but Nala nodded.

"The stone!" Mei suddenly gasped and Mustang watched as the small girl darted forward towards the liquid stone the gold-toothed doctor had dropped only to stop with a frightened gasp as Bradley stepped into the room.

"It's been quite some time, eh, Colonel Mustang?" Bradley said as he snatched up two swords that had been dropped by the soldiers. Mustang almost grimaced as he took in the Fuhrer's appearance; specifically, the missing eye. Mustang kind of wanted to ask about the eye when he remembered something Nala had passed along to him from Rachel.

"Indeed it has, Sir," Mustang said, making sure none of the respect he usually showed Bradley was evident. "I would be lying if I said you were looking as good as ever. Is it because you were born human and infused with a stone that you can't heal yourself of your injuries?" Mustang asked, needing a way to remind everyone that Bradley wouldn't come back to life like a normal homunculous would.

"So I've been told," Bradley said, glancing between Mustang and Hawkeye, who Mustang still clutched close to his side. "I had thought your weakling heart would've prevented you from allowing someone close to you to die if it was within your means to save them, even if it meant using human transmutation," Bradley said.

"There was a time where I might have but that time is long behind me," Mustang said, looking at Hawkeye and Nala. "Luckily, I have people by my side now who will stop me from being so reckless," Mustang said. "I doubt Nala or the Elric brothers would have ever forgiven me if I used human transmutation knowing full well that I wouldn't succeed in bringing anyone back, not after the devastation I've seen their failed transmutation cause Fullmetal, his brother and their Animals," Mustang stated, standing his ground as he kept eye contact with Bradley.

"Here I was under the impression that you're all pathetic creatures that could never learn a lesson properly," Bradley said with a sigh. "Apparently there are those like you who can learn; who can change." Bradley's expression hardened as he snarled. "That's one more reason I can't stand you humans. It infuriates me when I can't predict how you'll behave." Bradley stepped forward, standing underneath Jerso and the gold-toothed doctor he held captive.

Mei gasped suddenly and Scar turned to her. "What's wrong?" he asked and Mei trembled as she stared at Bradley's feet.

"He's under us," Mei said as she felt the massive chi energy pulsate beneath them. "Their leader's still down there somewhere."

"No!" came the shout from the gold-toothed doctor. "I won't let you interfere with him!" he screamed.

"Oh, give it up," Jerso snapped. "You're not going anywhere," Jerso told him before the sound of slicing and grunts of pain came from where the pair were. The next thing everyone knew, both the gold-toothed doctor and Jerso were crashing to the ground, blood gushing from numerous wounds on Jerso.

"Jerso!" Zampano shouted as he rushed towards his fallen comrade, followed closely by Darius. "Get up!" he ordered as he grabbed Jerso by one arm and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"This is bad!" Darius said as he copied Zampano's actions on Jerso's other side.

"He's right!" Mei said as she watched where the three chimeras were struggling to move. "Something's coming. Something awful," she warned. The three chimeras had barely managed to get back to where Mustang, Nala, Hawkeye, Soren, Mei and Scar stood when a bunch of shadows poured down the pipe above Bradley. Once the shadows cleared, Selim Bradley stood there, watching them impassively.

"Please look after them for now," Mustang asked as he carefully moved Hawkeye and Soren into Darius' arms. He didn't give the gorilla chimera the chance to say anything as he and Nala readied themselves for what they were about to do.

Nala and Mustang launched themselves at Bradley and Selim. Mustang was using his one good glove while Nala was bounding towards the Fuhrer, ready to tear the homunculous' throat out. Bradley dodged the wave of fire while Pride used his shadows to create a shield to stop the flames from reaching him. In a swift move that Bradley shouldn't have been able to pull off in the condition he was in, he dodged Nala's furious claws and teeth and landed a kick to Mustang's chest that sent the man skidding backwards several feet. Before Mustang could do anything, Bradley was on top of him.

Nala roared in rage and worry and raced for her human but a shadow from Pride sent her flying back to the group of chimeras and humans. Mustang's head and side exploded in sympathy pain as his lioness hit the ground hard. Before he could do anything, his left hand exploded in white-hot pain, followed shortly by his right hand. When he looked, Mustang saw that both his hands were pinned by the swords that had been wielded by Bradley. Blood pooled in his palms, running down his hands and soaking into his gloves.

"Colonel!" He heard Hawkeye shout but he couldn't do anything as he swallowed his screams of pain.

"Good job!" the gold-toothed doctor said as he got to his feet and eyed the pinned colonel. "Well done, Bradley. That's the kind of mad I brought you up to be," the man said with a smile. Before he could do or say anything further, Pride sent two shadows for him and wrapped them around the doctor, creating an almost cocoon to hold him in. He positioned the doctor above Mustang and the colonel watched as shadows protruded from the blackened bundle to connect to the shadows circling him that Mustang hadn't even noticed.

"Well, Colonel Mustang, it looks like you're our fifth," Pride said and Mustang felt his skin crawl at the unnatural voice emitted by the young boy.

"That's right," Bradley said, still on top of Mustang. "The last sacrifice."

Mustang felt shadows wrap around his wrists and Pride nodded to Bradley. "I have him secured, Wrath. Get out of the circle so I can use the good doctor to activate the array," Pride instructed. Mustang bit back the screams that bubbled in his throat as Bradley pulled the swords from where they pinned Mustang's hands and Bradley moved out of the circle. The moment he was clear, Pride did something and Mustang could feel the alchemic energy building up around him. "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this but there's no choice now. We're out of time."

"Whether you like it or not, Mustang, we're going to force you to open your portal," Bradley informed Mustang, face neutral as he watched the array being activated. "Prepare yourself."

"No," Mustang bit out, struggling against his bonds and the massive amount of alchemic energy he could feel trying to drown him. "I won't do it."

"As I said, you no longer have a choice in the matter," Bradley said. "I wonder what will be taken from you in exchange, Mustang."

" _Roy!"_  Mustang could hear his lioness scream and he glanced over in time to see Nala pull Bradley down by the back of his neck. Mustang felt a small amount of pleasure as Bradley's eye widened in surprise before the weight and momentum of the lioness pulled him back in a stumble.  _"Hang on, Roy!"_  Nala cried as she moved out of the way of the furious swipes of the swords but Mustang knew it was too late.

"I'm sorry, Nala," he whispered as he watched small black hands reach for his lioness before his vision went white. Hawkeye and Nala's screams of his name echoed in his mind as he lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting so close to the final chapter! Only three more updates to go! I would love to know everyone's opinions on this chapter please! See you next week!


	45. Chapter 45

" _Ah," Father said as he looked up at the swirling mass, "it would seem our fifth has joined us."_

Ed, Izumi, Calix, Ayala and Koda watched in apprehension as the swirling black and red mass seemed to pulse slightly. Ed barely registered what Father had said as he watched two figures fall from the mass and land in front of them. He immediately recognised the two figures and he rushed over to them before anyone could stop him.

"Colonel? Nala?" Ed called as he crouched in between his commanding officer and the lioness. Ayala, Izumi and Koda all stood near him, Izumi crouching to try and help rouse the two while the Animals stood guard. Calix remained near Al and Chester's unconscious forms, guarding them just in case.

"I've brought him to you, Father," an eerily familiar voice said and Ed looked up to see Pride standing next to Father. There was something about his appearance that seemed different but Ed didn't pay him anymore attention as he focused back on the two in front of him. "He's our fifth."

"What the hell did they do to you, Colonel?" Ed asked the unconscious man.

"I wish we could say that makes all five of the required sacrifices but Alphonse Elric has not arrived yet," Father said coolly as he looked at Al and Chester's unconscious forms. Koda moved to make sure she was in a position where she could rush to help Calix defend Al and Chester or move to protect Izumi and Ed in roughly the same time should anyone attack them.

"Colonel, you okay?" Ed asked, shaking the man's shoulder. "Nala? Say something, one of you!" Ed snapped as he shook both of them a little violently. His demands worked as Mustang blinked slowly.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang slurred as Ed helped him sit up. Beside them, Nala was slowly rousing. "Where are we?" Mustang asked and Ed huffed at the immediate interrogation.

"The bearded bastard's hideout," Ed said in response. "Now, what happened? What did they do to the two of you?" Ed asked and Mustang's eyes widened in concern. Ed thought there was something different about Mustang's eyes but he couldn't put his finger on it. Ayala, Calix and Koda were too busy keeping an eye on the homunculi and Izumi was helping Nala as the lioness struggled to regain consciousness.

"'The two of us'?" Mustang echoed and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, both you and Nala turned up out of nowhere so what happened?" Ed asked again.

Mustang's brow furrowed in thought as he tried to remember. "I was flung into a strange place," Mustang said slowly, "into a gateway of some sorts but I don't remember Nala being there," he told Ed.

"The portal?!" Ed gasped, looking over at Izumi. "That means something was taken from you!" Ed said, eyes frantically roaming over Mustang's body in search of any injury but he saw nothing. No missing limbs, no blood. Nothing. "But your arms and legs are still there and you aren't coughing up blood," Ed said, looking over to Nala. "Nala's in one piece too," he said, voice confused.

"I don't know how you expect to see my condition when it's this dark in here." Mustang's amused statement had Ed's heart drop as Ed realised just what had been taken from his commanding officer and why his eyes had looked different. Ed glanced over at Izumi, who shared a concerned and pitying look with him.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked as Nala finally got to her feet and shook off the cobwebs still in her mind. Ed's emotional turmoil only grew when Mustang's brow furrowed once more as his unfocused eyes roved aimlessly around the room he couldn't see.

"It's all dark. Pitch black," Mustang told him, using the tone of voice that told Ed Mustang thought he was being purposefully obtuse. "Where are the lights in this place?" Mustang asked as he got to his feet unsteadily. Nala was quick to stop him from walking anywhere, preventing him from tripping and hurting himself over things he couldn't see.

" _Roy, it's bright in here. I'm so sorry,"_  Nala said and Ed wondered dully if she meant for him to hear her.

"What do you mean, Nala?" Mustang asked and Ed closed his eyes as he heard the faint fearful tremor in Mustang's voice.

" _It took your sight,"_  Nala said. Mustang's hand immediately raised to his face and he almost poked himself in the eyes as he felt his face.

"I can't see?" Mustang asked, voice quiet and soft. Ed noticed his commanding officer's hands were bleeding and he moved to stand next to him.

"Ah so you can't see than," Pride said, sounding delighted about Mustang's situation and Nala growled at him. "Good. We've found your abilities to be quite problematic in the past," Pride said, unfazed by Nala. "You're by far the most troublesome of the State Alchemists we've dealt with. I think it's fair to say you had this coming," Pride said smugly and Ed flipped the homunculous off before he turned to stand in front of Mustang, facing the blind man.

"Give me your hand, Mustang," Ed said, tearing two strips from his battered black singlet. Mustang must've realised what Ed intended to do because he held one of them out. Another tearing noise sounded from Mustang's right and Ed saw Izumi doing the same with her white shirt. "Teacher's going to wrap your other hand," Ed told Mustang. The man nodded his acceptance and they both got to work. "How the hell did they convince you to perform human transmutation?" Ed asked as he wrapped one strip around Mustang's left hand. He didn't pay the two homunculi any mind, trusting the four conscious Animals to have their backs.

"They didn't," Mustang said stiffly. "I refused to willingly perform the transmutation," he said as Nala leaned her weight against Mustang's legs, though she continued glaring at both Pride and Father.

"That's true. He didn't," Pride piped up, a hint of annoyed exasperation in his voice. "We had to force him to open the portal. It all worked out in the end and now Mustang and his flame alchemy will present no more problems for us," Pride said, his voice smug and Ed had to settle for glaring at the homunculous rather than give into his urge to grind Pride's face into the stone floor they stood on.

Ed took in the homunculous' appearance while he glared at him and noticed that small flecks of his jaw seemed to fall off, like he was slowly shedding his container. There were no red sparks that indicated that the damage to his container was being healed and Ed wondered why briefly but he didn't focus on it for long as he puzzled over Pride's claims that  _Mustang_  had been the State Alchemist to cause them the most trouble when he would've thought that that title would've belonged to him. Not that he was trying gloat or anything but he had been the one to kill two of the homunculi and teach the array that helped him do so to the three sacrifices who hadn't helped him come up with it. It was almost like Pride had no idea what had happened to Envy and the large homunculous at Briggs and he likely didn't know what Izumi had done to Lust. Ed had always thought that Pride, being the eldest and most powerful homunculous – Father aside –, would've had some way to track his siblings but apparently he didn't.

"The truth can be such a cruel thing," Father crooned as he took in the four sacrifices and their Animals in front of him. "The two brothers who wanted nothing more than to feel their mother's warmth once more," Father said, eyes falling onto Ed and Al. Ed glared at him defiantly as he continued to wrap Mustang's hand. Ayala was snarling lightly at the homunculi as Father continued speaking. "Their attempt to bring the dead back to life cost one of them the leg he stood on as well as the only family he had left." Ed felt Mustang's hand twitch in his hold and Ed tightened his grip slightly to stop him moving. "The other," Father continued, "lost his entire body to have it replaced by a suit of armour that could feel nothing."

"The woman who sought to bring back her only baby was given a body that would never again bear children, alive  _or_  dead," Father said, eyes seeking Izumi. The woman did nothing more than clench her jaw as she wrapped Mustang's right hand tightly but Koda's rumbling growl could be heard reverberating throughout the room. "And then the man who looked to change his nation had his eyesight taken from him and now he can no longer see his future," Father said. Ed felt Mustang twitch again and this time, Ed wasn't the only one to tighten the hand holding his wrist steady in a show of support. "Humans who dare play god must pay a steep price for their arrogance. That is the way the universe, the way the natural order, the very thing you worship works. That is Truth!" Father proclaimed and Ed's infamously small amount of patience ran out as he secured the makeshift bandage.

"Alright, you can fuck right off with your bullshit!" Ed snapped, whirling around to face Father and Pride, glaring at them both. "Everything you just spewed out of your mouth was the biggest load of shit I've ever heard and considering the pathetic and obviously fake sob stories I've heard from criminals about why they decided to go on a crime spree, that's saying something," Ed said, chest heaving slightly.

"Fullmetal," Mustang murmured and Ed flapped a hand at him that he realised too late Mustang wouldn't be able to see.

"Shut it, Mustang," Ed ordered. He didn't have to look at Mustang to know the man had rolled his eyes as he focused back on the two homunculi. "It would be one thing if Mustang had performed the transmutation of his own volition but you bastards forced him to commit human transmutation in a desperate effort to keep your plans on track because you got scared that we'd win this battle and destroy any chance you had of sacrificing everyone for your own gain," Ed snarled. "You think what happened to Mustang is justified? Go fuck yourselves because that is a truth no one but some twisted fuck would accept!"

Just as Ed's last word finished reverberating around the room, the ceiling above Father and Pride caved in and large chunks of debris rained down on top of them. Ed crouched to protect Ayala and Nala from the danger while Koda shielded both Mustang and Izumi. Al's unconscious form provided enough protection from the debris for them not to worry about Chester but Ed still saw Calix standing over the leopard. A small pink and white form fell to the floor and quickly darted over to where they stood.

" _She got here quickly,"_  Ayala said, a little annoyed she hadn't been able to sense Mei's movements until the ceiling had cracked.

"Hey, Mei," Ed greeted, giving the Xingese princess a small smile. "Xao-Mei," Ed tacked on when he saw the midget panda.

"There he is," Mei growled, her eyes focused completely on Father. Ed felt a small spike of fear at how dangerous she looked and he found himself glad that he wasn't on her bad side.

"And now my lovely home has a gaping hole in it," Father said morosely as he looked up at the damage before he focused his attention on Mei. "How dare you, girl?" Father growled as Pride glared at Mei, more of his form flaking away.

"He's definitely the one behind all of this," Mei said and it took Ed a moment to realise she was talking to the panda on her shoulder. Mei looked around and spotted Al's unconscious form. "Oh, Alphonse! What happened to you?" Mei cried, face crumpling as she rushed to his side.

"I don't know but I can't get him or Chester to wake up," Ed told the young girl as he joined her. Izumi led Mustang over to the others, whispering small instructions on where to place his feet as they headed for them. Calix moved out of the Xingese princess's way as she knelt next to Al.

"Oh no!" Mei gasped. "Please wake up, Alphonse! You have to!" Mei begged and, to Ed, Izumi and their Animal's surprise, Al did just that.

"Al! Al, are you okay?" Ed asked as his brother sat straight up. At his side, Chester started regaining consciousness at a much quicker rate than Nala had.

"Alphonse!" Mei called when Al didn't answer Ed right away.

"Al!" Izumi snapped in the same tone she used whenever she was displeased with either brother and that seemed to work as Al's eyes brightened slightly.

"Teacher, Brother, Mei," Al murmured as he struggled to take in what was happening. "Then we're –" Al cut himself off with a small gasp as he took in Pride and Father. Chester was on his feet and rubbing up against Ed in an assurance that he was alright before he took up a protective stance next to Al.

"And now all five are here," Father said, sounding immensely satisfied.

"Colonel Mustang?" Al said, having just noticed the man and sounding immensely confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Pride and Wrath forced me to commit the taboo so I would be the fifth sacrifice," Mustang ground out. "I've lost my eyesight as a result." Al's appalled gasp had Mustang grimace slightly.

"So you mean to tell me you reject the truth?" Father asked and it took Ed a moment to realise that Father was talking to him as though nothing had happened between Ed's rant and this moment.

"No," Ed snapped. "I reject  _your_  twisted version of the truth," Ed corrected as he stood once more, taking up position between Ayala and Chester. "And don't you go thinking you've won just because you got us all here. We aren't just gonna sit by and let you sacrifice us," Ed informed him. There was a clanking noise behind him as Al climbed to his feet to stand at his brother's side. Mei stood next to Alphonse and Ed could feel Izumi and Mustang behind him while Koda towered over all of them. Nala stepped forward so she was next to Ayala but so her tail stayed wrapped around Mustang's leg as a comforting touch. Ed felt something brush against his flesh arm and a quick glance showed him Calix standing next Nala, a defiant look in his brown eyes. All of them had a determined look on their face that seemed to amuse Father and Pride both.

"Your words will do nothing to alter your fates," Father told them and Ed scoffed, making sure the homunculi heard him.

"Let's get out of here," Ed heard Izumi whisper to Mustang. "Can you walk?"

"No, none of you will be leaving here now," Father said, stopping Izumi and Mustang in their tracks. "I won't allow any of you to leave. Not when the eclipse is almost upon us."

Mei moved so she was separate from the group but standing square with Father. She had kunai in both her hands and she took up a fighting stance. "Mei!" Al called as he watched the young princess face Father with a determined look.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked, a little taken aback at what Mei was doing.

"I've come a long way to talk to him," Mei said, nodding to Father. "I've been told you're immortal," Mei said but Father stayed silent, watching Mei with the bored look one would adopt when they heard someone tell the same story for the hundredth time. "So you're not denying it? That's all I need," Mei said, looking over at Al. "I'll handle this one, Alphonse."

"What?" Al asked incredulously. "Not on your own! He's too powerful!" Al protested and for some reason Ed elected to refuse to find out, Mei gave him a soft, delighted smile.

"It's fine!" she assured him. "He can't control my alkahestry," she reminded him.

"Even if he binds our alchemy, you shouldn't fight him on your own," Al said. "We can help!"

"I'll be alright," Mei said firmly. "Just keep the little one out of my way," Mei ordered and Ed scoffed.

"She says that like he's the easier of the two to fight!" Ed complained, making Ayala and Chester nod in disbelieving agreement while Mei engaged Father in the fight she wanted. "Although," Ed said as he watched more of Pride's container disintegrate, "something seems to be happening to him," Ed said. "Why wouldn't Pride have saved everyone the trouble and strongarmed people into committing the transmutation so they didn't have to worry about us dying or disappearing on them?" Ed asked out loud and Mustang cleared his throat. The noise was barely audible as a small explosion happened off to the side and Mei shouted a war cry as she sent some spikes for Father.

"Just before I was deconstructed," Mustang said, grimacing at the memory, "Pride said it was their last resort and that they didn't have any choice," Mustang told him and Ed's eyes widened in understanding.

"Which can only mean it carries some sort of risk for them," Ed said, glancing over at Pride and watching a few more flakes fall away from his form. Off to the side, Father threw an oversized kunai at Mei, causing the young girl to tumble out of the way. Al fidgeted off to Ed's right as he watched the fight but Ed couldn't find it in himself to snap at his younger brother. At the same time, he couldn't order Al to go and help Mei like he obviously wanted to since Mei had specifically told them to let her handle the fight.

"Most likely," Mustang agreed.

"Mustang, see if you can still sight-share with Nala," Ed said, causing almost everyone to jolt with the change of subject. "If you can, you might as well make yourself useful and see if you can transmute like Teacher, Al and I can," Ed said before Mustang could question him. Izumi glared at Ed for his comment but gave a small start when Mustang did nothing more than roll his eyes and go silent.

When Mustang and Nala opened their eyes, both had the familiar ring of blue around their eyes. Mustang blinked a couple of times while Nala flicked her eyes around the room, giving Mustang the chance to see everything there was. "It worked," Mustang said before Ed could ask and the blonde gave a small sigh of relief.

"You and Teacher should hang back here and provide long-distance attacks while Al, Ayala, Chester and I keep Pride distracted from you. Calix, you help Mei if she needs it," Ed instructed, explaining his reasoning before either adult could raise a fuss. Once he received a nod from the five that would remain behind, Ed, Al and their Animals all looked at each other before they headed for Pride. Ed stooped as he ran, clapping as he did so, and sent a stone hand straight for Pride, intending to squish the homunculous. "Well look at that! We can use our alchemy!" Ed exclaimed, a vicious grin on his face that disappeared as Pride ran from the stone hand.

"He ran!" Al gasped as he watched Pride evade the hand. "He didn't even try and use his shadows."

"That's a good sign," Ed pointed out as he and Al continued sending alchemic attacks at the homunculous. Both Ayala and Chester were up close to Pride, using their teeth and claws to try and inflict whatever damage they could. Pride was doing an admittedly good job at evading their attacks.

Ed and Al kept their ears open for the sounds of the other fight going on, just in case they needed to involve themselves if Mei got into too much trouble and Calix's help wasn't enough. As Ed sent spikes racing for Pride, he heard Father reprimand Mei for causing more damage to his home. Mei's response was drowned out by Pride using his shadows for the first time to knock Al aside, making his armour clank loudly. When Ed was pushed aside by Ayala so the shadows wouldn't hit him, Ed saw Mei racing towards a seemingly trapped Father. Movement near Father's stomach had Hohenheim's head appear as he shouted a warning to Mei that Father wasn't trapped.

"Mei!" Al shouted in a panic as he watched Mei get thrown back by Father and slam harshly into the ground. Calix was already heading for the downed princess when Ed cursed.

"Dammit," Ed swore as he used his right arm to deflect a shadow. "Al, get over there and help her!" Ed ordered as he slammed his hands into a chunk of debris and created half a dozen throwing knives that he then threw methodically at Pride.

"What about Pride?" Al asked, torn between staying to help his brother or doing as Ed said and leaving to help Mei.

"Don't you worry about him," Ed grunted as he was pushed back by a shadow he barely managed to raise his arm in time to block. "The Animals and I can handle him on our own," Ed assured him.

" _Alphonse, just go!"_  Chester snapped, sensing Al was still fighting with himself and finally, Al nodded.

"Don't get yourselves killed," Al said before he turned and raced across the room to get to Mei's side while Ed, Chester and Ayala continued fighting against Pride.

* * *

Al watched as Mei struggled to sketch her array and place the five kunai around the circle before blue energy flashed around her while Calix stood guard. He was relieved to see that she looked a lot better once the energy dissipated and spared a moment to appreciate just how good it was that she could use the array on herself. Mei didn't look like she'd noticed him yet but Xao-Mei did, if the little wave the panda sent his way was any indication.

"Young lady! Calix!" Al heard his father's earning shout and looked over at Father in time to see him pointing a gun he'd created at Mei.

"I would rather you not keep squirming about, Hohenheim," Father chided as he forced Hohenheim back into himself. He cocked the weapon and moved his finger to the trigger.

"No!" Al shouted just as he reached Mei and Calix. In that moment, Father fired the gun but Al had manoeuvred himself so the back of his armour took the brunt of the shot.

"Alphonse!" Mei gasped in shock as she took in the hulking figure standing in front of her, covering both her and Calix.

"I'm alright," Al assured the young girl before he turned to face Father. "Calix, go back and help guard Teacher and Colonel Mustang please," Al instructed. The horse hesitated before nodding and heading back for the others. "Well, dad, sorry if this hurts you!" Al shouted as he clapped his hands and sent several pillars of stone heading for Father, only for the homunculous to block the attack with ease. A stone spear the size of Father suddenly flew past Al's head only to be stopped by Father. Al looked over to find Izumi standing near Mustang, Nala, Koda and Calix with a massive stone crossbow transmuted in front of her.

"His hands-free alchemy doesn't make for a very fair fight!" Izumi exclaimed as she loaded another spear and launched it at Father.

The homunculous destroyed the spear with a flick of his wrist before he looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. Al got the feeling that he wasn't actually looking at something in it but rather at something only he could see or sense. "It appears that the time is upon us," Father said just as Greed dropped down from the ceiling and Ed turned to face Al, grinning victoriously.

* * *

Ed didn't watch as his brother left to give aid to the Xingese princess. He wasn't even surprised when Chester stuck with him rather than go and help Al. Out of the two brothers, only one of them wasn't able to get hurt and Ed wasn't that brother. He wouldn't have been surprised if Chester and Al had come to some sort of agreement at some time in the past that Chester was to help Ed over Al if it came down to it. Ed deflected some shadows that Pride had sent towards Chester while Ayala launched herself at the homunculous' throat, forcing him to move away if he wanted to avoid the wolf's teeth.

"What's the matter, Pride?" Ed asked sardonically. "Your attacks are a little more half-arsed than usual," Ed sneered as he threw a transmuted knife at the homunculous.

"Try not to get too confident," Pride said as he knocked the dagger out of the air before it made contact. "You haven't served your purpose yet so I can't –" Pride said but was cut off by Ed.

"So you can't kill me," Ed finished for him, sounding bored as he repeated the words before creating a stone springboard for Chester to use as the leopard leapt from his side to attack Pride. Ed watched as Pride dodged the leopard only to accidentally walk into Ayala's waiting strike. Pride snarled at her but the shadow he sent in retribution was deflected by another throwing knife from Ed. The wound Ayala inflicted didn't heal, rather it flaked away, leaving three black gashes in Pride's leg. "That means I've still got time to beat you then!" Ed said, deflecting another shadow with his arm before he was forced backwards by Ayala tugging on his jacket. The moment Ayala pulled him back, a large stone spike appeared between Ed and Pride. A glance proved it had been Mustang who sent it but Ed wasted no time yelling at the man for nearly killing him. Ayala hadn't even let go of his jacket when Ed clapped and slammed his hands into the spike, sending dozens of smaller ones straight for Pride.

"Really? Is that your plan?" Pride sneered as he dodged the spikes and rounded what was left of the one Mustang had sent. "Your stature has always led you to prove your worth by always fighting those who are larger than you but that means you don't have any experience fighting those smaller than you!" Pride exclaimed and Ed found himself pushing Ayala out of the way as Pride sent a wave of shadows at Ed, using them to mimic the earthen dome Hohenheim had trapped Pride in the night before.

" _Ed!"_ Ayala and Chester shouted as they felt sympathy pain flare in several spots on their bodies. However, Ed wasn't as trapped as Pride had thought he was and the furious blonde leapt from the top of the shadow dome.

"You little fucker!" Ed snarled as he used his blade to strike out at Pride, who reeled back in shock. "You overlooked the simple fact that since I've always been on the shorter side and I did the fighting, I know exactly how a runt like you would try to win!" Ed informed him, grabbing the homunculous by the shoulders and headbutting him hard.

Pride let out a yelp as his container disintegrated even more and Ed reared back when he looked down at the homunculous and saw only half of his face. Pride immediately manipulated his shadows to create his missing eyes and hold his container together while he sent another shadow to try and take down Ed but the blonde used his right arm to deflect it once more, as though it was nothing more than an irritating fly.

"You know," Ed said as he transmuted a spear and used it to knock aside more shadows, "I was a little confused when you told Mustang that  _he_  was the most problematic State Alchemist for you guys," Ed said casually. "I was confused because I truly thought that I would've been the one you guys would've been keeping a wearier eye on."

Pride scoffed as he slashed the spear in half. "Arrogant human, aren't you?" he spat but Ed shrugged his shoulders.

"Probably," Ed agreed as he and Ayala helped provide Chester some cover so the leopard could ambush Pride from behind, "however it did get me thinking  _why_  I wasn't the one who caused you the most problems and I came to the realisation that none of you had any clue as to what I've done to your fellow homunculi," Ed said and that caused Pride to freeze for a moment as he narrowed his eyes. The momentary halt didn't mean Chester's attack wasn't dodged though and Ed felt the leopard's annoyance as Pride sidestepped him.

"What are you prattling on about? You haven't done anything to us, you pitiful human!" Pride snapped, lashing out with his shadows but Ed saw the concern in Pride's eyes. He doubted the concern was for his siblings but rather it was for what Ed was going to say.

"That's where you're wrong," Ed informed the homunculous. "Philosopher's Stones can be created by alchemy and as it turns out," Ed said, throwing another knife, "they can be destroyed with it as well," Ed told him.

Pride swatted the knife away. "That's not true. There's no such array," Pride spat as Chester managed to get a swipe in and gouged out more of Pride's leg.

"Up until a few weeks after Envy and Lust attacked Ches and I in the Fifth Laboratory, you would've been correct," Ed said with a nod and another spear thrown at Pride. "Like I told Envy before I destroyed him, I really do have you guys to thank for it. After all, if they hadn't attacked me and Envy hadn't caused me to end up in the hospital for weeks with nothing to do, I might not have decided to try and reverse engineer Doctor Marcoh's array with Al's help," Ed said. As he spoke, Ed was throwing knife after knife, taking steps towards the homunculous as he launched each weapon.

"But Envy –" Pride said as he used shadow after shadow to dodge the knives.

"Envy revealed what you were and he was the first homunculous I used our array on," Ed told him. "It was a complete success," Ed said coldly. "I then shared that array and the fact it works against stones and homunculi with Al, Teacher, Mustang and every other alchemist I could think of who I trusted," Ed informed the homunculous. "I even told General Armstrong about it during my first trip north and it turned out to be a good thing I did because she requested I dispose of the massive homunculous who'd dug his way into her base. I complied," Ed said.

"Kimblee said Sloth escaped," Pride said, eyes widening as he realised Kimblee had been either lying or misinformed. "I couldn't sense him in the tunnels anymore. Kimblee said he'd find out why."

"I destroyed him," Ed told Pride with no remorse. "I'm a little more surprised you never sensed Lust being destroyed by Teacher, if I'm being honest. After all, the two of you were in the same building at the time. I'd have thought you would've sensed that," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder as Ayala and Chester kept Pride from lashing out at him while Ed continued his approach.

"Lust?" Pride repeated, sounding almost dazed, and Ed nodded.

"Like I said earlier, we won't just let you or your Father try and kill us for your gain without fighting back," Ed said, clapping his hands together as he envisioned his stone destroying array. Pride's eyes opened in genuine fear and Ed was a little taken aback to see that expression on the homunculous' face. Before Pride could do anything, Ed closed the distance between them and placed his hands on Pride's shoulders.

Pride's eyes widened further as he felt the transmutation take effect. "How is this possible? There was no way we could be beaten by humans," Pride whispered as shock overtook him while his stone was slowly destroyed.

"This was always going to happen," Ed informed him and Pride's one human eye looked up at Ed. "You were always going to lose the moment you chose the five of us as sacrifices. You were just too egotistical to see it coming." With those final words, Pride disintegrated completely and Ed shuddered as he felt the few souls remaining in his stone thank him just as the others had done before they disappeared.

* * *

Ed had just turned to find Al and give him a triumphant smile, noting Greed's appearance next to his brother with slight confusion when Father spoke. "It appears that the time is upon us," Father said but before Ed could say anything, black shadows – not unlike Pride's – shot out from Father's body and wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms to his side, causing him to shout in shock and fear.

" _Ed!"_  Ayala shouted as she leapt to try and destroy his bindings only to watch as her human was dragged away from her before she could touch them. Both she and Chester raced after him and they watched in horror as the same thing happened to Mustang, Izumi and Al.

"Ed!" Greed shouted as the blonde was dragged past him and Ayala was certain she heard Ed call for him as he was forced towards Father.

Calix, Koda and Nala were soon level with Chester and Ayala as they all tried to reach their human while Father continued pulling them with him as he walked towards his destroyed throne. Ayala almost skidded to a stop in shock when Hohenheim appeared from Father as the homunculous continued walking. Like Ed, all four of the other sacrifices were bound tightly with Father's shadows as they were forced to kneel in front of Father as he sat.

"Oh no, we can't have the five of you try and free my sacrifices. Not when we're just about to finally see the fruits of my labour," Father said, raising a hand and Ayala felt herself being grabbed by a shadow and holding her in place, no matter how hard she struggled.

"Ayala!" Ed shouted, renewing his struggled against his own binds as he tried to free himself to come to his wolf's aid. He barely heard or saw the others shouting and doing the same thing.

Father sighed before doing something to the shadows holding them and Ed couldn't stop the yelp of pain from sounding as the shadows tightened harshly around him. "I'm done indulging your frivolity," Father said sternly. Ed watched as Mei went to dart forward to help but a look from the blonde to Greed had the homunculous stop the princess. "It's time to put you to work, my sacrifices," Father said with relish and somehow, Ed knew the eclipse was starting in that moment.

"This planet of ours," Father said as he grinned while they continued to struggle as much as they could, "have you ever considered the possibility that it might, in fact, be a life form of its own?" Father asked and Ed felt his eyes widen slightly. He noticed Hohenheim's doing the same thing. "Actually, it might be more accurate to refer to it as a vast nervous system. One that's retained its every memory since its inception and has witnessed the universe unfold," Father said, continuing his monologue as though he wasn't holding ten people and Animals against their will or about to destroy a country full of people and Animals. "Just think of the massive quantity of information that such a system would hold," Father said, a touch of wistfulness in his voice. "An even better question is how much power could one gain if the opened that system's gateway? Have you ever considered that? Think about it," Father said, looking at all of them as the horror of what Father was saying sank into all of them. "Now that I have you all gathered; I shall use you as sacrifices to open the planet's gateway!" Father declared and Ed felt massive power pulse through him as though a big wave rolled over him.

"That's a pretty good plan, pops!" Greed said from behind the seated homunculous and Ed gasped, having not noticed the homunculous even move. "Hope you don't mind me using it for myself!" Greed said as he literally tore Father in half. Ed felt the shadows gripping him tightly grow lax and felt a small flame of hope ignite in his chest.

"He got him," Ed sighed in relief. A look around at the others told him they clearly thought the same thing, the only exceptions were Hohenheim and Calix but Ed paid them no mind as he shoved the limp shadows away from him, ready to get to Ayala's side and make sure she was alright.

"I figured you would try to attack me," Father's voice sounded from the goop Greed had rendered him to and Ed shouted in pain as the shadows he'd almost escaped from wrapped back around him viciously. His pained shout mingled with the various noises the others made as Father tightened his grip on them as well. "It would seem that you have forgotten that you were born from my extracted avarice. Anything you might happen to desire, I can assure you that I desired it first," Father informed Greed, getting to his feet before he grabbed the homunculous by the throat and threw him into the wall beyond where the sacrifices knelt. Ed couldn't see Mei but he hoped the little princess had done the right thing and hid herself somewhere.

Hohenheim forced himself onto his side and pressed a palm against the floor, sending a wave of spikes towards Father but they never reached him. Rather, they struck some kind of shield and crumbled into tiny pieces. Father didn't seem to notice them as he took a seat on his throne once more. "The very centre of this world is right here!" Father shouted in glee as he slammed his fist onto an array Ed hadn't noticed thanks to all his struggling. The array glowed blue with alchemic energy and Ed couldn't stop himself from struggling harder as fear filled him.

"You evil bastard!" Hohenheim shouted the slur as the five sacrifices felt their portals being opened once more.

Ed looked down at his stomach and saw the all-too familiar eye blinking open as Father forced their portals to show themselves. Ed let out a pained cry as his gateway opened against his will. The others were in the same situation as him and he couldn't stop the feeling that this was it. They'd lost the fight and Amestris was going to be decimated as a result. He'd never see Granny, Den, Winry, Michella, the Hughes' or any of the other people and Animals he'd come to call friends and family again and it would be because he hadn't been able to stop Father.

Black liquid poured into the room, swallowing them all as it rose through the room and started swamping everything and everyone in its path as it flooded Central at first then Amestris as a whole. The liquid eventually released Ed, the other sacrifices and their Animals but Ed still felt its suffocating grip on him as he fought to stop Father from draining his gateway. "Fight for me!" Ed heard Father shout as blackness rapidly encroached Ed's vision. He saw Al slump where he sat, followed shortly by Mustang then Izumi. "Share your energy!" Ed watched as the Animals grew still where they lay and the momentary panic that they were dead Ed felt was enough of a distraction from his internal fight to stop Father for the homunculous to pull more energy from him. It was too much energy drained too quickly and blackness overtook his vision entirely as Ed lost consciousness.

* * *

"Is everyone alright? What happened?" The first thing Ed heard was Mustang's worried voice as he slowly returned to consciousness. He forced his eyes open and realised he was laying on his side on the ground with Ayala standing over him. It wasn't until he'd sat up and done an internal check of himself to figure out any injuries he might have acquired that a sudden, overwhelming sense of loss hit him hard.

"Brother?" Ed heard Al's voice but it sounded like his little brother was under water. "Ed! What's wrong?" Al cried as he rushed to his brother's side as he realised the elder of the two was close to hyperventilating.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, looking blindly around before Nala offered to resume the sight-share that had been stopped when Father had first grabbed Mustang. When Mustang was connected to Nala's vision, he saw Ed kneeling on the ground, chest heaving as he struggled to draw in a breath. Izumi and Hohenheim beat Mustang to the blonde's side, joining Al, Chester and the other Animals – Nala being the only exception since she was acting as Mustang's eyes and needed to walk at Mustang's pace so he could avoid any obstacles.

"Ed, what's happening?" Izumi asked, voice a lot softer than Al was used to. She was rubbing the blonde's back soothingly as she tried to help him quell his growing panic. Izumi and Hohenheim shared a look and the raven-haired woman suddenly got the feeling that Hohenheim knew exactly what was happening to her student.

Before Izumi could try and beat the answers out of Hohenheim, Ed spoke. "I can't feel them," he nearly sobbed and Mustang felt his heart clench at the sight of tears slowly rolling down Ed's face. "The Animals. I can't feel any of the ones outside this room," Ed clarified with another sob. "Leo, Lilith, Soren, Suna, Michella, Den. I can feel where their bonds with me are supposed to be but they're like empty voids! I can't feel any of them anymore!" Everyone's breaths hitched as they realised what Ed was saying. "They're all gone!" Ed gasped.

Izumi was the quickest to react and she grabbed Ed and held him close, tucking his head under her chin as she hugged him tightly. Mustang watched as Ed's hands grabbed at her shirt the way a small child would grab their mother. Tears rolled silently down Izumi's face as she held onto Ed while Al placed one metal hand on his brother's back in a show of comfort. Chester, Ayala and Koda forced themselves into the group hug as they tried their best to comfort Ed as best as they could while they came to terms with the fact that everyone they knew outside of this room were lying somewhere in Amestris dead. Nala didn't wait for Mustang's permission as she shoved herself in between Ayala and Chester so she could nuzzle Ed's face. Only Hohenheim, Calix and Mustang remained standing awkwardly around the group, unsure of whether their attempts to calm the blonde would be welcome or not. Calix noticed the young Xingese princess who had valiantly fought against Homunculous and one of the two remaining homunculi children created by Homunculous approach the group in an almost cautious manner.

Hohenheim finally moved after a few moments and crouched in front of Ed, carefully pushing the three Animals in front of the blonde out of his way. Once he could see Ed's face, Hohenheim pressed a hand against his cheek, causing Ed to open one golden eye to see who was touching him. "Remember the plan, Ed," Hohenheim said softly to the blonde. "They aren't gone for good. They'll be back soon," he promised his son, heart wrenching as he took in the vulnerability Ed was unable to hide from them all.

"Dad's right, Ed," Al said just as softly. "We'll get them back and you can take your anger and grief out on that bastard who caused this to happen," Al said.

Mustang watched through Nala's eyes, relieved as the familiar spark slowly returned to Ed's eyes; the one that told everyone he wasn't about to give up and that he would win no matter what it took. "You're right," Ed finally said, sniffling slightly. "We'll get them back. All of them and then that bearded bastard is going to learn exactly why you should never piss off an Elric," Ed growled, scrubbing his face with his left hand, swiping away any tears that lingered.

"Or a Curtis," Izumi said as she stood tall, Koda standing behind her.

"Or a Mustang." Ed's eyes snapped over to his commanding officer, noting the blue rings around his clouded eyes, then down to the hand bound with black strips of his shirt that the man had extended for him.

Instead of the embarrassment and shame he expected to feel after finding out he'd cried in front of Mustang, Ed felt relief at seeing the man standing there. Whether it was because he knew Mustang was an alchemist powerful enough to be on his level or because he was grateful that the man was still willing to fight beside them, Ed didn't know, but Ed grabbed the man's offered hand and allowed him to pull the blonde to his feet. Ed was sure he didn't imagine the comforting squeeze Mustang gave his left hand before he released it.

"You have done well, my faithful sacrifices." The sound of Father's voice had everyone looking over at the throne the homunculous had sat on before they'd all lost consciousness.

Ed wasn't the only one to reel backwards when instead of being greeted by the monster they'd fought against not even half an hour before or even the washed-out version of Hohenheim Father had looked like when Ed and Al first met him, they saw a much younger version of Hohenheim sitting on the stone throne. He looked around 20, if Ed had to guess, and his skin, eyes and hair were as vibrant as Hohenheim and Ed's own. He slouched in the throne, sitting with his head resting on his left hand while his left elbow rested on the arm of the throne. He was dressed only in a white cloth that wrapped around his waist, secured tightly on his left hip.

"You mean you actually did it?" Hohenheim asked, acting as though nothing had happened with Ed earlier. It didn't pass any of them that Hohenheim had moved slightly in front of both his sons, as though protecting them from something.

"Yes," Father said simply. "I have done what I set out to do and acquired god."

"'Acquired god'?" Ed repeated scornfully. "That isn't possible!"

"Unfortunately," Hohenheim was the one to answer, glancing over his shoulder to look at his oldest son, "it is with a great enough amount of energy," he told him.

"Wait, what energy?" Ed asked, brows furrowing in confusion before his face went slack as he realised what Hohenheim was referring to. "You mean a Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked, fingers reaching for Ayala as he sought some sort of warmth. Ayala readily provided it.

"No, it can't be!" Al protested. "Does that mean everyone was turned into a Philosopher's Stone?" Al asked. Ed was quick to offer what comfort he could to his brother but he didn't know what good it was doing considering he was feeling the exact same amount of horror and refusal to believe what the two near-immortals were saying. Both Chester and Ayala were huddled up against the two brothers, their own grief evident through their bonds.

"How many people were sacrificed for this?" Mei asked, her voice small as she approached Al. Xao-Mei was sitting subdued on her shoulder, looking just as despondent as her owner. Al placed a comforting metal gauntlet on her other shoulder.

"Amestris is a large country," Mustang said, voice flat and emotionless. "At least 50 million people and probably 20 to 30 million Animals total," Mustang told them.

"You fucking bastard!" Ed snarled, unable to stop himself from clapping, ready to launch an attack but Father tapped one finger of his right hand and they were all hit with a white wave. Ed immediately felt something he'd only ever felt once before but he still slammed his hands to the ground, hoping he was wrong. "Damn you!" Ed snarled when nothing happened.

"Your alchemy won't do you any good here," Father informed them, a bored look on his face. "Farewell, sacrifices," he said, raising his right hand, palm facing the roof. A tiny orange speck glowed just above his palm before it rapidly grew until it was roughly the size of a large apple. It glowed a molten orange and Ed could feel the heat radiating off of it as he stood straight once more.

"What are you-? What is that?" Hohenheim asked, eyeing the glowing, rotating ball apprehensively.

"The power of god is at my control," Father informed him. "With that, I can do anything. For instance," Father said, nodding to the creation in his hand, "I can create a sun right in the palm of my hand. Shall I turn its flame loose in here? What do you think?" Father asked malevolently, making the miniature sun spin a little faster in his hand. Suddenly, Father's eyes widened as a pulse radiated from him.

"Your plan of inviting god to this world was a flawed one," Hohenheim informed Father in the same tone of voice a teacher would use on a student who had failed an assignment. "We've been plotting against you since the moment you set it in motion," Hohenheim revealed as another pulse went through Father. "Over the many long years that have kept me and Calix from our family, my sons and wife, I have performed calculation after careful calculation," Hohenheim told him. "I've arranged my own Philosopher's Stone, the friends who have resided in me for so long, in preparation for this very day!" As Hohenheim finished speaking, yet another pulse rolled through Father.

"So you've planted your own Philosopher's Stone," Father sneered as he struggled to control the small sun. "They're merely points. They will not activate without a circle. It's one of the most basic rules of alchemy!" Father said smugly

"Oh but we  _do_  have a circle," Hohenheim informed him, causing Father's smug expression to falter. "It's one of enormous power and it can be self-activated even if something should happen to incapacitate me!" Hohenheim said with a victorious grin as he felt the souls he'd drawn out of his stone to place around Amestris tell him they were moments away from being used. "The moon's shadow cast upon this world by the eclipse is my circle!" Hohenheim revealed as the souls of his friends long since gone shouted in joy at the prospect of being able to save another country from going through what they had as the moon's shadow reached all of them.

"Even now you think you can still stop me! You're a fool, Hohenheim!" Father shouted as the reverse array Hohenheim had put in place started activating across the country.

"That's the very reason I came back!" Hohenheim shouted back at him. "It's time you remember your place, Dwarf in the Flask!"

Father shouted as the sun in his hand extinguished without his say so. The shout increased in volume as he was forced to his knees, mouth opening impossibly wide as hundreds upon thousands of souls rushed out of his mouth to find their physical bodies. Ed and the others watched in stunned fascination as the souls left through the hole Mei had created. Ed gasped as he felt his bond with Soren ignite, followed by Leo, Mark, Suna, Rachel, all the Animals he was bonded to until he could feel them all once again.

"They're all back. All the Animals," Ed said, laughing joyously as he felt all his bonds repair. "It worked," he said, looking at everyone, eyes sparkling with undiluted joy. "Suna, Soren; I can feel everyone again." Izumi let out a sigh of relief, as did Mustang.

"Yes, it did," Hohenheim said, a pleased tone in his voice as he looked at Ed. "The people and Animals of Amestris have had their souls returned to their own bodies and with nothing more than the souls of the Xerxians he already had, I doubt he could continue to control that which he calls god," Hohenheim said, looking at Father with contempt in his eyes.

"I can always create another stone!" Father shrieked, looking and sounding unhinged. "I am not through! There are more! A billion humans I can draw energy from!" Father screeched, spit flying from his lips as his eyes bulged madly.

The homunculous created a purple ball of energy that he threw at the group but Hohenheim stepped in front of them and deflected it upwards, sending it through the hole Mei had created in the ceiling. Ed could hear dull crashes that grew more distant as the attack continued through the floors of Central Command. Another purple ball of energy was sent towards them but this time, it was stopped by a blue energy shield.

"Mei!" Al gasped as he took in the sight of the Xingese princess crouching in the middle of the group. Somehow, she's managed to create an array and throw her kunai into the points without any of them noticing her.

"Detecting and using the power that flows within the ground is what alkahestrists do!" Mei told him as she kept the shield raised while Father continued pouring power into his attack. "What's more, the greater the power the other side has, the greater the power that I can use becomes!" Mei said with a grin before she noticed movement. "Look out! Behind you!" Mei yelled out Hohenheim, who turned immediately on his heels and threw up a shield of his own to bolster Mei's just as Father tried using another attack to get to them.

"I don't have what it takes to fight his energy for long!" Hohenheim warned as Father pushed against their shields.

"Fight as hard as you can, sir!" Mei yelled encouragingly. "I can't hold on much longer!" she shouted as one of her kunai started wobbling on its point as the energy became more than it could bear.

"It's no use!" Hohenheim shouted, finding himself sliding backwards on the stone only to be held in place by his sons and Animal.

"Come on, dad!" Al shouted as he used his shoulder to hold Hohenheim in place. "Hang on!"

"Just stay focused, for fuck's sake!" Ed snarled at him as he took in the situation with squinted eyes. "Chester, keep that kunai in place!" Ed ordered the leopard, nodding to the kunai closest to him. "Ayala, Nala, Koda, get ready in case the others start moving!" Ed watched as the Animals did as they were told. Chester used both his paws to hold the kunai as best he could but it was obvious the leopard was struggling with it.

"I can only do so much, boys," Hohenheim told them softly as Calix pushed against the centre of his shoulder blades. "I'm just a decrepit old man but I'll give it everything these old bones can do!" Hohenheim said, almost shouting in his determination to keep his boys safe as he pushed back against Father.

"If this doesn't end soon, dad's Philosopher's Stone will burn out!" Al hissed to Ed in warning and Ed snarled.

"You done yet, Scar?!" Ed shouted, looking up through the hole Mei had created, hoping against hope the Ishvalen above them could hear him and would get a move on.

* * *

Ed wasn't sure whether or not he was imagining it but after a few moments of shouting at Scar on the off chance the Ishvalen could hear him, Ed felt like his alchemy was growing more powerful. Like it had been dammed up inside of him and something had broken through one of the dam walls, releasing all the pent-up energy. The amount of unrealised power he could feel almost overwhelmed him and he struggled to adjust to it. From the gasps behind him, he knew Mustang, Al and Izumi could feel the same thing. The fact that their alchemy now felt unhindered could only mean one thing.

"It's coming!" Hohenheim's shouted warning barely came before the full extent of Scar's brother's array was felt.

Giving a shout as the rush of just how much alchemic energy was at his fingertips, Ed clapped his hands together and send dozens of spikes over Hohenheim's form and piercing into the ground as he chased Father through the room with them. Though he didn't get the homunculous, Ed did cause plenty of destruction to the room, including the throne upon which Father once sat. "How do you like that?" Ed snarled as both Mei and Hohenheim stopped powering the shield. "Your little throne has been reduced to rubble and I think it's just about damned time the same thing happened to you!" Ed declared as he and Al ran forward to keep launching attacks at Father.

Izumi, Ayala, Chester and Koda didn't hesitate to follow the boys but Nala elected to stay close to Mustang since she was still his eyes. Mustang didn't bother encouraging her to join the fight, even though he knew she wanted to help protect the blonde who was now using cannons he'd transmuted to send cannonballs straight for Father. His lioness' confidence had been shaken when she'd first linked vision with him after his sight had been stolen and had followed Ed's suggestion to use their linked vision so Mustang could send attacks of his own. Their one and only attempt had nearly skewered the blonde because Nala had chosen the wrong moment to focus of Ed.

It had been an accident and Mustang wasn't entirely sure Ed had even noticed what had nearly happened since the blonde had simply used the spike Mustang had created to try and skewer Pride but Nala had been beside herself, berating herself for being so stupid and nearly hurting Ed. Mustang hadn't been able to convince her that she wasn't at fault and he knew that the lioness would need to hear that she was forgiven from Ed before she could try and forgive herself. Since that had happened though, Mustang had been unable to convince Nala to try again while Pride was still alive and he knew he wouldn't be able to do so right now so they were stuck on the sidelines with Greed, Hohenheim, Calix and Mei.

"Is it really true?" Mei asked, looking up at Hohenheim and getting everyone else's attention. "Did you really make a circle out of your friends' souls?"

"That's right and it worked perfectly," Hohenheim said, a touch of sadness to his voice as he mourned the permanent loss of some of his friends and countrymen. "After that, Scar created a reverse circle to correct the corrupted alchemy of this country," Hohenheim told her. "It was actually Scar's brother who discovered a secret long kept through tireless research," Hohenheim revealed, apparently not realising Mei had been with Al and Scar when they'd found the hidden research nor that she'd been the one to figure out how to decode the notes. "Using the existence of the nationwide transmutation circle as his base, he applied his knowledge of alkahestry and developed what is known as a reverse transmutation circle. That circle rendered the Philosopher's Stone under Amestris ineffective thus, it's now enabling the alchemists here to once again harness tectonic energy to its fullest extent," Hohenheim finished explaining.

"Brother!" The shout for Ed had everyone searching for the blonde only to find him slowly picking himself up off the ground, unaware of the energy ball Father was creating. Ayala was racing her way through the debris to get to Ed as quickly as she could, ready to get in between the attack and her boy if it meant saving his life.

Father released the attack, launching it straight at Ed who looked up in time to see it coming for him. Mustang felt Ed's name leave his lips as he watched his youngest subordinate's eyes widen in fear as he realised there was no way he could evade the attack in time when someone got in between them and the attack was diverted into a nearby wall. "Keep it coming with all that you've got!" Hohenheim shouted as he lowered his shield while Ed finished getting to his feet behind him. "We need to keep making him use his Philosopher's Stone! He'll run out of energy that way!"

"And when will that be?" Ed asked, gasping slightly as a familiar pain in his ribs made itself known as he straightened. Ayala was now at his side and fussing over him, ignoring his attempts at reassuring the wolf that he was fine.

"I'm not sure but we have to keep trying," Hohenheim told him and Ed nodded. Mustang could see the young man was tired but that infamous Elric stubbornness made itself known as Ed launched another attack at Father.

"Take this!" Izumi yelled as she launched an attack of her own only for Father to sidestep it and it landed off to the side of his once-throne. To their surprise, the floor cracked open and revealed a large cauldron full of red-hot lava that rose up from the ground.

"Sweet memories!" Greed exclaimed as he attacked the other homunculous. "That's the exact same tub I took a bath in when you decided to destroy my original body!" Greed said as Father continued blocking Greed's attack with a shield. "Now it's your turn!"

"Get out of the way, Greed!" Ed shouted as he and Ayala ran to the massive cauldron. Greed did as he was told with no complaints – surprising Ed somewhat – as Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. Blue energy danced from them, along the floor and to the stone slab the cauldron sat upon before the slab started lifting off the ground, sending the lava flowing over Father, just as Ed intended it to do. "Oh get fucked!" Ed snarled in disbelief when instead of being burned alive, Father transmuted a pillar beneath himself and sent it skywards, disappearing through the hole created by Mei before he headed through the path his original attack after losing the souls created in the other floors and sending debris flying.

A few moments later, Hohenheim gasped in horror. "That bastard! He's trying to create another Philosopher's Stone from the soldiers on the ground!" Without sparing another moment, Hohenheim mimicked Father's earlier transmutation and sent himself and Calix heading for the homunculous on a pillar of their own. Greed didn't bother saying anything as he started climbing up the pillar Father had created, leaping from handhold to handhold to get himself up there further.

* * *

Izumi turned to face her students and nodded to them. "Go after them," she ordered, not waiting for their response as she turned to Mustang. "We need to get you to someplace safe," she told the colonel kindly. Despite the fact that his eyes were still ringed in blue, Izumi knew the man wouldn't be able to defend himself or others since his lioness no longer trusted herself to help him aim the attacks.

"I'm sorry," Mustang said to the woman but was stopped when she shook her head.

"Don't be," she admonished him gently and Mustang gave a simple nod.

"Brother!" Al shouted, getting the attention of the others. Izumi frowned as she tried to figure out what was holding Ed up when she saw Ayala and Chester were being pinned down by debris that had been moved when Father escaped.

"Al! Go on ahead!" Ed ordered, flapping a hand at the armour. "I'll follow once I've got them out and healed!" Al hesitated in his movements and Izumi knew he was once again warring with himself about whether he did as his brother said or not.

"Come on, Al!" Izumi ordered as she and Koda moved closer to Mustang and Nala. "You heard your brother!" she said and that caused Al to do as they'd both said. Nodding once, Al clapped his hands just as Mei scurried over to him and stood next to him. Al placed his hands on the ground and sent the two of them following the same path as his father and Homunculous had done moments ago. "You better not dawdle, Ed!" Izumi threatened as she clapped her hands together and Ed nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ed shouted back as she sent the stone hand she'd created skywards.

Izumi came to a stop almost as soon as they'd cleared the hole created by the Xingese princess when she saw General Armstrong, Major Armstrong, Sig, Suna and the soldiers and Animals she'd been with when she disappeared helping a bloodied and badly injured Ishvalen man. There were also three chimeras, another Xingese woman, Lieutenant Hawkeye and her Animal nearby, speaking with the soldiers. The last thing Izumi noticed was the still, armless body of Wrath lying abandoned a few metres away from them. "Darling!" she greeted Sig happily as the man noticed her and Koda.

"Izumi!" Sig boomed in joy as he held his wife close. Both Koda and Suna joined in on the hug as they allowed themselves to succumb to the happiness they all felt at the other's survival.

Izumi was the one to break up the group hug. "This is no time for happy reunions. We're not finished fighting just yet," Izumi said sternly and Sig and Suna both stepped back, though they didn't leave the stone hand Izumi had created. "I need you to look after Mustang and Nala," Izumi said, helping the colonel down off the stone hand. Sig had jumped down upon realising what was happening and helped Mustang the rest of the way down since he and Nala had disconnected their sight.

"Right," Sig said in agreement as he pulled Mustang away from the edge and closer to the group. Nala joined him immediately, eyes watching everyone wearily as she readied herself to defend Mustang if need be.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye called as she spotted the black-haired man, rushing over to him as Soren fluttered above her. "Colonel, are you alright?" Hawkeye asked once she was next to him.

"Like I said, we've still got some business we need to deal with up above. Be seeing you!" Izumi called, waving goodbye to Sig as she and Koda stepped back into the centre of the hand.

"Be careful, love!" Sig called back. Izumi nodded before she clapped her hands and continued the transmutation she had stopped, disappearing from their sight, ready to put an end to this battle once and for all.

* * *

"Let's get him!" Hohenheim heard the roar go up from a soldier as he brought his platform up to a stop, level with the courtyard in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw Homunculous holding his hand out and draining the soldiers within reach of their lives.

Hohenheim immediately threw a boulder at him, breaking his concentration and preventing him from killing the men he was slowly choking. "I won't let you devour anymore people!" Hohenheim informed him as Homunculous glared at him.

"Dad!" The call from his youngest son came from behind him and he watched as Al and Mei jumped off the platform he'd created just as Izumi and Koda appeared on their own platform. All four of them joined Hohenheim and Calix where they stood.

"He was hoping to use those soldiers to create another Philosopher's Stone," Hohenheim informed them, confirming his earlier theory. He wanted to ask after Edward and his sons' Animals but Father distracted him.

"What else are all these pitiful powerless humans for?" the homunculous asked coldly.

"You insist on treating humans as a lower lifeform but don't you see?" Hohenheim couldn't help but try and stop Father with his words first. "Only from them can a Philosopher's Stone be created and only through a stone can a homunculous arise but what does a homunculous produce?" Hohenheim asked. "What do you create?" Father didn't say anything as he watched Hohenheim with a glare. "Creation is all and you've done  _nothing_  but destroy. You may think you've reached a perfect state of being but in truth, all you've reached is a dead end!" Hohenheim informed him.

"I can create," Father told him, making Hohenheim jerk back in surprise. "Shall I produce some humans for you?" Without waiting for an answer, Father opened his jaw wide and small white blobs fell from his mouth. The moment they touched the ground, the blobs morphed into people, taking on forms that Hohenheim recognised.

"Alchemist, I sought eternity," the mockery that was the Xerxian King said as he reached for Hohenheim. "Don't you see I'm still alive?"

Calix got in front of Hohenheim in an attempt to keep the Xerxians ghosts from reaching him. Hohenheim glanced behind him to see a baby gurgling at Izumi's feet, tugging on her pants leg with its chubby hands while she hid her face in Koda's fur, ignoring the sounds as best she could. Al was surrounded by four or five small children reaching for him but Al was shaking his head and murmuring something to himself too low for Hohenheim to hear him. Mei was trying to keep one of the women created from coming close enough to her to touch her but the princess was losing ground.

"This is wrong! How dare you do this to those souls? Haven't they already suffered enough at your hands, you bastard?" Hohenheim roared at Father, who now had a massive grin on his face.

There was a sound behind him and Hohenheim turned back around to see his eldest son and the two missing Animals on yet another platform. Ed's eyes widened in shock then fear as he watched something happen from beyond Hohenheim and he was quick to twist his body around both Chester and Ayala. Hohenheim felt Calix shove him backwards and the older man turned back around in time to see a blinding white energy devour the Xerxians Homunculous had created. Hohenheim didn't waste a moment as he surged forward.

* * *

Ed watched as Izumi took Mustang, Nala and Koda out of the room before he turned to the Animals trapped in the debris. Both Ayala and Chester had managed to get themselves pinned by chunks of stone though, much to Ed's relief, neither of them had a chunk sitting directly on top of them. "Alright, how badly injured are the two of you?" Ed asked as he crouched down next to Ayala. He had no idea how his wolf had managed to get pinned since she had been by his side but somehow, she'd done so.

" _My leg's broken,"_  Ayala said.  _"The left back one,"_  she added and Ed nodded, now understanding why he hadn't felt that much sympathy pain. You can't feel pain, sympathy or otherwise, in a limb you didn't have, after all.

" _Broken ribs and I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding internally,"_  Chester groaned and a quick look with his energy told Ed the leopard was right.

" _I also have a pretty painful cut on my back. Feels pretty bad,"_  Ayala said, twitching a shoulder and making sympathy pain flare along Ed's back, running from his left shoulder down to his spine, ending in between his shoulder blades.

"Okay," Ed said as he thought through what he'd need to do. "I'm gonna release and heal Chester first," Ed told them and Ayala nodded in understanding. "You ready, Ches?"

" _As I'll ever be,"_  the leopard replied.

Ed took it as the permission he needed before he clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground. The stone chunks surrounding the leopard rippled and melted into each other, freeing Chester and creating enough room for Ed to get in next to him. "Here we go," Ed warned and Chester nodded. Ed clapped his hands together once more before releasing the green energy contained inside him. "Heal!"

Chester writhed as he felt his broken bones knit back together and the ruptured organs and blood vessels mend while the blood that had leaked where it shouldn't have was forced back into his circulatory system where it belonged. After a minute or so, Ed stopped the transmutation, leaving Chester almost fully healed. The only injuries that remained were small nicks and bruises that weren't dangerous enough for Ed to waste energy on healing.

" _Thanks, Ed,"_  Chester said as he got to his feet and stretched out the remaining aches from his body caused by being trapped.

"You're welcome," Ed said, giving the leopard a pat before he got to his feet and walked the few metres to where Ayala was trapped. "Your turn," he told the wolf.

" _I'm ready,"_  Ayala told him and Ed nodded before repeating the same transmutation he'd used to free the leopard earlier. As the stone shifted off her, her numerous injuries made themselves painfully known and she bit down on a yelp of pain.

"Alright, I need to move your leg into place before I can heal you, okay?" Ed said and Ayala nodded, not opening her eyes. There was a sharp pain accompanied by a sickening grating feeling as Ed shifted her broken leg into place and Ayala couldn't hold back her pained whimpers anymore. "Sorry! Sorry, I'm done," Ed said, letting go of her leg and Ayala felt her chest heave as she fought down the nausea.

" _It's alright,"_  Ayala said, opening her eyes so Ed knew she wasn't lying just to comfort him.

"Good because now I need to heal you," Ed told her and she groaned. "I've gotta clean that back wound out first," Ed said. Before she could ask how he intended to do that, Ed clapped his hands and created a bubble of water the size of his face. Keeping a hold on the liquid with the transmutation, Ed placed the liquid into the cut on Ayala's back and washed out anything that shouldn't have been in there. Ayala forced herself to stay still throughout the duration and soon enough, Ed was moving the dirty and bloody water away and allowing it to drop from his hold, splashing onto the ground. "Now, I'm gonna heal you," Ed warned and Ayala nodded. One clap and a bark of 'heal' from Ed later, Ayala felt her injuries mend themselves in the familiar painful, itching sensation that came with their healing energy being used.

Once Ed had stopped the transmutation, Ayala got to her feet and shook out her filthy fur before she mimicked Chester's early move and stretched.  _"Thanks, Ed,"_  Ayala said as she gave Ed's filthy cheek a quick lick.

"Seriously?" Ed grumbled as he wiped off her saliva, glaring at her and sighing when she just grinned happily at him. "Alright, let's go finish this fight," Ed said as he got to his feet. The last couple of hours of fighting and the emotional toll he'd felt from losing most of the Animals he was bonded with were starting to catch up on him but he knew they weren't done yet so he pushed it right back down.

" _After you,"_  Ayala said and Ed nodded before leading the two Animals to the same spot Al, Mei, Izumi, Hohenheim and Father had all disappeared from using platforms of their creation.

Since Ed only saw the pillars belonging to the hand Izumi had created and platform Al and Mei had used, he assumed Father and Hohenheim had destroyed theirs for whatever reason. Making sure both Animals were next to him, Ed clapped and created a flat platform to send them towards the courtyard he could sense Koda and Calix were in. As they rose, Ed saw Mustang with Hawkeye, the Armstrong siblings, chimeras, Lan Fan, Greed, Sig and soldiers he didn't recognise as well as Animals he did and didn't know.

" _Stay safe, Ed,"_  Nala said as he rose past them and Ed nodded, giving the lioness a smile to try and assure her he would do his best. His eyes spotted the corpse belonging to Bradley and felt a vindictive pleasure at seeing the human-turned-homunculous lying dead, his body being ignored by the soldiers he'd ruled over. He could feel both Animals glaring at the dead Fuhrer as though they could set his corpse on fire just with their hate.

They finally drew level with the two platforms used by Al, Mei and Izumi and Ed brought the transmutation to a stop. Before he could move, he felt the Animals burr up at whatever they saw in front of them. Lifting his eyes, he felt them widen as he took in the white beings behind Hohenheim and near Al, Izumi and Mei. His first thought had been the mannequins they'd fought earlier but these creatures looked too human. Before he could get a word out, he saw Homunculous raise his hands, an evil grin on his face and Ed didn't hesitate as he moved himself around the two Animals, pulling them down and in front of him as he covered them with his body. He shut his eyes just as the blinding white light hit them then some kind of energy rolled past him and Ed felt himself lose consciousness.

* * *

"Colonel, are you injured?" Hawkeye asked, trying to get the man to answer her as she took in his appearance. "What's missing?" she asked before sucking in a breath as she met his clouded eyes ringed with the sight-share blue.

Mustang was distracted slightly by Nala focusing her eyes somewhere else. It took a moment for him to realise that Ed, Ayala and Chester were rising past them. Nala said something to Ed that caused the blonde to smile at her but she'd kept it from Mustang. Her eyes focused back on the scene in front of them. "My sight is gone," he confirmed, bringing his mind back to the situation at hand. "Lieutenant, how are your injuries?" Mustang asked, not wanting her pity right this moment. He could feel the looks from everyone else he was getting but he focused on his lieutenant and hoping she would be well enough to help him with his plans.

"My injuries?" Hawkeye repeated, confusion in her voice as Soren landed on her shoulder. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself for once!" Hawkeye said but Mustang shook his head.

"Lieutenant, can you fight?" Mustang asked pointedly and Hawkeye's eyes widened as she realised what he was asking.

"Yes, sir!" she said sharply and Mustang nodded in satisfaction. Before they could do anything, a large explosion from above followed by voices nearby caught their attention and Mustang tilted his head to hear them better.

" _Ed's been knocked out!"_  Nala's panicked voice told Mustang before anyone else could say anything and from the worried gasp he heard from his lieutenant, Mustang assumed Soren had passed along the same message. Mustang didn't get the chance to ask for detail when someone he thought was Darius spoke.

"What's happening, Greed?" Darius asked and Mustang felt his brows rise in surprise. He'd thought the homunculous was already above ground but obviously he was mistaken. At least this meant he could get some answers about what had happened to his youngest subordinate.

"Oh not much," Greed said, a false calm in his voice. "The father of the homunculi is just going berserk out there so let's go! We'll need anyone who can still fight!" Greed said, before he started pointing to people in the crowd standing on the stone platform Alex Louise Armstrong had created. Mustang was shocked to see it as he hadn't even heard it being created nor had he heard them all getting on it. "You!" he said to Sig, who was still on the ground beside Mustang, Hawkeye and Nala before gesturing to others on the platform. "That fat frog-man and the two women need to get out of here. You're all too injured," Greed said.

As Mustang fully expected, Olivier Armstrong took immense offence to what Greed had said. "Absolutely not!" she said, stepping forward, looking as formidable as ever, even with her arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around her head. "I still have forces who need me to lead them!"

"Forget that!" Greed snapped, waving a hand at her. "Get down here now! This is no time for a pissing contest over who's in charge!" Greed informed her but all his words did was make Olivier's metaphorical hackles rise.

"I'm not going to take orders from –" her words were cut off by one of the soldiers with her.

"General! A message from HQ, sir!" the man told her and she snatched the receiver off him.

"Operations, it's me. What's happening?" Armstrong demanded.

" _General, it's the Central Command Centre! Half of it's been blown up!"_  the voice on the other end told her and Mustang watched as everyone's eyes widened.

"Blown up?" Major Armstrong asked, unsure if he'd heard correctly.

" _We can't contact the north gate!"_  the soldier told the general, who closed her eyes at the news.

"What sort of monster is he?" Major Armstrong asked, voice low and filled with fear for his fellow soldiers.

"He appears to be an ordinary man however," Greed answered, "within him is a Philosopher's Stone powered by many thousands of people. You could say he's used its energy to claim the power of god for himself," Greed told him. "As an alchemist, you understand the trouble this presents."

"All too well," Major Armstrong rumbled as Gary clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Any ordinary human should leave now," Greed said, looking at General Armstrong and her soldiers but she still had the stubborn expression on her face.

"My men are still fighting! I will not just abandon them!" she snapped at the homunculous. "I have a duty as their commanding officer!"

"General, it's HQ again," the soldier from before interrupted again as he handed her the receiver.

"What is it?" Armstrong barked.

" _Don't worry about us, sir,"_  the voice on the other end of the line said and Armstrong froze.  _"Have you forgotten who we are? Briggs soldiers are trained to respond instantly as one force to any threat even without you,"_  the soldier said and Mustang found himself admiring the man's bravery at addressing Armstrong like that.  _"From what I hear, you've been injured, General, so please stay and wait where you are."_

Armstrong once again closed her eyes before snapping them open, eyes blazing. "Listen up, Alex!" she snapped, turning on her brother.

"Yes?" Alex said, voice trembling slightly but Mustang knew no one would hold it against him what with the glare his sister was pinning him with.

The eldest Armstrong thrust the radio into his chest, causing the big man to grunt slightly from the force. "Take the radio with you! Win at any cost!" she ordered him.

"Well of course!" Alex boomed while Gary roared in agreement, causing many of the others to flinch from the volume.

"Right, let's go, Lieutenant, Nala," Mustang said, allowing Hawkeye to lead him towards the platform.

"Hey, hold up!" Greed said, waving a hand at them. "You two humans aren't in any shape to fight either," he told them and Mustang fixed him with a stubborn glare.

"I am going to burn out that Philosopher's Stone of his. I'll need the lieutenant's help to do so," Mustang informed him.

"Let it go," Darius advised Greed, who threw his hands up in exasperation but didn't argue. "Let's move!" the gorilla chimera roared.

"I'm coming with you," Lan Fan said as she climbed onto the platform and stood next to Greed. "It's my job to protect the young lord from danger." Her tone told them she wouldn't be persuaded otherwise so no one bothered, though Greed did roll his eyes.

"Take care," Sig said as he stayed back, standing with General Armstrong, Jerso and two soldiers. "Keep them safe, friend," Sig said to Armstrong, who nodded.

"Brace yourselves! Now we continue our rise to glory!" Armstrong boomed as he slammed his fist into the stone platform, making it rise after the ones that had gone before. Mustang felt Hawkeye's hand grip his upper arm a little tighter but he paid no mind to it. He just hoped they weren't too late to save Ed and the others.

* * *

Ed came back to consciousness slowly and irritably. He didn't appreciate being knocked out during a fight, much less three times in the space of only a couple of hours. He was no longer kneeling in front of the two Animals, rather he was lying on his side with Ayala and Chester clutched in his arms. Chester had ended up squished between him and Ayala and all three of them were off the platform Ed had created. Both Animals stirred when he did and since neither of them looked injured, Ed released his hold on them as he straightened up. In doing so, he realised his right arm was severely damaged, barely still in one piece and he winced as he imagined the rant he'd cop from Winry and Michella. His ears were still ringing from whatever Homunculous had done to knock them out so it took him a moment to realise he could hear Alphonse and Mei talking. Relieved his brother was alright, Ed looked around him and spotted Izumi and Koda lying only a couple of metres away.

"Teacher! Koda! Say something, one of you!" Ed begged as he got to their sides, missing Al's half-destroyed armour collapsing in front of a distraught Mei as a result of his rush to his teacher's side.

"We're alive," Izumi told him as she and Koda got to their knees, "thanks to your father," she said, looking off to her left. Ed followed her gaze and flinched backwards as he saw Hohenheim kneeling in front of them, his back turned to take the brunt of the impact. His form was still smoking slightly and he looked more beat up than Ed had ever seen him. "He got to us in the last second," Izumi said, her voice sad as she watched Hohenheim's body tremble from the pain the man was in. Ed wrenched his eyes from his father's face and took in the sight of the burned ground on either side of Hohenheim. Sure enough, Hohenheim's body had provided enough cover so that Ed, Izumi and the three Animals wouldn't be touched by the attack.

Movement from behind Hohenheim caught Ed's attention and Ed flinched back as Father appeared, looking deadly. "Hohenheim, look out!" Ed yelled but it was too late. Father used one hand to smack Hohenheim, sending him flying off to the side before he could do so much as raise a hand in order to protect himself.

Ayala rushed forward to press herself in front of Ed protectively, snarling viciously at Father as she tried pushing Ed backwards and away from the homunculous. Koda was doing her best to move Izumi away from the crazed being in front of them. "You're first," Father said spitefully as he raised a hand and clenched his fist.

Immediately, Ed felt all the air in his lungs being wrenched out of the organs by an invisible force. He could hear himself spluttering as he struggled to draw breath into lungs that felt like something was squeezing them tightly, refusing to let them inflate and draw in the needed oxygen. His vision was quickly becoming blurry and he could feel his heart beating so rapidly that he thought it might actually burst out his chest as he started panicking. He could just see Izumi out of the corner of his eye and knew she was in the same position as him, as were the two Animals with them. Ed thought he heard his father yelling something but the blood pounding in his ears was too loud for him to make any sense of it. Just before his vision went black, a grey blur appeared out of nowhere and knocked Father to the side in much the same fashion as the homunculous had done to Hohenheim.

To his relief, Ed felt himself able to draw in a deep, greedy breath of air as the suffocating force vanished from his throat and lungs. He started coughing as his throat prickled from drawing in too much air, too quickly. Next to him, Izumi was also having a coughing fit and so were both the Animals. Ed was vividly reminded of when Greed had first taken over Ling's body and had captured him on Father's orders except this time, Ed's throat wasn't physically damaged. A threatening snort from above him had Ed looking up to see Calix standing over him and Ayala, stomping his hooves, baring his teeth and snorting at Father as the homunculous got back to his feet, glaring at the grey stallion.

"You dare to interfere -?" Homunculous started saying, eyes flashing dangerously at Calix but was cut off by a bullet piercing his skull. The injury healed over almost immediately but it certainly got everyone's attention.

Ed turned where he sat to find dozens upon dozens of soldiers amassing in the courtyard behind and all around them. They formed a circle around the group of downed alchemists and their Animals and Ed could see them lining the balconies of the part of Central Command that still stood and overlooked the courtyard and aiming all of their weapons at one person: Father. Every Animal who could and would fight were in fighting stances next to their humans, ready to take any opportunity given them to attack the homunculous who'd been so willing to murder them all for his gain. Ed was certain he could see Hughes and Leo amongst the soldiers but he shook his head. As far as he knew, both of them were at the radio station, helping guard Gracia, Lilith and Elysia.

"Your target is the man with the long blonde hair!" one of the soldiers in the courtyard yelled, making sure his voice carried so everyone heard him. "Make sure you don't shoot Fullmetal by mistake!" Ed felt a little touched that the soldier was concerned enough about him to add that to his orders.

"Yes, sir!" came the response, voices echoing one another and making Ed believe that everyone within a five-kilometre radius had heard them.

As the bullets rained down on Father, Ed helped Izumi get to her feet since Koda was forced to stay on all fours to avoid any bullets. "Let's get you out of here," Ed said as he pulled one of her arms over his shoulders. He spared a thought to helping Hohenheim but when he turned to see what he could do, two soldiers were already helping his father to his feet. Another look told him that three soldiers were helping Mei with Alphonse, who was now conscious, while Chester walked beside them. As they hurried out of the way, Ed heard the whistles that indicated missiles were being launched.

"Hey, Fullmetal, are you okay?" one of the soldiers helping his father move asked as the trio got to Ed and Izumi's side. Ed nodded just as the shockwaves from the missiles exploding hit them.

"Dammit," Ed said as he saw Father's figure still standing there, looking immensely unimpressed and unscathed, "he didn't even flinch!"

"Seriously?" the soldier whined and Ed couldn't judge him for it. Any other creature or person would've been turned to pink mist in that attack.

A voice sounded over the radio one of the soldiers carried.  _"Don't give the bastard the chance to hit back!"_  the soldier ordered and a resounding 'yes, sir!' followed just before more bullets were fired. Father blocked every single one of them with his shield.

* * *

Ed had only just noticed Mustang and Hawkeye were on the battlefield as he, Izumi, the soldiers, Hohenheim and the Animals limped off of it when the order came from someone for them all to take cover. As soon as they did, Mustang sent a fireball straight for Father only it missed by a few degrees. Ed left Izumi and Koda with the soldiers as he and Ayala jogged over to where Nala was standing a few feet from her human and the lieutenant.

"What's going on?" Ed asked the lioness and was surprised when there was no blue ring around her eyes. "How's Mustang using his alchemy?" Ed asked, spotting the new gloves on Mustang's hands – likely the spare pair Hawkeye always carried for him. Though he didn't know much about flame alchemy, Ed did know that sight was a big part of it.

" _Riza is directing him,"_  Nala said and Ed thought he heard a note of jealously in her voice. Sure enough, Hawkeye was giving more orders to Mustang so he could send another attack.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked Nala, knowing something was upsetting the lioness.

" _I couldn't help Roy with his attacks like Riza can,"_  Nala said morosely.  _"I almost killed you down there when you were fighting Pride because I forgot that Roy was using my eyes and focused on you in the last moment rather than Pride. It was luck and good instincts that had Ayala pull you out of the way in time and that you were able to use the failed attack to your advantage before Pride could,"_  Nala told him, refusing to meet his eyes as shame flooded their bond.

"Nala, don't worry about it," Ed said, crouching down next to the lioness and wrapping his arm around her comfortingly. "It all worked out and you've learned a valuable lesson from it. How many times do you think I almost hurt Al, Teacher or Ayala when I was learning alchemy? You can't let your mistakes weigh you down. You gotta learn from them and rise up," Ed told her. "I know you didn't mean for me to almost get hurt either so I'm not holding anything against you," Ed promised and Nala nearly knocked him and Ayala over with her enthusiastic hug.

" _Thanks, Ed,"_  Nala sniffled as Ed wrapped both hands around her neck and returned the hug. A familiar clap rang out, startling both of them and Ed watched as Mustang created a barrier between him and those near him and the fireball Father had apparently sent back towards them.

"Nicely done," Hawkeye said as Mustang straightened, dismantling the wall beforehand.

"I'll say. This could turn out to be quite handy," Mustang said with a familiar smirk on his face and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Don't let it get to your head, Colonel Bastard," Ed drawled, deriving some pleasure out of the small jolt Mustang did in surprise.

"Fullmetal. Why am I not surprised to hear you're annoying my lioness?" Mustang said as Major Armstrong gave the orders for everyone to keep attacking Father.

"Nala loves me more and you know it," Ed snarked back, eyes glued to the scene in front of him rather than Mustang. Armstrong, the three uninjured chimeras and Lan Fan were all launching individual attacks at Father, one right after the other before a group of soldiers fired more RPG's at the homunculous.

"If the two of you have finished bantering, do you think we could get back to stopping the threat?" Izumi asked, sounding from right behind Ed, who moved quickly, nearly tripping over his own feet so his back wasn't to his teacher.

" _Smooth,"_  Koda snickered, making Ed glare at her.

"What do you have in mind, Mrs. Curtis?" Hawkeye asked, getting their attention once more.

"Send one of your flame attacks in three seconds," Izumi ordered before she clapped and slammed her hands on the ground, sending a wave of blue energy towards Father and constructing a half dome around the homunculous.

Following Izumi's order to the letter, Mustang snapped his fingers exactly three seconds later and launched one of his strongest attacks in the direction Hawkeye told him to send it. "Now he's toast!" Mustang said, a grin on his face.

"Not quite," Ed said as the flames and smoke cleared to reveal Father still standing there in one piece. Mustang cursed as he heard Ed's words.

"Didn't affect him at all," Major Armstrong muttered from a few feet away. "We have to find a way through his defences!" the mountainous man exclaimed and Gary made an agreeing noise.

"We need more ammo!" came the cry everyone had been dreading.

"What a futile battle," Father said, speaking for the first time since Calix hit him. "You humans can't lay so much as a finger on me," Father sneered and to Ed's relief, Greed appeared out of nowhere.

"Maybe humans aren't able but what about a homunculous?" Greed asked as he punched Father in the head. To everyone's surprise, Greed's hand sunk through Father's forehead, which then seemed to heal around and start pulling Greed's arm in.

"Wonderful! You're just in time, Greed!" Father said, a manic grin on his face. "What a dutiful son you are. As it happens, I could use another Philosopher's Stone so I'll be taking yours back," Father told him. Ed couldn't believe his eyes when Father seemed to be doing just that, causing Greed to start screaming in pain before the homunculous suddenly stopped.

"Good acting, right?" Greed said with a grin that caused Ed to huff out some relieved laughter as he fought to get his heart to stop beating so quickly from the shock Greed had just put him through. "You can't take my stone from me without dropping your own barrier, you stupid fool!" Greed snarled. The homunculous' words jolted something in Ed. Glancing down at Ayala, he saw she'd realised the same thing and both of them started running towards the two homunculi, followed closely by Izumi, Koda and Nala. "I bet you never thought your godly powers could be taken away, did ya?" Greed asked as they closed in on them. "Well you were wrong! They're mine now!"

"Greed!" Ed shouted as he finally got within punching distance and moved to do so but found himself blocked once more by Father.

Ed's actions spurred everyone else into motion and soon blows rained down from the soldiers around them, the Animals with him, Izumi and Major Armstrong but Father blocked each and every attack as they came, despite the fact that Greed was still attached to him literally. Izumi transmuted some swords and used them to try and get Father but they were blocked, as was the kick Ed aimed at the homunculous' legs. Something in Father seemed to snap because the homunculous suddenly glowed red before sending the power out in a wave that knocked everyone backwards, dislodging Greed from where he was stuck and breaking Ed's already damaged automail arm off completely.

"Don't give up now!" Ed ordered, forcing himself to adjust to the loss of his arm immediately as he tried another kick but was blocked again. Ayala, Nala and Koda launched their own attacks, each one swiping at different body parts but their claws bounced off, as did Izumi's swords, Gary's attack and Armstrong's fist. However, the next kick Ed tried to land was blocked not by a shield of energy but by Father's arm.

"His arm and not alchemy?" Ed heard Hohenheim mutter and he knew they were getting close to defeating him. Ed went to throw a punch but Ayala and Koda both grabbed him and pulled him out of the way as black dust starting leaking from Father while red sparks randomly appeared on his body.

"He's losing control!" one of the soldiers shouted as Ed, Izumi, Armstrong and the Animals backed away from the mad homunculous.

"He can't keep the power of god in check anymore!" Hohenheim shouted. Just as he's finished telling them, Father's mouth opened wider than Ed thought it should be allowed to and they all saw the black eye blinking back up at them

Father collapsed to his hands and knees suddenly and started heaving. Before any warning could be given, Father straightened up suddenly and another burst of red energy came from him, sending everyone close by flying backwards. The soldiers and Animals were all knocked unconscious as they hit the ground hard while Izumi, Armstrong, Ed and their Animals plus Nala were all thrown towards the rubble. Ed, Ayala and Nala were the only ones who managed to stay conscious when they hit the ground and Ed yelled as a sharp tearing pain was felt in his left arm. Ayala yelped both from the sympathy pain and her own pain from landing on a stone slab ten metres away from Ed.

"A stone." The raspy, toneless voice got Ed's attention real quick as he struggled to get free from the piece of rebar that had impaled his arm. Father, now looking malnourished and depraved, started approaching him with greed in his eyes.

"Edward, get out of there!" Hohenheim shouted as he struggled to get to his feet to come to his son's aid even though he knew he was much too far away. Ed bit down the sarcastic response of 'what do you think I'm trying to do?!' that threatened to bubble hysterically out of his throat as he tried getting his arm free as Father continued his approach.

"Brother, move!" Al shouted and Ed felt his heart leap into his throat at the thought that Al might witness his death and renewed his struggles to free himself. "Stop, dammit!" Al shouted at Father as Ed tried to find a way to get some sort of leverage so he could just pull his damned arm free. "Leave him alone!" Al cried desperately and Ed glanced over to see his brother and got a bad feeling as Mei seemed to be listening to something Al was telling her. From the princess' tearful expression, it wasn't an idea Ed would've liked.

"Don't let Al do anything stupid," Ed snapped at Chester through their bond and was happy when the leopard stopped the young Xingese girl from throwing her kunai. Father drew closer but suddenly Ayala was at his side. "Bout damned time," Ed told her, relief on his face. "First things first, we gotta take care of him," Ed said, nodding to Father.

"A stone," Father repeated, not paying any mind to Ayala's appearance. "Give me the stone, you vile human!"

"Oh, I'll give you something," Ed snarled, forcing his left arm and wrist to twist painfully so he could lay his palm on the chunk of stone next to him. Ayala's paw joined his hand and, once the circle was completed, they send a stone pillar slamming into Father's gut, launching the homunculous back several feet. "Now me," Ed said, ignoring the surprised and awed gasps coming from the soldiers around him.

Twisting his arm back up and grimacing as he tore the hole in his arm wider as he did so, Ed managed to touch the end of the rebar poking out of him while Ayala's paw brushed against the back of his arm. The rebar snapped and Ed slumped forward slightly now that it wasn't holding him in place. Carefully but firmly, Ayala bit down on the rebar's end and quickly pulled it out of Ed's arm, dropping it to the ground as Father started approaching again. Ed glanced at Ayala, who nodded, and they both placed a hand and a paw back on the ground. In an echo of his practical for his entrance exam to become a State Alchemist, Ed created a spear from the ground. The moment it was formed, Ed snatched it out of the air and swung it in a wide arch, bringing it across Father's face as soon as the homunculous was in range and sent him flying once more from the force.

A cry of excitement went up through the crowd as Ed and Ayala both started their own attacks on the weakened homunculous. Both Ed and Ayala never failed to land a blow as the crowd egged them on with cries of encouragement from soldiers who neither of them knew. Father was never given the chance to get an attack of his own in as Ed used the spear to force him back while Ayala buried her teeth and claws into whatever part of Father she could reach, forcing his stone to weakly try and heal him.

"Kick his arse, Ed!" came the shout from Hawkeye, accompanied by a screech from Soren and Ed smashed the spear across Father's jaw.

"Go, Ed!" Izumi shouted, her encouragement echoed in the form of a roar by Koda and Ayala sunk her teeth into Father's wrist.

"Go, Edward Elric!" Armstrong boomed as Gary bellowed behind him and Ed brought the spear down onto Father's head, creating a dull thud as it connected with his skull.

"Please don't die!" Mei begged as Xao-Mei squeaked furiously from her shoulder and Ed kicked Father in the gut, sending the homunculous back a few feet.

"Go, Edward!" Ed heard his father's voice, full of pride, as Calix whinnied his own encouragement and Ayala used Ed as a springboard so she could bury her teeth into Father's shoulder, almost pulling the homunculous off his feet.

"Fight on!" Lan Fan yelled from where she stood next to Greed and Ed's spear caught Father in the ribs, a satisfying crunch telling Ed he'd broken a couple of them.

"Take him down, Brother!" came Al's cries and Chester roared from where he stood next to Al's battered armour and both Ayala and Edward hit Father in the gut, sending him back a few more steps.

"Bring him down, Edward!" Ed nearly looked around in shock as he heard Hughes shouting from the crowd while Leo called his own cheer and Ed slammed the butt of the spear into the ground, using it as a pole to vault himself into a flying kick that got Father in the face.

"Win this, Fullmetal!" Mustang's call and Nala's roar echoed loudly across the courtyard and Ayala tore at Father's calf with her teeth while Ed hit Father across the face once more with his spear.

"Alright! Clobber him, kid!" Darius roared from where he and the other chimeras stood. Zampano and Heinkel added their own voices to the cheer and Ed used the bladed end of his spear for the first time in the fight, driving it through Father's chest as he felt his heart swell from the shouted encouragements he could hear from everyone.

As soon as Ed pulled his spear back out, Father's body started glowing once more and Ed watched as red energy pitifully sparked over his form. Ed pulled Ayala away from the homunculous, recognising the look on Father's face as the expression of someone who had absolutely nothing left to lose but, instead of going for him again, Ed was shocked when Father sped past him, crying about a stone. Realising what Father was about to do, Ed shouted one word. "Greed!"

To Ed's immense relief, Greed got the warning in time to summon his ultimate shield, the grey material encasing his entire body from head to toe. "Give me your stone, Greed!" Father roared, spit flying as he gnashed his teeth, eyes wide and deranged. "Be a good son!" the pathetic homunculous snarled as he tried to claw his way through Greed's shield.

Lan Fan had pulled her kunai out but Ed knew she didn't want to try and attack in case she somehow managed to injure Greed in the process. He wanted to snap at her as he and Ayala raced for the trio that Greed  _couldn't_ be hurt while wearing his shield, something that should've been obvious to the young woman since Father wasn't making a dent but he decided not to waste his breath. Greed just stood there as he watched his Father becoming more and more insane as he tried to break Greed's ultimate shield in his desperation to get to the stone.

Ed dropped the spear he was still carrying when they were a few feet from Father and Greed, making it clatter as it rolled along the stone ground. "Ready, Ayala?" Ed asked and his wolf nodded, not needing Ed to clarify about what he was referring to.

" _More than ready,"_  Ayala snarled as she glared at the cause of all the misery that had happened that day.

"Now!" Ed said, picturing his array as he placed his hand in the centre of Father's back. Greed moved for the first time and held the deranged homunculous in place by his forearms so he couldn't turn to attack Ed.

"It's about time you were put out of all our misery, pops," Greed snarled, removing the ultimate shield covering his head so Father could see the cold look in his eyes.

Ayala placed both her paws next to Ed's hand as Greed spoke and the blue energy exploded from them. It dug into Father's skin and Ed saw it make its way around to Father's chest. As Ed and Ayala stepped away, Greed released his grip on Father and the dying homunculous stumbled back. Ed saw his alchemic energy spark as it entered the wound his spear had inflicted earlier and he couldn't help by give a sigh of relief when the red of the Philosopher's Stone he could now see died. "Go back to where you were born," Ed snarled as Ayala growled and Father turned to face them, disbelief etched on his face. "Go back to nothing but don't you ever forget that your destruction came from those you considered insects when compared to you and yours," Ed told him as coldly as Greed had been.

"You destroyed my stone," Father said, voice as disbelieving as Pride's had been. "This wasn't supposed to happen! No, this can't be!" Father screamed as little black hands started appearing from the stab wound Ed's spear had carved in his chest. Ed, Greed, Lan Fan and Ayala all took a step back as the black hands started pulling chunks of Father's form into the black hole that had formed in the defeated homunculous' chest. Father continued screaming denials as more of him disappeared while Ed and Ayala watched on impassively until nothing was left of homunculous who brought about the destruction of an entire civilisation and very nearly did the same to a second 400 years later.

For a few moments there was nothing more than the sound of the breeze and regular birds in the distance as everyone seemed to stand in stunned silence, looking at the spot Father had just stood. The silence was broken by one voice. "We've won," Ed said as he collapsed to his knees and held Ayala close with his flesh arm. "We won."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters after this one to go guys and it's starting to really hit me that this story is about to come to an end!! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I hope you'll let me know what you think :) See you next week!


	46. Chapter 46

Ed still had his face buried in Ayala's grimy fur as the courtyard and Command Centre burst into cheers as Ed's words reached them. The shouts and disbelieving exclamations reached Ed's ears and he felt himself smile slightly as he held Ayala as tightly as he could with one hand. For nearly seven months they had been preparing for this day, making plan after plan as they slowly uncovered information. Seven months of work and fear that they would be caught by the homunculi or military before they could finish their planning or that their friends and family would be killed to keep them in line and it had all boiled down to the last five hours. For five hours, Ed had been certain that the universe would fuck him over, would have them almost win before pulling the rug out from underneath them since it seemed to like doing that to him but they had  _won_.

"Ed!" The familiar voice had Ed jerking his head up and looking around to find Hughes at the front of a group of people heading for him. Al was being carried by three soldiers as his armour couldn't support him and Ed grimaced.

Ed had barely given Al a thought during this whole fight and now his brother was literally in pieces. The blonde had come to a decision while Al was unconscious when he and Izumi were in Father's lair before Mustang and Nala had fallen through the portal that he'd need to find out a way to get Al his body back immediately. His being unconscious for so long had caused Ed a lot of worry and the alchemist had frantically checked Al's seal as soon as he could. The seal was still intact but Ed could see that his brother's theory back in the north was true. The blood he'd used to make the seal was flaking away slowly. Blood, after all, wasn't the most reliable material to work with since it didn't last. The blood decayed as it aged and flaked.

Of course, as both Ayala and Chester had pointed out back then, Ed couldn't be blamed for using it since he'd been 11, bleeding out and desperate to get his brother back however he could. He just used the first material he could see that he could draw with and that had happened to be his blood. The fact that the seal had lasted over 6 years was phenomenal in and of itself but Ed had seen that the seal was on its last legs. He needed to come with something he could offer as payment to get Al's body back and he needed to do it soon.

Ed felt something almost crash into him and he looked up to see Chester standing there right next to Ayala.  _"I'm so proud of you,"_  Chester said, voice thick with emotions and Ed couldn't stop himself from letting go of Ayala to pull the leopard into a hug of his own.  _"I can't believe you survived. When I saw Father heading for you, I thought for sure your luck had run out. I almost didn't listen to you when you told me to stop Al but I knew you must've had a plan,"_  Chester admitted as he rubbed his head against Ed's cheek and neck.

"What was my brother planning on doing?" Ed asked as he felt someone else nudge him and looked up, completely unsurprised to see Nala standing there.

" _He was going to reverse his seal and get your arm back,"_  Chester told him. Ed felt anger simmer beneath his skin at his little brother's suicidal idea but his exhaustion doused it and he sighed.

"I'll yell at him for that," Ed promised the leopard. "Later," he added as he stifled a yawn, causing Chester to chuckle at him.

" _I'll join you,"_  Chester said and Ed gave him a smile before he removed his arm from Chester to wrap around Nala.

"Thanks for trying to help me and the others against Father before he knocked everyone back," Ed said to the lioness, resting his forehead against hers and wrapped his arm around her neck.

" _Thank you for surviving,"_  Nala whispered, moving her head so she could pull him into her version of a hug and Ed closed his eyes as Chester and Ayala joined them as best they could.

Something grabbing him had him panicking, thinking he was being attacked again when he realised it was Hughes pulling him up and into a hug. He could feel a spark of amusement from Leo, Nala, Chester and Ayala but it didn't hold as they knew his instinctual response wasn't an overreaction. Ed felt Hughes wrap his arms around Ed tightly and the blonde returned it as best he could with one arm, tucking his face into Hughes' jacket as he did so.

"What are you doing here, Hughes? I thought you were with Miss Gracia and Elysia at the radio station," Ed asked, voice muffled by his coat.

"I was," Hughes confirmed, "but then Leo and Lilith sensed you were in town and heading for the Third Laboratory. I knew you would end up under Central Command so I headed here to help where I could. I got here just before the gates closed," Hughes told him.

"You left Miss Gracia and Elysia to help us?" Ed asked disbelievingly and Hughes snorted.

"I'll admit, I didn't want to leave them as much as I wanted to make sure the two of you boys and Roy were safe but Gracia informed me that they were very well protected and that she would not be pleased with me if I didn't go to help," Hughes told him and Ed huffed out some laughter.

"That sounds like Miss Gracia," Ed said. He could feel Ayala and Leo leaning their weight against their legs and he knew there was a crowd of people watching the two of them. He should've been embarrassed at showing so much weakness but Ed couldn't find it in himself to care right at this moment. After everything he had gone through today, he deserved a goddamned hug from someone who cared about him as much as he cared about them.

The hug was broken by Hughes as he pushed Ed back by his shoulders and Ed almost rolled his eyes as he realised the older man was checking him for injuries. He'd lost his black jacket in Father's lair somewhere so it wasn't hard to see any injuries on the upper half of his body. While Hughes was giving him the once over, Ed was doing the same to his brother's armour to try and figure out just what he'd have to do to mend it. "Is the injury to your arm the worst you got?" Hughes asked, eyeing the injury caused by the rebar and drawing Ed out of his calculations.

"Yeah, that and some broken ribs but who's really surprised I broke some ribs in a fight?" Ed asked, aiming for a light tone. He must've succeeded because Hughes gave him a half-smile before he waved a soldier over.

"Good. That means you won't complain as Havoc patches you up," Hughes said and Ed did a double-take. Sure enough, it was Havoc heading for them, a familiar smirk on his face as he pulled out his med-kit while Mark walked beside him.

"Good to see you, Chief. Can't say I missed having to patch you up near every time I saw you," Havoc teased and Ed rolled his eyes even as he grinned.

"I'll have you know that it's been at least three months since I was last injured," Ed snarked.

"We fought Pride last night, Brother. You got injured then," Al piped up from where his armour was propped up on some debris and Ed glared at him.

"Oh no, you don't get to bring that up after what you were gonna do," Ed told him, giving him a pointed look. "Chester told me," Ed added knowing his brother was going to ask.

"Ches!" Al hissed reproachfully but Chester gave him a glare that rivalled Ed's.

"We will be talking about that later," Ed warned his brother and he was positive he saw the armour sag slightly.

"Hold still, Chief," Havoc warned as he started cleaning the wound out. Ed watched as Major-General Armstrong appeared on scene and Mustang, Hawkeye and Hughes separated from the group surrounding him to speak with her.

"Hey, I thought you were in charge of Barry. What happened?" Ed asked, remembering what Hawkeye had told him. "Did he give you the slip?" Ed asked, worried they would have to send soldiers after the murderous armour, which really wasn't something anyone needed loose in the city at any time but especially not now.

Havoc shook his head. "No, one of the soldiers we were fighting got in a lucky shot," Havoc told him as he finished cleaning out the wound. "It destroyed his seal." Ed wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, Barry was a crazed serial killer who'd messed with Al's head but on the other hand, he did agree to fight for them which had to say something good about him.

"Is everyone else alright?" Ed asked. Havoc knew him well enough to know that Ed knew their side had undoubtedly suffered casualties but that Ed wasn't referring to everyone from Briggs, Eastern Command, the Ishvalens and whoever else sided with them.

"I've seen Falman and both Fuery and Breda are still holed up at the radio station with Brosh and Ross," Havoc told Ed, wrapping the bandage methodically around his arm. "I know we lost Fu, Buccaneer and Eric though. I haven't heard about those who remained in East City," Havoc told him and Ed's heart fell as he sought out Lan Fan, who was still standing nearby with Greed.

"I'm so sorry," he told the Xingese woman, who inclined her head.

"Thank you, Edward. He died an honourable death, which is everything I could've hoped for him," Lan Fan said, voice a little thicker than it usually was. Greed squeezed her arm and that motion caught Ed's attention and made him study the person next to Lan Fan with a bit more scrutiny.

"Ling?" Ed asked and the prince nodded. "Greed?" Ed questioned and Ling sighed.

"He was going to let Father take him," Ling revealed and Ed gaped disbelievingly. Greed was going to sacrifice himself? "He put up his shield on instinct when you shouted at him but he was going to lower it so Father could take his stone. He'd planned to revert his ultimate shield so Father would turn to graphite and you could stop him but I managed to convince him that he didn't need to give his life up for you to win," Ling said. "We've come to the agreement that we'll rule Xing together and we'll share my body equally so Laika won't suffer. Greed has also promised to not block our bond as much as he had been before while he's in charge so that should help," Ling explained and Ed felt some relief at the news.

"I'm sure Laika will be overjoyed to hear that news," Ed said and Ling grinned.

"Yeah, he will be," Ling said before his face fell. "I have a lot to make up for with him. He shouldn't have suffered like he did for my gain," Ling said. Ed raised a brow but didn't say anything. He, Ling and Greed had had numerous arguments regarding Laika during their month with Darius and Heinkel and Ed didn't have anything to say right now that he hadn't said already. Ling seemed to realise this since he simply nodded at Ed's silence.

"Why's Greed letting you be in charge now?" Ed asked and Ling huffed slightly.

"He's decided that he doesn't want to deal with all of this," Ling said, gesturing to everything happening around them, "so he's left me in charge," he told him and Ed shook his head fondly.

"Of course he did," Ed said, sharing a grin with Ling.

"All done, Chief," Havoc announced as he tied off the bandage and Ed gave the man a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Havoc," Ed said sincerely as the man packed up his rubbish. Havoc grinned at him as Hughes came back over to where they were standing. Ed checked and found Hawkeye, Mustang, Nala and Soren were still talking with Major-General Armstrong and her men. "Get bored, did you?" Ed asked as Leo slunk up to sit next to Ed's legs once more. Ed would've raised a questioning brow at the fox's unusual clingy behaviour but he left it, figuring it just had something to do with the fact that Ed had come very close to being killed in front of him.

"They're just talking about what they'll have to do to organise a clean up and how to deal with the remaining white mannequins," Hughes said, flapping a hand flippantly at the group.

"Some of them survived?" Ed asked, worry in his voice but Hughes made a soothing gesture.

"The men managed to push them back and trap them in an undamaged wing of Central Command. They can't get out. I think Roy's offered to deal with them once everyone who's injured or worse has been attended to," Hughes told him and Ed sighed with relief.

"That's good," Ed said. "What can I do to help?" Ed asked and Hughes shrugged.

"Honestly? Not much at the moment," Hughes told him. "Right now, everyone's busy dealing with the injured and the fallen so until that's done with, no one can really start any kind of clean up. I think the best thing you can do is fix your brother up," Hughes said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah. What do you say, Al?" Ed asked and he heard Al sigh.

"I thought you'd never get around to it," Al joked and Ed rolled his eyes.

"You're hilarious," Ed said as he took in Al's damaged armour with a critical eye. "There's too much damage to your armour for me to simply thin the rest of it out and manipulate it to make up the missing parts. It wouldn't be strong enough for you to use anyway," Ed said as he crouched next to Al. "We'll need to find some metal that we can use since I doubt the parts that are missing survived Father's attack," Ed said decisively.

"What do you need and how much?" Hughes asked and Ed hummed.

"Well, anything close to what his armour is made out of and as much as you can find," Ed told him.

"Alright, you guys stay here. I'll find some men and get them looking. Surely there's something in the debris we can use," Hughes said before he took off with Havoc before Ed could say anything.

"I like how he waits to make sure we're on board with his plan," Ed said as he watched the two men and Animals talk to a handful of other soldiers and their Animals.

"You know he's just being helpful," Al pointed out as Ed sat down next to him properly.

"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed as he eyed Al's seal critically. "We don't have long," Ed said and Al hummed in agreement.

"I know," Al said. "I saw my body when I was forced through the portal. I almost joined back up with it but my body looks so frail, Brother. I don't think it would've survived Father forcing our gateways open," Al told him and Ed swore.

"That means that once we get you back, we'll have to get you to a hospital immediately," Ed said with a frown. He hadn't even considered what condition Al's body would be in after over six years in Truth's domain. Though they'd theorised Ed's body was linked to Al's so it would be getting some nutrition, Ed hadn't even realised he'd been expecting Al's body to be healthy until Al revealed otherwise.

"Do you know how we're going to do that?" Al asked, voice worried.

"I've been trying to figure out what we can sacrifice to get you back without using a Philosopher's Stone but I've been coming up blank," Ed admitted. "I know there must be  _something_  other than a stone but I just can't think of it."

"Ed," Ling said, interrupting their conversation. Ed looked around to see the prince crouching next to him while Lan Fan and – to Ed's surprise – Mei were standing behind him. "Lan Fan took this off Bradley's corpse," Ling said, holding out a liquid stone and Ed inhaled sharply. "Since I still have Greed within me, we don't need it." Ling looked over at Mei before continuing. "The Yao clan have offered to give the Chang clan protection should we ascend to the throne so Princess Mei has no use for the stone either," Ling informed them and Ed wasn't the only Elric to gasp in surprise at the news. "Take it and use it to achieve your goal," Ling said, placing the stone in Ed's lax hand.

"No, we can't," Ed said, pushing it back into Ling's hand. "We can't sacrifice people for our gain. It was our mistake that had us ending up like this and we're going to be the ones to pay the price," Ed told him firmly. "Keep the stone or give it to Marcoh or let me destroy it but we aren't using it for us," Ed said. "There's another way. I just have to find it," Ed said, looking at Al, who nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure, boys?" Hughes said, startling Ed who hadn't noticed the man's approach. "It took you nearly five years just to find out everything about the stone," he pointed out and both boys nodded.

"There's another way, Mr. Hughes. We'll find it," Al said just as firmly as Ed had done. Hughes looked like he wanted to argue further but someone interrupted him before he could.

"I'm glad to see the two of you are alright," Hohenheim said a little awkwardly as he and Calix stood a small distance away from everyone. Hohenheim's shirt hung off him in rags and Ed could see that the man was still exhausted and in pain from shielding them alongside Mei then using himself as a shield to protect Ed, Izumi and their Animals when Father unleashed the attack above ground.

"Dad! You're okay!" Al exclaimed happily and Hohenheim smiled at his youngest son.

"I'm not sure about 'okay' but I'm still alive so there's that," Hohenheim said wryly. "Are the two of you definitely alright?" Hohenheim asked, voice still concerned as he took in their appearances. Ed knew his body was likely covered in small cuts, grazes and a lot of bruises but considering the injuries he'd come out of other fights with in the past, he put this one down to one of the least painful fights.

"I'm alright. Just waiting to be put back together so I can help," Al said cheerfully and Ed rolled his eyes as he felt Chester nudge him, undoubtedly on orders from Al.

"I'm fine," Ed said, grumbling slightly as he shoved the leopard back. He glanced up at Calix and sighed slightly. "Thanks for, you know, stopping Homunculous from killing me, Ayala, Koda and Teacher," Ed said, making sure the horse knew he was being sincere.

" _I'm glad I was able to get there in time,"_  Calix said as he lowered his head to gently nudge Ed,  _"and I'm glad you're alright,"_ Calix said, stepping back once more, not willing to push his luck with how much affection he could show the blonde.

"So you're Ed and Al's father," Hughes said, looking over at Hohenheim with a stony expression that had Ed shocked. He'd never seen the normally easy-going man look so emotionless. Except, as Ed took in his expression a bit more, he thought Hughes' eyes seemed angry, like Hohenheim had done something that pissed him off and that caused Ed to frown. As far as he knew, the two had never met so why on earth would Hughes be angry at Hohenheim?

" _You really are an idiot sometimes, you know that?"_  Leo said, sighing slightly and Ed scowled at the fox.

"How am I an idiot?" he asked as Hohenheim confirmed he was their father with a nod of his head.

" _He's mad at Hohenheim because he cares about you. He doesn't think that any excuse Hohenheim gave you back in Resembool is a good enough reason for him abandoning you for 12 years,"_  Leo informed him.

"I hope you realise how great your boys turned out despite everything life has thrown at them. My wife, daughter and I certainly have counted ourselves lucky to have them as part of our little family for the past five years," Hughes said and Ed's eyes widened slightly at Hughes' words. "My daughter certainly thinks the world of her big brothers and she's always bragging to people about what her big brothers have done recently," Hughes told him and Ed thought he saw a mixture of grief and delight in Hohenheim's eyes.

"I'm glad my sons had people like you and your family to look after them," Hohenheim said solemnly. "I'm glad that they found themselves people they can call family and who will do the same for them." Hughes seemed to be considering Hohenheim's answer and how truthful he believed it to be and Ed wondered if it was possible for someone on the other side of Central Command to cause an explosion or something so Hughes would be distracted. He did not want to have Hughes publicly shame Hohenheim for his non-existent parenting skills.

As Ed realised Hughes wasn't going to just let Hohenheim get away with just the response he'd given and the likelihood of Ed's Gate opening up and swallowing him whole to escape the curious glances from the soldiers milling around were non-existent, Ed went to say something when the thought about his Gate had his brain kicking into overdrive. He tuned everyone else out as he followed the thought, trying to see where it would lead him. No one seemed to notice he wasn't paying attention to them as Al tried to placate Hughes and defuse the situation except for Ayala and Chester.

" _What are you thinking?"_  Ayala asked once she was certain her words wouldn't throw Ed's train of thought off its metaphorical tracks.

"I'm thinking I know what to offer as payment to get Al back," Ed said, speaking solely to her and Chester.

" _Really?"_  Chester asked, voice a level of hopeful Ed hadn't heard since they first thought of using a Philosopher's Stone, back before Ed had even gotten his automail fitted for the first time.

"Really," Ed confirmed, giving Chester a confident grin.

" _This won't hurt you, will it?"_ Ayala asked. Her worry wasn't completely unfounded and Ed knew it considering he was well aware of how little thought he gave to his own safety if it meant keeping Al or someone he cared about alive.

"No, it shouldn't," Ed told her. Neither Animal commented on his wording choice since they both knew that Ed couldn't guarantee anything. Truth could take what he was planning to offer or Truth could do something none of them would expect. "Where'd my spear go?" Ed asked as he looked around.

" _Over there,"_ Ayala said, looking off to Ed's right and a few metres away. No one had touched or moved the weapon and Ed was grateful to see that.

"Why do you need the spear, Brother?" Al asked and Ed looked over to see that Hughes and Hohenheim had seemed to come to a tense understanding or, at the very least, Hughes wasn't trying to passive-aggressively inform Hohenheim of all the ways he'd fucked up in the lieutenant-colonel's eyes.

"I've figured out what I need to pay," Ed told him, giving Al a smile. "I need the spear so I can draw out the array," Ed said and Al gasped.

"Wait, what?" Al asked. "What do you mean, Brother?"

"I mean, I know what I need to pay so I can get you your body back," Ed said, rolling his eyes slightly as he got to his feet. "What do you think I mean?" Ed teased lightly.

"Don't try and pretend you didn't know what I was asking, Edward," Al snapped. "What do you plan on offering as payment? I know what you're like, Ed, and I won't let you do anything if it's going to cost me you," Al said, his voice as close to crying as he could manage. Both Hughes and Hohenheim were looking at Ed with varying expressions. Hughes looked like he was fully prepared to stop Ed using any means necessary while Hohenheim looked – Ed narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried to puzzle out the meaning behind the expression because surely he was just imagining the calculating look in his father's eyes.

"I promise, Al, that if this works out how I intend it to do, I'll be back alive and in one piece," Ed swore, making sure his brother could see he wasn't lying in order to lessen his fears before he headed to go grab his spear. "Aya? I need your help," Ed said to the wolf and she dutifully trotted over. "I just need to make some adjustments to the spear," Ed told her. She nodded in understanding and Ed imagined the array he needed before they both touched the spear. The crackle of alchemic energy got the attention of some of the soldiers but Ed paid them no mind as he inspected his and Ayala's handiwork. Now instead of having a sharp, bladed edge, the spear had a pointed but dull tip. "Awesome," Ed said, giving Ayala a grin.

" _Are you sure, Ed?"_  Ayala asked and Ed nodded as he twirled the ex-spear.  _"I know what you want to offer as payment. Maybe you don't have to give up your alchemy. Maybe there's something else the two of you can sacrifice to get Al back,"_  Ayala said, pleading slightly.  _"I know how much you love being able to use alchemy. It's one of the few things in life you truly enjoy doing, research and all. If you give it up, you can't get it back,"_  Ayala pointed out, knowing that sometimes the obvious needed to be pointed out.

"I know, Ayala," Ed said, using their bond so Al or the others wouldn't overhear them. He was completely unsurprised that Ayala knew what he was planning since she was his Animal and he could hide nothing from her without extreme effort on his part. "But I would give my alchemy up any day of the week if it means I get Al back, body and all," Ed told her, holding her gaze. "I love using alchemy but if it means Al gets to live his life in his flesh and blood body like he should, I'd sacrifice almost everything, including my alchemy, to make sure he gets that," Ed told her and – after a few moments of holding his gaze – Ayala nodded, giving her silent approval. Ed sighed in relief when she nodded. Though he would've gone through with it anyway if she had continued arguing, he felt a lot better going through with it now that he knew she was on his side.

" _I'll get the soldiers out of your way,"_  Ayala said and Ed gave her a grin.

"Try not to scare them too much, alright?" Ed said and she laughed.

" _I'll do my best,"_  she said cheekily before she started towards the first soldier and had his Animal ask him to move back a few feet. Almost every soldier complied with her request but those who didn't or had hesitated moved the moment she bared her teeth.

Ed shook his head at her as he started scratching the array he thought he'd never use again into one of the few flat stone sections of the courtyard that had remained unscathed and was large enough for his use. Starting with the outermost circle of the array and working his way in, Ed carefully drew the array into the stone. The work he was doing was gathering the attention of the soldiers and Animals around him but Ed ignored them, making sure he got every single detail right. If this was going to be his last transmutation, he was going to make damned sure there was no chance of a rebound. Once he was done, Ed made his way back out of the array, looking around to make sure Izumi wasn't there to try and stop him, before he tossed the stone pole aside and crouched down next to Ayala.

"I'll be alright," Ed promised her, sensing her worry had increased now that he was moments from standing in the centre of that array and activating it.

" _You'd better be or I'll never let you live it down,"_  she warned him, trying to sound brave but she could hear the trembles and cracks in her own voice. Ed didn't tease her about it like he might've ordinarily done, instead, he grabbed her in a fierce hug and held onto her tightly for a few moments before he let her go.

"Here I go," Ed said, sighing as he stood and turned to face the array with fierce determination. This time, rather than cause them misery and grief, rather than almost destroying his family, this array was going to fix everything. This array was going to give him his brother back whole and allow Alphonse to feel, to taste, to smell everything once more. He took a step forward towards the array when a scream caused his blood to run cold as he froze dead in his tracks.

"ALPHONSE!" Ed turned to find Mei crouching next to Al's armour, crying fat tears as she shook the metal. Ed's breath froze in his throat as he realised the helmet was dark, that the glow that had been his brother's eyes wasn't there anymore.

Abandoning the array, he and Ayala ran the few metres to Al's side just in time for Ed to slide to his knees and catch Chester as the leopard collapsed. Lowering the big cat gently to the ground, Ed did the first thing that came to mind. "Heal!" he shouted, hand hovering over Chester's side and watched as the green energy encased his brother's Animal. "What happened?" Ed barked at Mei.

"I don't know!" she wailed, Xao-Mei making distressed noises on her shoulder. "He was asking Chester what you were planning to give up when he suddenly went silent! When I called his name, he didn't answer me and then his eyes went dark!" she cried, hiccupping slightly.

"No, no, no, no!" Ed muttered as he shifted, keeping his hand hovering over Chester as he fought to keep the leopard alive and looked at Al's seal. To his horror, he was greeted by the sight of a broken seal. The few flecks of dried blood that were keeping the circle intact had failed and the seal had been broken.

"Ed, what can we do?" Hughes asked urgently, crouching next to Ed.

"I don't know," Ed said, shell-shocked. He had been  _seconds_  away from getting Al back. He wanted to laugh hysterically, cry, rage and scream all at the same time because  _of course_  Al's seal would fail right this moment! "I can't activate the array and keep Chester alive at the same time," Ed told Hughes. "I can't stop using Chester's energy on him because whatever happened to Al when he was pulled through the portal took a lot out Chester. I don't know if he'd still be alive by the time I activate the array and what I planned to pay wouldn't be enough to get Al back, body and soul, and Chester as well," Ed sobbed. "I don't know what to do!"

Hughes watched as Ed's eyes flicked back and forwards between two unseen points as he tried to desperately find a way to save his brother and Animal and Hughes felt his heart break. He cursed the universe because didn't these boys deserve a goddamned break from getting shit thrown at them? He saw Hawkeye and Nala leading Roy over to the boys but his focus was brought back to Ed as the blonde let out a broken whimper. However, before Hughes could offer any sort of comfort or encouragement because if anyone could figure out something to save Al and Chester, it would've been Ed, movement to their right caught his and Ed's attention.

"Hohenheim," Ed breathed as he took in the sight of his father standing in the centre of the array he'd just drawn out, someone's black military jacket draped over his arm, "what do you think you're doing? Get out of there!" Ed shouted at him. Something big settled down behind him and Ed looked over his shoulder to see Calix laying behind him, curved slightly around the blonde.

"I am Alphonse's father. I'm  _your_  father, whether you want me to be or not," Hohenheim said, giving Ed a small smile. "I can't possibly make up for all the years you and Alphonse spent without me there as I should have been but maybe I can start earning your forgiveness by giving you your brother back whole," Hohenheim said but Ed was violently shaking his head.

"No. No!" Ed shouted at him. "You may be a shit father but, dammit, Alphonse wants you in his life! You can't do this to him! This is  _our_  mistake to fix! Not yours!" Ed yelled at him, tears clinging to his eyes. Absolutely no one, not a soldier, not an Animal, made any kind of noise as they watched the tragic scene in front of them unfold.

"But I  _do_  bear some responsibility for what happened to you, Ed," Hohenheim said. "I left those books where the two of you would see them. I unwittingly gave you what you needed to perform that array," Hohenheim told him, echoing what Ed had yelled at him months ago in Resembool. "It's my job as your father to stop you from making mistakes of that magnitude. I failed to do that," Hohenheim said, making sure Ed was looking him in the eyes as he spoke. "I told you that part of the reason I left 12 years ago was to save Amestris from the fate Xerxes suffered. The  _only_  reason I wanted to save Amestris was because of you boys and your mother. I was being selfish. I wanted the three of you to live your lives with no threat to you from anything," Hohenheim told him and Ed let out a shaky breath, feeling hot tears run down his face. "That threat is forever gone and now all I want the most is for the two of you to be happy," Hohenheim said and Ed felt a sob catch in his throat at the honesty Hohenheim was displaying. "I won't let you make any more sacrifices to save Alphonse when you wouldn't have had to if I hadn't failed you so many times," Hohenheim told him, crouching down so he could place his hands on the array.

"Don't," Ed said, voice hitching with emotion. "Please, don't," he begged, tears making their way down his face, uncaring of who was there to see them. Chester's energy was starting to fade as it failed to keep him alive, no matter how much Ed tried to force it to keep going and Hohenheim just gave him a sad smile.

"I hope you'll tell Alphonse how much I love the both of you boys and how proud I am of you. No matter what you may think, Edward, the two of you made everything I've suffered all these years, made everything I've had to sacrifice, you both made it all worth it," Hohenheim told him. "I hope you'll forgive me for everything one day." With that, Hohenheim placed his hands on the array and Ed was forced to look away as the blue alchemic energy threatened to blind him. When he opened them back up, a few blue sparks crackled around the array but there was no one standing in the centre of it.

"Calix, you have to tell him to come back," Ed said, turning to look pleadingly at the grey stallion. "He can't just leave us like that again," Ed said but Calix's brown eyes, filled with love and sadness, told Ed that he'd just wasted his breath.

" _Van was never going to let you pay anything to reunite Al's soul with his body,"_  Calix told him, pressing his forehead against Ed's.  _"When you turned down the stone Ling handed you, Van was already trying to figure out a way he could draw the array and bring Al back without you finding out,"_  Calix revealed and Ed's shoulders shook as he sobbed silently, pressing his head closer to Calix's.  _"He never wanted to leave you boys again but he didn't want you to give up more of yourself for your brother because of something he and I should've been there to stop you from doing in the first place,"_  Calix said, knowing he was repeating Hohenheim's words but needing Ed to understand. Calix felt the moment Truth accepted the payment but he refused to let the flooding grief that almost overwhelmed him at Van's death seep into his bond with Ed as he fought to stay alive for a few more moments.

" _Remember what I said to Ayala about how I wished I could have the two of you boys fight over whose turn it was to brush my mane and tail again?"_  Calix asked and Ed nodded.  _"Every moment Van and I had with you boys is a moment we will treasure no matter whether we're here with you or not,"_  Calix told him softly. " _I've never loved anyone as much as I loved Van but you boys sure came close to taking his place. Make sure you tell Alphonse that for me and that I'm sorry he didn't get to say goodbye, okay?"_ Calix asked and Ed let out a shuddering sigh before he nodded.  _"You make sure you never forget it either and don't waste your lives by holding onto the past. Let yourselves move forward,"_  Calix pleaded as he felt Truth trying to claim him to complete the payment.

"I'll try," Ed whispered, voice trembling. He spoke solely to Calix, utilising their bond to give his answer and to let the horse know the Ed had forgiven him for everything a long time ago.

Calix pulled away from Ed with a peaceful sigh and Ayala took his place, cuddling into her human as much as she could as Calix breathed for the final time and Ed felt one of his bonds snap permanently for the first time. He let out a sharp cry of pain and grief and felt arms pull him tight against someone's chest. He didn't bother opening his eyes as he fought to keep Chester's healing energy flowing, knowing it had been Hughes who had grabbed him. He thought he felt a hand belonging to Izumi rest on his neck as his teacher offered him any comfort she could while the pain of losing a bonded Animal and his father tore through him. Ed didn't get the chance to say or do anything as he felt something foreign but strangely familiar invade his mind just before everything went black.

* * *

When Ed next opened his eyes, he almost groaned in irritation as he took in the familiar white walls and machinery of the Central hospital. Closing them again with the childish hope that when he opened them next, he would be in his hotel room or on the Hughes' couch or anywhere else, Ed opened them again to find the room unchanged and this time, he did snarl in annoyance. Looking over to his right, Ed found an automail arm attached to the port once more and he frowned at it, trying to figure out why he should be surprised to see automail there. Casting his mind back to try and figure out what the fuck he'd done to himself this time, he gasped and sat up straight as the memories from Promised Day came flooding back.

" _Ed?"_  Ayala called as she put her front legs up on the hospital bed and nudged her human's cheek.  _"Ed, you're alright,"_  she said and Ed breathed in a shaky breath.

"Yeah," Ed said in agreement as he felt the lingering loss of his bond with Calix in the back of his mind. "Hohenheim and Calix?" Ed asked, wanting to be certain.

" _I'm sorry, Ed,"_  Ayala told him, climbing up on the bed and nuzzling his cheek as he let himself grieve over the loss of his father and Animal as well as whatever their relationship could've been in the future.

"Alphonse? Chester?" Ed asked suddenly, having momentarily forgotten the whole reason Hohenheim had sacrificed himself and Calix while he tried to come to terms with the loss.

" _They're alive and Al is back in his flesh body,"_  Ayala said and Ed felt the weight he'd been carrying on his shoulders for the past six years lift from them, leaving him lighter than he could ever remember being.  _"Al isn't in great shape. His body is very malnourished and his muscles have atrophied from not being used. The doctors were forced to put him in a coma to give his body the chance to get some strength back before they put stress on him to get him back to being healthy,"_  Ayala told him and Ed felt his heart thud loudly.

"Is he…?" Ed couldn't make himself finish the thought but Ayala knew what he was thinking.

" _The doctor's are hopeful,"_  she told him.  _"Mei visits every day to perform her healing array on him which is helping immensely and…"_  Ayala hesitated as she tried to figure out how to word what had happened.  _"When you lost consciousness after Hohenheim and Calix,"_  this time Ayala didn't continue what she was saying,  _"well, after,"_  she said instead and Ed nodded for her to continue.  _"It took a minute or so for Al to appear and Chester to wake up,"_  she told him.  _"Al was wrapped in the black jacket Hohenheim had but he was conscious, though he couldn't keep his eyes open because the sunlight was too much for his eyes,"_  Ayala told him.  _"Havoc noticed and tore some of his jacket off to create a blindfold. While Havoc was doing that, Chester woke up and headed straight for Alphonse,"_  she said and again, Ed nodded. He wouldn't have expected Chester to do anything else in that situation.  _"When he and Al touched each other, their forms were encased in a silver glow like we were when we first bonded and when I healed you in Baschool,"_  Ayala revealed and Ed gaped.

"How is that possible?" Ed asked. "They were already bonded and it didn't happen when Chester had appeared the first time," he said.

" _Your father told us that we glowed, likely because our bond is so strong,"_  Ayala said.  _"I think that if he was right than Chester and Al's bond must've become as strong as ours while Al was trapped in the armour. When they touched after Al being unable to actually feel Chester for so long and with their bond as strong as it is, it must've been enough to warrant that reaction,"_  Ayala told him.

"So, what, that means that their bond is as strong as ours?" Ed asked, instinctively looking inside himself for Chester's energy to see how much there was and panicking when he realised he no longer held it.

" _We think Truth knocked you out so it could take Chester's energy back from you and give it to Al now that he has a flesh body to hold it in,"_  Ayala said, calming Ed down.

Ed sighed before giving her a self-deprecating smile. "Probably should've realised that for myself, huh?" he said but Ayala shook her head.

" _With everything that's happened in the last 72 hours, I don't blame you for panicking over Chester's energy not being inside of you. Not after six years of you being its keeper,"_  she told him honestly.

"'72 hours'?" Ed asked, his mind focusing on that part of her words and Ayala nodded.

" _You've been unconscious for over two and a half days,"_  Ayala told him but Ed frowned, lifting his automail arm.

"I obviously woke up at some point because Winry would never have attached this to me while I was unconscious," Ed said and Ayala nodded.

" _You did wake up for about half an hour while Winry and Michella were here and you were lucid enough for Winry to attach the arm and adjust your leg but you lost consciousness again in the middle of her rant,"_  Ayala informed him and Ed grimaced.

"Winry and Michella won't be happy about that," he said, imagining the lecture that awaited him in the future from the blonde mechanic and her monkey. Ayala laughed at him.

" _You'll be safe for a while,"_  she told him before sobering up.  _"Winry will have too many clients to look after for the next few months after the battle. She and Michella have already left Central but they did extract a promise from Hughes that he would call her when you were awake so she could yell at you over the phone,"_  Ayala told him and Ed tried to smile but the thought of so many people needing automail after their battle dampened his spirits.

"What did the doctors say about me?" Ed asked, wanting to know how much he'll be yelled at for getting out of his bed to find his brother, which he fully intended to do once Ayala had answered him.

" _You're fine,"_  Ayala said.  _"The doctors have been waiting for you to wake up but none of your injuries are enough for you to stay in the hospital. I think they have plans to keep you for an extra 24 hours once you were awake, just to be safe, but other than that, you're fine to move around,"_  Ayala told him and Ed sighed in relief before he removed the I.V. drip in his left arm with practised ease. Ayala rolled her eyes at him but Ed ignored her as he threw the blanket off, swung his feet over the edge and slipped off the bed.

"Do you know where Al and Ches are?" Ed asked as Ayala joined him on the floor and Ayala nodded, silently leading the way.

Ed's body trembled slightly, the physical exertion and resulting exhaustion from Promised Day still lingered, but he didn't let it slow him down. Thankfully though, Ayala only led him down the hall a few feet and into a room on the opposite side to his. As Ed reached the closed door, he automatically grasped the handle before hesitating. On the other side of this door, his brother and his leopard would be lying on a bed. His brother would be there in the flesh but he wouldn't be awake. Al would be unconscious and he would be skin and bones, if Ayala and Al's accounts weren't exaggerated, and Ed found himself unsure if he could face his brother like that. Ayala nudged his flesh hand and Ed gave her a silent nod before he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Al," Ed breathed as he took in the sight of his little brother's flesh body for the first time in six years.

The firs thing that Ed noticed wasn't how skinny his brother was nor how many needles and tubes were attached to his body but was, surprisingly, how long his hair was. Out of the two of them, Ed was the only one who'd wore their hair long and he'd only done so because his mother always said it reminded her of Hohenheim. His hatred for his father had never outweighed his love for his mother and he'd kept it long for her but Alphonse had always fussed when Trisha tried to get him to grow out his hair and in the end, she'd kept it short for him. Seeing Al's hair as long as his own, though much duller, was the undeniable proof of how long Al's body had spent in Truth's domain.

Chester stirred from where he lay on the bed, curled tightly at Al's feet and he blinked his eyes open, smiling when he saw Ed standing there.  _"It's good to see you awake,"_  the leopard said, purring loudly in Ed's mind.

"You too," Ed said as he walked the few steps to Chester's side and rubbed the leopard's head in between his ears affectionately with his left hand. "You almost gave me a heart attack. You and Al both," Ed told him, voice trembling with the sudden onslaught of emotions that hit him and Chester was quick to get to his feet and rub his cheek against Ed's, placing his front feet on Ed's left shoulder though he was careful to avoid the injury there.

" _I'm here,"_  Chester said, giving Ed the comfort and assurances he needed without judgement and Ed clutched at the leopard he was so close to losing tightly.  _"I'm here and so is Al. We're both alive and we're gonna stay that way for as long as possible,"_  Chester told him.  _"Seriously, I hope you plan on retiring with us to Creta or somewhere relaxing and with no power-hungry homunculi or rogue alchemists to deal with once Al's strong enough to leave the hospital,"_  Chester informed him and Ed chuckled wetly.

"Yeah, I'm sure that Creta is completely free from idiot criminals and delusional homunculi," Ed said, laughing lightly.

" _We'll make sure it is,"_  Ayala said seriously, pairing the words with a growl that had both Chester and Ed laughed at her conviction.

"What do you think you're -? Oh, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, you're awake." Ed turned his head to find Doctor Overland – the same doctor who'd treated him after the Fifth Laboratory and his fight with the Slicer Brothers, Envy and Lust – standing in the doorway of Al's room.

"Hey, Doc. Yeah, I woke – wait, what the hell did you just call me?" Ed asked as the doctor's words sunk in. "Did you just say 'Lieutenant-Colonel Elric'?" Ed asked and Overland nodded, frowning slightly.

"I was informed that you were promoted to lieutenant-colonel after the significant role you played in bringing down the threat to Amestris," Overland said. "I apologise, I had thought your Animal told you when you woke up," he said, giving Ayala a slightly reprimanding look.

" _Whoops. Guess I forgot,"_  Ayala said and Ed glared at her.

"You  _forgot_?" Ed asked incredulously and Ayala shrugged her shoulders while Chester howled with laughter next to him. "Who the fuck promoted me? Was it Mustang? I bet it was Mustang. That conniving arsehole. I'll get him back for this and my revenge will be swift and merciless," Ed snarled as the two Animals continued laughing, Ayala unable to hold herself back from doing so any longer. Overland had simply rolled his eyes and started checking on Alphonse, as that was why he'd come into the room to start with.

" _Settle down,"_  Ayala said in between chuckles.  _"It was General Grumman who gave the promotions. Mustang has been in hospital as long as you and Al have. He couldn't have issued the promotions,"_  Ayala told him and Ed felt his rage quell as Ayala's words sank in.  _"He did, however, agree to the promotion on your behalf when Grumman offered it,"_  Ayala said and Ed's eyes sparked with anger once more.

"I'll kill him," Ed said but Overland glared at him from where he was marking things on Al's chart.

"You will do no such thing in this hospital, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric," Overland informed him sternly and Ed growled.

"I'll kill him once he's released then," Ed said and Overland rolled his eyes lightly.

"I really don't think a promotion is worth going to prison for," Overland snarked.

" _Besides,"_  Ayala said,  _"if you kill him, Nala will die too,"_  Ayala pointed out and Ed sighed.

"Can I maim him?" Ed asked but Ayala shook her head. "Just a little?" Again, another headshake. "Prank him?" This time, he got a nod and Ed grinned. "I'm gonna make him regret this somehow," Ed swore.

"If you're done being overly dramatic?" Overland said and Ed nodded. "Good. First things; how are you feeling? Any headaches, dizziness, nausea?" Overland asked but Ed shook his head.

"I feel fine. Extremely tired and like I could sleep for a month but fine," Ed told him. Overland looked completely unsurprised by what Ed told him.

"After what I heard you went through three days ago, I was expecting that," Overland said. "You'll be kept here for tonight but if you still only feel tired in the morning, you can be released," Overland told him.

Ed sighed but nodded. "Okay, Doc," Ed said, giving no arguments. He'd be spending a lot of time in the hospital while Al recovered so he figured he might as well get used to it.

Overland seemed surprised but pleased with Ed's newfound agreeability. "Wonderful," Overland said. "Now, your brother," Overland said and Ed's attention was fully on the man. "As you can probably tell, he's extremely malnourished, dehydrated and his muscles are severely atrophied. Whatever he went through has been hard on his body but," Overland said, looking at Ed, "we're optimistic about his recovery," he told him. "There's a young Xingese alkahestrist who's been more than happy to perform her healing array on your brother each day he's been here and we're seeing massive improvements thanks to it. She's agreed to continue coming in every day until Alphonse is conscious and can chose whether to continue the treatment himself," Overland informed and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Ayala told me Mei was helping out," Ed said. "What's his recovery time looking like?" Ed asked and Overland sighed.

"Honestly? I couldn't tell you," Overland admitted. "Right now, he could wake up by the end of the week as we plan to bring him out of his medically induced coma in another day but having said that, his body might go into a natural coma of its own in a continued effort to heal him faster," Overland said. "Once he's awake it'll depend on how well he's recovering. Until we have that information, I couldn't even give you a ballpark figure," Overland told Ed, a little regretfully.

"Okay," Ed said, looking back at Al. "Thanks, Doc," Ed said before letting out a small sigh. "Is it alright if I stay here with him?" Ed asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to Al's bed and Overland pursed his lips in thought.

"You'll need to sleep in your own room tonight," Overland told him, "but I see no reason why you can't stay in here for the day. I'll let your visitors know you'll be in here when they turn up," Overland said and Ed frowned.

"'Visitors'?" Ed asked and Overland nodded.

"You've had a deluge of people checking in on you every day while you were unconscious," Overland told him and from the slightly irritated expression on his face, Ed figured a couple of those visitors had been disruptive somehow. "I imagine today will be no different," Overland sighed slightly.

"Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it," Ed said, electing not to question the man about which visitors caused that tone of voice.

"Just don't cause any problems," Overland said and Ed gave him a solemn nod. "I'll leave you to it. I'll pay another visit before my shift ends tonight," Overland said and Ed nodded.

"Oh, before you go, Doc," Ed said, stopping the man in his tracks. "How are Lieutenant Hawkeye and Colonel Mustang? Miss Riza had a lot of blood on her shirt when I saw her last," Ed said and Overland seemed to be debating with himself on how to answer Ed.

"I can't give you specifics. Doctor-patient confidentiality," Overland said and Ed gave him a nod of understanding. "They're both doing well and I expect them to make a full recovery. I believe Doctor Marcoh saw them yesterday and offered his own help," Overland said.

That got Ed's attention because he knew Mei had been given Marcoh's liquid stone to take to Xing when Al and Scar convinced her to leave a couple of months before Promised Day. Ed could remember Ling telling him just after Father was defeated that the Yao clan was taking the Chang clan under their wing and offering them protection. He could also remember Ling telling him that Mei would have no need for a stone so that led Ed to assume Mei had returned Marcoh's stone to him and if it had been returned than Marcoh might've used it on Hawkeye and Mustang.

"Thanks, Doc," Ed said once more. "See you later," Ed said and the doctor gave a confirming nod before he left the room. Once the door was shut, Ed claimed the seat next to Al's bed and turned to the Animals, crossing his legs up underneath him. "So who the hell has been pissing the doctor off?"

* * *

Barely half an hour after Ayala and Chester started regaling him with stories about who had been annoying Overland – Major Armstrong and Greed, to Ed's lack of surprise – Al received some visitors of his own. Overland had been nice enough to shut the door behind him before he left so Ed had a moment to figure out who was about to walk into the room, thanks to the two Animals with them. So when the Hughes family walked into Al's hospital room, Ed was completely unsurprised.

"Big brother Ed! You're awake!" Elysia exclaimed the moment she saw him sitting next to Al's bedside. Ed was barely able to adjust himself so he could grab the six-year-old before she slammed into any of his bruises.

"Hey, El," Ed said, lifting the young girl up and onto his lap so they could hug each other tighter. Leo and Lilith both rubbed up against his legs in greeting before they curled up together under his chair so they wouldn't be in the way.

"I'm sorry about your daddy," Elysia said as she snuggled into his neck and Ed felt himself stiffen slightly. Thankfully, Elysia didn't seem to notice. "Daddy told Mama what happened to him and his horse. I'm really sorry, Ed."

"Thank you, El," Ed said, trying his hardest not to show his discomfort at speaking about Hohenheim's death. Both Hughes and Gracia looked a mixture of proud that their daughter was so compassionate but apologetic that she'd brought Hohenheim up at all. Ed ended up giving them a small smile, telling them he wasn't mad at them as he squeezed Elysia just as tightly as she was hugging him.

"How are you, Ed?" Gracia asked as she knelt slightly in front of his chair and cupped the cheek Elysia wasn't pressed against and looked him over for any signs of pain.

"I'm fine, Miss Gracia," Ed told her honestly. "Just really tired still," he said. "Doc's said I can be discharged in the morning so long as my only complaint is still being tired."

"Doctor Overland told us as much when we spoke to him yesterday," Hughes said before pinching his face slightly. "Well, in all honesty, he told Roy since he's your other emergency contact aside from Al but we were in the room as well," Hughes told him. Neither adult brought up Hohenheim or Calix, something Ed was grateful for because getting sympathy from Elysia over their death was one thing. He wasn't confident enough about how he'd react to Hohenheim and Calix's deaths being mentioned to want to risk what would happen in front of Elysia.

"You were asleep for over two days, big brother! How can you still be tired?" Elysia asked, moving so she was looking Ed in the eyes quizzically.

"Elysia, you know how all the soldiers were in a big fight three days ago?" Hughes asked before Ed could respond and Elysia nodded. "Your big brothers fought alongside everyone. We told you how Ed was the one who managed to take down the bad guy, remember?"

"I remember, daddy," Elysia said and Hughes gave her a smile.

"Good," he said. "Ed's still tired even though he was asleep for so long because his body is still trying to recover from everything he did three days ago. The bad guy was really strong so it took Ed using a lot of energy to take care of him. Do you understand?" Hughes asked and Elysia screwed up her face in thought.

"Big Brother Ed is still tired because his body is tired," Elysia said and Hughes grinned at her.

"That's exactly it, angel," Hughes told her, tickling her cheek with a finger and making Elysia squirm and giggle. Hughes' attention turned back to Ed. "Did Doctor Overland tell you anything about Al?" he asked and Ed nodded as Gracia straightened and leaned against the foot of Al's bed, looking just as curious and worried as her husband.

"Sort of," Ed said. "They're still optimistic that he's going to make a full recovery but until he's awake and they get a better idea of how much Mei's alkahestry is helping him if he accepts her continued help, they can't tell me any sort of timeframe. They want to bring him out of the induced coma tomorrow but Doc was quick to tell me that it's likely that his body will stay in a comatose state though," Ed told them and both of the adult Hughes' looked relieved.

"That's good to hear. I'm sure that if he's as stubborn as you are, it won't be long until he's up and about," Hughes said, his lips quirked into a half smile while Ed rolled his eyes, his own grin on his lips.

"Yeah, more than likely. Not much can keep us Elrics down after all," Ed said, the familiar words making Gracia look a lot less concerned than she had been. "How's everyone else? What's been going on?" Ed asked, switching the topic to something else.

"How about the two of you talk about that outside in the hallway? Elysia and I would like to check on Alphonse without being distracted by your conversation," Gracia said, pointedly looking at her daughter, who was still in Ed's lap.

"Of course, dear," Hughes said, straightening from the relaxed stance he was in. "Come on, Elysia. Your big brother and I need to talk. You can tell Alphonse all about what you've been up too since you last spoke to him," Hughes said but Elysia didn't move from her spot.

"I'll be right back, Elysia," Ed said, figuring that was why she didn't do as her father said and her big green eyes blinked up at him. "Your dad and I need to talk about boring military things and I'm sure both Chester and Al will want to hear about your day," Ed told her with a smile. Chester nodded as enthusiastically as he could manage when Elysia looked over at him.

"You'll be right back?" Elysia asked, her bottom lip wobbling and Ed nodded.

"I promise," Ed said and that was enough for the young girl. She allowed Ed to place her on the chair once he was up and he, Hughes and Ayala left the room. "So what happened?" Ed asked once more the moment the door swung shut behind them. There wasn't anyone else in the hallway except for a nurse who was making her checks on the patients in the other rooms but she was further down the corridor.

"We lost several soldiers during the fight, both from Briggs and East City. Though I know Roy ordered our side to aim to only take down the other side, not kill them, they suffered their own losses," Hughes said. "I know you were already told about Captain Buccaneer, Eric and Fu but no one else you knew lost their lives," Hughes said and Ed nodded. He hadn't forgotten that Buccaneer, Eric and Fu had both died and the loss he felt still stung lightly. He may not have been awfully close to the two humans but they were good men and he grieved their loss even as he felt relief at the fact that no one else he knew had died. "As for what's happening, Grumman has ascended to Fuhrer since he was the highest ranked general who we were sure wasn't on Bradley's side. He's only been in power for three days but he's already making some big decisions," Hughes told him.

"Like what?" Ed asked curiously. "Aside from promoting people who didn't want to be promoted," Ed grumbled, still sore about his new rank. To add to his irritation, Hughes just grinned at him.

"After offering promotions to those who fought alongside you and Roy – including me, by the way – so he could fill the ranks and prevent the military from falling," Hughes said as Ed continued scowling, though the blonde did offer him a congratulations which Hughes accepted with a small nod and grin, "he held a press conference where he announced that everything that Gracia had said over the radio was true, that Bradley had been a homunculous, as was Selim, and he gave the public his promise that from that moment forward, the military would be completely transparent with what they were doing. Once he'd announced that, he then went on to lay out the plans for how the military would be helping Central recover and rebuild after the battle," Hughes reported. "Right now, everything I've been hearing from the public has said that Grumman and his plans have been met with approval," Hughes told Ed, who gave a small sigh of relief.

"So the public isn't going to riot or make a fuss over everything?" Ed asked, needing the confirmation and Hughes nodded.

"Not at the moment but every hour that passes by where no one starts something means the chances of us having a riot break out gets even smaller," Hughes told him. "Grumman has promised another press conference in a month's time when most of the rebuilding has started and Central has gotten back into something of a routine so he can answer more questions but what he's told the public seems to have been enough to quell their need for answers," Hughes said.

"Well that's good," Ed said. "One less headache for everyone to deal with. How did the public take the news about Bradley and Selim? I can't imagine all of them bought it when Miss Gracia told them over the radio," Ed said and Hughes nodded.

"You'd have been right. Gracia managed to keep people in their homes for the most part just because what she was saying seemed so fantastical that they needed to know what else she was saying but a lot of the public didn't fully buy her story," Hughes said, sounding like he was still mad about the fact that anyone would have the audacity not to believe his wife outright. Ayala and Ed shared an eyeroll that Hughes didn't seem to notice. "When Grumman confirmed the fact that they were homunculi and that Selim was over two hundred years old, the public had been stunned long enough for Grumman to produce some proof that Roy's aunt managed to dig up for him."

"Wait, why did Mustang have someone dig up proof in the first place?" Ed asked curiously. He would have never bothered finding proof of what Bradley and Selim were since Ayala and Chester had confirmed they were homunculi.

"So that we would have something other than our words to prove what they were," Hughes said. "You may have been believed by most because of your standing in the public but you still would've had people who wouldn't have bought it. I think Roy foresaw the problem and asked his aunt to use her information network to find physical proof people would be able to see and check for themselves. It worked since a lot of the people who were the loudest in voicing their disbelief had been quietened by it," Hughes explained.

"Well, even Mustang has to have a good idea every now and then," Ed said, causing Hughes to laugh.

"At least my track record of good ideas outweighs your own, Fullmetal." Mustang's familiar drawl sounded from behind Ed and he glanced over his shoulder to give his commanding officer a flat look.

"You keep on believing that," Ed snarked as he took in the man's appearance. His hands were still bandaged to protect the injuries but the black and white strips Ed and Izumi had used had been replaced with the pristine white of hospital bandages. Most noticeable though, were that his eyes were no longer cloudy and unfocused. Nala walked beside him and Ed grinned at the sight of her. "Hey, Nala," Ed said to the lioness who was obviously using all of her self-control to stop herself from running at him in much the same manner Elysia had done earlier.

" _Hey, yourself,"_  Nala said before giving into her urges when Ed crouched down and wrapping him in a hug.  _"You had everyone so worried. You just lost consciousness with no warning! What happened to you?"_  she asked as she nuzzled his cheek, delighted he was awake once more.

"I'd like to know that for myself. You had no head injuries that could've been the reason behind your lack of consciousness. The doctors couldn't find a physical reason for it either," Mustang said. Ed sighed as he gave Nala another hug before he started straightening, giving her enough time to back off before he straightened all the way up.

"I don't know for certain," Ed started saying as he thought about that foreign yet familiar presence he'd felt in his mind just after Calix had passed and just before he couldn't remember anything further, "but I think Truth knocked me out somehow," Ed said, remembering Ayala's theory. "It probably couldn't take Chester's energy from me while I was awake so it did something to me so I wouldn't be," Ed told them.

"But weren't you awake when you were given Chester's energy after your accident?" Hughes asked. "Why couldn't Truth take it from you while you were conscious but could give it to you?"

Ed shook his head. "No, I lost consciousness seconds after I brought Al back. I never felt Chester's energy in me until I woke back up afterwards at Granny's," Ed told him.

"Oh, that makes sense," Hughes said, causing Mustang to roll his eyes at his best friend. "Should you even be out of bed? You were blind yesterday!" Hughes said, turning on Mustang.

"He was unconscious for two days!" Mustang said, gesturing to Ed. "Why don't you mother-hen him instead of me?"

"What are you? 6?" Ed asked, earning a glare from Mustang for his comment.

"Edward knows his limits when it comes to waking up from being unconscious. He's had enough damned experience with that. You, however, have never been blind then not blind before," Hughes sniffed at him. Ed wasn't sure whether he imagined the reproachful tone in Hughes' voice when he spoke about Ed or not before seeing the look on Ayala's face and realised that he hadn't misheard.

"Well, I assume I'm allowed to walk wherever I damn well want since my doctor hasn't said otherwise," Mustang snapped. Seeing the offended look on Hughes' face, Ed made the executive decision to go and get Gracia so she could separate the two before one of the nurses or doctors had to.

* * *

Both Ayala and Nala followed him the few steps it took to get to Al's room but Nala stayed outside the room while Ed ducked inside. Both Gracia and Elysia looked up when he entered and both of them gave him smiles, though Elysia's was far brighter since she was happy Ed had kept his promise. Chester, Leo and Lilith looked up as well but both foxes did nothing more than greet Ed happily while Chester got to his feet and headed over to say hello to Nala.

"What's going on?" Gracia asked when her husband didn't follow Ed into the room.

"Mustang turned up and now they're about to get into an argument because Hughes is fussing," Ed said and grinned amusedly when all Gracia did was sigh.

"I'll go and separate them," she said. "We wanted to say hello to Roy and Riza while we were here now anyway," Gracia said before giving Ed another warm smile. "We'll come back and say goodbye to you before we leave," she promised and Ed nodded.

"I'll be here," he told her, gesturing to the chair Elysia was still perched on.

"Good," Gracia said as she started moving towards the door, "because Maes and I would be most upset if you decided to break out of the hospital, especially since you're going to be released so soon anyway," she told him, garnering a chuckle from Ed.

"I already promised Ayala, Chester and Doc that I would stay here until I was discharged by him," Ed said. From next to him, Ayala nodded and when Gracia looked at him, so did Chester. Ed wasn't sure whether he should be offended or not by the fact that Gracia sought confirmation from the Animals.

" _Considering your tendency to try and leave the hospital the moment you're awake and able to? I wouldn't bother being offended,"_  Ayala informed him dryly. The glare Ed sent her way didn't seem to faze the golden wolf in the slightest.

"Come on, Elysia. Let's make sure your dad doesn't irritate your uncle too much," Gracia said once she realised the young girl hadn't followed her.

"Can I stay here with Ed and Ayala? Please?" Elysia pleaded. Upon seeing Gracia's hesitation, Ed intervened.

"It's alright with me if she does. I only planned on talking to Ayala and Ches about what happened anyway," Ed said.

"Alright," Gracia said, knowing that Elysia would be difficult if Gracia insisted she leave them now that Ed was awake and not wanting to risk her daughter having a tantrum in the middle of the hospital and annoying everyone else who was recovering from various injuries and illnesses. "You behave yourself for your big brother, alright? We'll be back in a few minutes to say goodbye and head home," Gracia promised and Ed nodded while Elysia cheered at her victory.

"I'll be good, Mama," Elysia swore when Gracia gave her an expectant look.

"Good," Gracia said to her. "I'll go and settle those two down now," Gracia said, sighing as though she was talking about a chore she'd had to perform numerous times and Ed hid his grin in Elysia's hair as he picked her up so he could sit down in the only chair in the room.

"Have fun," Ed said as he and Elysia waved to her encouragingly.

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Gracia said with a small, slightly mischievous smile. She glanced down to the two foxes but when neither moved, she gave a small shrug and waved goodbye before she shut the door behind her once Chester had slipped back into the room.

"How come you two didn't go?" Ed asked the two foxes as he settled himself and Elysia as comfortably as he could on the chair.

" _We wanted to spend some time with you now that you're awake,"_  Lilith told him honestly and Ed felt a small flush crawl up his neck.  _"We also wanted to make sure you were alright. And I don't mean physically,"_  Lilith told him, adding the last part when she felt his standard response of 'I'm fine' about to be said.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked even though he had a pretty good idea what they were referring to.

" _You lost your father,"_  Lilith said gently,  _"and you felt the loss of his Animal. We wanted to see whether you were alright,"_  she told him. Ed could feel Leo in his mind, the male grey fox just as curious and concerned as Lilith.

"Yeah, I am at the moment," Ed said. Despite the fact that he wasn't speaking out loud, his voice grew quiet. Elysia didn't seem to notice anything as she regaled Chester, Ayala and Al with a tale about what she'd done the previous night. "I don't think it's actually registered in my mind that they sacrificed themselves for us. We didn't have them in our lives for 12 years and I've only spent, at most, four days with him and Calix since Granny asked me and Ayala to pay Resembool a visit a few months back," Ed said. "I'm so used to them not being around us that I think most of me thinks that they've just left us again," he admitted.

" _Will you let someone know when it does hit you?"_  Lilith asked, her sweet voice concerned.

" _You know Maes and Gracia wouldn't judge you when you finally need to grieve your loss,"_  Leo added when Ed's kneejerk reaction to tell them that he'd be fine dealing with it on his own or with just Ayala there to help him through it could be sensed by both Animals.  _"They'd listen to you as you tried to figure everything out, if you needed them too,"_  he said.

Ed felt his mind debate with itself. He knew Leo was right and that both Gracia and Hughes would help him through the loss of Hohenheim and Calix when their deaths actually hit him. He knew neither of them, or several other people he knew for that matter, would judge him or belittle him for showing emotion but, at the same, he'd spent so long trying to act in the manner the military expected from its soldiers rather than the teenager he was. Showing any sort of negative emotion like grief was only accepted for a certain amount of time but you couldn't show too much of that emotion in front of your fellows.

"I'll try," Ed finally said, knowing the answer wouldn't be what Lilith or Leo wanted but it was the best he could give them. Thankfully, the two seemed to accept that answer.

" _It's all we ask,"_  Lilith said. Ed thought he felt one of them nudge the back of his right leg but the pressure was pulled away before he could check who it was.

"Big brother Ed, are you even listening to me?" Elysia's demanding and unimpressed voice broke Ed from his thoughts and brought his attention to her.

"Sorry, El, but I was talking with your parents Animals," Ed apologised, ignoring the snickering he could hear from Chester and Ayala in response to Elysia's pout. "What were you saying?"

"I was telling you about the game Mama, Daddy and I played last night," Elysia told him with all of the exasperation the six-year-old could manage.

"Aw, I'm sorry I missed hearing about it," Ed said, making sure he sounded appropriately upset over the fact he didn't hear one of her stories.

Elysia let out a sigh that would've rivalled one of her mother's when she'd called Hughes three times for dinner already but he was too lost in his current investigation to hear her. "I suppose I can tell you about it again," she said and Ed gave her a tight hug.

"I would certainly appreciate that, Princess," Ed said, tickling her a little until she squealed and squirmed to get away from the attack.

"Okay but all of the Animals have to promise not to distract you again," Elysia told him before she glared at both Ayala and Chester, both of whom gave her solemn nods. She even wriggled out of his grip to look at the foxes underneath the chair. Ed could only assume they nodded because she was soon back in his lap. "So Daddy was the monster and Mama was the unicorn and I was the princess…"

* * *

" _I've been tasked with escorting you to Roy's room."_ Nala's voice was in his mind, startling him slightly as he hadn't been expecting it.

Ed had been sitting in silence for the most of the last hour, Elysia, Leo and Lilith having been collected by Gracia and Hughes half an hour after Gracia had gone to wrangle her husband. After having spent the next three hours assuring various Animals that he was alright and the prognosis on Al, he'd only spoken with Ayala, Chester and one of the nurses who had come by to check on him and Al in that last hour. She'd even managed to extract a promise from Ed that he would return to his room within thirty minutes of her speaking with him and that time was drawing close.

"Why?" Ed asked, feeling his irritation already spike. He didn't have to explain why to both Ayala and Chester since he wasn't blocking them from the conversation.

" _He wants to speak with you,"_  Nala said.  _"I promise I'll smother him if he starts annoying you beyond acceptable levels,"_  Nala added when she sensed his debate about whether it would be worth the lecture he'd receive if he just didn't go.

Ed sighed in resignation. "Fine. What room number is he?" Ed asked as he got to his feet.

" _I'm outside,"_  Nala told him with a laugh as Ed realised that he could sense an Animal he was bonded with outside Al's room and hadn't even noticed.

"Yes, you are," Ed said, laughing at himself. "Are you coming with, Ches, or are you gonna stay here?" Ed asked the leopard.

" _I'll stay here with Al,"_  Chester said, a touch of an apology in his voice but Ed just nodded.

"No worries. I'll head back to my room after I've spoke with Colonel Bastard so I'll see you tomorrow," Ed told him.

" _Brigadier-General,"_  Nala corrected and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna keep calling him 'Colonel Bastard' and see how long it takes for him start ranting at me about proper use of ranks," Ed warned her.

" _At least it'll make up for the near four months of boredom I've had to put up with,"_  Nala said with an irritated sigh at her memories that had Ed chuckling before he focused back on Chester.

"You'd better let me know what you want for breakfast so I can have Du ask Breda to pick something up when he visits," Ed said and Chester nodded as he curled back up at Al's feet. Ed gave the leopard an understanding look before he ruffled his ears. "Al will be awake soon. You know he will," Ed said and Chester gave a long sigh.

" _I know and I know he'll be alright. It's not just the doctors saying that. I_ know _he'll be fine but he just looks so fragile that I'm so worried that I'm wrong,"_  Chester admitted quietly.

"Your instincts have never been wrong before, right?" Ed asked and Chester nodded. "Don't start doubting them now. Your instincts say Al will be alright so listen to them. Don't make the same mistakes Al and I did when you and Aya told us what your instincts were saying and we ignored you two," Ed said, memories of the night of their failed transmutation and the chimera made from Nina and Alexander springing to his mind before he buried them violently back down.

" _Yeah, you're right,"_  Chester said and Ed was happy to feel his optimism grow.  _"Thanks, Ed,"_  Chester said, rubbing his head against the hand that still rested on it.

"Anytime," Ed told him, scratching one of his ears before he retracted his hand. "Don't forget to tell me what you want for breakfast and wake me if something happens," Ed said. Once Chester had promised he would do both things, Ed and Ayala left the room.

" _How's everything?"_  Nala asked the moment they were through the door and Ed nodded as he closed it.

"About as good as it can be, I suppose," Ed told her. "So what does your human want to talk to me about now?" Ed asked and Nala shrugged.

" _I think he just wants to check on you, if I'm being honest. He'll never admit it but you had him worried the last couple of days,"_  Nala said casually.

"Really?" Ed asked but – to Nala's and Ayala's surprise – he didn't scoff the word like he usually would've. Instead, he asked as though he was afraid Nala was joking but really didn't want her to be.

" _Really,"_  Nala confirmed.  _"Your being unconscious for so long with no known reason mixed with what happened just before you lost consciousness and then what happened back in Father's lair when he opened your gateways and used the energy to absorb god has really had Roy worried about you,"_  Nala said.  _"I don't think Roy's ever been so close to showing how much he truly cares about you as he had been when you realised you couldn't feel any of the Animals. If he wasn't so emotionally constipated, he would've been trying to comfort you alongside Hohenheim, Izumi and Al,"_  Nala told him.

Ed didn't respond to her as they continued walking casually down the hallway but Nala didn't seem to mind as he thought over what she'd said. He knew there had been a few times throughout the last five years where he'd caught himself wondering if Mustang cared about him as much as Ayala, Chester and Nala insisted he did before he'd convinced himself he was being a hopeful idiot. But the last few months, since Baschool if he was being honest, Ed found himself toying with the idea that maybe the Animals were right after all. If Mustang truly didn't care, he wouldn't have been constantly annoying Nala for updates on his healing and he knew his commanding officer was because Nala had shared memories of it after he hadn't believed her when she'd told him.

Then there had been moments between his seeing Hohenheim and Calix for the first time since he was four in Resembool and his second trip to North City and Fort Briggs when he thought he'd seen Mustang go to ask something when Al had brought Hohenheim up around him. Ed had been trying harder in that time to not lose his temper and snap at Al since he'd known his younger brother would likely bring their father up more often after Ed had seen him but some days it had been really hard to just bite his tongue. On those days, he had seen Mustang open his mouth before closing it and Ed had always assumed he was about to make some snarky comment only to have been told off by Nala before he could but now Ed was thinking that it was possible that Mustang had been trying to ask whether he was alright but didn't know how to.

Neither Nala nor Ayala so much as whispered a comment to each other, on the off-chance Ed heard them and grew embarrassed by the fact that they could hear his thoughts going 100 miles an hour over this revelation. Instead, they just shared an eyeroll and glared at the blonde's back with an 'I told you so' expression worthy of anyone who had spent five years trying to convince someone of something. Ayala did end up breaking Ed from his thoughts when she tugged on the bottom of his hospital shirt to stop him when Nala halted in front of Mustang's room and Ed looked like he was gonna keep going.

" _I'm sure your brother and both Ayala and Chester have told you at least once to pay attention to where you're going,"_  Nala said, voice filled with laughter as Ed's cheeks pinked.

"Zip it," he mumbled in lieu of an actual comeback and scowled when that sent Nala into a fit of chuckles. "You're so mean to me," Ed groused and his comment caused the lioness to roll her eyes.

" _You know full well that I love you and am nicer to you than I am to most people,"_  Nala said, dismissing his theatrics and Ed grinned.

"Yeah, that's true," he agreed, unable to argue with her since Ed had witnessed just how Nala treated people she found intolerable. It varied from who it was and what rank they held but he had witnessed her full-on snarling when someone she didn't like entered Mustang's office while he, Al and their Animals had been there to turn in Ed's latest mission report. Then there had been the time when she caused someone to trip by 'accidentally' not realising they were there and crossing into their path.

Nala titled her head as she listened to something only she could hear before grinning slightly.  _"Roy is getting impatient. Unlike some people I could name but won't – Edward – he can sense me outside the door and wants to know what's taking so long,"_  Nala said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Would you just let it go already?" Ed asked. Nala didn't answer verbally but the smirk on her face told him what it would've been anyways. Shaking his head slightly, Ed reached out and opened the door to Mustang's room, letting the two Animals go in first before he entered himself and shut the door. Looking up, Ed glared at Mustang, though it wasn't filled with annoyance he was trying to show but he elected to ignore that. "What do you want?"

Mustang fixed him with a flat look as Nala joined him on his bed. He was still dressed in the hospital garb similar to what Ed wore but his hair was wet and Ed thought the bandages on his hands were new ones. Eyeing the bandages now that he'd had some time to just start processing everything, Ed wondered why his hands were even bandaged if Marcoh had been by to heal his eyes. Ed knew that the injuries Mustang had suffered would've done some permanent damage to his hands and, more specifically, would've made it damn near impossible to snap to create his alchemy once they healed fully so Ed was a little more than curious as to why Mustang wouldn't have asked Marcoh to heal them as well as his eyes.

"Take a seat, Fullmetal. There are some things we need to go over," Mustang said, nodding to the empty chair. The man had an air of seriousness and sympathy – something that confused Ed – about him so, for once, Ed didn't argue or complain at being given an order and did as he was told. Nala immediately shifted so she was within reach of Ed while still next to Mustang on the bed and Ayala sat right against Ed's flesh leg, pressing herself against the entirety of his lower leg.

"Alright, what?" Ed asked when Mustang didn't speak for a few seconds after Ed had taken the seat. He'd noticed his commanding officer looked a little unsure about what he was trying to say but Ed had a feeling Nala would not be on his side if he started teasing the man so he left it.

"Firstly, my condolences about Hohenheim and Calix. I know you and your father had plenty of issues you still needed to work out but the loss of a parent is never an easy one, no matter your relationship with them," Mustang said, a little stiffly but with enough empathy that Ed was reminded starkly of the fact that Mustang had lost both his parents at a young age and knew what Ed was going through more so than others might. That reminder was enough to stop Ed from snapping at Mustang that he was fine and that he didn't care that Hohenheim was dead.

Unable to think of how to respond to Mustang's words, Ed simply gave a nod though he refused to meet the other alchemist's eyes. Because of this, he didn't see the flash of sympathy cross Mustang's face before the man cleared his throat. "The next thing is your father and Calix's funeral. Pinako Rockbell has already claimed their bodies on your behalf and arranged transport for them to Resembool. Since they'd both played instrumental roles in saving Amestris and the military, Fuhrer Grumman has offered to pay for transporting their bodies and their funerals. You will, of course, be granted the time off to attend the funeral," Mustang told him.

"'Their bodies'?" Ed asked, faced pinched with confusion. "But Truth took Hohenheim while he was in its dimension. There should only be Calix's," Ed said and Mustang's features softened slightly.

"His body was returned when Alphonse was after you'd collapsed," Mustang told him in a tone gentler than Ed could ever remember him using.

"Oh," Ed said softly. Ayala pushed her head under his left hand, twisting herself slightly to do so. "I didn't think Truth would've given it back," Ed admitted.

Mustang wasn't quite sure how to respond to that so he simply continued as though Ed hadn't made the comment. "As I said, Pinako Rockbell is escorting them back to Resembool. I imagine she'll have her Animal contact you once the funeral's arranged," Mustang said.

"If Al's awake and tells me to go, I'll go but if he isn't," Ed said, shaking his head, "I won't leave him here without me, not when he's going to wake up any day now. I won't do it," Ed said but Mustang got the feeling he wasn't directing those words at anyone other than himself.

"Fullm- Ed," Mustang said, choosing to use Ed's real name rather than title and that got the blonde's attention on him for the first time since Mustang mentioned Hohenheim. "No one will make you chose between being here for Alphonse or heading home for Hohenheim's funeral. Everyone will understand why you chose Alphonse and no one will judge you for it," Mustang told him.

Again, Ed didn't know how to respond to Mustang being so understanding so he simply nodded, dropping eye contact once more. Mustang gave a small, internal sigh of annoyance but it wasn't directed towards Edward. Instead, it was directed towards himself and his inability to show anyone he cared for just how much he did so, be it through sincere praise or moments like this, where he ignored military protocol about how he should act with his subordinates. The fact that he wanted to show Ed how he truly felt, only to then have Ed have no clue how to deal with it had him angry with himself. Because of this, he hesitated before he spoke next, unsure whether it was wise to continue as he planned or to leave it for now.

" _Don't you dare,"_  Nala snapped at him. From the lack of reaction, she'd cut Ed out of the conversation so he wouldn't hear.  _"You know full well that if you back out now, you won't get another chance and you are equally aware that Ed deserves to have this conversation with you while you're determined to be completely open with him rather than hide behind the mask the military expects you to wear,"_  Nala told him, eyes flashing warningly as she let him imagine the amount of trouble he'd be in if he did back out.

"The other reason I asked Nala to escort you here is because I wanted to make sure you're okay," Mustang said. Again, Ed's eyes shot up to meet his but this time they were filled with surprise and a little bit of suspicion. Mustang couldn't even be mad about the second emotion since the few times he'd asked after Edward's health from the boy himself had been followed with snide remarks about not wanting more paperwork caused by him.

"I'm fine," Ed told him. It wasn't quite a snap but it was close. "Doc said I could be discharged in the morning as long as I have nothing other than being tired to complain about," Ed added. He didn't bother to mention his only significant injury and the fact he'd need to see Doctor Overland in a few weeks for a check up since he figured the flame alchemist had already been told.

"Ed, you know I wasn't talking about your physical health though I am glad you came through that fight with such minor injuries," Mustang said honestly. He'd truly been relieved when the doctor's had found no medical reason to explain the sudden loss of consciousness, even if his worry had then skyrocketed because now they had  _no_  clue what had happened until Ayala had told Nala her hypothesis. "You went through far more than everyone else on Promised Day so I'd appreciate an honest answer about how you are," Mustang said firmly. He hadn't been able to get the image of Ed's distress when he realised he couldn't feel any Animal he was bonded to, other than the five in the room with them after Father had forced their gateways open, out of his head. It was one of the few times he truly regretted allowing Nala to sight-share with him in the short time he'd been blind so he could see what was happening around him.

Ed squirmed uncomfortably under Mustang's openly concerned expression. Part of the blonde was telling him that this was a sick joke; that Mustang didn't truly care but the other, much bigger part of him believed that his commanding officer was genuinely worried about him. Before he could stop himself, he glanced over at Nala and met the lioness' eyes. Knowing what he was silently asking her, she gave a simple nod and flooded their bond with her assurances that Mustang was being sincere. Ayala pushed herself further into his flesh hand and he felt her encouragement flow through their bond to mingle with Nala's own. Choosing to believe in the two Animals who had never steered him wrong, Ed faced Mustang once more.

"Right now, I'm fine because I don't think I've let everything that's happened hit me yet," Ed admitted, nearly repeating what he'd said to Lilith and Leo when Gracia and Hughes had been with Mustang. "I'll probably continue ignoring it for the next few days or couple of weeks because I'll be too worried about Al but yeah, right now I'm alright," Ed said. He noticed Mustang's slight grimace but Nala explained before he could ask.

" _He's not happy about how casual you sounded. It's made him realise how used to burying your emotions until they could be dealt with at a later time you are,"_  Nala informed him. Knowing what he was about to ask next, Nala answered before he could.  _"He thinks that he's part of the reason you've developed that habit and he wishes he hadn't been."_

"Oh," was all Ed could say in response. The blonde would've laughed at the betrayed look Mustang gave Nala at any other time but this time he saw it for what it was: confirmation that Mustang cared for him more than he'd been letting on. After all, why would Mustang be annoyed at Nala for saying that if it wasn't true? If Nala had been playing a trick, Mustang simply would've said so even if Ed would've been able to tell for himself.

"When you do feel the weight of everything that happened, will you please speak to someone? I know you likely wouldn't be comfortable talking with me but Hughes would listen to you without judgement, as would any of the team and – if you asked them to – they would never tell anyone about what happened," Mustang said, speaking a touch quicker than he usually would and Ed realised something. Not only was this a request instead of an order but Mustang was  _worried_  that Ed would lash out at him for asking.

"I promised Leo and Lilith I would try and talk to someone," Ed said. The corner of his lips twitched upwards for a moment at Mustang's surprised expression.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. What you went through is more than anyone else suffered so I'm happy that you'll try and find help from someone if you need it," Mustang said a little awkwardly but completely sincere.

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" Ed asked after a few seconds of silence that was growing increasingly awkward. "Because I promised the nurse I'd be back in my own room shortly and Nurse Keely is not one of the nurses who takes people not keeping their word lightly," Ed said, shuddering at the one and only time he'd tried pulling one over on the nurse in question. He'd never tried to do so after that and Keely had been quick to make he said the words 'I promise' so he would have to do as he said.

"Actually, there is one final thing," Mustang said. He must've noticed the slightly uncomfortable look on Ed's face since his eyes shone with amusement for a moment. "Fuhrer Grumman noticed when he pulled your file that your contract with the military is nearly up. He has asked that you give serious thought to whether you plan to renew your contract or leave the military when your current contract expires. He doesn't," Mustang said when Ed went to open his mouth, "expect you to answer right away. He's aware that a lot of your decision will have to do with Al and he is willing to wait for an answer. Fuhrer Grumman has also tasked me with passing along his well wishes for yourself and your brother and wants you to know that you will be placed on paid leave until Alphonse has recovered sufficiently," Mustang told him.

"Oh," Ed said, once more stunned by something Mustang had said, "that was nice of him. Always did like Grumman best out of the generals," Ed muttered to Ayala, who rolled her eyes fondly.

" _You like him best because he plays chess with you and actually makes you work for your win,"_  Ayala said with a small chuckle.

"True," Ed said with the first real smile that had been on his face since before he entered Mustang's room, "but that doesn't mean he isn't awesome." Ayala had to nod at that because she held no true misgivings about Grumman or his Animal so she couldn't counter with anything even if she wanted to.

"That was everything I wished to speak with you about so unless you have any questions, I'd suggest you head back to your room before Nurse Keely finds you," Mustang said, interrupting Ed and Ayala.

Ed wracked his brain for something he'd possibly thought of earlier to ask Mustang but was about to call it quits when something did come to mind. "What happened with Scar? He looked really injured when I saw him last," Ed said, mind flashing to the glimpse he'd gotten of the Ishvalen man when he, Ayala and Chester were heading to join the fight against Father above ground.

"As far as I know, he's alright," Mustang said. "General Armstrong took custody of him shortly after Grumman turned up. From what I've heard, he's being treated by the Armstrong family doctor for his injuries. I don't know whether anything has been decided about his fate," Mustang told him.

"Well, nothing should happen to him," Ed said and Mustang blinked in surprise.

"He's wanted for over a dozen counts of murder and attempted murder, including yours," Mustang reminded him but Ed flapped his automail hand at him in a dismissive manner.

"Yeah, but some of those people probably deserved it," Ed said, "plus, he was instrumental to our success on Promised Day and he apologised for trying to kill me. He knows he was wrong to do what he did but he just wanted someone to pay for what happened to his country and brother," Ed told him. Mustang's surprise only grew with every word Ed spoke.

"Wait, when did he apologise to you?" Mustang asked.

"When he turned up where we'd trapped Pride near Kanama on the Promised Day," Ed said. "He apologised to me for what he'd done to me, Al and the Animals personally and he admitted that he'd realised that his god and Animal would not be happy with him killing people in his name when Scar had no right to take their lives," Ed told him.

"Interesting," Mustang said thoughtfully. "If he's truly regretful about his actions and is willing to admit to his crimes, we might be able to make some sort of deal for him. Especially since, as you said, he played an integral role on Promised Day and without his assistance and willingness to involve other Ishvalens, we most likely wouldn't have won against Father with as few injuries as we did," Mustang said. "I'll talk with Fuhrer Grumman about it once I've been released from here," Mustang promised and Ed gave a nod, knowing he couldn't ask for anything more from the man. "Was there anything else?"

"Why didn't you let Marcoh heal your hands?" Ed blurted out before he could stop himself. He felt his cheeks darken as he flushed when Mustang chuckled slightly.

"He did heal them," Mustang said. "I just didn't let him heal them completely. I only let him use the stone to make sure I didn't lose functionality in my hands," Mustang explained at Ed's confused look.

"How come? Wouldn't it have been easier to just let him heal them properly?" Ed asked before mentally facepalming at the fact that he'd just blatantly asked such a private question.

"I didn't want to lose functionality," Mustang started explaining, "so I let him heal them up to the point where I wouldn't be at risk of permanent damage. I want the injuries to scar so I'll have a constant reminder of the fact that my flame alchemy doesn't make me invincible but, despite that, I am capable of surviving and winning against those who are stronger than me," Mustang told him unabashedly honest. For the third time that night, Ed found himself unable to do much more than nod in response, which he did. As crazy as Mustang's answer might've been to anyone else, Ed understood it completely. "Is there anything else you want to discuss before Nurse Keely starts hunting you down?" Mustang asked but Ed shook his head.

"No, I'll talk to Miss Riza tomorrow sometime and see how she's going so I can't really think of anything else I'd want to ask about," Ed said, rising out of his chair slowly enough for Ayala to shift so she wouldn't be trodden on.

"Alright," Mustang said with a nod. "Nala and I will pay Alphonse a visit tomorrow. I imagine we'll see you there as well," Mustang said and Ed huffed.

"Won't be likely to find me anywhere else until he wakes up," Ed said. There was a tense undercurrent in his voice, as though he was daring Mustang to comment on it but the raven-haired man did no such thing.

"See you tomorrow then, Edward," Mustang said. Ed startled lightly as the use of his first name, not expecting it after the heart-to-heart was over.

"See ya, Mustang. Bye, Nala," Ed said, giving the lioness a pat before he and Ayala headed for the door.

" _Bye, you two,"_  Nala said just as Mustang echoed a similar sentiment.

Pausing at the door, Ed half turned to face Mustang once more. "Thanks for checking in on me and making sure I was coping," Ed said softly, almost as though he didn't want to speak loudly enough for Mustang to hear him.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Mustang said. "I do care about you, you know," he said, a teasing lilt to his voice but both Animals and Ed could see that Mustang was truly making sure that Ed did know.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that," Ed said, giving Mustang a final, rare, genuine smile before he left the brigadier-general's room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

* * *

Over the next week, Ed and Ayala practically lived in Al's hospital room while his brother continued sleeping peacefully. Doctor Overland had kept his word and he and two nurses had come into Alphonse's room the day after Ed had woken from being knocked out by Truth to reverse the coma they'd been forced to induce. But, just as Overland had warned, Alphonse hadn't woken up. To Ed's disappointment and worry, he hadn't even stirred. It had taken Chester, Ayala and Overland combined to assure Ed that the fact that Al's unresponsiveness wasn't a bad thing. In the end, Overland pointed out that they preferred their patient's status to remain unchanged rather than worsen and that had helped Ed settle down the most.

Ed had convinced Doctors Overland and Grainger – who was Al's secondary doctor – to set up an extra bed in Al's room so Ed could sleep in there at night instead of the hospital chair. They'd done so on the condition that Ed, Ayala and Chester all left the hospital and its grounds for at least two hours every day. Ed had agreed readily, despite the worry he could feel from Chester and the doctors had left the room pleased. Once they were gone, Ed had informed Chester that the doctors hadn't said they all had to leave the hospital together and that they'd split it into shifts so that someone was always with Alphonse while the other two were out. Chester had been much happier with the agreement after that.

The day after his and Mustang's talk had proven to be exhausting just by the sheer amount of people who stopped by to visit him and Alphonse. In the morning, Breda and Dubuffet had stopped by with the promised breakfast but they didn't get the chance to chat as Breda was needed elsewhere immediately. Ed, Al and the Animals were next visited by the Hughes family so they could check that Ed was alright and offer their couch to him if he wanted to sleep at theirs. He'd been thankful but had turned the offer down, not wanting to let Al out of his sight for more than a few minutes just yet. Gracia and Maes had understood but pointedly told him that the offer would remain open indefinitely and all he needed to do was ask. The sincerity in their voices when they'd told him that had almost made Ed flush, especially when he remembered what Hughes had said to Hohenheim after the fight with Father.

Shortly after Gracia managed to convince Hughes and Elysia that they needed to leave Ed and Al to rest, the brothers and their Animals received their next visitors in the form of Hawkeye and Soren. The owl had immediately left Hawkeye's shoulder to land softly in Ed's lap and gently click his beak against his cheek as he butted his head against Ed's. The blonde hadn't been able to hold his flush back a second time when Hawkeye informed him that Soren had been extremely worried about Ed since he hadn't been able to contact him when he was taken and he hadn't had the chance to talk to him before he lost consciousness. The flush only darkened when Soren had confirmed what she'd said and started fussing over him.

Hawkeye ended up being the visitor who stayed the longest that day but only because she'd mentioned that she'd watched the fight between Scar and Bradley in its entirety and Ed had wanted to know everything that had happened. Hawkeye had seemed more than glad to recount the fight and Ed thought he saw a gleam of vindictive pleasure in her eyes when she spoke of the injuries Scar inflicted on their disgraced late Fuhrer. Ed had then made her stay a little longer by asking about her injuries, how she was healing and why she hadn't been released yet.

Hawkeye had been gentle when she broke the news that one of the Bradley rejects had sliced her neck open shortly after he'd been kidnapped, confirming Ed's fears that the blood he'd seen soaking her jacket and shirt was hers. She'd been quick so assure him that her injuries had been fully healed by Marcoh but she was still in hospital because the stone couldn't replace the blood she'd lost. Seeing Ed's stricken expression, she'd lightly grasped his left hand and reminded him that she was alright and that she'd be out of the hospital within a couple of days since the doctors were only keeping her until she'd recovered completely.

Once Hawkeye and Soren were sure Ed didn't have any more questions, they left to head back to their room since they were expecting visitors themselves and Ed had agreed to pay them a visit the next day if Hawkeye hadn't been discharged. Minutes after Hawkeye and Soren had left, Ed's next lot of visitors turned up and he had to bite back a groan of annoyance at the sight of Greed in his and Al's room. The homunculous, Lan Fan, Mei and the two chimeras who hadn't been badly injured on Promised Day or in the earlier fight against Pride all crammed themselves into the room and watched as Mei performed her healing array on Alphonse while they waited respectfully outside the transmutation circle.

While Mei and Xao-Mei worked on Alphonse, Greed handed Ling's body back over to the prince once the homunculous had finished interrogating Ed about what had happened to cause him to lose consciousness. Ling and Lan Fan had both been surprised when Laika left Ling's side to join Ed on his bed so he could thank the blonde personally for all his help. The Yellow-Throated Marten had ended up spending the entire visit on Ed's lap and only Ed was privy to the fact that Laika had been doing it as an admittedly petty way to punish Ling for the last few months, though Ed had a feeling Ling knew anyway. Both members of the Yao clan filled Ed in on what had happened to have Ling extend his clan's protection to the Chang's and of their plans for when they would be leaving Amestris to return home.

It had been decided that since the current emperor's health was still rapidly declining, Ling and Lan Fan would be leaving the next day so Ling could present Greed and claim the throne. Mei would be staying in Amestris until Al was healthy enough for her to leave but she wouldn't be making the crossing by herself. Both Jerso and Zampano had offered to escort her, which Ed had been surprised about until Zampano told him that as a thank you for the help they'd given on Promised Day, Grumman had offered them a choice. They could retire from the military completely or become temporary liaisons between Xing and Amestris until the new emperor had been decided and Grumman could assign someone officially. Ling and Mei, of course, had been part of the decision and both had offered to house the chimeras for the duration of their stay. Neither Zampano or Jerso had decided on who they'd stay with but with Jerso still healing and Mei helping Al, they had plenty of time to do so.

After the Xingese and chimeras had left, Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Maria Ross, Sergeant Brosh and their Animals had paid them a visit, utilising their lunch break to do so. Much to Ed, Ayala and Chester's relief, Ross and Brosh managed to stop Armstrong before he could strip in an effort to help them heal and ushered him out of the room so they could get back to work after spending nearly twenty minutes with the Elrics. Sheska and Sam had slipped in as they left and Ed had spoken with the timid secretary for a few minutes, assuring her that he was alright, as were the Animals, and that Alphonse would make a full recovery. She, in turn, told him about what it had been like when Father had activated his array and assured him that she, her mother and their Animals were all alright despite the terror they felt when they suddenly found themselves unable to breathe one moment then lying on the floor the next. Sheska had been the only one to tell him about the experience and Ed found himself feeling relieved that they hadn't suffered more because of that array.

After Sheska and Sam's visit, the four male members of Mustang's team filed in one after the other. Since Mustang was in hospital, the four men had been temporarily reassigned to another officer to help with the reconstruction efforts. Falman and Rachel told Ed about the fight with Wrath on the rooftop and Ed felt a small amount of happiness at the fact that Fu, Buccaneer and Eric had died surrounded by people they cared about. The lieutenant also told him and the two Animals that General Armstrong had ordered half her men back to Fort Briggs, led under Miles' command, while the other half stayed with her to help the city start recovering. The other three members of Mustang's team regaled Ed with stories they hadn't told him of their time in the other major cities as well as what had happened with them on Promised Day and how they were helping with the rebuilding efforts.

Only once Ed had promised that he would still be there the next day if they wanted to check on him did the four men and their Animals leave. Even after promising, Ed had found himself having to personally assure each Animal that he wasn't going anywhere and give them a scratch or pat before they'd leave with their humans. By the time the team had left, it was near lunchtime and Ed had decided they should keep their promise to Overland and Grainger about spending some time out of the hospital so he and Ayala went to get lunch from somewhere that cooked better food. So once Ed had pulled his black coat on over his singlet, leaving his signature coat behind, they headed out.

The two had been shocked at how much damage they could see from the fighting that took place in the streets. It didn't take long for people to recognise Ed and Ayala and they found themselves swamped by a small crowd. The people were demanding to know whether what Gracia and Grumman had was true or not and Ed told them it was. Unfortunately, instead of satisfying the crowd and making them leave him alone like he'd hoped, Ed found himself being interrogated by the dozen or so people around him. Ayala had allowed exactly ten seconds of this behaviour before she let out a snarl that sent all of them stumbling back a few steps. Ed had been forced to keep his voice level when he reminded them that Grumman had promised another press conference before informing them it would be in their best interests not to harass him for answers when they could just wait for them. His irritation at being mobbed must've shown through despite his best efforts because the crowd had dispersed quickly and the two were able to continue on their way to get food.

After lunch, Ed had been surprised to sense Koda and Suna on their way to see him and Alphonse. Izumi had been quick to greet him by smacking him over the head as she lectured him for even thinking about using  _that_  array again before she'd swept him up into a tight, safe hug and told him how proud she was of him and Alphonse and how sorry she was that they'd lost Hohenheim and Calix. Ed refused to feel any shame about how tightly he'd hugged her back as the grief over losing their father washed over him before he could bury it down. Sig, Suna and Koda had joined the hug and they stayed that way for a couple of minutes before Izumi pushed Ed away and made sure he wasn't close to dying with her own eyes. The eyeroll Ed hadn't been able to stop had resulted in a new bruise on his left arm from Izumi hitting him for being rude.

Once Sig had managed to convince Izumi that she needed to get some more rest since she was in the same boat as Ed and was still recovering physically from the fight, the four Curtis' had left the Elrics hospital room with a warning that they would swing by later the next day. Ed had been given a reprieve from visitors for the next couple of hours and utilised the time by contacting most of the Animals he was bonded to but wouldn't see for a while to see how things were with them. Michella had been suspicious when Ed contacted her but had settled down when he promised he was just checking in on her and her human and not reporting any new damage to the automail. Michella had been surprisingly talkative and filled Ed in on the specifics of his new arm – Ed wasn't sure it truly was any different to his old one however he wasn't stupid enough to tell the monkey that – as well as what she and Winry had been doing. Ed was once again saddened to hear just how many new clients Winry had received thanks to the fighting and Father. The blonde had been near ropeable when he found out that some of the injuries had been caused solely because of Father's array. After all, you couldn't control a tractor, car or other dangerous equipment if you were dead and this had resulted in several accidents and permanent deaths.

Once done talking with Michella, Ed had contacted Den next. Den had been ecstatic to hear from him but had sobered up when he told Ed that he and Pinako had finalised the plans for Hohenheim and Calix's funeral the next day. Ed felt like any positive emotion he'd been feeling had been sucked out as he was hit with a wave of guilt, regret, anger and grief over the fact that he wouldn't be attending the funeral. Though nowhere near the point where he could answer honestly about how he felt about his father now, Ed still felt guilty that he wouldn't be at the funeral after Hohenheim and Calix's sacrifice. The pair had  _died_  so that Ed wouldn't have to sacrifice anything more for Alphonse and so that his little brother could live life in his flesh and blood body, after all. Ayala, Chester and Den had all been quick to repeat what Mustang had said the previous night and tell Ed no one was expecting him to choose being there for Hohenheim over being there for Alphonse but all three knew they hadn't truly convinced the alchemist. Den had wrapped up their talk by telling Ed that he was glad they were alright and that he and Pinako were sorry that they couldn't stay in Central long enough to see him now that he was awake but that they would come back up as soon as they could.

Ed had briefly considered speaking with Anahlia but quickly decided against it since he had a feeling Olivier Armstrong and Anahlia wouldn't be appreciative of him just checking in on them. Plus, he figured that if Anahlia was interested in just chatting with him now that he was awake, she would've reached out already. Since he now had no more Animals to check in on, Ed decided it was best for him and Chester to spend some time outside of the hospital. Chester had been reluctant, even with Ayala promising that if Al so much as twitched a finger that she would contact them, but Ed prevailed and they headed for the exit, Ed making sure he waved to Overland when he spotted the doctor on their way out. He ignored the eyeroll he received in response though Chester's chuckles told him the leopard had noticed.

When they returned after an hour, Ed was understandably surprised to find Murphy, Coleman, Harper, Buckley and their Animals standing rather nervously outside Al's hospital room. After all, he'd only met them all three, maybe four times while they were under Mustang's command before he was sent north again so he hadn't expected them to pay him a visit. It turned out that they'd decided to check in on him while visiting a few friends of theirs who'd ended up in the fight and hearing he was still in the hospital. Ed had been a little touched that they'd bothered but he hadn't admitted it out loud. They stayed long enough to tell Ed that they were being reassigned again but would all still be in Central if he ever wanted to catch up with them. Ed had been as surprised as Chester and Ayala when he heard himself agree to do so once everything had settled down.

His final visitor for the day had been Mustang himself. His commanding officer had barely gotten the door open when Nala barrelled into the room and onto Ed's bed to join him and Ayala so she could give him a hug. Mustang rolled his eyes at her behaviour as he shut the door and took the chair Ed flapped a hand at. It seemed to be by mutual unspoken decision that their talk that night be nowhere near as emotional as the previous night's one. Ed filled Mustang in on everything that had happened to him that day and Mustang told him as much about his visitors as he could since a few of the conversations had been above Ed's clearance levels. Ed found himself enjoying being able to talk to Mustang so freely now that they were ignoring the fact that Ed was his subordinate for the time being at least.

Mustang had only just finished telling Ed about his plans to help the Ishvalens rebuild their country and that he'd spoken to General Armstrong and requested she ask both Scar and Major Miles whether they would be interested in helping him with everything when a nurse entered Al's room to check on him and informed Mustang and Nala that they would have to leave. Mustang had done so without argument, though there was a flicker of annoyance at the interruption but both Ed and Mustang had been glad the nurse couldn't hear what Nala had to say about her orders. Ed had soothed the lioness by promising to see her tomorrow and giving her a hug before she followed Mustang out.

* * *

The rest of the week had followed much the same routine, though the number of visitors the two boys and their Animals received varied from day to day. Both Mustang and Hawkeye were discharged two days after Ed had woken up and Mustang was given his old team back to command immediately. Izumi, Sig, Koda and Suna had stuck around for another three days so Izumi could help with the more demanding alchemy needed for rebuilding but they ended up heading back to Dublith to take their store back from Mason and give him and his chimp a well-earned break. They left only after making Ed swear a dozen times to tell Koda and Suna the moment Al woke up so they could call Ed and get more information from him.

Mei had been the only constant visitor, arriving at almost the same time everyday to perform her healing array on Alphonse. She was sometimes accompanied by either Zampano, Darius or both until Jerso and Heinkel were healed enough to join them. Ed still didn't know what the gorilla or lion chimeras were going to do with themselves but he didn't think they knew either. Ling, Lan Fan and their Animals had left for Xing the same day Mustang and Hawkeye were discharged but Ed spoke to Laika every now and then to check in on them until the distance was too great for him to manage it with the limits of their bond. He could still feel Laika and would know if anything major happened but he wasn't able to speak with him any longer. Grumman and his Animal – a weasel named Jessie – had managed to stop by for a few minutes the day before the Curtis' left and talk with Ed about his future in the military. The visit ended up being Grumman simply repeating everything Mustang had said the night Ed had woken up but Ed had still enjoyed the talk since it ended with Grumman promising to bring his chess set next time.

* * *

Nine days after Promised Day and just over a week since Ed had woken up from Truth knocking him out, Ed and Ayala were walking back to Al's room after grabbing some lunch for themselves and Chester when the leopard's frantic voice was in their heads telling them to hurry. Not bothering to ask why, Ed and Ayala took off at a sprint and got to Al's room in record time and without knocking anyone over in their rush. Ed got the door open and saw Chester standing on the floor with his front legs braced on the left-hand side of the bed Al lay in while watching his human intently. Ed dumped the food he'd brought back for the leopard on his bed before he and Ayala hovered on Al's right.

"What happened?" Ed asked after a few moments of watching Al sleeping. His brother was slowly gaining weight back, looking sickly skinny rather than dangerously malnourished like he had but Ed saw no changes to how his brother looked now compared to an hour ago when he and Ayala had left.

" _He's gonna wake up soon,"_  Chester said, voice tense with excitement and apprehension.  _"Any minute now,"_  Chester told him, eyes never wavering from Al's face.

Sharing a look with Ayala, Ed sat on the edge of the hospital chair, ready to spring up if something happened while Ayala sat next to him though her eyes were on Alphonse as well. All three of them waited with bated breath as Al's chest continued to rise and fall rhythmically for nearly five minutes when Ed spotted it. Al's right hand twitched where it lay, the first sign of movement from his brother in over a week. A slight grimace crossed Al's face as Ed watched his brother fight to stay asleep a little longer and it took everything in him to not shake Al awake in that moment. Al's breathing changed from the even pace of someone in a deep sleep to someone waking up and Chester inched closer to his human, nuzzling his cheek. Ed and Ayala watched as Al subconsciously leaned into the touch for a moment before Ed couldn't stop himself any longer and grasped Al's frail hand with his flesh one.

That touch seemed to be what brought Al out of his slumber completely and Ed watched with tears in his eyes as Al's golden-brown eyes blinked blearily open. Al made a face at the brightness of the room and clamped his eyes shut before opening them more cautiously than before. Ed watched as Al took in his surroundings with confusion that cleared slowly as he started piecing things together. Chester was nearly vibrating with emotion as he watched and felt his human figure out what was going on for a few seconds before he forced his head under Al's left hand and looked up at him.

"Chester? Brother?" Al's raspy voice, near destroyed from disuse, was what finally sent Ed's tears spilling over as Ed listened to his brother speak. "Wha's goin' 'n?" Al asked, slurring his words. Ayala pushed her head under Ed and Al's clasped hands and Al looked at her for a moment. Ed wanted to laugh when he saw the moment Al realised that what Ed was holding onto was his flesh hand and he likely would've done so if he wasn't trying to stop himself from openly sobbing. "I'm back? Is this real?" Al asked, voice no longer slurred though still croaky and looking at his too-skinny arm in wonder.

"You're whole and this isn't a dream. I promise," Ed said, his shaky voice nearly a whisper. Tears rolled down Al's cheek as he let Ed's words sink in.

"Ed, I'm crying," Al said as more tears made their way down his cheeks. "Ed, I can  _cry,_ " Al stressed, a sob catching in his throat as he closed his eyes from the sheer amount of emotion and sensory load he was feeling. Ed got out of his chair and leaned over Al, closing his own eyes and pressing their foreheads together as Al's weak sobs wracked his fragile frame. "Ed, I can feel you and Ches and Ayala. I can feel the breeze coming in through the window. I can smell the hospital disinfectant. I can smell your shampoo, Brother," Al said. "I can  _feel_  again, Brother," Al whispered.

"You're alright," Ed soothed as he felt Al's sobbing increase. His own tears were still falling thick and fast while the two Animals tried their best to comfort their humans. Chester felt Al weakly grasp his fur and he almost whimpered at the touch. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed having Al's human hand ruffle his fur until this moment.

"I'm tired, Brother," Al said after a couple of minutes but instead of it being a complaint, Al sounded amazed that he was.

"You've got six years of sleep to catch up on, Al, and your body needs to recover from the time in Truth's dimension. I'm not surprised you're tired," Ed said, pulling away from Al and sitting back on the edge of the seat, tightening his grip on Al's hand as his little brother blinked his eyes open once more.

"I don't want to sleep, Ed," Al said, another sob forcing its way out of his throat. "What if this is all a dream? What if I wake up and I'm back in the armour?" Al asked, voice breaking from fear and Ed felt his heart break.

"I promise you, Alphonse, that this is not a dream," Ed said, catching Al's gaze and making him keep eye contact. "I swear, you will wake up to Chester drooling on your bed and me and Ayala snoring in the bed next to you and you will still be in your flesh body," Ed promised, squeezing Al's hand for good measure. Chester and Ayala's offended looks had Al chuckle weakly as he tried to raise an arm to wipe his face but couldn't from lack of energy. Ed grabbed some tissues and did it for him, getting a thankful smile from his brother just as his eyes started drooping sleepily.

" _Get some rest, Al,"_  Chester said, voice echoing lightly in Ed's mind and Al nodded.

"I will," Al said with a small yawn. "Thank you for getting my body back," Al said softly, barely loud enough for Ed to hear before he fell back asleep. Ed had a niggling feeling that those words weren't meant for him but that was something he could ask Al about when his brother could stay awake for more than a couple of minutes.

"I'm so happy to have you back, little brother," Ed whispered as he watched Al's breathing even out.

Chester carefully manoeuvred Al's hand back onto the mattress before he dropped to his feet and slunk around the bed to join Ed and Ayala just as Ed placed Al's right hand back down as well. Once Chester was close enough, Ed grabbed both Animals into a tight hug that they tried their best to reciprocate as he let the rest of his tears be soaked up by their fur as he let go of the hold he had on his emotions.

Finally, for the first time in nearly six years, Ed felt like the four of them could start moving forward and living their lives without the mistakes of their past haunting their every step, just like Calix had asked them to do in his last moments. For the first time in six years, Ed could let himself finally  _breathe_  as he felt the weight of the last of his mistakes melt away while he held Ayala and Chester close and watched his little brother's chest rise and fall with every breath he took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the second last chapter for this story but honestly, I'm very emotional right now because this chapter is the one that wraps up the main story as a whole for me. The last chapter will be posted next week and it is an epilogue set six years after this chapter. I would really love to read some comments from those of you following this story about this chapter please :) See you all next week for the final chapter!


	47. Chapter 47

_Five years after the Promised Day…_

"Come on, Brother! We're gonna be late!" Ed looked up at the sound of Al's frantic voice and grinned. His brother and Chester were waiting for him at the train station while he and Ayala deboarded the train they'd been on and from how impatient they looked, they'd been waiting a while.

For the first year after Promised Day, Ed and Al had stayed in Central while Al recovered from his body's time in Truth's dimension. Thanks to Mei and Chester, Al's physical healing happened at a remarkable rate, so much so that Doctor Overland had asked Mei if she knew of any alkahestrists who might want to move to Amestris and get jobs in the hospitals around the country. It had only taken Al six months to be released from the hospital but they hadn't left Central for more than a few days at a time for another six while Al got used to being in a flesh body and all that it entailed once more. Ed hadn't been impressed to say the least when Al had broken his arm on one of their first missions together after he'd been cleared to join Ed because he'd forgotten he wasn't an indestructible suit of armour anymore and had landed himself back in the hospital. Overland had somehow been more unimpressed than Ed when he checked on Al during his first shift once Al was readmitted.

Ed had – after a long conversation with Al, Chester and Ayala once Al was able to stay awake for more than five minutes at a time – decided to stay with the military and continue working as a State Alchemist. Under Grumman's rule, State Alchemists were no longer required to fight on the front lines of any battle if they didn't want to and they were given the opportunity to switch between being a research or field State Alchemist whenever they wanted, so long as both their commanding officer and Grumman agreed. Because of this, Ed had been able to spend the last two years in Creta – now that their relationship with the other country had stabilised thanks to Grumman's efforts – and learn their alchemy in exchange for teaching them some of his, which had been an incredible opportunity for himself personally and Amestris as a whole. While Ed and Ayala were in Creta, Al and Chester had gone to Xing – now ruled by Ling and Greed – to spend time with Mei and learn alkahestry from her and the Chang and Yao clans.

Ed and Al both knew that they could've spent the last three years, if not longer, in Creta and Xing but neither one of them had been at the point where they were willing to let the other out of their sight for more than a couple of days at a time. At first, Chester and Ayala had understood but then they started subtly pushing for their humans to spend less time together so they wouldn't remain so dependent on each other. As much as they loved the boys and how close they were, they needed them to see that they could live their lives without being in the others pocket now that there was no risk of Al being taken away and studied. After several months of doing so, the boys had finally announced their separate trips to Xing and Creta and both Animals had breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm coming! Stop yelling," Ed grumbled at Al as he and Ayala joined back up with them.

They'd both started traveling back from Xing and Creta two weeks previous after having received calls from Hughes asking them if they would come back to Amestris for Elysia's 12th birthday. The young girl had asked for only thing for her birthday and that was to have her big brothers there for it and her father was determined to try and get them there. Not that he had to try that hard as both boys had been planning on returning to Amestris for at least a month to catch up with everyone and so Ed could report in with Grumman and Mustang.

Ed had arrived in Amestris a week ago but had gone straight to Rush Valley where Winry and Michella were now based with their own automail shop first. They were now splitting their time equally between Rush Valley and Resembool where they had a second workshop set up on the Rockbell property so they could service their eastern clients without being in Pinako's way. However this month, the two were in Rush Valley so Ed had to go there for his check-up. Both Winry and Michella – to Ed's irritation and Ayala's amusement – had made a massive fuss about how well he'd managed to look his automail while in another country. Ed hadn't been able to stop himself from saying how surprised he was that his automail had held up so well despite all the saltwater he'd been swimming in, which had caused both Michella and Winry to freeze mid-movement and left Ed with a wrench-shaped dent in his skull. Ayala had been quick to inform him that she held no sympathy for Ed and that he'd deserved it when he bitched Winry out once they were safely on the train bound for Central.

Since Al and Chester were coming from the east, they'd decided to visit Pinako and Den for a few days and let the old woman give Al a check-up while he was there. Since they would be kept for roughly the same amount of time by the Rockbell women, both boys had decided to just meet back up in Central on the same day rather than one of them traveling practically across the country to meet up with the other. Al and Chester had been the first of the two pairs to arrive in Central but Ed and Ayala had only been an hour behind them. Or they should've been but in true Amestrian fashion, Ed and Ayala's train had left Rush Valley half an hour later than it should've and ended up arriving in Central nearly forty minutes late.

"How was Rush Valley, Brother?" Al asked once the two finished trying to squeeze each other breathless, moving on to greeting Ayala. It didn't matter how many times Ed had hugged Al over the past five years, he would never take for granted any hug he got from his brother again. Ed didn't think he would ever get used to be able to hug Al and have him feel warm and squishy when he hugged back.

"Winry's still an evil witch," Ed muttered as he rubbed the back of his head where he swore Winry's wrench had left an indentation. Al's delighted laughter had Ed grin before scowling when he realised his brother was laughing at him.

Though he'd initially thought about having Al join him in Rush Valley so Winry could spend time with them both since her automail business was booming and she couldn't afford to take any time off, Ed had had another reason for telling Al to meet him in Central other than saving Al and Chester the travel.

Nearly three weeks after first waking up, Al had finally able to stay awake long enough for them to exchange more than reassurances and to answer questions for Overland and Grainger and the first thing Al had brought up was the fact that Hohenheim had been able to speak to him before Truth took him and Calix as payment for Al's return. Hohenheim had been able to pass his final message along to Al in person as well as explain and apologise for why he wouldn't be there when Al woke up. Ed had taken the opportunity to give Al Calix's message before Al passed out again and Ed was left watching his brother sleep for another day.

The second thing Al had decided to ask when he woke the next day was whether Hohenheim had bargained for Ed's missing limbs as well. When Ed had told Al that no, he still had both his automail arm and leg, Al had gotten himself so worked up and upset that it had taken the combined efforts of Ed, Chester and Ayala to settle him down so they wouldn't have to get a doctor to sedate him. Once they did have him calmer, Al had sobbed his way through a dozen apologies that they hadn't been able to get Ed his arm and leg back before Ed ended up placing a hand over his mouth to get him to stop. Once he had, Ed then informed his brother that getting his limbs back was always ever going to be a bonus if they could manage it but that Al was his priority first and foremost. Besides, as Ed then went on to point out, he was far too used to using his automail to stop attacks so not getting his limbs back meant saving him from broken bones and other injuries. It took a little while but Al did eventually make peace with what happened but Ed would've had to have been blind to not see the expression on his little brother's face the first few times he'd gone with him to get a check-up on his automail so he'd decided that if Al didn't have to be there, Ed wouldn't let him be.

" _I told him not to antagonize her but he wouldn't listen,"_  Ayala said, making sure Ed heard her as she spoke to Al.

"You know what –" Ed started saying before he was cut off by Chester.

" _We should start heading for the Hughes'. We're already running late,"_  Chester said pointedly and Al nodded.

"Yeah, Chester has a good point. We need to go," Al said, shouldering his pack after having dropped it to hug Ed and give Ayala some pats.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed said as he picked up his travel-worn suitcase and gestured for Chester and Ayala to take lead so they could get through the busy station a little easier.

" _Ed! Al!"_  the familiar voice echoed in both their heads as they left the station and they looked around to find its source. It wasn't long before the brothers and their Animals spotted who they were looking for. Standing next to a black private car were Mustang and Nala, the latter of the two having been waiting for them to spot her before she ran for them.

"Nala!" both boys greeted at the same time, matching grins wide enough to nearly split their faces as they headed for the pair.

As was her custom, Nala greeted the two Animals quickly before she stood on her hind legs to pull Ed into a hug first before doing the same to Al once she'd released the eldest boy. While Al was busy assuring Nala that they were both still as alright as they were when they'd last seen her, Ed stood near his commanding officer. "What brings you here, Mustang?" Ed asked as he grinned at Al having to deal with the same fussing from Nala he did.

"Nala sensed you coming into Central. She told me we had to give you a lift to Hughes' or else," Mustang told him, throwing a fake glare at the lioness.

"How come you guys didn't find Al and get all that out of the way?" Ed asked, gesturing to Nala and Al to show what he was talking about.

"Nala didn't sense Al arrive. We only left the house when she could sense you," Mustang informed him, raising a brow when Ed let out a surprised huff.

"I would've thought that after five years of being bonded to him, Nala would've been able to sense him at the same level she could sense me before Promised Day," Ed said in answer to Mustang's silent question.

"She hasn't spent as much time with him in those five years as she did with you. For most of the last two years, she hasn't seen him or interacted with him at all," Mustang pointed out.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," Ed conceded as Nala finished interrogating Al about his health and whereabouts. "Wait, why were you at your house instead of in the office?" Ed asked, looking up at Mustang questioningly.

"The team and I take one day off every week. Usually, it's a Friday but half the team asked for today off and no one had any objections to working on Friday instead so none of us are in today," Mustang told him. Ed made a small noise of understanding just as the lioness turned her sights onto Ed. She was stopped when Mustang held up a hand and spoke. "Question him in the car, Nala. We'll be late otherwise and my niece will not be impressed to learn we were late because you needed answers first," Mustang told her. Nala pouted but nodded in agreement. "Let's get going, you four," Mustang ordered, opening the back door for them to climb into. Since Nala wouldn't let Al into the backseat as there would be no room for the two boys and three large Animals, Al joined Mustang in the front while Ed and the Animals climbed into the back.

* * *

The trip to the Hughes' house was spent with Al entertaining Mustang with stories from Xing and the Chang and Yao clans while Ed answered questions Nala asked him. The lioness was ruthless in her questioning until she was satisfied there was nothing that Ed was hiding from her. He'd held back from rolling his eyes and pointing out that they had been talking to each other as best they could while Ed was in Creta. Despite his bond with Nala being almost as strong as his with Chester, they were only just able to hear each other while separated by an entire country. In the end, Ed would have to find somewhere nice and quiet with minimal distractions so he could hold a short conversation with Nala while she did the same. But still, he and Nala had been in contact so Ed was of the opinion that the third degree was wholly unnecessary.

" _So how are your alchemy lessons going in Creta?"_  Nala asked, finally finished with the rest of her questions about whether he was getting enough sleep, eating enough and not getting into fights left, right and centre.

"They're great," Ed told her, a smile creeping onto his face. "The alchemists over there can do some amazing healing alchemy. It's similar to alkahestry, from what Mei and Al have told me about it, but it uses the energy created by tectonic plates like we do so I don't have to learn a whole other technique," Ed said. "In exchange for them teaching me their healing arrays, I've been teaching my water arrays and a few others they wanted to learn," Ed told her.

" _Sounds like you'll have plenty to teach the alchemists over here when you finish your studies,"_  Nala said and Ed nodded.

"I definitely will," he said, "and I'll have even more if our relationships with Aerugo and Drachma ever improve," Ed said.

"From what I've heard, we might be able to start opening trading routes and sending diplomats to Aerugo within the next two years but after spending so long at war with Drachma, it's likely we won't see any positive results for another decade at this rate," Mustang said, getting Ed and Nala's attention.

"Well, at least I'll get to explore Aerugo before too long," Ed said, shifting to sit back a bit into the back of the seat he was on. "I'm sure there's still plenty to keep me entertained in Creta until then."

"So you'll be heading back?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, I only plan on being in Amestris for four or five weeks," Ed told him and saw a flicker of sadness cross Mustang's face.

In the first couple of months after Promised Day, Ed had found himself avoiding Mustang wherever he could once the older man had been released from the hospital. Their conversation the night Ed had regained consciousness had thrown Ed through a loop and he suddenly found himself unsure of how to act around the man once he'd resumed his military duties. Their previous standing with each other had been shattered and Ed had no clue how to figure out what that conversation meant to their relationship. Though he knew Mustang must've cared for him somewhat during those first five years of being his subordinate, having Mustang say so out loud and act so open and honest had made Ed question their relationship going forward. He would never admit it to anyone, let alone himself, but he had been scared that once he was accepting missions again, Mustang would go back to treating him the way he had before Promised Day.

Knowing it would hurt too much to have that happen after knowing that Mustang didn't just regard him as a political tool to use to climb the military ladder, Ed had decided the best course of action was to avoid Mustang altogether. He had been impeded by both Nala and Ayala in his efforts once they realised what he'd been doing and both Animals had forced him and Mustang to have another talk with one another. Naturally, Mustang hadn't realised his youngest subordinate had been trying to avoid him since he's been too busy dealing with the rebuilding efforts in both Central and Ishval until Nala had helped Ayala wrangle the two into a room together and refused to let them out until they'd spoken.

Of course, Ed had refused to do so, embarrassed by the reasons behind his actions, so Nala had taken it on herself to tell Mustang what was going on. Ed had been extremely upset when he realised what Nala had done and as a result, refused to speak to her until she'd apologised a few hours later – not for her actions since she wasn't sorry for them but for the fact that she had hurt Ed's trust in her. However, her actions had had the intended effect and both Ed and Mustang had spoken at length about Ed's worries. By the end of the conversation, Ed was emotionally wrung-out but happy as he now knew where he stood with Mustang once more. Mustang had informed Ed that he hadn't thought of Ed as a way up the military ladder for years and apologised for letting Ed think he had for so long. When they'd left the room, both Animals had been a mixture of smug and apologetic for how they'd gotten the two to talk but neither had complained about the results they got.

"Well at least I have some warning this time so I can prepare for how insufferable Nala will be," Mustang drawled, earning a growl from his lioness.

" _We'll see how insufferable he is when I bite a chunk out of his leg,"_  Nala muttered darkly.  _"Besides, he has no room to talk. He gets as upset when the two of you leave as I do,"_  Nala said, a self-satisfied look on her face when Mustang immediately flushed and spluttered at her. Chester and Ayala both grinned when a small flush rose up Ed's neck and cheeks at Nala's words and he glared at them.

"We're here," Al piped up from the front and Ed had never felt so relieved to see the Hughes' house in his life, except for maybe when he, Hughes and their Animals had gone up against Envy.

"Thank Truth," Mustang muttered as he pulled the car into the small car port, parking it behind the car the Hughes' had bought themselves a year ago so they could take family trips to Xing and Creta whenever they wanted now that citizens were allowed to do so much more freely than before.

"Wow, Elysia sure has grown since we last saw her," Al said as they climbed out of the car and spotted the birthday girl running down the front steps to greet them.

"Brothers! Uncle!" Elysia squealed in delight as she latched onto each of them, her tight grip causing all of them to gasp in surprise when she hugged them.

Instead of the small 10-and-a-half-year-old he remembered, Ed found himself face to face with a lanky, gangly 12-year-old in front of him. No longer wearing her hair in pigtails, Elysia had decided to start growing her hair long when she was eight and wore it in a single braid, much in the same fashion Ed still did. Instead of the shorts and t-shirts she usually wore, Elysia was dressed in a light purple dress that fell to her knees that was only a shade or two darker than the dress Ed remembered Trisha loved most. Her green eyes, the same shade as her mother's, sparkled in delight as she made sure to say hello to each of the three Animals in front of her. Just as she finished, Gracia poked her head out of the front door and waved at them.

"Elysia? Stop annoying our guests and let them come inside," Gracia instructed. "I'll put the kettle on," she told the three men before she disappeared back into the house.

"Ed, Al, you'll never guess what happened!" Elysia said, nearly jumping up and down with excitement as she waited for the two boys to get their gear out of Mustang's car.

"What, El?" Ed asked, grinning at the amount of excitement she was showing.

"I've had the Dream! For three nights in a row!" Elysia told them, her tongue nearly unable to keep up with how quickly she spoke.

"Really?" Al asked and Elysia's head bobbed up and down rapidly as she confirmed it. "That's amazing, El!" Al said, wrapping the young girl in a tight hug.

"That really is," Ed said, smiling at her from over Al's shoulder.

"I know!" Elysia squealed, reminding Ayala and Chester brutally of her younger self. "Mum and Dad have already told me it might not be real. I've had dreams of an Animal before but they went away after a couple of nights but I  _know_  this is the one. I can feel it!" Elysia insisted. Despite her words, the three men could see the fear in her eyes that Gracia and Hughes might be right.

"Al and I both had a lot of false Dreams before Chester and Ayala turned up for us," Ed told her, "but I think we both knew for certain when we had the Dream. Though I don't think I told Al until after I'd had the dream for the fifth night in a row," Ed said and Al laughed.

"Yeah and you only told me because you didn't want me to freak out if I saw a wolf sitting in our camp sight while we were on Teacher's island," Al said.

"Beats having your brother bodily launch himself on you and your Animal while you're both asleep to tell you," Ed snarked back, making Al smile sheepishly while Elysia laughed in delight.

"At least you gave each other a heads-up," Mustang said, smiling wryly. "I neglected to tell my aunt so imagine her reaction when a lioness she didn't know walked into her house," he said and all three snorted. Having met Madame Christmas when Mustang and the team insisted on taking him and Al out before they left the country last time the two of them visited Amestris, Ed didn't doubt that Mustang had received a lengthy lecture from the woman and her crow, Will.

"How did she not kill you?" Ed asked, laughing a little harder when all Mustang could do was shrug in response.

"Are you going to tell us what kind of animal it will be?" Al asked as the four humans and three Animals headed for the house.

"Nope!" Elysia told him.

"Come on, not even a hint?" Ed wheedled but Elysia shook her head firmly.

"No, you'll have to wait," Elysia told them before looking at them with a worried expression. "You will be here, won't you?" she asked and both boys nodded.

"Neither of us are leaving for another fortnight at least," Ed told her and she sighed in relief. "So what plans has your father made for your birthday?" Ed asked, switching the subject back to something a little lighter than them leaving Amestris again.

"Dad left it up to me this year!" Elysia said, her eyes shining brightly. "Some of my friends from school are going to come out on Saturday so we can have a party and a sleepover but Mum said she'll cook some spicy chicken wings and make a wombok salad for me for my birthday dinner on Thursday," Elysia told them.

"I'm surprised Hughes didn't try and take control of the party from the shadows," Mustang muttered loud enough for Ed to hear, causing the blonde to snort.

"I wonder if it physically pained him to leave the planning entirely to Elysia," Ed muttered back. Hughes was infamous for planning Elysia's birthday parties down to the tiniest detail. The man had left nothing to chance when it came to his little girl's big day and he'd been known to attack people if they caused something to go wrong.

"Probably," Mustang said as they entered the front door while Elysia enthralled Al with the details of her party. "Hello, Gracia," Mustang greeted when Gracia stepped into the hallway.

"Hello, yourself," Gracia said with a warm smile as she walked down the entryway to greet them properly, giving Mustang a hug and Nala a pat. Lilith trotted behind her but picked up the pace when she spotted Ed.

" _Hi, Edward,"_  Lilith greeted, bypassing Al and Gracia to get to the other blonde.  _"How are you?"_  she asked as she let Ed scoop her up into a hug.

"I'm good. You?" Ed asked the fox as he held her tight.

Lilith and Ed's bond had been one of those that strengthened in a surprising manner nearly two months after Promised Day. When Ed had been asked why, he'd shrugged it off and said it was as a result of Ed spending a lot of time in the Hughes household after Al and the three Hughes' had teamed up with Ayala and Chester to convince Ed to stay at their home instead of the hospital while Al was recovering. In reality, it had been because both Lilith and Gracia had been home when everything that had happened on Promised Day – Hohenheim and Calix's sacrifices and not being able to feel most of his bonds mainly – had finally caught up to Ed.

The blonde had forgotten that Gracia and Lilith were still in the house since Hughes was at work and Elysia was at a play date so he'd almost jumped out of skin when Gracia and Lilith had come running into the loungeroom when Ayala had told Lilith that Ed needed help. Gracia had calmed once she realised what was going on and held onto Ed tightly as he worked through everything he was feeling. She didn't loosen her grip, even when he tried to make her when his anger and embarrassment at crying on her had made him struggle. When he'd finally ran out of tears, Gracia had made him sit on the couch with Lilith while she grabbed him a glass of water to drink before returning to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. When she re-joined him on the couch and handed him the tea, she'd simply asked if he'd like to talk about it. Though Ed had reflexively gone to say 'no' he'd changed his mind at Lilith's nudge and everything had come spilling out. Gracia and Lilith had listened to every word, not speaking unless they needed something clarified or confirmed, until he'd finally gotten everything off of his chest.

Once done, Gracia had taken his empty teacup and placed it on the floor before she'd made him meet her eyes and spoke. She'd told him firmly that everything he'd been feeling was completely normal for the situation and that he shouldn't feel guilty over any of it. Both Gracia and Lilith had promised Ed that they didn't judge him or think badly of him for still being angry at Hohenheim for leaving him and Al when they were little and angry at the fact that Hohenheim had bargained his and Calix's lives for them despite knowing Ed's feelings on the matter. Gracia had then gone on to say that she would be there for him whenever he needed her and Lilith had echoed her human. The love and genuineness in their voices had had Ed crying again and finding himself wrapped up in another hug but that time, he didn't try to fight it.

Since that day though, his and Lilith's bond had strengthened and Ed found his relationship with Gracia had only deepened. Ayala had been upset that she hadn't been able to help Ed through his breakdown but Ed had promised her that he wasn't upset or angry that she'd gotten Lilith and Gracia to help where she couldn't. Ayala had been relieved at that since it hadn't been too long after the incident with Mustang and Ed that her human had broken down in front of Gracia so she had been a little worried about his reaction. The golden wolf had made her peace with the fact that she'd been out of her depth with that level of emotion from Ed, especially when she saw just how close Ed, Gracia and Lilith were. Ed had always been wary of getting too close to anyone, his trust issues preventing him from doing so but Gracia had been held a little further away than anyone else because Ed hadn't wanted to risk getting too attached to someone who reminded him so fiercely of his own mother. The delight on Gracia's face whenever Ed came to her with any problems he had after she and Lilith helped him had been worth Ayala risking Ed's anger, in the wolf's opinion.

"Alphonse, it looks like Xing certainly agreed with you," Gracia said as she wrapped Al up in a tight hug that the blonde happily returned and bringing Ed and Lilith's attention back to the group at large. At her insistence, Ed placed Lilith back on the ground so the fox could say hello to the others just as Chester spoke in his mind.

" _More like Mei agreed with him,"_  Chester muttered to Ed, who grinned with delight as he straightened up.

"He finally asked her out, huh?" Ed asked, keeping the conversation silent as he watched Gracia ask Al a few of the same questions Nala undoubtedly had.

" _A few weeks ago now,"_  Chester told him.  _"He said he would tell you as soon as he saw you at the train station but since he didn't and I want someone else to join in on the teasing, I'm telling you now,"_  Chester said and Ed grinned.

"Glad to see you haven't changed," he teased just as Gracia moved forward to envelop him in a hug of his own. "Hi, Miss Gracia," Ed said as he hugged the older woman back. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing well, Ed," Gracia said as she pulled away from him and gave him a once over. "How about you? How's Creta?" Gracia asked.

"Warmer than Central at the moment," Ed said with a grin. "Other than that, I have no complaints. The alchemy trade is going really well. I've learned a lot of stuff that will help field alchemists with injuries and I'm gonna propose the idea of setting up a medical corps of alchemists for the military to Grumman when I meet up with him. They'd probably benefit more from going over to Creta and learning from actual masters in healing alchemy than me though so that'd be something he'd have to take into consideration," Ed said as Gracia led them into the kitchen.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Gracia said. "It certainly wouldn't hurt to have people trained in healing alchemy and able to help save people faster than traditional medicine can," she said as she bustled around the kitchen, making them all a cup of coffee each.

"Yeah, that's what I figured as well," Ed said as he handed Gracia another mug so she had enough lined up in front of her.

"I don't see why Grumman wouldn't at least consider the idea," Mustang said, leaning up against the counter next to the sink. "Of course, the Cretan Prime Minister would have to agree and there'd likely need to be some sort of deal worked out first but with how good our relationship is with them, I can't imagine it'd be difficult to accomplish."

Ed nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the old coot in charge seems pretty cool now that we've stopped fighting with them and he didn't seem to have any objections when I first brought up the idea," Ed said, shrugging casually.

"You've met the Cretan Prime Minister?" Mustang asked incredulously and Ed nodded as he accepted his fresh cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Miss Gracia," Ed said, giving her a grateful smile. "And yes, Mustang, I've met him a few times now. He reminds me a bit of Grumman, just a little less weird," Ed told him. He could see his brother and Elysia struggling not laugh at Mustang's flabbergasted expression.

"How have you not mentioned that you've met the Cretan Prime Minister before now?" Mustang asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder as he took a sip.

"Must've slipped my mind. I've met a lot of people over there," Ed said, smirking into his coffee when Mustang muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'unbelievable'.

"Come on, let's move into the living room," Gracia suggested, giving Mustang a sympathetic smile that likely would've been more effective if her eyes weren't sparkling with amusement. "We can talk about everything that's happened since we last saw you boys until Maes is home from work," she said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ed said as he followed her. "I'm sure there's plenty to talk about until Hughes manages to find a reason to leave off work early." Ed laughed when Gracia shot him an unsurprised look.

"Leo tell you that?" she asked and Ed nodded. "I'm honestly a little surprised he isn't here already. He's been very excited the last few days. He's missed both of you boys so much," Gracia told them. "We've all missed you around here. It hasn't been the same without you around and finding trouble every other day," Gracia said, a teasing lilt to her voice.

"I stand by my claims that Amestrians make stupid criminals who just don't understand that they're only gonna get hurt if they resist being arrested by me," Ed said firmly, making everyone laugh.

" _Sure, Ed. You keep on believing it's that and not your uncanny ability to stumble across dangerous people as they commit crimes,"_  Ayala said dryly as she and Ed settled onto one half of the couch while Chester and Al settled on the other half.

"It's true and you know it," Ed shot back at her. She didn't give a verbal response but the huffed breath and roll of her eyes was more than enough.

"So, who wants to go first?" Gracia asked once they were all settled on a seat. Lilith was curled onto Gracia's lap in her usual fashion and was watching them expectantly.

"I vote Al," Ed said. "I'd like to hear how Ling, Greed, Lan Fan and Mei are all going," Ed said, putting special emphasis on Mei's name and shooting his little brother a shit-eating grin. Ed took a little too much pleasure in watching the blood drain from Al's face as he realised what had happened. Chester was also looking pretty happy with himself, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk when Al shot him a betrayed look.

"That sounds wonderful," Gracia said happily, turning slightly to look at Al. Ed knew there was no way the older woman hadn't missed the exchange between the two and his thoughts were confirmed by the twinkle in Gracia's eyes. "What's been happening in Xing?"

* * *

Two nights later found the Elrics, Hughes', Mustang and their Animals sitting around the dining room table as Elysia blew the candles out on her cake after they'd all sung her 'happy birthday'. Gracia had gone all out and made two rich chocolate cakes with raspberry filling and whipped cream but one was kept aside for Elysia to take to school the next day to share with everyone, assuming she didn't have the seventh and final night's Dream. Though rare, it wasn't unheard of that a child could dream of the same Animal six nights in a row only to not have the seventh night's dream. However, from the way Gracia and Maes kept looking at Lilith and Leo, Ed knew Elysia would be getting the day off school tomorrow so she was home when her Animal appeared for her.

"Happy birthday, my angel," Maes said as Gracia sliced the cake, giving Elysia a kiss on the cheek before he took his seat at the table once more.

"Thank you, Dad," Elysia said, a smile beaming brightly across her face. "This has been the  _best_  birthday ever! Thank you for all my presents!" Elysia said to everyone, her smile somehow stretching wider.

From Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester, Elysia had received paints, charcoals and other art mediums found only in Xing or Creta since Elysia had developed an obsession with art over the last couple of years. Neither brother had thought to ask what the other was getting the twelve-year-old but she'd been delighted at the idea of testing out so many different techniques so they counted it as a win. Mustang and Nala had purchased her a set of books written about famous artists as well as books that were filled with instructions and tips for different types of art. Gracia and Maes had bought Elysia a brand-new bike, one complete with a small bell and a basket attached to the handlebars. Elysia had squealed with joy when she saw the red paint job and had almost managed to suffocate both her mother and father with the hug she gave them.

"We're glad you like them so much," Al said, giving the young girl a happy smile.

"I love them!" Elysia assured him. "But my favourite present is having my big brothers and Ayala and Chester here to celebrate with me," Elysia said, face nearly splitting with the grin she gave them. Ed and Al both flushed lightly at how truly happy Elysia was before they ended up shaking their heads fondly when her father appeared to melt in his chair, muttering about how cute his daughter was.

"Wouldn't have missed your birthday for anything, El," Ed told her and this time, she was the one who flushed with delight.

"We're all very happy the four of you could come back to Amestris for a visit," Gracia said as she finished serving up slices of the cake. "Aren't we, Maes?" Gracia said pointedly. Her tone brought Maes out of his 'look how cute me daughter is' mindset and back to the conversation at hand.

"Yes," Hughes said, looking at both boys and their Animals with a soft smile, "we really are. I'm not sure if you all realise how much we miss having you around here," Hughes told them.

"Oh, I think they got the gist of it when you got home Tuesday afternoon," Mustang huffed amusedly.

Gracia and Elysia shared a grin with the brothers as Hughes spluttered in offence at his best friend's words. That afternoon had been very emotional once Hughes had realised who was in his house and the greetings had ended with quite a few tears shed on the older man's part as he hugged both Elric brothers tightly enough that he'd rivalled Koda. Even Ayala and Chester hadn't been spared from the man's hugs and both Animals had found themselves with one of Hughes' arms around their necks as he pulled them close while their humans recovered from their hugs. Leo had rolled his eyes, rubbed up against Ed and Al in greeting before slinking off to join Lilith, who had migrated under Gracia's chair at some point in the afternoon.

"What do you think to the cake, dear?" Gracia asked, preventing Maes and Mustang from arguing further. Though her voice was pleasant enough, her gaze pierced both men with a promise of vengeance if they continued their behaviour so intense that neither man dared do anything more than taste their cake while Ed, Al and Elysia tried to smother their giggles.

"It's wonderful, Gracia," Hughes told her, savouring the bite he'd taken. "I think you've definitely outdone yourself, something I didn't think was possible!"

"It truly is a delightful cake. Thank you, Gracia," Mustang said, earning himself a warm smile from Gracia and a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'suck up' from Ed. Mustang shot him a glare that the blonde answered with an innocent look but since Gracia appeared not have heard it, Mustang had to leave it or risk the wrath of the Hughes matriarch.

"It's my favouritist cake ever!" Elysia exclaimed with delight, accidentally drowning out Ed and Al's compliments. Gracia gave the boys a smile to show she'd heard and appreciated their words before she turned to her daughter.

"I thought last years was your favourite?" Gracia said, a grin on her face when Elysia shook her head vehemently.

"Nope, it's now my  _second_  favourite. This one is my favourite!" Elysia insisted.

"Looks like I'll have to try and outdo myself again next year," Gracia said with a happy smile.

"Oh, Ed, I meant to tell you earlier but I received a message from Samantha today for you," Hughes said. It took Ed a moment to realise that the Samantha Maes was referring to was Grumman's secretary and nodded. "Fuhrer Grumman has scheduled you in for a meeting next Wednesday at noon, so long as that's suitable for you," Hughes told him.

"Yeah, that's fine. It's not like I've got any other plans for while I'm still here in Central for the next couple of weeks or so," Ed said with a grin.

Truly, aside from meeting with Grumman, seeing Mustang and the team and seeing the Hughes', Ed had no other goals to accomplish while he was in Central for the next ten or so days. He'd already made plans to catch up with the team the next Friday since they couldn't do so any earlier so it wasn't like the meeting with Grumman would affect the only other day he was busy. He'd barely been in Central for more than an hour when Soren and other Animals on the team had sensed him and informed him that he had plans in two Fridays time. Ed hadn't minded being basically ordered to attend the lunch since he was looking forward to hearing about what everyone had been up to. He was most looking forward to hearing exactly how Havoc had managed to find himself in a serious relationship for the last year, though he was just as keen to hear about everyone else's year and a half.

After that, he and Al had plans to visit Dublith to catch up with Izumi, Sig, Koda and Suna, which actually worked out nicely as their butcher's shop was currently in its slow season so they would actually get to spend time with them. Though they kept in semi-regular contact, both boys were excited to see their teacher after two years and Ed was a little hopeful that the fighting techniques he learned in Creta would be enough to finally beat Izumi in a sparring session. Al hadn't felt as hopeful as Ed had when he learned his brother's thoughts.

"He wants Roy there as well," Hughes said and Ed grumbled in annoyance, though most everyone could tell it was just for show.

"Of course he does," Ed muttered. "On the bright side, I'll have Nala there to help me annoy him," Ed said, sharing a mischievous grin with the lioness.

"Don't annoy General Mustang while you're in Fuhrer Grumman's office," Al immediately ordered, causing Ed, Nala, Ayala and Chester to scowl at him. "Don't look at me like that either. You can behave yourselves while in Fuhrer Grumman's office," Al informed them.

"We can plot in secret and ask forgiveness after," Ed told Nala, Chester and Ayala silently. The three Animals gave a silent agreement to his plans but Al ruined them.

"No secret plotting either," Al said and Ed's scowl deepened further, causing everyone else at the table to snigger at their antics.

"You ruin all my fun," Ed muttered, stabbing his cake moodily but Al looked remarkably unmoved by his complaint and behaviour.

Instead, Al simply rolled his eyes at his brother's childish behaviour, as well as at the three Animals who were still pouting. "I'm not going to let you get court-martialled while you're here, Brother," Al informed him.

"Grumman's cool though. He wouldn't bring me up on charges for pranking Mustang," Ed insisted but Al remained unmoved and Ed sighed. "Fine, little brother, have it your way," Ed said. "I'll just have to make sure I annoy Mustang another day," Ed said, seeming far too happy with the prospect while Al sighed with resignation.

"How about you don't annoy me at all, Fullmetal?" Mustang suggested like it was a previously unthought idea but Ed shook his head.

"Nah, you wouldn't want me getting too bored now, would ya?" Ed asked as he and the Animals exchanged plotting looks. Elysia gave Ed a hopeful look, flicking her eyes between him and Mustang, and he answered her silent question with a wink, making the young girl grin evilly at her uncle before she dove back into her remaining cake.

"Let's leave the plotting for another day, shall we?" Gracia suggested. Mustang made a protesting noise, like he couldn't believe she wouldn't simply ban them out right from thinking up ideas but she ignored him and her husband's resultant giggles at his best friend's predicament. Once she'd gotten nods from everyone, Gracia looked her husband. "You haven't told us how your day was yet, dear. What was happening in the Investigations department today?"

* * *

Ed blinked awake as something shifted on his bed, knocking lightly into his flesh leg. Sitting up in bed, he looked over and spotted Ayala sitting up and watching his bedroom door. As Ed sat up a little more, his bedroom door opened slightly and he saw a familiar pair of green eyes peeking through the gap. "Can I help you, Elysia?" Ed asked, voice still raspy from sleep, and the young girl gasped at being caught.

"Can you make breakfast, big brother?" Elysia asked, opening the door wider now that she knew he was awake. Both of them were keeping their voices low so they didn't wake Alphonse or Chester, though both Ed and Ayala knew it was a lost cause for the leopard. "Please?" Elysia added, nearly pleading as she tried to use the puppy-dog eyes that always had her father agreeing to her wishes.

"You know those don't work on me, El," Ed chided then chuckled when Elysia puffed her cheeks out in irritation. "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked as he swung his legs out of bed.

"Pancakes! Chocolate-chip banana pancakes!" Elysia told him, delight written all over her face.

"Alright, let me pull on some pants and I'll meet you in the kitchen," Ed said. Elysia nodded enthusiastically, causing her loose hair to flick all of the place before she bounded out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

" _I wish I had that level of enthusiasm this early in the morning,"_  Ayala said, watching the spot the young girl had disappeared from enviously with Ed let out an agreeable sigh.

"Same," he groaned as he pulled on some grey sweatpants, the kind he only ever wore when he knew he wasn't going anyway because his automail leg would catch at the material and they would become stained by the oil quickly. "We best go downstairs before she starts trying to cook them herself. We don't need a repeat of last time," Ed said, shuddering at the memory of pancake batter and flour being absolutely everywhere in the kitchen. He was a little impressed by how big a mess she made because Lilith had informed him they'd still found bits of dried pancake batter a few weeks later.

" _I don't think Gracia would forgive us a second time,"_  Ayala said in agreement. It really only had been because of a mix of good luck, sincere apologies and it being a first-time offence that the three of them had escaped with only a disbelieving look and stern instructions to clean her kitchen spotless from Gracia.

Ed chuckled in agreement as he and Ayala headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Ed hesitated at the door to see if Chester was going to follow but the leopard simply closed his eyes and curled up further into Al. Taking that to mean Chester wanted to lay in a bit longer, Ed caught up quickly to Ayala after closing the door shut softly. Thankfully, once they reached the kitchen, they saw that Elysia had only managed to get so far as to pull all the necessary ingredients out ready for him to use. Ed nodded in satisfaction as he pulled his hair back into a messy, loose ponytail and secured it with his hairband before he got to work.

Elysia, as she had always been, was an enthusiastic helper, ready with measuring cups, spoons or whatever ingredient Ed would need next. Ed had given her a thankful grin every time she'd correctly anticipated his needs as they continued to work in silence for the first few minutes. Ayala was laying in the open doorway to the kitchen, unwilling to get any closer since the last time Elysia and Edward had cooked together, she'd wound up wearing half the ingredients after Elysia had accidentally gotten in Ed's way. The golden wolf hadn't been impressed, glaring them down impressively when the two had giggled at her egg-soaked fur and furious expression.

"So," Ed said as he stirred in the second to last ingredient, "did you Dream last night?" he asked casually. He wasn't surprised when Elysia didn't answer right away as he whisked but eventually, she nodded. "That's amazing, El!" Ed said, forgoing his mixing in favour of dragging her into a one-armed hug.

"Yeah, it is," Elysia said but the enthusiasm and excitement that had been in her voice every time she'd spoken about her Dream or getting her Animal was noticeably absent.

"What's wrong, El?" Ed asked, placing the bowl on the counter, along with the whisk, and giving the green-eyed girl his full attention.

"It's just –" Elysia started saying before cutting herself off with a frustrated expression that Ed and Ayala recognised all too well. They waited patiently as she tried to figure out how to word what she was saying. "It's just," she started again, this time in a softer voice, "what if my Animal doesn't like me? What if they don't think I'm the right human for them?" Elysia asked and the wave of déjà vu that hit Ed almost physically knocked him back as he was violently reminded of Al. "What if my Animal doesn't fit in with our family?" Elysia went on to ask, oblivious to the emotions she'd brought up in Ed. "My Animal is so different to Mum and Dad's. What if –" she went to ask something else but Ed cut her off before she could.

"El, listen to me," Ed said, grasping her shoulders and crouching so he was eye level with her. Her green eyes were filled with worry, fear and unshed tears. "Your Animal will  _love_  you," Ed told her. "There has never been a single case in the history of humans and Spirit Animals where the human and their chosen Animal haven't formed a bond and you will not be the first, do you understand?" Ed asked. Even though she nodded, he knew he hadn't done much to dispel her worries so he continued. "Your Animal is created as a reflection of your soul. Do you really think an Animal similar to you in nature wouldn't fit in with your family?" Ed asked and was relieved to see Elysia shake her head. "As for your Animal being a different species or even family to your parents', it won't matter," Ed promised her. "Remember, my mum's Animal was a ragdoll cat while my dad's was a Percheron horse. Chester is a leopard while Ayala is an arctic wolf," Ed reminded her. "With the exception of Cleo and Chester, none of our Animals are even from the same genetic family," Ed told her and this time, he saw her fears starting to melt away. "Do you want to know something Al and I have never told anyone?" Ed asked.

"Yes," Elysia replied, her voice trembling slightly as she held back her tears.

"We both had the same worries before Chester and Ayala arrived," he revealed. Elysia let out a surprised gasp and Ed nodded. "That's right. I don't think Al even knows about my fears since I never told him but I was extremely worried that Ayala wouldn't like me or want me as her human," Ed told her, "and Al was the exact same way with Chester. In fact, Al had convinced himself that Chester hadn't spoken to him until the fourth day after his arrival  _because_  he didn't like Al," Ed told her.

"Why didn't Chester speak to Al for so long?" Elysia asked and Ed shrugged.

"Al told me he said something about wanting to get to know Al's personality better when he didn't have completed bond," Ed told her. "Since a bond can sometimes cause immediate bias in an Animal, I think Chester wanted to get to know Al a little better while only hindered by a half-bond," Ed said and Elysia nodded in understanding. Ed could see a new fear in her eyes and let out an internal sigh. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Alphonse when he was worrying about when his Animal would turn and later when he was worrying about why Chester was taking so long to complete the bond," Ed told her.

"Alright," Elysia said as she breathed in deeply, trying to steady her emotions by steadying her breathing in the way Ed and Al had taught her.

"Your Animal will be the perfect complement to you," Ed said firmly, "and only it will know when the time to complete your bond is. There is nothing you can do to make it make its mind up any quicker and stressing yourself like this is only going to make you sick and put everyone else on edge. Do you understand?" Ed asked and Elysia nodded. "There is absolutely no point in worrying yourself sick when there's no reason to, okay?" Again, Elysia nodded. "Good," Ed said, giving his own nod of satisfaction. "Now, the best way to make sure you don't worry is to distract you from it so how about we get back to making breakfast before everyone else wakes up and we'll figure out what we're gonna do for the day, okay?"

"Okay, big brother," Elysia said, giving Ed a smile. Though duller than it normally would've been, it was a far brighter than Elysia had been in the last few minutes. Before Ed could pull away, Elysia grabbed him in a hug that he immediately returned. "Thank you, big brother," Elysia said softly in his ear and he tightened his grip on her.

"Anytime, Princess," Ed said, causing her to giggle from the rarely used nickname. Ayala had braved the risk of having breakfast spilled all over her again to rub her muzzle and head against Elysia's, offering the girl her own brand of comfort.

"Thanks, Ayala," Elysia said as she let go of Ed and gripped the wolf in a tight hug.

"She says that you're welcome," Ed told her as he straightened up. "Now, let's finish off these pancakes before we're attacked by the hungry and half-asleep mob who will be heading our way any moment now," Ed said, grabbing the whisk and waving it as though it was a weapon.

"Ed!" Elysia shrieked as a few drops of batter hit her. Ayala was barely spared and the look she shot Ed promised severe retribution as she headed back to the relative safety of the open doorway.

"Whoops," Ed said insincerely, pairing it with a shrug and a smirk that had Elysia glare at him with all her 12-year-old might.

Elysia grumbled as she fetched the washcloth, knowing her mother would be extremely upset if she realised there were bits of pancake batter all over her kitchen again. "Ed, you forgot the chocolate chips!" Elysia exclaimed as she watched him pour a measure of batter into the hot pan.

"No, remember?" Ed said as he picked up the bag of milk chocolate chips and sprinkled a few into the half-cooked pancake. "We don't add the chocolate chips into the batter since Animals like Ayala can't eat chocolate," he reminded her.

"Oh, I forgot," she said, sounded a little disappointed in herself.

"Don't worry about it," Ed said, waving a hand at her. "It happens but these will be things you'll learn from your own Animal," he told her, flipping the pancake. "They'll make sure you know what they can, can't and shouldn't eat," he said and Elysia let a sigh of relief.

" _It only took me, what? Four months to train you?"_  Ayala asked innocently from where she lay.

"I was not that bad," Ed said, glaring at her as he transferred the cooked pancake to the awaiting plate before he poured out the batter for a second and added the chocolate chips in.

" _Yes, you were,"_  Ayala said, smirking as she felt his irritation climb.

"Nope," Ed said, "you must be getting forgetful in your old age, Aya," he said, flipping the pancake before it could burn. "You can cut up and caramelise the bananas, El," Ed said, gesturing to the bunch of bananas waiting on the bench.

" _I'm literally ten years younger than you, if you wanna get technical about it,"_  Ayala pointed out.

Ed watched Elysia out of the corner of his eye as he continued cooking the pancakes and arguing with Ayala. "Nope, I can't remember being that forgetful about your dietary needs so therefore, it didn't happen," Ed said confidently, causing Ayala to roll her eyes.

" _How old are you again? Three?"_  Ayala asked, amused with the banter and how concentrated Elysia looked as she tried to cut the bananas into equal pieces.

"That's the kind of insult I'd expect from a three-year-old," Ed told her, grinning as he felt Ayala roll her eyes through their bond.

" _That's a sterling example of your 21-year-old wit showing through right there,"_  Ayala said sarcastically and Ed snorted with laughter.

"What's so funny, Ed? Am I messing this up?" Elysia asked, looking worriedly at her half-chopped bananas.

"No, El. I'm sorry for making you think otherwise but you are doing that perfectly," Ed assured her, knocking her shoulder lightly with his automail arm. "Ayala's just being childish, that's all," Ed told her, biting done some more laughter at Ayala's indignant huff.

" _Pot calling the kettle black, much?"_  Ayala grumbled but Ed ignored her.

"Oh, that's alright than," Elysia said, relieved that her big brother hadn't been laughing at her. "So what do I do after I've finished cutting these up?" Elysia asked as she continued slicing the bananas carefully while Ed turned back to his cooking.

"Throw them in a pan with some butter and add a tiny bit of brown sugar," Ed told her. "Then you're gonna stir them until they're gooey and golden-brown," he said and she nodded in much the same matter as Hawkeye would when receiving instructions from Mustang.

"What should we do today?" Elysia asked after a few moments, knowing full well that she wouldn't be going to school since it had been the agreement between herself and her parents that if her Animal was due to appear on a school day, she'd get to stay home.

"I'm not sure," Ed said after a few moments of watching his cooking pancake intently. "What ideas do you have?" he asked, grinning when Elysia immediately launched into the plans she'd thought of already. Both Ed and Ayala shared a happy look before Ed turned back to the pancakes and to help Elysia with the bananas. Both of them were relieved that Elysia's worries had been soothed enough for the vibrant young girl they both knew and loved to show herself as she chattered away excitedly.

* * *

The day wore on far quicker than Ed had thought possible. Breakfast had been a big hit with everyone and Hughes had announced that he would be taking the day off when Elysia told her parents, Al and their three Animals that she'd Dreamt for the seventh night in a row. Absolutely no one except Elysia was surprised by this news and they'd all shared happy grins at the way Elysia squealed in excitement at having a day off from school, knowing her Animal would be turning up  _and_  learning her father would be staying the day as well. Once breakfast was over, Gracia shooed them all out into the loungeroom while she took care of the dishes and the kitchen. At her slightly apprehensive look towards her kitchen, Ed and Elysia were both quick to promise her that they'd left it moderately clean. Ed didn't like that he could hear Gracia's sigh of relief from the loungeroom and he liked Ayala's amusement even less.

For the first half of the day, Elysia caught up on the small amount of homework she had so she could turn it in immediately on Monday morning before she roped the two human Elrics into testing out her new art supplies. Though no artists themselves, both Ed and Al passed on the few tips and tricks they'd learned from artists native to Xing or Creta along to Elysia, who had taken them to heart as she tried them out. The few drawings or paintings Elysia had insisted they do had turned out half decent, something that surprised both boys and their Animals to no end while Elysia was delighted. Throughout the whole thing, Hughes was sitting in his armchair, paperwork lying mostly forgotten on the coffee table next to him while he snapped photos of them. Ed had never raised a single complaint against the camera after Al's release from the hospital since it meant he would have photos of his brother in his flesh body again and he didn't do so this time either.

When Gracia walked into the living room to announce lunch was ready, she gave the mess a disapproving look before informing the three artists that she expected there to be not so much as a speck of paint left after they cleaned it. Both Ed and Al promised they knew plenty of arrays that would help get any sort of stain out of the carpet while Elysia promised she would clean everything up after she was finished with her drawing. Gracia had seemed mollified by their assurances and nodded before letting them head into the dining room with her, Hughes and their Animals for their lunches of sandwiches and leftover birthday cake.

Once finished lunch, they were allowed back into the loungeroom where Elysia quickly finished her painting before she was helped by the two boys to return her mother's loungeroom to the spotless condition Gracia kept it in. After all the art supplies were put away, the three of them pulled out books to start reading to pass the time. Elysia was reading one of the books Mustang had given her the previous afternoon for her birthday while both boys were reading books they'd given each other regarding the alchemy they were currently studying. Ed was a little annoyed that Al seemed to be grasping Cretan alchemy with more ease than he was with alkahestry but he pushed away those feelings quickly. It wasn't like they needed to know everything about it so they could use it against a genocidal homunculous in the near future again.

With every passing minute, Ed could see that Elysia was fidgeting anxiously and looking more visibly worried. Ed shared a look with Hughes and Gracia, both of whom had joined them in the loungeroom to catch up on their novels or paperwork, before he knelt down next to Elysia and reminded her about what he'd told her that morning. The words worked once more and Elysia relaxed as she continued reading her book. Ed flushed when both Lilith and Leo passed along their humans gratitude and he quickly buried his nose back in his own book.

Five years ago, he would never have reassured Elysia about her Animal like that without verbally asking if it was okay with her parents, too afraid of overstepping boundaries and making them angry with him. But half a year spent living in their house while Al was in hospital had been all the time Maes and Gracia had needed to convince Ed that he would always have a family in them, Elysia and their Animals and that nothing he could do would make them throw him, Alphonse or their Animals out. Once Ed had come to the realisation that he would always have a home waiting for him and Al in Central, Ed had allowed himself to fully embrace the brotherly role Elysia had thrust upon him. It hadn't taken Al as long as Ed had to accept the fact that they were part of the Hughes family but it had been long enough that both Chester and Ayala had been very smug when their humans finally accepted it.

Their afternoon of silent reading had been interrupted twice with only a few minutes between the two occurrences. The first one had been Mustang and Nala turning up at the front door, much to Hughes' and Elysia's obvious delight and Ed's hidden one, at least when it came to Mustang anyway. He was more than happy to greet Nala with undiluted enthusiasm like he always did before he grumbled about Mustang showing up. The general had just rolled his eyes but was distracted from delivering his own comment by Elysia telling him the exciting news about her seventh and final Dream. Mustang had done exactly what Ed, Al and both her parents had tried but Elysia gave up no hint as to what her Animal would be and Mustang had been forced to sit on the second couch a defeated man. Nala had taken pity on her human and joined him but only after making sure she'd greeted Ed and Al properly first.

The second time the silence had been broken, it was by the four Animals and Elysia perking up at something only they could sense. Elysia had let out a small gasp as she dropped her book on the floor before she tore out of the living room, heading straight for the door that opened onto the back deck and yard. Gracia and Hughes only beat Mustang, Ed and Al by half a moment in following Elysia out the house and all five came to a stop as they watched the youngest member of their family approach the animal sitting innocently in their backyard with cautious hope. Their five Animals watched the proceedings with interest and a touch of protectiveness about them. Both Gracia and Hughes had tears in their eyes as they watched Elysia crouch before she stretched out a hand and held it mere millimetres above what was undoubtedly her Spirit Animal's head. Maes was snapping a half dozen photos a second as tears streamed down his face as he watched the Animal raise its black and white head to meet Elysia's hand.

"Mum, Dad, Uncle Roy, big brothers!" Elysia sobbed as she petted the Animal. "She's here! My Spirit Animal appeared for me, just like my Dream said she would!" Elysia scooped the Animal up to bring her over to show them what she was.

The smile on Elysia's face, stretching from ear to ear and far brighter than any he'd ever seen from her, almost distracted Ed from identifying the Animal in her arms. It took him a moment to place the exact species but he soon had her identified as a Himalayan Rabbit. It's long, white body was broken by black markings on all four feet, creating the illusion of socks, as well a black marking than covered an oval patch of fur that stretched from below her eyes and covered her nose. Both ears were completely black and Ed would admit to being a little unnerved by the red eyes the rabbit had.

"Oh, Elysia!" Gracia exclaimed as her daughter brought the rabbit right up to them. "I'm so proud of you! I don't think I could've imagined an Animal more appropriate for you," she said, grabbing Elysia in a hug, though she was careful to not touch her daughter's Animal as she did so. Maes abandoned all sense of decorum as he grabbed both his wife and daughter into a hug and sobbed aloud.

"My baby girl is growing up!" Hughes blubbered, tears running thick and fast down his cheeks as he held them both close. Ed and Al were the only ones to notice the eyeroll Mustang aimed at his best friend but they weren't the only ones to see the way Mustang's own eyes shone wetly.

"Dad!" Elysia whined but absolutely no one missed the tears falling down her own face or the way her voice trembled threateningly. After a moment where the rabbit in her arms seemed to do something, Elysia put her down on the ground and hugged both her parents back just as fiercely as they were hugging her.

Ed watched as the rabbit hopped a few paces away before finding herself surrounded by two foxes, a lioness, a leopard and a golden wolf. Exchanging a look with his brother and nodding, both Ed and Al took the few steps needed to place themselves in front of Elysia's Animal while the three Hughes' continued holding onto each other. The rabbit looked up at them inquisitively once she was finished speaking with the five Animals surrounding her, as evidenced by them backing off slightly.

"Since your human is currently in no fit state to do so, we thought we should introduce everyone," Ed said to the rabbit, who nodded slightly. "I'm Ed Elric, and this is my brother, Al. Our Animals are Chester and Ayala," Ed said, gesturing to each in turn, "and we're the adopted, older brothers of your human," he said. "Her mother and father are the ones hugging her and they are Maes and Gracia Hughes. Their Animals are Leo and Lilith," he told the rabbit. "Finally, the man standing just behind us is Roy Mustang. He's my commanding officer, a pain in my arse but he's also Maes' best friend and Elysia's uncle. His Animal is Nala," Ed said, finishing up the introductions and the rabbit once again nodded in understanding.

"We wanted to say that we're happy to meet you and that we can't wait to watch your bond with Elysia grow," Alphonse said and they both watched as the newest Animal smiled as she looked at her human – who was now receiving a hug from Mustang as the older alchemist murmured words too low for them to hear – with a fond expression.

" _I don't think Elysia will have to worry about their bond. I can feel how strong it is already and she hasn't even told Elysia her name yet,"_  Ayala told Ed, joining him where he was crouched.

"I'm glad to hear it," Ed said, using their bond to speak. From the looks on Al's and Chester's faces, they both heard Ayala's words and had agreed with Ed's statement.

"Big brothers!" The squeal from behind them was their only warning as Elysia slammed into them from behind, nearly knocking them off their feet as she pulled them both into a hug. "I have my Animal!" she cried, repeating herself as Al pulled her off Ed so he could give her a proper hug and wipe away the happy tears that still fell.

"We know and we're so happy for you, Elysia," Al told her, holding her close as she hugged his neck tightly. Ed felt a moment of overwhelming happiness at the fact that Elysia had gotten her Animal and that she and Al could share this hug now that Al was no longer just a soul bound to that suit of armour. Both Chester and Ayala leaned up against Ed, letting their own emotions bleed through their bonds with him to show him he wasn't alone in that thought. Ed ignored the intrigued look the rabbit was giving them in exchange for hugging them slightly.

Suddenly, Elysia was latching herself onto Ed, barely giving the young man the chance to let go of the two Animals first so they didn't get hit by the young girl. "Ed, she's here," Elysia whispered, letting go of Ed enough to look at her Animal with a disbelieving yet extremely happy expression on her face. "What do you think to her?" Elysia asked, her voice a little louder and Ed thought for a moment as Gracia, Hughes and Mustang joined them.

"I think," Ed started saying, mulling his words over, "that you had absolutely nothing to worry about this morning," he told her, causing Elysia to let out a sob as she buried her face into his neck once more. A light touch to his right thigh had Ed looking down in shock to see Elysia's Animal using him as a step to reach her human's lap.

It didn't matter to Ed that they wouldn't learn that the rabbit's name was Katherine until the next day. It didn't matter to Ed that in five days' time, he would be in Grumman's office as he pitched his idea of sending a handful of talented alchemists to Creta to learn medical alchemy while he, Ayala, Chester and Nala tried to plot a way of annoying Mustang during the meeting. It didn't matter to Ed that in just over three weeks, he and Ayala would be travelling back to Creta while Al and Chester headed back to Xing. Nothing mattered to Ed in that moment except for the fact that he was surrounded by most of those he counted as his family and that he could be present for one of the most important days in Elysia's life like any good brother should be. As he held the overemotional Elysia in his arms while she clung to both him and her Animal, with both Gracia and Maes crouched behind him, one hand on him and the other on their daughter as Mustang ruffled her hair before ruffling Ed's and he felt Al and the five other Animals pressing in as close as they could, Ed couldn't believe just how lucky he, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester were to be able to call this place home and the people and Animals around him family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, a few people know that I've got an idea in my head to keep going with this series. It's not a full story but rather a series of one-shots that answer a few unanswered questions, things like what happened to Fu's Animal. I haven't written anything for it yet since I'm working on a new story but I would love to know if this is something you'd like to see in the future? It wouldn't just be for unanswered questions since I would open it up to requests for small oneshots based in my Spirit Animal AU. Obviously no romance but just about everything else would be considered. Please let me know if you guys want to see something like this sometime in the future :D
> 
> This story may have only taken me a few months to post up on Ao3 but it's taken me over 2.5 years to write it from start to finish. Thank you to everyone who has commented on this story and I would absolutely adore it if I could read a little something from everyone now that this story is done!


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